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Wandering around the wasteland there are several radio towers that can be activated. Does anyone know what the purpose of these is?

I played Fallout 3 (German version) a lot and never found anything remotely connected to them.

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  • A quick search for fallout 3 radio towers purpose will tell you what they are for. Just can't copy the whole things right now, at work.
    – Jonathan Drapeau
    Sep 3, 2014 at 12:05
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    The googleing only brings up that they morse "Calling anyone, this is (station name), waiting for any response, over." But why so often? cant that be done by one station? Isnt that way to much effort for the development team to set up that many stations only to "calling for anyone" or "marking" places ner it?
    – Fulli
    Sep 3, 2014 at 12:20
  • If they did it, there's a reason, as small as it can be.
    – Jonathan Drapeau
    Sep 3, 2014 at 12:21

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The towers are there to provide atmosphere, but they don't advance the plot or otherwise "do" anything. In other words, they're part of the backdrop meant to make the world feel authentic.

Powering up a tower will make it start transmitting a signal, which in most cases is a repeating Morse code message. You can use your PipBoy to locate the source of the transmission, usually a ham radio in an underground bunker near the tower, accessible through a drain. Some of the bunkers have decent loot.

Most towers transmit a very simple Morse code messages that basically say "Hello, is anyone out there? This is [station ID]. Please respond." But two of the towers instead transmit audio recordings, one of just the sound of breathing.

This Fallout Wiki page lists all the broadcast towers, explains the Morse code signals, and provides links to each tower where you can see its specific message.

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  • so you also think there is not more lore to them than that? If that is the case... file closed ^^
    – Fulli
    Sep 4, 2014 at 14:56
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    @Fulli, I can't speak about lore left over from earlier Fallouts since I started with Fallout 3. But I've played FO3 pretty... obsessively, and I can't recall the towers serving as anything but atmosphere. Also, by now (six years after release), the Fallout Wiki is reasonably comprehensive and authoritative. So I believe that's all they are.
    – Feral Chimp
    Sep 4, 2014 at 20:04
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The radio towers activate a radio distress signal, within a specific radius. If you look around hard enough you'll find out where the signal originates. Most are underground tunnel hideouts with dead occupants with a ham radio inside. Activate that radio and you confirm the source of your signal.

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