Radio Radio was the name of a 20th century device which was used to transmit or receive sound or signals by means of electromagnetic waves . This name was also used to describe signals which were transmitted on a specific bandwidth . Methods of radio transmission included amplitude modulation and frequency modulation . Uses . In 1930 Captain James T . Kirk ( traveled back in time from 2267 ) and Edith Keeler passed by a radio repair shop on the streets of New York City , where a radio was playing the song " Goodnight , Sweetheart , Goodnight " . ( ) " In an alternate timeline , communications officer Hoshi Sato analyzed radio signals from the planet Earth during 1944 . Among the transmissions was a speech by Winston Churchill and a broadcast of " The Shadow " . " ( ) In 1957 a group of Vulcan scientist s including T ' Mir observed Earth radio broadcasts concerning the launch of satellite " Sputnik I " . ( ) Later that year , when T ' Mir and Mestral were stranded in Carbon Creek , they overheard part of a baseball game on the radio . ( ) In 1967 a young Henry Starling listened to rock and roll music on his portable radio during a camping trip in the High Sierras . ( ) When the ( from 2267 ) accidentally traveled back in time to 1969 , the crew received a radio news broadcast about the first manned Moon shot scheduled for that Wednesday . ( ) During another time travel incident , the USS " Enterprise " ( from 2268 ) traveled back to 1968 in a mission to study that period of Earth history by listening to radio and other broadcast communications . ( ) In 1986 the pair of Humpback whale s known as George and Gracie were equipped with a special radio transmitter with a frequency of 401 megahertz when they were flown to the Bering Sea off of Alaska . ( ) In 1996 the SETI project used radio broadcasted signals to contact possible alien lifeform s . ( ) In 2168 the " " used conventional radio to send out a distress call soon after visiting the planet Sigma Iotia II , which resulted in the transmission being intercepted a hundred years later . ( ) Subspace radio was an advanced radio system . ( ) In 2266 the USS " Enterprise " received a radio transmitted distress signal from a planet identical to Earth . ( ) In 2267 the USS " Enterprise " found the floating in space , transmitting an old radio signal . ( ) In 2268 , Ekosian Nazi Party captive Isak asked fellow captives James Kirk and Spock if they had a radio when he observed them removing rubidium crystals from their arms . Later that year , Lieutenant Uhura monitored several radio broadcasts on the planet 892 - IV . ( ) Radio was a popular broadcasting medium on Sigma Iotia II in the same year , featuring music and commercial s . Commander Spock also used a local radio frequency to contact the USS " Enterprise " . ( ) While star chart ing on the outer fringe of the Milky Way Galaxy in 2269 , the " Enterprise " discovered a source of mysterious radio emissions originating from an insectoid pod ship trapped in orbit of the dead star Questar M - 17 . ( ) The " V ' ger " entity used late - 20th century radio signals to call it ' s " Creator " while approaching Earth in the mid - 2270s . ( ) Fictional detective Dixon Hill had a radio set in his office in the holonovel adaptations based on the series of novels featuring the character . ( ) In 2367 the studied radio broadcasts of the planet Malcor III in preparation for a possible first contact . ( ) A spaceborn race existed in the 24th century which communicated through radio signals . ( ) Amelia Earhart ' s airplane signaled an " SOS " distress call on AM radio from a Class L planet in the Delta Quadrant in 2371 . The signal was intercepted by the radio of a 1936 Ford truck found floating in space by the . ( ) In 2372 The Doctor and Danara Pel listened to the song " My Prayer " by The Platters on a car radio of a 1957 Chevrolet in the holodeck . ( ) In a holodeck recreation of Sainte Claire , France during World War II on the USS " Voyager " , invaded by a group of Hirogen hunters in 2374 , the Allied forces used radio news broadcasts to transmit messages to the French Resistance . The Nazi s also used radio for communication , which the Resistance had to sabotage . ( ) In the same year , Tom Paris listened to surf rock music on a portable radio in his " Grease Monkey " holoprogram while working on a 1969 Chevy Camaro automobile . ( ) Still in the same year , in Captain Benjamin Sisko ' s vision from Prophet s of 1953 New York City , Benny Russell had a radio set in his home . ( ) In the " The Adventures of Captain Proton " holonovel series , characters ( including Doctor Chaotica ) often used radio transmissions as a way of interspace communication . ( ) Scientists on Kelemane ' s planet used radio broadcasts to transmit their messages to the " Sky Ship " ( USS " Voyager " ) during one period of the planet ' s history in 2376 . Seven of Nine received their transmissions which led Captain Janeway to send The Doctor to an away mission on the surface . ( )