This is a great project venture into the world of radio with. Building a vintage style radio offers you the opportunity to get to grips with electronics in a fun way. We’ve also covered some aspects of woodworking to allow you to create a retro style wooden case to contain your radio. Follow along with the guide we’ve published on Amazon here.
Build your own vintage style radio!
If you’re just beginning to get to grips with electronics or you’ve completed a few projects before, this book is for you! You’ll use common hand tools and components to put together your own vintage style radio. We take you through each step, starting with a basic circuit diagram and develop the idea to a more advanced circuit. The circuit, along with a parts list, board layout and wiring diagram will help you build a practical radio set.
Once you’ve completed the circuitry, we’ll give you some inspiration to create your own case for your radio.
What will I need?
Fancy building this yourself?
Your finished radio will receive signals in the medium wave range. We’ve put together some tips and tricks to help you successfully complete the project.
Construction is relatively simple. It’s important to note that the tuning coil (L1) is wound on a ferrite rod comprising of 55 turns of insulated single core wire.
Tuning is via the variable capacitor (VC1). This component is typically found in small radios. The capacitance value isn’t too critical (350 pF to 160 pF which are found in AM radios.)
Once you’ve completed the construction there are a number of steps you can take to ensure good reception. For example, an indoor aerial wire of 5m will pull in a number of stations. The radio also will work with a shorter aerial wire if the radio circuit is connected to Earth. That connection could be something like a cold water pipe.
