spin your DIY RadioGlobe to search over 2000 web radio stations

created by jude pullen in celebration of DesignSpark’s 10th birthday, the RadioGlobe is a project for those who want to explore the world’s radio stations, in just seconds, simply by spinning a globe. the project, which is 100% do-it-yourself and open source, takes an already existing digital tool — listening to radio stations around the world — but adding a physical aspect to it that encourages exploration and curiosity.

‘I love the phrase “incurably curious” from the welcome collection, in london,’ comments jude pullen on the inspiration behind the RadioGlobe. ‘I have often felt that it sums up the type of person who enjoys the journey as much as the destination when finding things out. I think that many of the people on DesignSpark and other engineers/designers/creatives I’ve met over the years have this tendency. so I wanted to make something that enables this open-ended exploration and love of discovery.’

‘the ‘brief’ from DesignSpark was very open-ended, but I knew that it had to connect to their past (RS components was originally founded as radio spares), their current passion for making things (be it CAD and 3D printing, etc.), as well as digital things and electronics,’ pullen continues. ‘I looked at all manner of ideas, but this one just really seemed right on many levels.’

to build your own RadioGlobe, the creator suggest you have in hand basic tools like drills, soldering irons, files, drill bits, etc. then you would need a globe, which you can get on amazon, a raspberry Pi 4B, bolts, an LCD screen, buttons, a jog wheel, protoboards for raspberry Pi, RGB LEDs, jumper cables, header pins, steel rod, and coupling, as well as a 3D printer.

although it looks simple, the project is more on the moderate/expert level, so in case you want to build it yourself, better to have some experience.