Radio good, still no reception!
Recently sent 66 radio for repair. Got the results yesterday that radio has no problem, trouble must be in antenna or cable. There is a replacement cable now being sold and was wondering if anyone has used this part and if it was worthwhile. Not sure if cable or antenna is the problem and not sure how to test either one. Maybe use reproduction cable as jumper and if still no reception then antenna is at fault? Anyone care to share their experience determining if cable or antenna is faulty? Thanks!
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Re: Radio good, still no reception!
Plug the replacement antenna cable into the radio and the other end onto a spare antenna. Open the antenna to its full length and stand it vertically. Put the ignition on ACCessory and turn on the radio. That's the test. DO NOT use an OHM meter or run power through the antenna cable.
I replace the cable last week on my 63. Even with no cable in the radio it picked up a station, not strong, but I recognized the DJ.
Last edited by Harry S.; October 30, 2021, 01:24 PM.
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Re: Radio good, still no reception!
I had issues with the reception using a reproduction antenna cable. I found an NOS original on eBay and the difference was like night and day. The reproduction cables are not constructed correctly for those radios. It is a PITA to install a new cable but was worth the trouble.Comment
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Re: Radio good, still no reception!
How do you know there is no reception vs the speaker not working. Original speakers have an impedance matching coil on them and although rare, they can fail....original speakers are designed to have no more han 1.5V DC across the terminals.Comment
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Re: Radio good, still no reception!
Frank, the radio "speaks" on FM. On AM it is silent. I sent the radio to have it repaired but got a call saying it played just fine for hours and there must be trouble in the antenna or coaxial cable. I have the proper speaker (10 ohm) . FM seems to be able to operate at least for short distances without an antenna or cable. AM must need the entire package to play.Comment
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Re: Radio good, still no reception!
Make sure the antenna is grounded and you have a ground plate where it is mounted and the plate is grounded.
DomComment
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Re: Radio good, still no reception!
Sorry for the pause in this thread. The radio reception problem is now repaired, at least for now. After removing radio and sending it to Iowa, removing exhaust tips, rear valance panel, moving exhaust and muffler for access to antenna, checking ground and connections and finding nothing out of the ordinary, and unable to find any meaningful test for the coaxial cable, I put it all back together again. Darn thing worked fine and played all afternoon. The cable seems to have a condenser built in it and no test I was able to perform told me anything! Long story short the cable at the radio end seems to have a fault and if plugged in just right works like a charm. put it under a little strain when routing and it quits doing its thing. Made a "splint" to hold it in a workable position (about 6 inches from the radio plug end) and all is well. What a long and tiresome journey to find a fault that should have been easily discovered! Will see what the long term effect will be. The lesson learned is to think things through before tearing into things, but the fact that the radio still worked on FM convinced me that the radio was at fault. The question left is HOW DOES ONE CHECK THE COAXIAL RADIO CABLE ON A C2? Seems to defy logic? Maybe I am too old and crabby to be fooling with things? thanks to all of you who responded and please chime in if you know the secret of the coax cable in these cars!Comment
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Re: Radio good, still no reception!
Hi John,
Your cable needs two types of tests:
1. It sure sounds like it has an intermittent connection at the radio end. If possible it needs to be opened up, the bad connection fixed and checked with an Ohmmeter while wiggling the cable. Once this is fixed you can proceed to the second test.
2. The condenser or capacitor in modern terms blocks DC (direct current, zero frequency) and passes AC (alternating current) if it is in series with the hot lead (I believe that it is). So to test it you would could try a DMM (digital multimeter) in Ohms mode. The meter uses DC for this. It should be high impedance if you connect the meter to the hot leads of the cable at both ends. Then you would need an AC signal generator connected to the plus and minus terminals of the cable. I would use 1 Vac. Put your DMM in volts AC mode on the other end. You should see about a volt. If both of those tests pass, the capacitor is OK.
JoeComment
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