Steampunk me an ipod dock
August 5, 2010 4:33 PM   Subscribe

Is there any service out there that will turn a classic radio into an iphone dock for a fee?

So I love the iphone, kinda hate the crappy modern options you're forced into buying to play it. On the flip side, I've got quite a few really nice old bakelite radios that don't even turn on for music anymore but still have nice looking clocks on the front.

So I got to thinking: can't I have a classic style with modern guts?

Only problem? My wiring skills are...let's just go with subpar. I'm sure the fire department would call that an understatement but the short story is that I should really have someone more talented than me take on this project.

So here's the questions:

1) does anyone out there sell these sorts of things already done?
2) If I sent them a radio and an ipod dock to grab the guts from, do you think that anyone makes this sort of thing for a fee?
3) What would you think a good price would be to do so?
posted by rileyray3000 to Technology (6 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
1. Most of what I found after some googling was either one off hobbyist stuff or reproduction units.

2. Seems like something a custom car audio guy might do. I'm a bit of a "general handyman/woodworker type" and I would likely be able to pull this off if I needed to.

3. I'd probably want at least a hundred bucks for this sort of thing, depending on finish desired (but I generally underprice myself)
posted by davey_darling at 4:52 PM on August 5, 2010


You'll have to find something (ipod dock-wise) that syncs up with the controls on your radio, if you want to be successful without spending a fortune.

That is, if your ipod dock only has pushbutton volume, you're not going to be able to wire that to an analog volume knob without a lot of crazy work (building something that translates the analog signal to digital pulses) or swapping the knob for a button (possible, but kind of a shame.)

You will have the easiest time if you're willing to have the ipod dock's controls be reused as-is on the back of the unit, but that doesn't sound like the level of integration you're looking for.

Ultimately this will be a hobbyist project. Having said that, it sounds like a fun one, and I wish I had time and one of your radios to play around with. The price, though, is going to vary like crazy. Perhaps this is your chance to learn how to wire properly?
posted by davejay at 5:02 PM on August 5, 2010


To clarify a bit, the actual wiring of this setup would be relatively simple - you'd either find a way to wire the audio output of the ipod into the existing amp or you'd tear out the guts and replace them with something modern.

The real tricky part, in my opinion, would be combining the dock with the radio case in a smooth, aesthetically pleasing fashion.

Cutting a large rectangle out of the top of the radio and popping the dock in = relatively easy.

Disassembling the dock and combining it with the case in a seamless fashion = a bit trickier, and would involve some materials wizardy/painting/finishing to pull off.
posted by davey_darling at 5:05 PM on August 5, 2010


Response by poster: The stuff on etsy didn't look that great frankly. I'd like the speakers to be modern ones (as opposed to one guy who just added an ipod jack to an old tube radio) and integrated into the system.

Knobs-wise, I think there I'm willing to fudge it if need be. As in letting the knobs from the guts take precedence and just jazzing them up retro style in some way.
posted by rileyray3000 at 5:05 PM on August 5, 2010


That is, if your ipod dock only has pushbutton volume, you're not going to be able to wire that to an analog volume knob without a lot of crazy work (building something that translates the analog signal to digital pulses) or swapping the knob for a button (possible, but kind of a shame.)

You could replace the volume potentiometer with a rotary encoder with one cycle per detent + 1 D-type flip-flop + 3 AND gates. The knob should transfer across.
posted by Mike1024 at 1:42 AM on August 6, 2010


ElectroTech does exactly the kind of conversion you're talking about on automotive radios, and they do clever things like adding a push-function to the knobs so the radio looks the same as it always did, while giving you control over functions it didn't originally have. Give them a call and ask.
posted by DaveP at 4:44 AM on August 6, 2010


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