My favorite homebrew project ever I think.... and it's not even ham radio!!

So back in November my XYL Anne said she wanted to redo our "parlor" (front room) and
as part of the overhaul, she wanted an iPod dock "radio" so she could listen to mellow classical
or ambient tunes while she did her knitting or reading or whatever.

For about $20-$30 on the web there are THOUSANDS of options for this. But why buy something
when you could BUILD something, right?

So for about $100 I just tonight completed what I could have easily found on Amazon for around $20,
with free shipping no less....

What is it?

iPod dock - charges iPod Classic or iPhone (there's actually a trick to it!! PM me if you're curious - it's
not just 'give it 5v power' - more to it!). But also offers Bluetooth integration as well, along with a
Bass, Treble, Balance, and Volume control on the front panel and also calibrated VU meters (cuz the
XYL cares about her VU!!!! - and of course IR remote control of the iPod!!).

All the modules were kits - none of which sold by the same vendor in China. None were directly
compatible with each other - all the switching, power supply levels, regulation, etc. were not part of
the "kits" that I brought in from China - surface mount components were involved, horrible manuals
were involved... this was NOT an "easy project" by any stretch. Even getting all this stuff to fit in
the box was a CHALLENGE.

Boxes are wooden, all from Artco Stores.... speakers were from Parts Express.

This thing is a MONSTER!!!! Mrs. W7UUU simply loves it...

Cute as a bug (in our opinions) and 100% meets the need... for 10 times the price of some
Chinese "off the shelf" dock + bluetooth solution... and no, I do NOT recommend this project
for beginners - this was a pretty advanced project despite most of the modules being "kits".

Be sure to watch the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg88hClRNtU

Dave
W7UUU

 

You do nice work. I appreciate the 'classic electronics' motif. Does the term 'steampunk' apply here?

 

Thank you.... and 'yes' it does

Dave
W7UUU

 

I think the lid you can lift to see the mess of wires is the crowning touch!

-Neil KD0UKC

 

That's beautiful Dave! I love the meters and the Radioactivity symbol!

I have a project to build a small AM BC transmitter (100mw legal limit, FCC Part 15) with a long loop antenna around the edges of the house, and then a couple of high-quality "portable receivers" so that we can Internet-stream our favorite world radio stations around the house. You've given me some ideas....

I've already rigged up a "test" installation using an old RF signal generator and a longwire antenna and it works nicely, but the quality of the modulator in the sig-gen is crap so I need to build a dedicated, high-quality AM transmitter. The web source will be one of the now-obsolete, old, junky PCs we still have in the house.

Of course we could achieve exactly the same effect with a WiFi installation but I'd rather mess around with a tube/AM configuration, for fun.

 

Nice.

I find that building proper enclosures for electronic projects often takes as much time as doing the
design work and electronics construction.

It's not ham radio, but it *could* be, maybe you need a bluetooth transmitter to link the audio from a ham receiver.

 

Reminds me of a wood box I made once to house a set of speakers, a battery, and an in-dash AM/FM/8 track unit. It was my 'boom box' for at work.

 

Add a ambc tx so you can send old tyme radio programming to your steam powered radios!

http://archive.org/search.php?query...subject:"1930s"&sort=-avg_rating;-num_reviews

 

I actually have that already - I use it to "broadcast" around my whole house to all my old
1930s / 40s era radios - we have 6 of them all able to pick up the broadcast. I use an
old MP3 player on a USB supply and a playlist of 40s music and the transmitter runs 24/7
around 1605 in a "dead spot". Works very well! Can't recall what brand it is... was a kit for $99
I like it because it's PLL based so is rock stable.

Dave
W7UUU

 

You need to discover lacing cord -- much better looking than tie-wraps.

 

Personally, I like the look of them - they add a geekiness that appeals to me. But I can see your point.

Dave
W7UUU

 

Really like what you made! The 2 meters make it look cool too!

 

Thank you! Yeah I knew from the beginning it had to have meters and I found those - and
they turned out PERFECT for the project.

Dave
W7UUU

 

Hi Dave

I think your cabinet looks just great.
It will always be a pleasure to look at.

It was more dear then a cheap plastic E-bay product.
But I think this finish provides you with a lot more fun.
I would have added a few gloing tubes and some classical chassis inside, just to hide modern electronics and perfect the design.

But we are thinking alike , i just love your phantasy and creative mind.
Just to make something for your wife because it can be made more atractive to look at is good.

You Just hit it right.
A friend of me also a ham is very good with wood and he made a homebrew tuner, he aplied oak panels and small glass windows in his tuner design.
He made it look like the world , and though his tuner will not work any better his craftmenship and detailing made it just a great joy to use such a tuner. his air capacitors are mounted with 2 oak mountings that look like very classical window frames, his capacitor scales mounted in the samestyle, his tuner was the best looking I ever saw just the time he took to detail it and to make it look wonderfull.

I just told you this story that if you are looking to upgrade and bling your antenna-tuner, the style and look you used now would be a perfect fit for a beautiful antenna-tuner Dave.

thanks a lot for sharing it could be an inspiration for everyone.

Have fun Dave

 

Hi Martin,

I do the same thing with FM which gives you better sound quality. That said, of course, it might be easier to achieve broad coverage with AM, but, be aware that the limit of the antenna length includes feedline for AM.