DIY Radio Module

I bought this to practice my soldering. I'd rather build my skills with an inexpensive kit than mess up something important. I've assembled other kits (digital clock, tiny signal generator) and this was much easier to put together. The component placement is tight, but not as tight as other kits. It took me a minute to figure out that a couple of the pieces that looked like resistors were inductors. Assembly went quickly and the radio sounds surprisingly great through my studio headphones. For practice purposes, a project with more solder joints gives you experience, but this more manageable project came together with less frustration. The lack of instructions could hinder beginners, but otherwise, this is a satisfying, quick build with more practical value than many practice kits.

Skeptical? So was I. After all, this project only uses a dozen electronic components and a handful of push button switches to pump loud FM stereo through your favorite headphones/earbuds. This project does specify a recommended age to build, the biggest reason would be the small surface mount integrated circuit (IC chip), of which I recommend the use of soldering flux as it is imperative to keep the solder from clumping up between the pins on the IC chip (Watching a YouTube video on surface mount devices (SMD) is very helpful). What a great project this is to learn electronic build techniques that keep you up to date with modern components and circuitry, and if you are curious, you could even look up the main chip and see that it employs the newest technology in receiving, decoding, and amplification of the signal. Build time was just over an hour while I was texting a friend. I have built previous projects that this company puts out, the quality of the circuit boards, the clear layout, and the components have been consistent, I have had a pleasurable build each and every time. As with any radio you are at the mercy of the signal strength, while walking around tuned to a strong station it works great, when I tuned to a weak station some 30 miles away it would fade in and out as I walked. This wouldn't be considered a defect, it teaches radio wave propagation, how they are affected by the environment. I thought that it might be hard to determine what station I was listening to without a channel display, but it added the sense of adventure for a short time before I recognized where I was and which direction button I wanted to push. This is A kit for making learning fun, it has some challenge that makes it interesting, the rest is set up to improve soldering techniques and give confidence to try something harder next time.

It started out as a fun little project until the U1 chip took the stage, skating away from my attempts to hold it in position. Unsoldering and remounting the chip must've cooked it. Radiokaput! The online PDF is good enough, but the battery box I got was deformed. I may buy another to avenge this debacle..

The radio was put together correctly according to the photo, the instructions found on web are vauge to say the least. The radio never made a sound not even static.

Fun project, good soldering practice and works great!

I Carefully soldered the kit together and it did nothing , didn't work went over the entire assembly and checked for loose or cold connections found nothing incorrect. It just didn't work. Given the nature of the item I didn't try to get a refund. I left a review stating this, and they contacted me offering solutions, I was very impressed this is a quality company to do business with and I will do so In the future.

6/7/2025 Nice little radio. Very small.1-1/8" x 2-1/4" x 7/8" thick. I am in a suburb and it picks up many stations without an antenna. No instructions for assembly but the board is marked clearly for all components. The IC is surface mount so you should have some experience soldering or have someone do it for you. The inductors (3) look like resistors so beware. The .1uH inductor is brown black silver silver. The other two inductors are the same 1uH brown black gold silver. There is only one actual resistor (30k orange black orange gold) for the whole radio. There is no display so you cant see what station you are on. When changing channels I discovered you must press and release either channel up or channel down then wait while it locks in the station. Using my stereo earphones the sound is very clear and will go louder than needed. Volume down does not turn off sound completely. Overall a very nice little radio. I will buy again.

This FM Radio project is great for someone wanting to learn about electronics or work on their soldering skills. With 20 components it’s easy to assemble and understand the circuit. The board’s silk screen is clearly labeled for component installation and the layout is open. The board is a single sided through hole design. The FM receiver IC sits on the back and does have a fine pitch as it’s the only SMD component, but as long as you have a steady hand and flux then no worries. Overall the kit took me about 20 mins to assemble and is pretty neat. Pros: Small design Low Component count Clear Silk Screen for component installation Station Memory! This little thing will remember the last station it was able to find Cons: PCB quality (The back side of the board is where all the traces run and I had 1 pad actually lift but it was an easy repair) No directions (The PCB is labeled fairly well but for a beginner basic assembly instructions can be handy) No visual feedback (It’s easy to leave the unit on and forget that’s its on, also when scanning stations you have no indication of that Freq your on unless you’re fairly familiar with the local radio stations) Overall a great project for someone wanting to learn or for a hobbyist.