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AM car radio antenna upgrades
- Thread starter Mudfoot
- Start date
Have you tried trailing a longwire behind you? 
Ballmount and 108” whip.
Seriously, a fender mount reproduction EXTENDING antenna as cars once had.
Power or manual. Woodys Customs a good place to start.
It’s the space under the fender that matters.
Seriously, a fender mount reproduction EXTENDING antenna as cars once had.
Power or manual. Woodys Customs a good place to start.
It’s the space under the fender that matters.
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Yea about 800 feet would work pretty good.Have you tried trailing a longwire behind you?
Naaaah.......that's a bit much. I used to run only 600 feet and could pick up 1 Kw domestic stations on the AM band out of Central America. That 600 feet was NOT mobile however.
I'm mainly interested in increased daytime reception. I might look at putting something up on luggage rack. My little SDR Play takes care of my home based AM/Fm needs. I put up an outside old school FM stereo antenna for my SDR. Works great
Two most effective things I found as a car stereo installer was improving ground at the radio chassis and choosing a brand with a good receiver usually Sony and pioneer. I suppose if a guy was really serious you could mount a variable capacitor in line maybe mount it in the junk box of your rig but Ive never tried it. Are you going for DX or just better local reception?
It has been literally decades since I installed and serviced car audio. Back then, every 'car radio' that had the AM band had a mica compression trimmer cap, usually accessed through either the cassette door, or the rear panel of the radio.
This served to "tune" the front end of the AM-band receiver to the vehicle's antenna and coax. You tuned in a weak station near the middle of the band and peaked it for max signal.
Could be the installer forgot this step in your car?
Could be that tweaking it for the station you want might improve it?
Cheapest thing to try first, anyway.
73
This served to "tune" the front end of the AM-band receiver to the vehicle's antenna and coax. You tuned in a weak station near the middle of the band and peaked it for max signal.
Could be the installer forgot this step in your car?
Could be that tweaking it for the station you want might improve it?
Cheapest thing to try first, anyway.
73
I’ve never seen this feature this could be from before my time. I’m doubtful that radios nowadays have this tuned circuit but maybe so. Worth a look in the destruction book. I suppose one could bond all the body panels and the exhaust if they were serious on this road but I still lean towards a good chassis ground and if you’re looking for a mod try a matchbox in line with the coax.