About the Theremin Vintage Radio
Real theremins are expensive, so the designer bought a basic MicroKits theremin kit for his wife, who loves vintage radios, and designed this case to make it look like an old valve radio. Inside it's the kit's simple circuit: move your hand near the antenna to change the pitch. He reports that it works well for such a basic theremin.
His build has a few personal touches you can copy or skip. He fitted a telescopic antenna salvaged from an old RC remote (there's a hole for it on top, plus two holes at the back for the kit's original wires), longer LED wires so the light glows behind the little dial window, and extra drilled holes in the speaker grille. He also ran it from a 5 V USB cable via the battery connector. The kit maker advised against this, so it's at your own risk. Caps are included to tidy the back holes.
Who it's for. Beginners who want a first theremin, and anyone who likes a retro gift. The video shows it working.
What you'll need
Printed parts
- Radio case parts
- Caps for the rear holes
Bought parts
- MicroKits theremin kit
- Optional: a telescopic antenna
- Optional: a USB cable for 5 V power (not recommended by the kit maker)
Tools
- Soldering iron (for the kit)
- Glue
- Optional: a drill for extra grille holes
- Optional: paint
Build overview
Print settings
- Orientation: Parts are already oriented flat to the bed
- Supports: None
Video
Play video: Vintage radio theremin case for the MicroKits kit (loads YouTube)
Nothing loads from YouTube until you press play. Video thumbnails are © their creators.
Photos
All photos: DaveOfTheDead, from the design page on Printables, licensed CC BY-SA. We resized them and converted them to WebP. These adapted versions are shared under the same licence.