“One of history’s greatest inventions is the television however, with each passing decade the television loses some of its original flare. I want to bring some of that classic charm back to life in this build.
Last year I built my first version of this retro television. It was powered by an ESP32 and it displayed local weather data which worked really well. Although it was fully 3D-printed so it lacked that true retro aesthetic. To fix that, I wanted to try and build the housing for the electronics out of wood which I have never used in a project before but it turned out pretty well.
I also wanted to go a bit further than simply displaying weather data. I wanted this mini TV to act as a sort of news channel, so in addition to an improved weather interface, I added the ability to get the national headlines for any country in the world!
I also upgraded to a larger LCD screen and designed my own custom PCB.
Let’s get started!
Components
- ESP32 $21.88
- LiPo $9.49
- LCD $15.49
- Latching Pushbutton $6.99
- Momentary Pushbutton $8.99
- Resistors $11.99
- Pin Headers $4.99
- Charging Circuit $14.95
- SD-card Reader $12.24
- Wood Board $4.93
Tools
- Drill
- Calipers
- Soldering Iron /w solder
- 3D Printer
- filament
- Sand Paper
- Super or Hot Glue
- Wood Glue
- Dremel
- saw”