Cool little hidden radio

Well mine came and it works on the bench, hooked to one orig. 56 speaker. It won't quite fit in the old radio, I left the knob mechanism in it. I will mount it in the glove box. Now if I can find that antenna thing > Jack

 

I'd like to see if you could remove some components from the main board, add shielded wires, and put it inside a vintage radio.

It's off in the future somewhere, but I'd like to try putting it inside a radio like this (~1939 Mopar) and have knobs and buttons work. SD cards and USB would go where tuning dial is on the left.

 

They have these at wal mart its a foot long extention so just cut it in the middle and solder it where the old antenna is......I can do this mod for anyone if they send me their radio

 

I have a similar unit in a cabinet on my deck wired to a set of Jbl speakers for an outdoor sound system. Works awesome. Next project, I have another of these little Amps I am taking apart and mounting inside a 1955 GE table top radio. It will be battery powered, remote control, USB and Bluetooth capable. I love anything that looks old but has modern usability.

 

We got ours this week.
It's the old style.
I'm going to jamb it in the stock radio box for my sons 61 Apache

 

this is going to be the dumbest question out there but what/ how to you hook it up to the power source? I'm not a wiring guy by any means and just looking for a little guidance before I buy one and start to install it in my wagon, thanks for the info on the radio, its just what ive been looking for

Thanks
Ethan

 

Look at pic of back of unit on first page. Center tip is 12v+, outside of plug is ground.

Assuming it came with a wall-wart and about 3 feet of wire, and the plug that goes into the radio. Cut the wire in half, strip both wires, figure out which wire is center of plug, put 12v to that and ground to the other wire. Plug back into radio, enjoy.

 

Thanks I really appreciate it I wanted to assume that it was that simple but didn't want to under estimate it being that easy

 

Are there station presets? Can it be hooked to the ignition switch and still keep memory when the car is off?

 

Yes, it auto tunes itself. It held the memory for about an hour last night. Hopefully longer

 

I asked our walmart , they didn't have a clue. Will check one of the auto stores. I did find some plugs on the auction site.,18.00 for 200 of them.

 

Thanks for the tip on these radios Justin, got mine about two weeks ago and it works outstanding!

 

Bout as good as my 80 year old friend......

 

What kind of reception do they have with the antenna they come with? I am thinking of mounting one behind a truck seat with its own antenna extended.

 

Don't ask at Walmart, look for it yourself. It's not a 'modern' part so most won't know what yer talkin' 'bout.

 

That's a really cool little radio, anyone know if the remote will work if the radio is mounted out of sight like in the trunk or under the seat or do you have to point it at the exposed face of the radio for it to work?

 

Mine you have to point at the face.

 

Hey, guys! I feel the need to add my 2 cents here...
I get that this may be a cheap option for many of us, but I pride myself in NOT putting anything from China in my classic American Chevy truck. I don't understand why, if we are trying to preserve these 'beauties', that you would put in some cheap crap from China. I just don't think it's worth the savings to insult the integrity of an American classic.
I, too, am a "poor white guy", but I would rather save up my $200-$300 and support another American Dream. The owner, Matt McClurg, has been manufacturing his hidden radios for about 2-1/2 years, and has patented his technology. I AM saving my money to purchase one of his awesome radios for my rusted, dented, old classic '49 Chevy 3100 truck. I CARE that I will be installing an American-made radio/stereo in my American classic.
If any of you are interested in supporting the American Dream, instead of putting Chinese crap in your classics...check out his website here: www.outofsightaudio.com
Thanks for taking the time to read my little rant.
Have a GREAT weekend!
Chuck

 

I applaud the guy for what he's doing, but 200 for a device that uses Bluetooth tech vs 20-30 for an actual hidden little FM radio? Sorry man, but I'm interested more in bang for my buck when it comes to something as trivial as music in an old car.

His product is nice. I'd suggest starting a new thread to tell others about it.

 

The American answer is fine for those that have the money and extras it requires (smart phone or tablet).
I have an old AM radio that probably doesn't work and a dumb phone.
I don't want to hack the dash, so this would work fine tucked in under the dash or above the windshield.
I can also look at building it into the stock radio.

This place will restore your old radio and add FM, AUX, bluetooth for prices close to the one you posted.
http://www.joesclassiccarradio.com/addons.html

 

To each his own, I have a dumb phone also.


Here is the junky radio 61 Apache box
We will make an iPod dock in the ashtray next

I cut the inner face stuff out of the box so the remote will work

 

I like that!.....

 

Plus the parts of the "outofsight"radio are made in china anyway

 

Thommyknocker, that is so cool! i gotta try that with my 64 chevelle radio. So you just disconected the volume knob and ran wires to connect it to the factory knob? how do you get at the push buttons? would love to know more details. Or do you just operate everything off the remote?

 

Everything can be run with the remote.
On and off with volume. switching inputs, you can even type in the radio station frequency all on the remote

I'm going to use the original volume knob to disable a relay. the only connection I could figure out is the on/off function is a switched ground.

 

I just bought 2 of these from Amazon. I am going to try Thommyknocker's very innovative placement idea. I hope the dash/trim around the radio doesn't act as a "sink" for the signal from the remote. We'll see. Still worth it.

Justin - I saw that you mentioned plugging in a Sirius/XM receiver. I have been looking at them on Amazon and they all require some kind of docking setup. Is there a model that fits this whole "hidden" motif? How can I achieve the goal of plugging in a Sirius/XM receiver and leaving it out of sight? I realize that it would likely mean having 2 remote controls rolling around the floor. . . just like home!

Thanks again, Justin for posting this and your encouragement to the rest of us.

 

Mine is an OPTICAL remote.
You'll need a clear line of sight for it to work.

Good luck!

 

I really don't have an answer to the hidden XM Sirius radio idea what I do is I just hook a inline cable into the back of the radio and plug it into my Sirius docking station

 

Only an RF remote will see through walls (and clothes too I think)

 

OK digging up an old thread. I just got one of these little guys and am not a wiring type guy but it was mentioned that you can run an ipod off one these units. so where do you plug the ipod in? everything I have has a small jack hole and I dont see one on this unit.