Vintage radio streaming conversion

[Gabe001]

A few weeks ago I posted about a Pilot u650 radio which I had just bought. Many thanks to all those who helped and gave me advice.

For a number of different reasons, some people often opt to convert their radios to work with Bluetooth.

For all those who would consider an alternative, due to the lack of good LW/MW stations in my locality, I have converted the radio to stream radio stations directly off the internet. No Bluetooth involved. The stations can be switched using a small IR remote and the sound goes through to the radio using the gramophone jack. The small circuit is extremely cheap to build, powered by a standard usb mobile charger, requires no amplification, and no original parts of the radio need modification of any sort. I attached mine to the back panel using zip ties and all you can see is the small IR receiver. This means that the radio remains in its original condition.

I'm posting some pictures and have zipped a small video to show it working (and the audio quality) and if anyone is interested to know more I can post links to the components and the software.

Regards
Gabriel

[crackle]

Have you got any details of the units you used, maybe bust the search terms or item number rather than a link to them if on ebay.

Mike

[Gabe001]

Essentially an esp32 connected to a vs1053 with IR remote and receiver (for Arduino).

To convert the stereo output to mono use the converter from fentronix from e bay

Software: Internet radio based on ESP32 by edzelf on github (and watch the YouTube video)

You need some experience with an Arduino to pull this off.

[murphy512]

Well done for not gutting the radio as so many people seem to be doing now day and proudly showing on the internet! I have seen many beautiful sets being destroyed.