Doesn't seem like I blew it out, must have been a capacitor.
So, I decided the next radio will actually be a tecsun R9012. which isn't a bad little radio from all the video reviews I've seen, and I'll have it on Dc so as not to explode it lol.
Would it be possible to run something like this >...
CD9088CB Is the number on the chip, and it was FM.
It has one about 1.5 inches long behind the board.
The capacitors on the back are pretty small, but that's probably expected for the size of the device. http://imgur.com/8yTWRhm
Update time ^^
So I just got the radio (Took a long time coming from china)
And I went at it last night doing some tests after I got it all apart.
I turned on the radio and it really was as cheap as it's 7$ price, hardly any reception at all. I did however decide that this one would be for...
The radio I bought is this exact one > http://img.dxcdn.com/productimages/sku_241705_1.jpg It's guts are what I'm modifying/strengthening if possible.
And the cabinet/body I'm going to make looks similar to this old model here > http://www.radiolaguy.com/images/wood/Philco90.jpg but with one...
I'll custom make a battery box and hopefully 3AA batteries will work.
I'm assuming the radio I've ordered will be similar to this standard handheld layout http://www.madehow.com/images/hpm_0000_0007_0_img0089.jpg
Routing the components over to the radio face seems like a good idea.
Thank you :^)
I'm pretty darn new to engineering, so I'm just diving in and hoping all goes well. I've got roughly 6 months to finish this project as it's a Christmas gift in the making. My current plan is to carve a large spruce log into the shape of an old cathedral style antique radio, make a cabinet...