Mohit Bhoite's Chintoo FM Is Undeniably the Cutest Freeform FM Radio in the World
Mimicking the design of the Chintoo desktop companion, this freeform circuit sculpture packs a fully-functional FM radio and amp.
Circuit sculptor Mohit Bhoite has unveiled his latest creation, and it's something of a love letter to a classic entertainment medium: A fully-functional FM radio with amplifier and a seven-segment display to show the frequency of the currently-selected station.
Bhoite's work is immediately recognisable: Eschewing traditional printed circuit board, they are built up from free-floating copper wiring which serves as both circuit element and rigid framework. Earlier examples have included an LED volume meter and a friendly desktop robot dubbed Chintoo — and it's this latter design which has inspired Bhoite's latest creation, the Chintoo FM.
"This little FM buddy is based on the Philips TEA5767 FM radio chipset, Adafruit ItsyBitsy 32u4, PAM8302 audio amp, and a four-digit seven-segment display," Bhoite writes of the desktop radio design. "I did attempt to freeform an audio amp, but couldn’t get a good quality out of it."
An internal memory holds frequencies for pre-programmed FM radio stations, with the user able to switch between then using a capacitive-sensing brass disk. The frequency of the current station is displayed on a four-digit seven-segment LED to the front, while the rear has a USB input for power and a linear potentiometer for volume adjustment.
More details on the design are available in Bhoite's Twitter thread.