Stillcraft / Apps / Longwave
An old walnut long-wave radio stands on the nightstand: an amber dial from 145 to 285 kHz and a green magic eye that glows when a station comes in. Turn the knob and find rain over a town that doesn't exist, the sea under a lighthouse, a sleeper train, or a voice reading the forecast for seas that aren't on any map. Set the timer and close your eyes. When it runs out, the needle slips off the station into soft static, and the static goes quiet too.
Android 9.0+ · Free · English & Русский
Drag the dial or turn the big knob: one click per station, and the phone ticks under your finger, so you can tune in the dark. Between stations there's soft static, crackle and a whistle, and the signal fades and swells like real long wave.
Rainford for rain, Quiet Light for the sea under a lighthouse, Night Express for a sleeper train, Hearth for a stove, Cricket Meadow, Calm Harbour with a boat at its mooring, Pine River, High Pass for wind, and Deep Air for brown noise.
Built on techniques that quiet the mind: a Sea Forecast for seas not on any map, generated so it never repeats; a Roll Call through the body; a Word Lottery of things to picture; a Metronome for 4-7-8 breathing; the Lighthouse Stores read very slowly; and a Countdown from 100, quieter each time.
Storm over Rainford comes in about one night in five. For Those Awake broadcasts only from 1:30 to 4:30 a.m., with kind words and no pressure to sleep. Moon Station plays a music box three nights around the full moon. Until you find them, they're a question mark on the dial.
Set 15, 30, 45, 60 or 90 minutes, or leave it on. At the end the needle drifts off the station into the static, and the static fades out. Touch the screen while it drifts and it stays on another 15 minutes. If you like, the announcer says a quiet good night.
Real stations send listeners a QSL card to confirm they were heard. The morning after the timer took the radio off the air, your station sends one to your call sign, with the date, the time, the minutes and its emblem. And one question: did you fall asleep quickly?
An album of 18 cards to collect, and Your Wave: the stations you fall asleep to fastest, from your own answers.
A soft night voice and a lower announcer, recorded in advance with open neural voices, in English and Russian. The radio plays with the screen off and gives way to calls.
The cabinet, the dial, the magic eye and the card emblems are all drawn in code. No internet, no account, no ads.
| Stations | What they're for | |
|---|---|---|
| Sounds | Rainford, Quiet Light, Night Express, Hearth, Cricket Meadow, Calm Harbour, Pine River, High Pass, Deep Air | A steady sound to drown out the room and the day |
| Programmes | Sea Forecast, Roll Call, Word Lottery, Metronome, Lighthouse Stores, Countdown | Something dull and gentle to follow, so the mind stops running |
| Rare | Storm over Rainford, For Those Awake, Moon Station | One night in five; 1:30 to 4:30 a.m.; three nights around the full moon |
On Xiaomi (MIUI / HyperOS), Huawei and some other phones, allow Autostart for Longwave and remove battery limits so the radio keeps playing with the screen off.
JDK 17+ (Android Studio's bundled JBR works) and the Android SDK. Kotlin, Jetpack Compose, Room, DataStore, one AudioTrack mixer; the cabinet, the dial, the magic eye and the QSL emblems are drawn in code.
git clone https://github.com/bigdevwhale/longwave.git cd longwave ./gradlew testDebugUnitTest # stations, the timer, the cards ./gradlew assembleDebug # app.longwave.dev, installs next to a release ./gradlew assembleDebug -Pdemo # app.longwave.demo: a month of nights and a card waiting ./gradlew testDebugUnitTest -Prender # screens drawn to app/build/art
No. Every sound and every voice is inside the app, and it doesn't even ask for internet access. It works in a tent, on a plane, or with the phone in airplane mode.
Yes: it plays as a media foreground service, with a notification while the radio is on, and pauses for calls. On aggressive battery savers like MIUI or HyperOS, allow Autostart and set battery to No restrictions.
No. It's for rest and falling asleep, not a treatment for insomnia or any other condition. If you sleep badly for weeks, talk to a doctor.
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