I have a mid 80's GM with a antennae in the windshield. The car has an after market Sparkomatic AM FM casette radio. The casette works fine, the AM barely works and the FM doesn't. I am suspicious the antennae is not working. I have removed the radio from the car and have checked the wiring and all is correct. Any ideas?
seventy2plus2 said
Sep 5, 2011
typically when youy bench test the radio, just insert an awl or something like that in the antenna jack and you should get AM. FM is a little tougher.
classic said
Sep 5, 2011
I did stick a coat hanger in with no better results. Maybe I need to buy an antennae for the bench and try it.
SD 396 said
Sep 5, 2011
Many factory radios had an antenna trim screw to match the radio to the antenna. Some radios have the screw adjustment and some don't. A better aftermarket radio may give better results or a different antenna.
beaumontguru said
Sep 5, 2011
If it is a sparkomatic, its more than likely the radio itself.
Those sparkomatics are crap, and get terrible reception even when new
Thats why they were only 29.95 at canadian tire back in the day.
classic said
Sep 7, 2011
Went out today and purchased another radio. Solved the problem! Thanks for your advice. Doug
beaumontguru said
Sep 7, 2011
Ha! i knew it! glad you solved the problem
SD 396 said
Sep 7, 2011
beaumontguru wrote:
If it is a sparkomatic, its more than likely the radio itself.
Those sparkomatics are crap, and get terrible reception even when new
Thats why they were only 29.95 at canadian tire back in the day.
Good call Dave. I was trying to find a nicer way to say the same thing.
oshawacliff said
Sep 5, 2023
A little late for this post but I had an all steel rental unit and reception was almost negative
Bought a TV antenna and some coax cable and made sure to ground the antenna.
I have a mid 80's GM with a antennae in the windshield. The car has an after market Sparkomatic AM FM casette radio. The casette works fine, the AM barely works and the FM doesn't. I am suspicious the antennae is not working. I have removed the radio from the car and have checked the wiring and all is correct. Any ideas?
typically when youy bench test the radio, just insert an awl or something like that in the antenna jack and you should get AM. FM is a little tougher.
I did stick a coat hanger in with no better results. Maybe I need to buy an antennae for the bench and try it.
Many factory radios had an antenna trim screw to match the radio to the antenna. Some radios have the screw adjustment and some don't. A better aftermarket radio may give better results or a different antenna.
If it is a sparkomatic, its more than likely the radio itself.
Those sparkomatics are crap, and get terrible reception even when new
Thats why they were only 29.95 at canadian tire back in the day.
Went out today and purchased another radio. Solved the problem! Thanks for your advice. Doug
Ha! i knew it! glad you solved the problem
Good call Dave. I was trying to find a nicer way to say the same thing.
A little late for this post but I had an all steel rental unit and reception was almost negative
Bought a TV antenna and some coax cable and made sure to ground the antenna.
some of those sparkomatics were actually excellent - and areal bang for the buck.
What model was the radio that you pulled?
I maybe interested in it.
EDIT: nevermind - I just noticed this is a twelve year old thread...
-- Edited by unruhjonny on Tuesday 5th of September 2023 05:42:54 PM
The radio reception may not all be about the antenna, but the lack of AM radio stations.
In Ottawa,where "classic" is from there are only 6 AM stations that can be reached.
and I'll bet some aren't on 24/7.
580 am: CFRA(Bell)
1200 am: TSN 1200 (Formerly Team 1200 Radio) (Bell)
1310 am: CityNews (CIWW - Rogers. Also on 101.1 MHz on FM.)
1400 am: ESPN 1400 Ogdensburg (WSLB)
1670 am: CJEU Radio Jeunesse (Gatineau) (jeunesse / youth programming)
1700 am: AIR 1700 (Algonquin College) (primarily broadcasts via internet)
At the same time Ottawa can get 48 FM stations.
When I drove my car from Unity Saskatchewan home after buying it,I turned the radio on and couldn't
get any stations on my AM car radio. I then assumed it was dead. Three hours later the radio was blaring a AM station from somewhere.
AM radio is nothing today like it used to be back in the 60's or 70's.
-G