How an Electrical Engineering Student Silenced Their Noisy Neighbor—With Science (and a Frequency Generator)
When you think of petty revenge, you might imagine glitter bombs or passive-aggressive notes. But for one Montreal apartment dweller, the ultimate act of neighborly retribution involved electrical engineering, a frequency generator, and a dash of scientific genius.
Picture this: it’s just before 6:00am, you’re deep in dreamland, and suddenly, muffled voices seep through your bedroom wall. It isn’t ghosts or sleep paralysis (though some commenters on Reddit suspected as much)—it’s your neighbor’s radio, blaring a talk show as you desperately try to piece together sleep from scraps. When polite requests and landlord letters fail, what’s left to do? For Reddit user u/octo23, the answer was clear: fight waveform with waveform.
The Science of Petty: Turning Knowledge into Power (Literally)
Most of us would have given up or resorted to earplugs. Not u/octo23. As an electrical engineering student, he saw this as the perfect opportunity to put theory into practice. “Internally to the radio,” he explained, “whatever frequency you are listening to gets converted to what is known as an Intermediate Frequency.” By targeting this frequency with a generator, he could effectively jam the neighbor’s radio—without affecting others in the building.
This wasn’t just some tinfoil-hat trickery; it was applied engineering at its finest. As u/TararaBoomDA called it, “Sheer bloody brilliant.” And u/GrrrYouBeast’s “My petty heart approves of this” summed up what many were feeling: this was pettiness with panache.
But how did it actually work? OP set up the frequency generator in his bedroom, matching the intermediate frequency (10.7 MHz for FM radio, as clarified in the comments), and stuck a basic antenna into the back. The next morning, when the neighbor’s radio came on, OP flipped the switch. Silence. Not satisfied with merely cutting off the sound, he added a 1kHz tone—“extremely annoying, but my ear plugs filtered it out.” Take that, talk radio.
When Science Meets Morality: Is Petty Revenge Ever Justified?
Of course, not everyone was purely impressed—some delved into the legal and ethical gray zones. “Illegal? Definitely,” remarked u/wowsomuchempty, but quickly added, “sticking your radio on loud at 6am—you get no sympathy.” Others, like u/fistbumpbroseph, pointed out that while using low-powered transmitters can be legal, “he was doing it to intentionally interfere with the operation of her receiver.” Still, most agreed that the neighbor had it coming, especially since polite solutions had failed.
OP himself emphasized that he checked to ensure the jamming didn’t affect radios further away—demonstrating both technical savvy and a sense of responsibility. As u/Sufficient-Sun-6683 and u/Abject-Picture debated, the signal’s impact depends on both power and proximity, but the neighbor’s radio—right against the shared wall—was the only real victim.
And for those worried about lasting harm? OP returned the generator after a couple of weeks, and the neighbor simply stopped using her kitchen radio. No permanent damage, no scorched-earth revenge, just a lesson in the practical applications of electromagnetic theory.
Community Reactions: Engineers, Pranksters, and Nostalgic Radio Wars
The post’s comment section quickly became a playground for fellow engineers and revenge aficionados to share their own war stories. “I did basically the same thing,” reminisced u/GuairdeanBeatha, describing a similar setup from 50 years ago (with a vintage Heathkit SG-8, no less). Others, like u/lmamakos, recounted college pranks involving tuning radios to different stations remotely—because what’s the point of learning electrical theory if not to confound your friends and enemies?
There was nostalgia, too: u/Downtown_Physics8853 remembered “Mr. Microphone,” an FM transmitter that let pranksters hijack nearby radios. And u/Naive_Figure188’s tale of a college pirate radio station stalked by antenna-clad panel trucks could have come straight out of an ‘80s movie.
But perhaps the most relatable insights came from those who, like OP, found that human voices are the ultimate sleep destroyer. “I can sleep through a jackhammer,” confessed u/entrepenurious, “but a conversation wakes me right up.” As OP clarified, it wasn’t that the neighbor’s radio was blasting music; “it was a talk show and it was just loud enough that I could hear the voices and my subconscious was trying to make sense of it and I couldn’t get back to sleep.” Anyone who’s ever tried to nap through a muffled conversation knows exactly that special kind of torment.
The Fine Art of (Ethical?) Engineering Revenge
So, was it legal? Maybe not. Was it justified? The Reddit jury says: absolutely. As u/Jazzlike-Location-57 put it, “Devious. As a retired EE, I love it.” Even those who questioned the ethics admitted a grudging admiration for the creativity and restraint involved. Unlike more destructive forms of payback (Molotov cocktails were mentioned—jokingly, we hope), this was a victimless, temporary, and oddly elegant solution.
As for the neighbor, she learned a lesson about thin walls and considerate living—though perhaps not in the way OP hoped. And for the rest of us? We’re reminded that sometimes, knowledge really is power, especially when wielded with a dose of humor and just the right frequency.
Conclusion: What Would You Have Done?
Whether you’re cheering for OP’s ingenuity or quietly wondering if you could pull off something similar, one thing is clear: science isn’t just for the lab. Sometimes, it’s for getting your well-deserved sleep. Have you ever resorted to a creative solution for an inconsiderate neighbor? Or do you have your own tales of petty (or not-so-petty) revenge? Share your stories in the comments—just maybe leave the frequency generators at home.
And remember: next time you’re tempted to blast talk radio at dawn, you never know if your neighbor’s an electrical engineer with a penchant for poetic justice.
Original Reddit Post: Thin Walls and a Frequency Generator