old radio mod

[ardyandkari]

ok this is my first mod, but i think its cool. i bought an old standup radio at an auction and am going to make a case out of it...ill post pics later today.

first i tore out the radio components...

then i tore out the computer from the case...

still looking for some switches for the reset and volume, but that can wait till monday. gonna go to minnesota electric and probably have to special order some. couldnt find any at ace, target, walmart...dah!!!

anyways...since this is my first mod any suggestions will be appreciated. thanks

[Drac998]

Someone did this mod last year, can't remember the name... But if you do a search you may come across it. The guy did an awesome job turning an old 50's style into a media center with a "borg" screen on the front for media player visuals. So it's a very doable mod, just take your time plan and measure, cut clean and straight. If you do it right no one should know it's a pc till the look right at it.

[blue73]

I've seen this kind of mod before too. An old Bacolite wireless, hee wireless oh how far have we come, set with slick neons in the case. Really cool. If You pull it off right, the mod that is, it should be pretty slick. Good luck ;)

[ardyandkari]

http://img271.imageshack.us/img271/9224/pict16300tu.th.jpg (http://img271.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pict16300tu.jpg)http://img481.imageshack.us/img481/1746/pict16314xn.th.jpg (http://img481.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pict16314xn.jpg)
This is a pic of the outside and back of the radio...looks cool huh???

http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/1565/pict16288on.th.jpg (http://img104.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pict16288on.jpg)http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/1091/pict16291xs.th.jpg (http://img104.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pict16291xs.jpg)http://img271.imageshack.us/img271/5724/pict16271nc.th.jpg (http://img271.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pict16271nc.jpg)
the crap that i took out of the radio...anyone have a use for vaccum tubes???

http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/4205/pict16262aj.th.jpg (http://img104.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pict16262aj.jpg)http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/6209/pict16252oj.th.jpg (http://img116.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pict16252oj.jpg)
the crap that im putting into the radio...

hopefuly this looks cool when im done. i want to get an lcd panel and somehow mount it to the back of the radio so when i want to use it for a computer i just pull it up from behind, but when i want to just listen to music or have it off the monitor can be out of the way...

[blue73]

Theres a lot of "crap" goin into this mod isnt there LOL:p

Should be preety cool when its done..

[ardyandkari]

Theres a lot of "crap" goin into this mod isnt there LOL:p

Should be preety cool when its done..

yea......im boasting a p3 here with a 6 gb hdd....woo hooo...but hey...it has cost me about $5, so for a first mod, i think its good...besides, if i ever want to upgrade, its not gonna be too hard...

[DaveW]

Hey, this looks nice! Try and get that faded yellow lighting look you got with the old radio lights if you can, i'll give you bonus points for that ;)

-Dave

[blue73]

Yellow or orange like the glow You get from a valve amp... Mmmmm valve amp;) .

Hey Dave just 90 more posts and Yer at a grand. Do You get a gold carriage clock or anything?:D lol

[ardyandkari]

Hey, this looks nice! Try and get that faded yellow lighting look you got with the old radio lights if you can, i'll give you bonus points for that ;)

-Dave

i dont think that this radio had any lights on the face...if you look at the pic of the front you see some space in the openings, but that is just cause i dont have the box that held the radio components pushed up against the front. there was no space at all for lights to get through...that would be cool though......8)

[simon275]

That thing is huge.

Ive never seen a radio that big must be old.

Maybe you could mount on of those LCD screens that go in the optical drive bays. On its side in the hole in the center and have it interface with itunes or winap and it shows what song you are listening to. An old radio with a modern twist.

Also since its a radio put some nice speakers in it but paint mesh covers on the speaker's brown so they look like they are meant to be there.

[ardyandkari]

well, basically i was going for a sleeper mod...i first wanted to take the screen from an older laptop i have and incorporate it into the design, but then after googling that idea, decided that it would cost waaaaayyyy too much, and be more hassle than its worth, so now im looking into mounting a lcd screen in the back that will either have a swinging mount or a telescoping mount so it can be completely concealed behind the radio...the entire idea for this mod was to keep the body of the radio intact...

[blue73]

Remove the fret work where the speaker would be and mount an LCD there. I know its round but if the TFT is the right size You could still use it no?

[Mach]

Any marking on the case to tell what type of radio it is? Did it come with the station selector? It would have likely been in the center slot with a dial above and a knob below. Hmm, is the hole big enough to mount a powermate? http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/powermate/

For the switches radio shack is going to be your best bet locally. Ordering online, try Digikey, Mouser, or Farnell.

Looks like a fun mod. I always wanted a floor radio or better yet an old jukebox. I'd love to find a ratted out Wurlitzer Colonial to restore and turn into a 2TB media server.

[ardyandkari]

no there are no markings that i can find, and yes it had a station selector, but only had a dial. it probably is big enough to mount a powermate, but i dont think i will because that is more money than i have to spare now...i know $50 isnt much but hey...i have a budget of about $60 and i still have to get a wireless nic...also, radio shack didnt have what i needed...they only had dimmers....doh!!!

[Mach]

Hmm, my bad. Looks like radioshack has really gone downhill since I was back in the US.

This was the only one that I could find on their website

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062536&cp=&origkw=rotary+switch&kw=rotary+switch&parentPage=search

I bought some surplus snap switches from this guy. The price is right anyway.

http://www.schmarder.com/radios/sale/parts.htm

I think you'll want the 5p2t unless you're wiring up something else. They're make before break switches but if it's just on and off it shouldn't matter.

[ardyandkari]

hey thanks alot...think im gonna go with radioshack...

[qoou]

a beautiful project would just be restoring it and having it work. my some XM radio?

[xavier2010]

at one point i was going to do the same thing, except it was my grandma's REALLY oldschool radio/recordplayer. it was nothing but a bigass table with a flip top! i was going to mount 2 lcd's inside the top lid, replace the radio and speaks with a good amp and stage speakers, and mount the computer inside the thing, the keyboard as fold out on the side and 2 turntables and a mixer in the middle.... then i got out of raving...... lol:rolleyes:

[xmastree]

Man, you have to use some of those valves in there...
Just light up the heating elements, IIRC they all run from 6.3v AC. Get a transformer and just wire them so they glow, and mount them so they show.
No need tor any high voltages in there, so it'll be safe.

[isunktheship]

zomg free vaccuum tubes!!!1!

By the way (sorry if I missed this) what are the dimensions of this beast?

[ardyandkari]

i dont have exact measurements (im too lazy) but its about 4' tall, 3' wide and 1' deep....its a monster.:D

[ardyandkari]

i have actually done some more work...wow...not much time to do it since i have pretty much been working or been super busy 7 days a week (mostly working)....i cut the mb mount down so it can fit in the radio....just took it out side and jig sawed it ....hope it still works....also got win. 98 off of ebay for $40...ebay ROCKS!!!(the reason for 98 is i know it will work, the comp was running it before i installed linux on it...the reason for not linux is...im too lazy to try to learn how to run another os well...)

[alphastryk]

lookin good...

whadda ya want for the vacuum tubes? i just might be interested - PM me.