Easy Mp3 Amplifier

I found an old radio housing and decided to turn it into something I could play mp3 songs on. The radio housing was in reasonably good condition -- all I needed to do was figure out what to put inside!

Going through my junk pile, I came across a set of amplified computer speakers that had a pretty good sound, so I removed their housings and decided these would fit nicely into the old radio housing.

I glued some pieces of wood to the inside of the radio housing (using gorilla glue), and after the glue had set I found them to be very secure.

Next I cut piece of 1/8" plywood, cut openings for the speakers, mounted the speakers, and screwed this into the wood that I had glued inside the radio housing.

I left the volume control mounted on the circuit board, and aligned the shaft of the volume control where it was centered in one of the openings that had been originally occupied by the radio's knobs. Once I had it centered, I shimmed it into place with pieces of wood and used hot glue to secure everything in place.

For the on/off switch I used a toggle switch and wired it into the power cord. I mounted the toggle switch into the other radio knob opening.

The final step was to make a new back panel for the radio. I made a cardboard pattern, then cut out an new back from 1/8" Masonite, with a few holes drilled for ventilation. I fastened this into place with double-sided carpet tape on the back part of the speakers.

That was all there was to it! I plugged my mp3 player in using the 1/8" stereo plug from original pc speakers and now this old radio housing can once again make music! Note the green pilot light in the window of the old radio. This is the pilot light that was on the pc speaker circuit board, and just happened to line up nicely in the window.