Radio options

[3757chevy]

Originally Posted by dmack91

I just converted a stock AM radio to Bluetooth using one of these from Amazon for $18.

ZK-1002L 100Wx2 50W 80W 5.0 power amplifier board

I gutted everything from the radio except the two knob assemblies. Then removed the rear section of the volume knobs rheostat, which left a shaft I was able to file to fit the bluetooth volume shaft. Mounted the Amp to the factory case (lining up the shafts to work without binding was the worst part).

Tested it with a spare battery and some ancient speakers and sounded good. Took about 4 hours of tinkering.

Any more details?

[dmack91]

Originally Posted by 3757chevy

Any more details?

Basically started by taking the outer top and bottom metal casing off the radio. They are held on with a bunch of small hex head sheet metal screws. Once those are off, start cutting out the old radio components. You will need a soldering iron to melt out some of the connections between the electronics and case. You basically want to get to the point where all that's left is the two knob assemblies and the push button assembly.

[dmack91]

Next, take out the on/off/volume rheostat knpb assembly. You will.see r small tabs that hold the front and rear parts together. Carefully pry the tabs out, one needs to be heated to release the solder, and pull the two halves apart.

This is the bluetooth Amp I bought off Amazon for $18. You can see the slot in the Amp shaft. Now lightly file the round part of the half circle shaft coming out of the factory on/off/volume rheostat to fit the slot in the Amp volume shaft.

[dmack91]

The Amp comes with a power cord. I then wired a 4 wire connector, similar to a trailer plug, to the speaker outputs.

Then fasten the amp to the radio casing. This was the worst part, trying to get the shafts to line up without binding. I ended up making about a 3/16" wood shim to go between the outer case and the Amp. Then made a 3/4" sheetmetal strap to fasten it to the case.

Then just put the upper and lower casings back on and wire it in. I did cut out part of the back of the casing for the wires to exit.

Overall, I think it took me about 4 hours of tinkering and a total investment of about $25.

Obviously, the am radio no longer works, but the original buttons and scrolling tuning knob do still function. And the original on/off/volume knob works as the original, but now controlls the bluetooth.