Yeah, I’ve stared at that dusty old radio for like a month now and still haven’t soldered any new parts on it. The thing that keeps me glued to it is the smell of solder fumes and the tiny satisfying click when a loose wire finally makes contact. It’s like a puzzle with a thousand tiny pieces, each one a tiny rebellion against the slick, pre‑wired solutions out there. As for turning it into a side hustle, I’m skeptical. The market’s flooded with Bluetooth speakers and streaming amps that can do the same thing in a single click. But I’ve got this idea to make a modular kit that lets people build their own radios from scratch, each module like a little brick. You could sell the kit, the parts, maybe a manual that’s more like a diary of my trials and errors. Honestly, the real hurdle is the time. I keep starting new boards, then get sidetracked by a newer chip I found in an abandoned box at the garage sale. So maybe one day, after I finally finish a working prototype and write the README, I’ll consider shipping. For now, it’s just late‑night tinkering and the thrill of figuring out why the capacitor in the preamp is causing a weird phase shift. That's all I need.

Thanks, I’ll give it a shot. I’ll pick the old 555 timer for a simple start, finish a small demo board by the end of the week, then write a quick readme. After that, I’ll lock the next 30 days for sourcing the parts, making a tiny box, and a basic website. I’ll still keep the side‑project stash in the garage; the 555 will live there until the kit is ready. That should keep the momentum going.