DIY Wi-Fi Radio Construction

The project features the development of a low cost, open source wireless streaming internet radio receiver.

Some of the requirements before this project was built include wireless connectivity via existing Wi-Fi network, audio output, integrated amplifier & speaker, MP3 streaming audio decode, a display to indicate the station & currently playing song, various built-in station presets, simple user interface using standard radio controls, and 110VAC operation.

In the design, a cheap USB audio adapter is connected to the router’s single USB port and a connection to the router’s internal serial port via 4-pin header is added. This gives a compact networked device that can connect wirelessly to streaming radio stations and play 16-bit 44kHz stereo audio on a pair of headphones or amplified external speakers. A volume control will be part of the finished user interface.

An Atmel ATmega168 AVR microcontroller is used to drive the LCD display which significantly raises the technical level of the project. In building the display, one A-B USB cable is needed along with an AVR programmer, working AVR development suite, LCD display, solderless breadboard, 4-pin female header, 2 ceramic capacitors, potentiometer for adjusting contrast, resistor, and 20-24 gauge wire.

Click here to see the rest of the project.