Old Radios as Smartphone Docking Stations / Tube Radios
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 ก.ย. 2024
- This video is about connecting modern sound sources like mp3-players, smartphones, laptops, PCs etc. to old radios and stereos. I also explain the inner workings of typical radio / casette recorders.
Support my channel:
Patreon:
/ tpai
Paypal:
www.paypal.com...
Thanks for sharing this idea. I had an old radio/cd/cassette unit in the garage that the CD player was kaput on. Pulled it apart, and it was easy to spot the connector running audio + power (8VDC) from cd player PCB to the amplifier board. I just had to solder a 1/8" stereo plug on the audio cable and it works!
I took the CD guts out to allow bringing the cable up through the CD player opening, so with it closed it look stock. The 8VDC power to the CD board was also switched on only in CD mode, I'll ad a 5V regulator and the end of an old micro-USB cable and also be able to power/charge my phone!
good job. wish I was that good.
fm transmitters are sold that you plug in to your phone and then you have you own little radio station that you can tune in to on an old radio.
Love your videos so far!
I thought I was alone in my compulsive drive to repair / rebuild / repurpose old devices :)
Great explanation on tapping in old audio devices.
I was hoping that I could charge my phone in the radio too. I see that the newer SW "survival" radios have such a feature in case of major power outages. It would be fun to build one.
Binge watching your videos. Great work!
I made a small FM transmitter to transmit audio from things like MP3 players to my boombox which has no line input. Actually an input for a ceramic phono cartridge can be used as a line input since it adds the cartridge itself provides the equalization, so the input adds no equalization of it's own and works pretty much the same the same peak-to-peak voltage level that a line level input would.
+CoolDudeClem I made an FM transmitter, connected it to a mike, and messed up my classmates' fm radios! in High school. that was so much fun!no one could figure out why their fm radios didn't work!
You can buy output Jacks that have a switch built in. So when you plug a cord in it would automatically disconnect the radio signal. Thanks for the videos. I'm a new subscriber to your channel and way glad I found it. I hope to start making some videos myself though I'm not near as skilled as you. I do have a video of a laser microphone and a couple videos of a homemade oscilloscope made out of old tvs.
Hi there, I had been thinking about doing something like this for a while... I notice that you insert the L R connections from the auxiliary connection in before the preamp.. Did you measure the voltages to make sure that they wouldnt blow the preamp?
Also when you were cutting the tracks and "didnt make a good job" as you said yourself, why didnt you just remove the smd resistors... Enjoy your videos.. well done and thanks..
JonathanAnon Well there are many little things that I do, which I don't talk about in my videos.It would make them simply too long. I didn't connect the signal wires directly to the preamp right away. I first used some voltage dividers to limit the input voltages / currents but then found out, that it wasn't necessary.
Actually I don't remember any more why I didn't remove the smd-resistors.
i had a old raido that i got but i tried to use it as a amplifier but it didnt work even if i tried i found to main sound place but the sound was bad so throwed away that old motherboard and kept the speaker
Nice vintage gear there !!!!!!!!!!. Some of them are expensive here.
My new video about reusing and modding old radios is now online.
+Fisnik Osmani Hey. I do understand you. But what you are proposing is not possible. Or at least not practical. The headphone jack is connected to the output of the amplifier and not to the input. There is no simple way to use it as an input jack. You would have to trace out how the radio is connected to the internal amplifier, like I did it in the video.
+Fisnik Osmani I can't tell you, because there are thousands of different designs out there. I can't know how your particular system is build up. You have to find the amplifier chip, read off the component number, google for the number to find the datasheet. In the datasheet you can look up, which of the pins are the inputs. There you can attach your input jack. If you also want to use the volume control and "tone" adjustments you have to trace out how they are connected to the amplifier input. If that is too hard for you, you could also try to insert your audio signal directly at the input of the volume-potentiometer(s).
Great hack, and information.
Nice tutorial, but you should warn that old tube radios may shock pretty good. I did this experiment a good while ago with a electric guitar pre-amplified trough 80' tape cassette radio driving the tube receiver amp, the only way to play that guitar was sitting on the top of a wooden chair.
Old tube radio does not have a ground plug connection you will have to connect the chassis with a wire to your house earthing.
If I had opened the tube radio in the video, I would have warned about the high voltages used. You probably can never warn enough.
Other than that, I find your story a little odd. Why did you get an electric shock and why would grounding the chassis help at all?
Tube radios and amplifiers, like virtually all audio amplifiers are not earth referenced, because by connecting the chassis to PE, the noise from the protective earth would be coupled into the amplifier.
Since the tube radio(at least mine) has an isolation transformer build in, non of its parts has a high voltage relative to earth potential, therefore to get an electric shock you would have to touch at least to points inside the radio at the same time.Your body would need to have a connection to the chassis + another contact from the radio which is at high potential relative to the chassis. Was that the case when you held your guitar ? If you connect the chassis to earth potential then you would only need to touch one of those high potential points because your body would already be connected to earth ground via your feet. Therefore I don't see the advantage of that.
The Post Apocalyptic Inventor
if i remember well the radio had a isolation transformer but i think he had also a decoupling capacitor (or even 2) between primary and chassis.
This was the beast www.proradioantic.ro/produse/1201855380_poza.jpg
Ah ok. the capacitors would have been the reason...That's a nice radio. What brand/model is it? Are you from Romania ?
The Post Apocalyptic Inventor
The model of radio was Orizont s602 ("skyline" in english ) made in Romania by Electromures, and yes i am form Romania.
Interesting. I didn't even know, that Romania had its own electronics industry back then. Were the components (like capacitors and vacuum tubes) also made in Romania, or did they import those from Russia, East Germany etc. ?
nice!! thanks
Is there anything better, than listening to web content through a vintage tuber ? Nope.
Most important is the Wife acceptance factor. : )
Why do those old radios have a cable in the back coming out and going back in? is it to connect external speakers and disconnect the internal ones? The Radio of my granma has the same cable on the back :D
No it's not for external speakers. Inside the wooden case is a simple dipole antenna. This antenna often consists of just two simple pieces of copper wire or aluminum foil. The two ends of that dipole come out of the backside of the radio. It permits the radio to receive radio programs without an external antenna. But when you have a professional antenna on your roof, you can plug out that internal antenna and then plug in your (in most cases) much better working roof antenna in the two jacks (which are normally occupied by the two plugs coming from the internal antenna).
My radio works pretty well with the internal antenna though.
But my Nordmende Rigoletto seen in this video has also two jack to which an external speaker can be connected.
Do you know the model name of your grandma's radio ? Does it still work ?
The Post Apocalyptic Inventor I don't know the model name, but I could look the next time I'm at her place^^ But it still works, she changed the tubes some weeks ago. Funny how competent old people are technology-wise compared to the youth of the 21st century :P
Yeah. I guess that's sad but true. Do you know where she bought the tubes ?
The Post Apocalyptic Inventor she had them in stock, afaik she bought a few 20 years ago, so she doesn't need to buy new ones, especially w/ transistor radios flooding the market
Boy it seems she really likes that radio :D. But that's pretty cool: A grandma with a stock of vacuum tubes :D. I'm pretty sure that stock is worth some money now.
Great idea, thank you.
Hi there, thank you for this video. I was hoping you could explain a little more about the 4mm jacks you plugged into the 1954 old valve radio? can you show us the exact cables please. Do you kniw where to buy them?
Hi!
What would you recommend for cleaning electronic equipment on inside and outside, the PCBs and the front panel o that dyrt and nicotine is removed without damaging component and letters printet on the bouttons and front panel?
Old radios are useless without connecting phone on it? They cant use FM singal?
eetu53 Yes they can receive FM signals. And I never said they can't. The idea is to add additional capabilities to these radios and make them interesting for people, who are normally not interested in listening to the radio. (Many of the younger generation do not use the old media anymore. They are much more interested in mp3s, online streams, podcasts etc.. This is a way to reuse these old devices for that purpose.)
coffeemaddan I don't listen much music from radio, I use spotify. But I like talk stations.
You can even build your own AM modulator to be able to listen to your new stuff on the old stuff...
hello there! thank you for the video but i have to say i am a bit lost still. I have an old tesla with no plugs that i recognize. an old mother board that is extremely heavy and no clue how to bring it back to life to connect it to my iphone. Do you mind giving me a hand with this? thank you.
+eveline deun Hey. You can send me a photograph of the plugs to my email-address: Inventordonations@gmail.com.
Maybe I can help you out.
that's me :v just using some old speakers and i connect them to my computer as digital ampifier with 5.1 out (4 speaker + 1 LFE/software processed) ....it's save much money to buy a home theatre
what is the mp3 you were playing at the beginning? it sounded like it was a news report
SMART MAN !!
you sound just like the guy from that movie fail safe