Bluetooth VEF 12 (1969) Radio

We found old VEF-12 radio in garage of my friend and decide to enter the Amps & Speakers 2016 contest. It was really rust and did't work at all. We found the original schematics but we didn't have all the parts to repair it. That's why just find it will be much easier and fun to upgrade it with Bluetooth and play what ever we want on in. After that was just matter of free time and fun to make it happen.

First step after we found the old radio was to remove the cover and look at the pcb and cables.

We started with the Dremel polishing kit. The first advice is "don't use abrasive brush". We make this mistake and remove little more than need to. Other mistake we made was to add more speed and even with cloth wheel burn a little bit the plastic around the chrome parts.

Next step in our upgrade was to remove burned and useless components. We found that the old battery holder will hold all of our Bluetooth parts and new batteries.

We didn't have shipping with parts for upgrade at that time to enter the audio contest and that's why just took from old car speaker project parts we need.

Components list:

• CSR8645 Bluetooth 4.0 module
• PAM8403 Amplifier
• Voltage Step Up module
• 18650 Li-Ion battery
• battery protection board

We buy all the components from banggood.com

http://www.banggood.com/CSR8645-4_0-Bluetooth-Ster...

http://www.banggood.com/2x3W-Mini-Digital-Power-Am...

http://www.banggood.com/XL6009-Step-Up-Boost-Volta...

http://www.banggood.com/2S-Li-ion-Lithium-Battery-...

http://www.banggood.com/2PCS-ICR18650-26F-2600mAh-...

Other components that didn't arrive yet:

Ground Loop Isolator for 5v Bluetooth

https://www.etsy.com/listing/288246637/ground-loop...

After everything work like a charm and we have sound over Bluetooth it was time to install the old buttons. We use the big frequency selection button for On/Off. Other cool part was to install the old light bulb and if you press the front button will light the frequency panel.

Finally it was time to put everything inside the box and hope it will work. It was a smooth day and even after screw last bolt on the box and turn ON the power button we hear the Bluetooth power sound. After that we just tune to local online streaming radio and enjoy the cold beer and old radio!

Thank you for time and have fun!