Richard Danis, a maintenance engineer and hi-fi enthusiast, decided that he wanted an online radio and streaming device. For something out of the ordinary, he decided to convert a 1990 vintage Roberts 747 AM/FM radio into something that could play music from the internet, yet preserve its original functionality. Naturally, he turned to the Raspberry Pi to accomplish this, and since he had one at home that he wasn't using, the hardest task was finding an appropriate radio to use.
Danis used Pi MusicBox from pimusicbox.com. Unzip the .img file, plug an SD card into your computer and use a disk-imaging program, such as Win32 Disk Imager, to write the image to it. Open "settings.ini" in the "config" folder on the card in a text editor and enter the network name and password. Plug the SD card and a USB Wi-Fi dongle into your Raspberry Pi. Log on with your PC web browser and change settings at http://musicbox.local
You could plug headphones or an auxiliary jack into the Raspberry Pi, but what fun would that be? Danis squeezed his into a Roberts 747 radio, using a flexible piece of plastic as a case to save space. To transmit audio, solder the bare leads of a 3.5mm audio cable to the proper left, right and ground connections of the auxiliary input, then plug the other end into your Raspberry Pi's audio output. Danis even used an external aerial connector as a switch in his build.
Power for the board is cleverly provided by disassembling a USB power supply and soldering its input into the main radio AC power supply. Not only does this save space, but because it is done in parallel to the original wiring, your vintage radio's functionality is preserved. A similar modification can be accomplished with other radios featuring an AUX input, a mains power supply and extra room inside.
The radio looks exactly as it did pre-hack, but switching it to "AUX" should now deliver internet radio. According to Danis, he really likes the results, and his wife listens to it more than he does. His friends are also amazed that he's able to play foreign radio stations in the UK out of an old FM radio. A hack like this will naturally vary from radio to radio, but with ample room inside and some creativity, the results can be surprising.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
