Craptastic Anti-theft Radio
by SPECTREcat in Circuits > Reuse
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Craptastic Anti-theft Radio
Imagine you're a thief, prowling a parking lot looking for an aftermarket radio to smash and grab. You pass by my little Civic and see only a crappy stock radio (without even a tape player) and keep walking. Not realizing it was only a fake cover over my sweet JVC receiver.
This instructable shows how it's done.
The Stock Look
Here you can see how the radio cover looks when placed over the new flat screen JVC radio. (It's actually a few years old now - that's why its scratched a bit).
Remove Stock Radio and Decapitate Face
Remove factory radio from car, remove face from main body.
Remove Electronics
You won't need anything behind the buttons so remove the display/keypad and recycle appropriately.
Remove Light Pipe
There was a bit of clear plastic to spread and illuminate the various buttons. Remove and discard. Save all
Epoxy Buttons, Knobs
Use epoxy around the edges of all buttons and carefully glue them back in place. The volume knob needed a washer to hold it in place.
Paint an "off" Display
I mixed metalic acrylic paint to a gray/greenish hue to simulate what the display would look when turned off. Paint the "display" from the
Nibble Edges
Using nibbler, pliers, and other tools of mass destruction remove the side and bottom edges (but not the top edge). With a Dremel or bench sander carefully sand the back plastic as flat as possible.
I accidentally sanded too deep and scratched the display a bit. Just one more 'defect' to make the radio less desirable ;)
Paint and Finish
I placed a bit of foam around the edge so there won't be a visible gap when placed over the new radio and to prevent the screen from getting scratched.