Transistor Radio Time Machine

Don't throw away that old transistor radio! Re-purpose it into a time machine with strange, nostalgic broadcasts through the original speaker. Complete with a choice of custom time-destinations and fluttering amber light reminiscent of old tube radios. Makes a great gift with a surprise inside and no exterior signs of modification.

Skill level: Medium. No computer programming necessary.

Time: First one takes about 8 hours, then about 4 hours each once you get the hang of it.

Green: Recycled broken radio, re-purposed LED's and batteries from tea lights.

Materials cost about $13.85 including batteries.

Step 1 Tools Required

To build your amazing time machine, you'll need the following tools:

1. Scissors
2. Medium flat-head screwdriver
3. Small "nibbler" wire cutters
4. Small needle-nose plyers
5, Small flat-head screwdriver
6. Small phillips-head screwdriver
7. Soldering iron
8. Glue gun (optional)

I also used a small coping saw for flat cuts that were difficult with the rotary tool.

Comments

[szulli-randall]

I am going to try to make it sound like something out of Doctor Who. I will give it to my uncles for their Birthday/Christmas/Idk

[Boppo3]

why not recreate the radio box then put in a real working transistor radio? it would be hard for other diyers to find the same radio as you're using

[armadillozenith]

Mister Jellyfish, An inspiring, model Instructable - with meticulous detail, abundant clear stage-by-stage photos, parts sourcing given, and enough anecdotal narrative to make it enjoyably readable. Well done all round and thanks for the ideas!

[simon delaplaya]

how does it know my name? how does it know my birthday? why does it know i work myself to hard and take on too much responsibility without delegating authority? i have one, and am still mystified every day.

[Mister Jellyfish]

Thanks, Simon. I'm really glad you are getting some joy from it! -MJ

[FreakCitySF]

Old radio programs are just amazing, nicely done. I wish this were a real product with swapable memory. Could load up Doc Brinkley and his goat gonads, or wolf man jack. Eventually the recording time will be like 5 hours. I'd love to give a M.L.K. card with the complete I have a dream speech. Or with magazine ads that talk to you as you open them up.

[FreakCitySF]

Oh and I once found a transistor radio in my grandmas basement once. It was buried in stuff and I pulled it out, it had old batteries still in it but I turned it on anyhow and some 50's music came on. About as close to time travel as I can think of. It was tuned to KFRC San Francisco's oldies station ;)

[Mister Jellyfish]

That's creepy cool! Same thing happened to my father in law putting the old tube radio I fixed for him back into a '50's dodge. The valves warmed up and the same era music faded in and he thought it was haunted! You could certainly use and MP3 player for the guts if you can figure a way to have the user interface not protrude in a way that lets the user know the radio has been modified-- For me that half the fun!

[jessyratfink]

I love it! I think I might also try to find a way to work "oh my golly shucks!" into my vocabulary today!

[lemonie]

Great build, I like the case.
Why did you use flickering LEDs?

L

[Mister Jellyfish]

Thanks, Lemonie. The problem with LED's is that they look like just that-- even when used indirectly. I was searching through my LED box and found one of those tea lights and held it under a radio case and it is spot-on retro like the tuning dial of the old tube radios as you shuttle through the frequencies. They give it a kind of "steam punk" appeal. Also, because the circuits are the same, the two LED's start out flickering together and with time they get out of sync so it looks like your time traveling is going all wonky. It's actually cheaper to buy these LED's inside the tea lights because you get to re-use the batteries and save the little switches for another project for minimal waste.

[lemonie]

Ah yes I get it now, thanks. L

[stranoster]

Wow, this is really awesome. Great work, and a very detailed instructable.