The $15 Internet Radio You Can Build in a Weekend

Dedicated internet radio players haven’t been on too many wish lists since the late 2000s. Once smartphones and smart speakers arrived, they simply didn’t seem necessary anymore. However, something was lost in this transition. These dedicated players used to have style, and there were physical buttons and dials you could get your hands on. Sure, smartphones can play the stations just the same, but the user experience is not at all the same.

Due to the wane in their popularity, internet radio players are few and far between on retailers’ shelves these days. But if you want one and have some technical skills, that’s not too much of a problem. You can simply create your own DIY build, like Volos Projects recently did. It’s not hard, either. In fact, Volos Projects pulled it off using just a single hardware platform.

The project was built around the $15 Waveshare ESP32-S3 1.54-inch LCD Display Development Board, which was designed with audio applications in mind. Despite its compact size, the board integrates a surprising number of features, including a 240×240 color display, an ES8311 audio codec for digital-to-analog conversion, and an onboard NS4150B amplifier capable of delivering up to 3 watts of output. This combination allows the device to produce audio that is both loud and clear.

Rather than designing a custom enclosure from scratch, Volos Projects takes advantage of the development board’s included case, which has enough internal space to house a 1,000 mAh lithium battery. This design choice not only streamlines assembly but also leaves room for further customization, such as upgrading the internal speaker or adding a dedicated power switch.

Three physical buttons control station navigation and volume, reinforcing the retro-inspired experience. The device also incorporates a low-power sleep mode, with a single button press used to wake or suspend the system—an important feature for battery-powered operation.

Using Arduino-compatible libraries such as ESP32-audioI2S and LovyanGFX, the system renders a clean display showing station names, song metadata, Wi-Fi signal strength, and stream bitrate. A minimal approach ensures responsive performance while keeping memory usage low, even when handling buffered audio streams.

Connectivity is handled over Wi-Fi, with the radio pulling live streams from publicly available sources. Users can easily modify the code to add or change stations, with 128 kbps streams recommended for optimal audio quality. An onboard SD card slot also opens the door to offline playback, effectively turning the device into a portable MP3 player.

For those seeking better sound output, the project supports external audio solutions as well. Volos Projects demonstrates connecting larger speakers and even building a simple adapter with a 3.5 mm jack, using a voltage divider to safely interface with headphones or external amplifiers.

For more details on the build, be sure to check out the project video below.