Best antenna cable for C1 / 57?
I'm pulling a new wiring harness through the back end of a '57, and after reading about how tough it is to get through the wheel well area, thought it may be wise to replace the old antenna cable as well (all cables are out of the car). Any advice on where to get a good quality antenna cable? I see Dr. Rebuild has one that appears "beefier" than others which may be good or may be bad.. there isn't much room to pull anything through. This is a fairly long run and antenna lead impedance/shielding is likely important.
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Re: Best antenna cable for C1 / 57?
I found one at a swap meet many years ago. It was marked 57-59. The reason I bought it was because Adronics was a company that made them for GM back in the 60 & 70's, but I'm not sure if they were specific to a car line. I replaced the re-pro I had in the car and their was no difference in reception. The only noticeable difference was the knurled nut on the end which was thinner and longer than current reproductions. -
Re: Best antenna cable for C1 / 57?
There was much discussion on this issue several years ago.
Bottom line then - was the repros do not work and I can attest to that. If your original 57 cable is not broken, then do not replace it. Use it.
Repros (regardless of vendor) are not the right impedance, and it must have a built in capacitor - not all repros do. If the repros have been fixed since then and are okay now, I do not know.
If you do buy a repro, then test it outside the car before you install it. Make sure the tuning capacitor on the side of the radio will -"tune" -peak for max volume. Repros would not - and sensitivity will be way down.
I bought 2 - from different suppliers about 5 years ago, and neither one was any good. So I used the original, which works fine.
-Dan-Comment
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Re: Best antenna cable for C1 / 57?
At one time, Paragon was the only vendor that had the cable with the correct impedance. Not sure if this is still the case. The test for a cable with the correct impedance is if the antenna trim screw on the radio works. See the ANTENNA section on page 13-2 of the AIM. From all the discussion several years ago, I gleaned that you want RG-62 cable which measures 93 ohms. You should test the cable and antenna with the procedure outlined in the AIM before you go to the trouble of installing the cable.Comment
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Re: Best antenna cable for C1 / 57?
Chris is correct regarding the cable and its impedance. However, there is more to it than that. It must also contain a capacitor, which is buried in one of the connectors.
To test for that, use an VOM to measure the resistance at each end of the center conductor. If the cable has a capacitor, there will be no continuity between center pins. If it measures 0 ohms, then it is a direct connection and has no capacitor, and will not tune.
Use your original cable.
-Dan-Comment
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Re: Best antenna cable for C1 / 57?
In the C1s, what is the way to tell original cables from replacements other than the impedance?
thanksComment
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Re: Best antenna cable for C1 / 57?
You probably will not find any repro cable with RG markings on it The cable will most likely be generic. Cable impedance can be measured electronically, but it involves expensive test equipment and electronic engineering background. But even if it did have RG markings, there is still no assurance that it will have a series capacitor integrated within. The best, any only practical way to determine if it will work is to connect it up to the radio and see if the tuning capacitor on the side of the radio will tune (peak) following the procedure in the AIM, and I believe the ST-12.
-Dan-Comment
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Re: Best antenna cable for C1 / 57?
Thanks to everyone! the old antenna is kind of hurting, and it didn't have any markings on it, other than obviously made around that era. I might try it and try to get it through... I bought a small camera to attach to my computer/phone to look up in the cavity... not much room there above the wheel well.Comment
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Re: Best antenna cable for C1 / 57?
Alan, you have to start feeding the cable from the trunk forward. The radio connector is small enough to go through the small hole in the wheel well. That puts the cable into the gas tank area. The cable then goes through a hole into the rocker panel and comes out in a hole behind the drivers side kick panel. I fed an electricians fish line through the rocker panel and fed the cable through the rocker. All in all, it was not too hard.
Like I said, after buying 2 repro cables, I tossed both of them and re-used the original. But what ever cable you decide use, test it first to make sure it will tune the radio.
-Dan-Comment
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Re: Best antenna cable for C1 / 57?
As a note, I had to use a new cable. I found that the primary wire in the old cable had an intermitent open, didn't use it. To help with the project I bought a "pencil" camera online for $10 that attached to my tablet computer. It took about a half an hour with the camera help... Thanks again for all your help!Comment
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