The final product 

A Raspberry Pi internet radio receiver, that allow you to browse and play more than 2000 online radio stations using the analog controllers of an old radio.

The original radio device

I found this beautiful radio in a second-hand products website. Invicta model 5426 made in Spain in the 60's

The insides

For this project I used:

  • A Raspberry Pi 4 2GB
  • 4 Rotary encoders for navigating the map and menus
  • An old computer speakers
  • 8.9 LCD display
  • Wires and some custom 3d printed pieces

The case

The case was in a good condition, all I had to do is clean the controllers and the plastic main piece, and painting a dark brown stripe around it.

I also replace the original cloth with a new one.

The software

I designed a web-based mini operating system in Javascript-Node to control the rotary encoders and move the map.

A server running in the Raspberry PI listens for the rotary's input to control the menus and navigate in the map. All features, including the option of connecting to a new wifi network can be controlled with the rotary encoders, without needing keyboard or mouse!

I used 4 rotary encoders: one for zooming the map, one for X axis movement, one for Y axis movement and one for managing the volume and menu options.

For the maps I used Leaflet js library and a custom map designed based in Vintage Map design from Mapbox