The Travelling Radio: Hacking a Radio for Someone Who Travels the World

As part of our Second Year Product Design course we were given the brief to design a working radio. The Travelling Radio has been designed to suit a young adult who loves to travel the world. The radio will provide the user with a connection to the rest of the world and the idea is that it is able to fit the drinks holder of any type of transport.

This is a step-by-step guide of how I manufactured the radio. 

Step 1: Exploded View

I've attached the exploded view of my radio design. This helps to show how each component is attached to each part. Below is a component list that shows what I used to make this radio. Some of the materials used could be changed and altered depending on what you prefer. 

Material List:

Plastic Cup (to suit size of circuit board)
High Density Modelling Polystyrene
Acrylic
3mm MDF
Acetate
Wood Glue
Super Glue
Double-sided Tape
Circuit Board and Components (from Sony Radio ICF-S22)
Spray Paint
Glue

Tool List:

Bandsaw
Various drills
Sander
Lathe
Knife

Step 2: Hacking the Original Radio

At the start of this project we were given a Sony ICF-S22 FM/AM radio to use to make our own working radio. Our first task was to hack the radio so that we could use the components inside the radio. 
The photographs show a few of the stages. 

Step 3: Changing the Circuit Board

In order for the circuit board to fit into my design I have to rewire and move some of the components about. I had to move the tuner, headphone jack, FM/AM switch and the on/off and volume control cog. These were removed my de-soldering the relevant parts so the part would come out of the main circuit board. Wires were then soldered onto the component and then into the relevant hole on the circuit board. Lengthening the components from the circuit board allowed them to fit into my initial idea for the radio. 

Step 4: Manufacturing the Main Body

The bottom component is a standard cup that fits the size of the circuit board.
The top component was made on the lathe, it is made using High Density Modelling Polystyrene. I used the lathe in order to create the desired dome shape. The base of the dome was 77mm.
The dome was originally going to be used to be vacuum formed using acrylic. I experimented with this but decided to use the HD Polystyrene in the final prototype. 

Step 5: Manufacturing the Component Band

Cut four pieces of 3mm MDF and create a hole in the middle so the components can come through from the bottom cup.
The MDF had sections cut out of it so that the controls could fit in. The situations of these holes can be changed to what you desire.

Measurements:

FM/AM switch: 11mm x 7mm
On/Off and Volume control: 18mm x 6mm
Headphone: 8mm (diameter)
Tuner: 28mm x 8mm

These measurements are taken from the components and outer casing of the Sony ICF-S22.

Step 6: Assembling the Radio

To assemble the radio, the circuit board is secured in the bottom cup with the speaker and battery pack.
The control components (tuner, FM/AM switch, headphone jack and on/off button) are situated on the control band.
This is then glued to the lid, this whole component then comes off to gain access to the battery pack. 

Step 7: Finish to the Radio

To finish off the radio, it spray painted with grey. As my theme is grey and orange I added orange acetate to cover any wires that were visible. If required, give the model another coat of paint to gain the best finish.