Well, I know many of you wont have heard of a radiogram or stereogram so for those of you that haven't, let me educate you.
We had a (family?) Radiogram when I was a kid. It was a big box about 4foot 6 long, 2 foot tall and 18 inches deep and it played music. I have tried to find images of the particular version we had but had no success as yet, think it was a Fergusson..I digress..It had a built in Radio tuner, FM, LW and MW (Frequency modulation, Long wave and Medium wave) all there was available in those 1970's days, it also had a built in record player with 33 & 1/3 , 45 and 78 RPM speeds! (the 78rpm is
unheard of nowadays). It's best feature was a reel to reel take deck that was attached to a sliding shelf that slid out the unit when it was user, fantastic it was !!
It was something like this.
I have always loved tinkering with all things electronic. I remember taking apart my sisters record deck when I must've been 10 ish and shorting out the mains input supply, giving myself a real shock and melting the case in the process! That was the start I needed I guess. I have continued, through my whole life this far tinkering with 'wires and gadgets', even becoming an electrician for 15 years.
Thats the backstory to this anyway.
I want to make, and indeed am on my second version already, a modern take on the radiogram. A modern 'sound box' if you will, that can provide a really decent quality music with enough volume to fill a room for whatever reason you wish, party, movie or just cooking whilst dancing. I will use, as far as I can reclaimed and pre-loved speakers that I will source from various marketplaces and build a bespoke wooden unit to fit them. I will then provide a Class D stereo amplifier capable of making a great sound!
The amplifiers I will provide will have the facility of integrating bluetooth, wifi, airplay etc so you'll be able to integrate whatever platform you use be it Spotify, Tunein, amazon music etc. I will also be able to integrate a wireless charger for your phone and backlighting if you wish. You'll be able to integrate your Google Home or Amazon Alexa if you require.
My first version is still awiating its new amplifier and assoiciated gubbins and will be suitably shot and entered onto a new 'Modern day Radiograms' page on my website when completed. Until then here is a sneak preview.