DIY Car radio replacement

thingiverse

I live in an area where car radios are frequently stolen, and I've had my own radio taken twice before. It's not cheap to repair a car after a theft, so manufacturers have designed removable fronts on car radios to discourage thieves from stealing them. They figure that without the front, the radio is worthless. Unfortunately, over time, the connections between the radio and the removable front can wear out, making it difficult to get the radio working properly. This has been my experience with every car radio I've had in the past. Sometimes, features on the radio will override music from a USB stick, interrupting my listening experience. For example, a sudden announcement on the radio might start playing over my music. I don't enjoy that at all and I rarely listen to the radio anyway - mostly just mp3s from my USB sticks. That's why I decided to replace my car radio with something that wouldn't be appealing to thieves and would keep working well over time, even through rough roads. I have a smartphone as an MP3 player and an old amplifier, so I used those instead of the car radio. With a cheap Bluetooth module that cost me just 6 euros, I can even set up my phone to automatically connect to the amplifier when it's in range. To hold everything together and replace the car radio, I needed something that would fit snugly into the dashboard and cover any holes. I designed a panel with buttons for switching between the amplifier, Bluetooth, and power settings. There's also a button for choosing between analog and Bluetooth inputs on the amplifier, as well as a clip to hold my phone in place. Since I already had these parts lying around, if someone were to steal it, I wouldn't lose anything financially. The small gap between two of the red buttons allows me to adjust the volume pot on the amplifier if needed. Finally, the USB port is just for charging my phone, so I can keep listening to music all day long.