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ScoutMakes FM Radio Kit Assembly Instructions
Assembly steps for the ScoutMakes FM Radio Kit, including RDS decoding and optional Bluetooth control.
FM radio kit design files and example source code →
Step 1
Unwrap the kit and lay out the various components. The provided USB cable programs the Azul and also charges the Lithium Polymer battery — the Azul has battery-charging circuitry built in.
Step 2
Place and solder the headers on the Azul Bluetooth board. The long side of the headers must be under the board.
Step 3
Place and solder the headers on the FM board. The long side of the headers must be on top of the board.
Step 4
Unfurl and solder the antenna wire onto the antenna header hole on the FM board.
Step 5
Connect headphones to the FM board.
Step 6
Connect the Azul Bluetooth board to the FM board, lining up the headers before pressing the two boards together. The battery tucks in between them.
Step 7
Power on by sliding the ON/OFF switch to ON — LEDs on the Azul indicate power. The kit ships with an FM demo program tuned to 99.5 MHz. If that's not a usable frequency in your area, press button 1 to scan for other stations.
| Button | Function |
|---|---|
| 1 | Seek up |
| 2 | Seek down |
| 3 | Mute audio |
| 4 | Preset up |
| 5 | Volume up |
| 6 | Volume down |
Step 8 — Optional: Bluetooth control
The Azul ships with a test program loaded, showing the default 99.5 MHz frequency on power-up. Connect using the Adafruit Bluefruit Connect app (Android or iOS) — with the system powered on, tap through steps 1–4 in the app to connect.
Step 9 — Optional: hack the code
Modify the CircuitPython code on the Azul using the Mu editor. Connect the supplied USB cable and the
Azul shows up as a drive named CIRCUITPY. Load code.py into Mu to edit the
program. You can also open a serial console in Mu for a live user menu — press
Ctrl+C then Ctrl+D to restart and show the menu:
+ | Increase volume |
- | Decrease volume |
> | Next preset |
< | Previous preset |
. | Scan up |
, | Scan down |
f | Direct frequency input, e.g. f 9950 for 99.5 MHz |
i | Station status |
s | Mono/stereo mode |
b | Bass boost |
u | Mute/unmute |
r | RSSI signal strength (lower is better) |
e | Soft reset chip |
q | Stop the program |