Old Radio + Old Phone = Android Media Station

[Bjørn] combined some aging electronics he had around the house to create this Android media center. The enclosure is an FM-radio, but since he only listens to online media it wasn’t of much use to him. After sizing it up he realized it was a perfect candidate to receive his old HTC Hero Android phone.

The upper portion of the stock radio used to host controls for tuning the FM dial, adjusting volume, and switching the unit on and off. He cracked open the case, ditching the radio receiver and patching in to the amplifier. The volume knob was moved to the right side of the case, and a hole cut to receive the phone. Audio is pulled from the phone with the jack sticking out the left side. We’d love to see a future improvement using a right-angle jack (kind of like this charging hack) or patched directly into the phone’s circuit board. This way everything would fit inside the box.

Now he can listen to Internet radio, or stream some video like in the clip after the break.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H-_9FWoZBM&w=470]

19 thoughts on “Old Radio + Old Phone = Android Media Station

  1. Depending on the model of Hero, I believe that their semi-proprietary USB jack actually carries audio (for use in HTC’s docks). I have an old Hero from Sprint that I plan on doing something similar with.

  2. So glad you guys likes it :)
    I actually forgot all about the special connector in the bottom, but will look into that when I have more time to finish up the project, with internal wires for sound and charging :)
    And I love the name tags :P

    //Bjørn

  3. Very cool hack. I’m the owner of a US-based HTC Hero and have been scratching my head over what I should do with the phone when I upgrade to the Evo2 this summer. No doubt it would be involved in a hack of some sort. I really could use a good Internet radio in the garage, and this project fits the bill quite nicely.

    I love this hack! It’s a very convenient thing that Android allows for horizontal view, so it’s nice and pretty in the end. I agree with the others, though – would be great to see a right-angle USB connector for the audio signal.

    Thanks for the inspiration. Looks like I’m getting a wifi radio this summer. :)

  4. You can get one of these off of ebay for less than $60 right now. So, it is really a pretty good option for doing a hack like this.

    I may get one for my daughter to use, since she’s too young for a phone, but I don’t want to spend $200-$300 on an iPod touch or an android tablet.

  5. I believe the screen still works while wet. If you have an old shower radio, that an android can fit into, you could just seal it up and have unlimited tunes in the shower. I have an old HTC Incredible, so all I need is the shower radio and a hacking i will go.

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