DIY WiFi radio built with ASUS WL-520gU router, sweat and tears

Are you just now coming to the stark realization that you've nothing whatsoever to do this weekend? Calm down, there's no need to freak out. Thanks to Jeff Keyzer over at mightyOhm, you can now get to work on your very own DIY WiFi radio. In one of the most elaborate how-to guides we've ever had the pleasure of gawking at, Jeff has detailed exactly how to turn an ASUS WL-520gU router, a few spare pieces of wood and a couple of unwanted knobs into an open source internet radio streamer. Sure, there's always Pandora for those who aren't inclined to get their elbows dirty, but seriously, what fun is that? Roll up those sleeves, grab whatever tools your pop gave you when you left for college and hit the read link. Pronto.

[Via Hacked Gadgets]

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 6th 2009 4:09PM]

Nice, but I'd never buy it. lol.

[superhobo Posted Jun 6th 2009 4:24PM]

Yeah, but you can't buy it. lol.

[ScienceProUSAcom Posted Jun 6th 2009 4:24PM]

phenomenal project! awesome job looks pretty sick

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 6th 2009 4:28PM]

That came out looking really beautifully!

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 6th 2009 4:46PM]

looks awesome, but pandora=free and easy to use?? which one?!?! lol

[Junemas Posted Jun 6th 2009 6:07PM]

He did a great job, but I wonder how man of his electronics actually match this wooden decor? Seriously, remember in the 80's how every thing had that fake wood pattern? From tv's to furniture?

[trois Posted Jun 6th 2009 9:26PM]

Wood grain Contact paper. FTW!

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 6th 2009 10:51PM]

That is actually real oak. Stained and then given about 12 coats of polyurethane, sanding every 3rd coat. Took several weeks to do the finishing. It is however, a veneer, so yeah it is elaborate contact paper I guess :)

[bjs Posted Jun 6th 2009 7:24PM]

anachronistic loveliness.

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 6th 2009 8:00PM]

that's really cool, musta taken a while lol

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 6th 2009 9:01PM]

If you are thinking of doing this don't forget the option of using a cheap sub $100 embedded motherboard and softsqueeze software: http://softsqueeze.sourceforge.net/ Softsqueeze streams from squeezecenter and has built in LCD support at tons more.

[PhotoGuru Posted Jun 6th 2009 11:57PM]

minimalistic AND wood- dope!

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 7th 2009 6:14AM]

I never understand why would someone want a WiFi radio. There are enough FM radio stations. Besides, good quality internet music streaming demand too much bandwidth.

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 7th 2009 8:47AM]

Just because you can't conceive a use for it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I live out in BFE (not even really out there, just bad enough for me to complain). Only two stations that aren't country or Christian, and they suck. But I have a 7M downlink, so can afford to stream plenty of internet radio.

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 7th 2009 1:45PM]

hahahahaha. Great !

(I'm sure loading this page and a few reloads of your Facebook pages equals several minutes of music.)

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 7th 2009 8:39PM]

Here's why I listen to streaming radio (and why I built the radio project above):

1. No (or almost no) commercials. di.fm's free streams have some short commercials (advertising their Premium membership) but it's not anything like broadcast radio.
2. Variety of programming. Does your area have an FM station for 24x7 Drum and Bass music? What about all Commodore 64 remixes? I didn't think so. However, on the net, I can listen to stations like BassDrive (bassdrive.com) or Slay Radio (slayradio.org).
3. Related to #2 - stations that concentrate on one specific genre of music, instead of trying to please the masses. If I want to listen to Hardcore Gabber, I can find a station that will give me just that instead of mixing it up with some Phil Collins.
4. No problems of location. No more "because I live in X, I can't listen to Y".

I love streaming radio. Given Shoutcast and my iPod, anything owned by Clear Channel has almost no value to me.

[Alex Posted Jun 8th 2009 7:00PM]

Borrowing a phrase from Ziegler's earlier post, eh?

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 14th 2009 6:39PM]

the WHT antenna needs to be BLK

tomo

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 14th 2009 7:08PM]

sorry, didn't read closely enough the "DIY" portion, appologies for theWHT/BLK comment

tomo