This piece is the first finished piece in a planned series of three. I wanted to use iconic looking radios from different eras as an eye catching set of images. Obviously all the radios have much in common like the format they use and the way they work. all of different ages and designs. All sharing a common fate. i wanted the pieces to not only be about the individual radios lifespan but also have a common theme. I want them to excite and intrigue people and overall suggest iconic design. Not only aesthetically but physically in how radios work.

I wanted to keep the idea of home made radios alive and make them more interesting. I thought about in a sort of silly way illustrating radios out of the coil for the radio circuit. So they are also working radios. I think its interesting how all radios old and new (if they are still working) work today.
the same cant be said for old music formats. I cant remember the last time someone put a cd on. I also wanted people to realise that even if radios do work old or new they all share a similar fate of uselessness when analogue is shut down.

Ok so i Lazer cut a smaller design with no horizontal cuts which still turned out to be impossible to work with. i went back to unit 22 and talked to Adam and Dean. i explained my problems with the project. they explained a process to me called acid etching. i later found out photo polymer plates is a similar process that was used to make circuit boards.
i think for the third year show i will try to learn this acid etching process to create a beautiful crystal radio but for now i have started experimenting with masking fluid. its hard to control but is perfect for stencilling and had a more hand made appeal to it. i also plan to use an air brush for the final piece. The conductive paint is extremely expensive and this is an ideal way to use it wisely.

I went back to Unit 22 (my lazer cutters) and spoke with the m about the problems with the stencil. i redesigned a stencil for the lazer cut that had no vertical cuts! i was hoping that this would keep the thin lines straight. i would then do the verticals by hand.

This is how i really wanted my final piece to look like but using the silver conductive paint. obviously i didn’t want to use it until i have the method finalised. i like this stencil a lot but the finnish is not anywhere near perfect or even precise enough to work as a radio.

above is the finished stencil. i think its going to bleed alot so i have used loads of spray mount. This will make it hard to get off and indeed use again. i beginning to think this will be a lot harder than i thought. maybe i can make the design stronger for the stencil.

After sowing down the lazer cutter the stencil came out ok but because of the weakness of the stencil card the thin strips were a nightmare to align. using spray mount to hold the stencil down i then used tweezers to move the strips back to their original place.

This was the first lazer cut i did which managed to set the lazer cutter on fire and was a disaster.

This is a redesign made from self adhesive copper tape i found in 4D. The horizontal lines linked like a very tight zig zag. This design allows you to change the length of coil and overall looks simpler. i want to have this design lazer cut and then use it for a stencil. i found online silver conductive paint that i want to use for the stencil. technically it should work the same way as copper wire would. fingers crossed.