Old Radio Android PC Case
Intro: Old Radio Android PC Case
I made this about 18 months ago, just as the first APC (Android PC) boards hit the market. The original APC was an android-powered board with standard PC motherboard connectors, designed to be used with a keyboard and mouse. It had a tiny form factor (neo-ITX) and was ideal for building into a small repurposed case.
I looked out for old radios at sales after the board arrived, and picked up this Roberts one for £5. Although I'm not 100% impressed with the version of Android and the firmware upgrades and support offered, this is still in daily use as a radio and media player in the bedroom.
STEP 1: Raw and Dirty Materials
The radio needed a serious cleanup, and the non-working innards were discarded.
Being canvas-covered plywood it was easy to work with, and I soon had the board fixed in place, mounted on domed tap washers to raise it above the floor of the case.
STEP 2: Tidying and Tuning
The APC came with a backplate, which finished off the rear neatly. I'd left the front of the radio intact, but wired its on/off switch to the motherboard - it's great to use the original switch to power it up!
I also wired an LED cluster to one of the USB ports, to give a nice radio-like glow to the tuning dial.
STEP 3: Finishing Off
I wanted to keep the footprint as small as possible, so added a small rubber zx spectrum-like USB keyboard and a wireless mouse. It's a perfect fit in the corner of the bedroom and has the retro-modern look I hoped for.
It's fairly limited being on Android 2.3, and even with Google Play "added" there are very few compatible apps around, but with ES File Explorer, TuneIn and MX Player it has enough to stream videos from the network drive and play internet radio, which is its purpose.
In retrospect I would have waited for a later version of the board with a better OS and support, but this was still a fun project to make and a practical re-use of old technology!
10 Comments
Skwurlito 10 years ago
you could also try making one with a RasPi running whatever you wanted theres a guide somewhere on programming it into a media machine
ajarb 10 years ago
An interesting one, though on a side note I wonder if instead of a mouse it would be possible to use the two radio knobs to move the cursor (etch-a-sketch style) using rotary encoders from an old roller-ball mouse?
MisterM 10 years ago
That's an awesome idea, thanks! My current project includes using joypad buttons in a repurposed enclosure to fire autohotkey scripts for PC, so very similar. Wish I'd kept more than the balls when I threw out my roller mice now!
craftclarity 10 years ago
That VU meter screensaver just ties the whole thing together so nicely....lovely build, sir.
craftclarity 10 years ago
I agree! That would be super cool.
kresimir1993 10 years ago
Awsome idea, maybe I will build something similar, but I don't really know where to get these apc cheap.
Bongmaster 10 years ago
"You dirty dirty old man"
nice build :)
MisterM 10 years ago
The man-cave does look like the steptoes' front room - just with more cables.
Bongmaster 10 years ago
XD
used to love watching that :)
ramonsousap 10 years ago
Amigo, muito bacana, onde compro a motheboard android? Será que entregam no Brazil?