“They only don’t make ‘em like they used to,” your opinionated uncle proclaims throughout your loved ones’s vacation dinner. You understand the validity of that assertion is questionable, as they made loads of junk up to now, too — we simply don’t see that junk, because it all ended up in landfills. However quite a lot of what they used to make definitely has aesthetic enchantment, which is why Distracted by Design rebuilt a classic radio into one thing useful and beautiful.
The radio in query is a Normal Electrical mannequin from the early Nineteen Eighties, which Distracted by Design discovered at a thrift retailer. That was typical for the period: a easy AM/FM radio with adjustment for frequency and quantity. AM and FM radio nonetheless exist right now, however most of us would somewhat stream music from our smartphones. For this mission, Distracted by Design transformed the radio right into a Bluetooth speaker and upgraded the looks alongside the way in which.
To simplify the conversion, Distracted by Design eliminated the unique digital guts and changed them with the innards from a cheap mass-produced Bluetooth speaker. Becoming the brand new components required some chopping, trimming, 3D-printing, and CNC-milling.
That may have been useful by itself, however Distracted by Design went a step additional and changed lots of the enclosure components with extra enticing custom-fabricated options. Distracted by Design made heavy use of a Makera Carvera Air CNC mill for these components, which have been product of supplies like wooden and aluminum.
The reimaged radio seems phenomenal, combining retro ‘80s appeal with fashionable particulars. Distracted by Design even made an era-appropriate advert poster for the brand new radio.
