AM radio reception - are they about the same over the years?

[odcics2]

Thinking of getting a 60s or 70s MoPar am radio to use in the garage.

Is the reception the same for them or are certain years, or model lines, better to pick up long distance stations?

What about older tube radios from the 50s? Anyone have experience with them?

Thanks.

 

[Davea Lux]

Thinking of getting a 60s or 70s MoPar am radio to use in the garage.

Is the reception the same for them or are certain years, or model lines, better to pick up long distance stations?

What about older tube radios from the 50s? Anyone have experience with them?

Thanks.

There are those who would argue that the rich sound produced by the older tube type radio is pretty hard to beat. Downside is that tubes and other parts for these old radios are often hard to come by and expensive if any need to be replaced. About the only folks who still work on '50-'60's era radios are specialty restoration shops and they usually do not work cheap.

The later '60's radios with transistors generally had less static and were noted for good reliability although I never thought the sound quality was quite as good. It comes down to what your tastes are. Most automotive radios had pretty good receivers in the '50-'60's era assuming that the owner properly tuned the antenna with the the adjusting screw on the radio case.

Dave

 

[68 4spd Fury]

The radios, assuming in good working order, are fine. I think though, there aren't many, (if any), of the 50,000 watt AM stations like there used to be in the 60's-70's. If you're not in a metro area may have trouble.

 

[stubs300]

I think though, there aren't many, (if any), of the 50,000 watt AM stations like there used to be in the 60's-70's.

50,000 watts outta Mexico, listen to the Border Radio!

 

[68PK21 440.6bbl]

ZZ Top - Heard It On The X



I listened to the 'X' late at night in Flagstaff Arizona when I was there.​

 

[Newport 66]

Around here all AM radio offers is talk radio, "news" and "sports".
There is one oldies station that really isn't good. That's a shame.... what happened to Larry Luggack (sic) on WLS or KAAY out of Little Rock??

 

[Turboomni]

Ahh the old days in the 70's and early 80's ,,talkin to tuckers on my souped up CB radio in my 72 FuryIII driving up through TX to Boston and back. I would prefer driving late at night,cooler air that the engine liked better and no traffic. Shoot the **** with the truckers and listen to AM radio broadcasts,some talk, some murder mysteries ,some comedies.
I remember getting stations clear as a bell some evenings many hundreds of miles away. I think the Ham radio guys call that skip.

 

[Trace 300 Hurst]

Pandora and Bluetooth are your friends....

 

[CBODY67]

When we got out '66 Newport when the '67s came out, the first trip we made to far West TX was an adventure in all of the stations the radio would receive. I thought that was neat as all get-out! It made me proud that we had a Chrysler!

Later, I added a second rear seat speaker to match the one already there. Sound quality was much better than anything Ford or GM had, period. AND, it had enough volume to drive some of my friends to hang off of the front seat back from the volume levels it would attain back there. hehe

When I got around to checking the frequency response of the speakers, with a new record I'd gotten, I discovered they were pretty good in that respect, too. Top end started to trail off at 10Khz and the low end decreased below 100hz. So, not bad at all. That was the normal 6x9 rear speakers.

If I was going to look for a radio for "the shop", I think I'd aim more for a '70s stereo, but they are a little pricey. But for just an AM radio, I'd aim for a '65-'66 CHRYSLER radio. The radio in my '67 Newport didn't perform as well, for some reason. Reception or sound wise. Not that the later Chrysler radios weren't good, just that the '66 seemed to be much better, to me.

I'll concur on the tube radios and keeping them going. Always seemed to be that "hummm" from the vibrator, at lower volume levels.

The reason I mentioned "Chrysler" specifically as I believe some of the Plymouth and Dodge radios didn't have the same amplifier power as the Chrysler-brand radios did. Seems like some parts book listings for Plymouth radios with 3-watt amps? or 8-watt amps? But no mention for the Chrysler-brand radios. Be that as it may.

You can find some decent 6x9s at the discount store, possibly, that'll work decently well. Just put them in a good enclosure for best results.

Just some thoughts,
CBODY67

 

[Jon O.]

Thinking of getting a 60s or 70s MoPar am radio to use in the garage.

Is the reception the same for them or are certain years, or model lines, better to pick up long distance stations?

What about older tube radios from the 50s? Anyone have experience with them?

Thanks.

Ive worked on at least hundreds of old radios, the most common failure in an old radio are the capacitors. Capacitors are dirt cheap too. Tubes can last a couple of lifetimes, and if you don't know someone that has them, tubes are way overpriced online. Tube radios produce a lot of heat, so the capacitors dry up faster - aka more likely to be bad and need replacement (not hard to do if you know how do solder.) Tube radios ive run into have more static, as already stated, (I think) can pick up further distances, but also have a higher fail rate. Transistor radio is less likely to just die on you one day, but it really is a matter of preference.
I like tube radios better because they are less complex, and I think they have a "Warmer quality" to the sound.
If you run across an old tube radio that needs fixing, I may be able to help you.

 

[1978 NYB]

AM radios we thought sounded pretty good back in the 60's and early 70's. Good reception if you lived in a urban area. We could listen to WLS (not sure I remember the call letters correctly) out of Chicago while living in Milwaukee. A lot of people including me would listen to 8 tracks. Quality of sound improved quite a bit in70's with FM becoming popular with cassettes bumping out the 8 tracks.

 

[CBODY67]

In many respects, the basic circuits were pretty much the same, but improved over time with better components. The "gang" tuners could be finessed to get that far-away station. The amps became more powerful, usually, or at least of better quality, especially after we got FM Stereo and tape units, which had better frequencies to reproduce.

When I was in college, I went to a mid-range stereo store and listened to a brand of receiver-amp that I hadn't heard of. It had more of a warm sound that normal items of that time. More like a tube-type radio of prior times, which I commented on. Don't remember the brand name. Or what they did to get that warmer sound out of a transistor circuit. That was in about '73.

Seems like the AM/FM radios didn't have quite as good of reception on AM as the AM-only radios did. But we got them to listen to FM, so the AM was secondary.

Just some thoughts,
CBODY67

 

[Jon O.]

Also, I forgot to say:
Tube radios in the late 60's are made with the first generation of plastic boards in them, and are prone to broken traces. I've got one in my kitchen that is nothing but trouble. Radios from the early 60s and before usually are hard wired, and are better made.

 

[Carmine]

Ive worked on at least hundreds of old radios, the most common failure in an old radio are the capacitors. Capacitors are dirt cheap too. Tubes can last a couple of lifetimes, and if you don't know someone that has them, tubes are way overpriced online. Tube radios produce a lot of heat, so the capacitors dry up faster - aka more likely to be bad and need replacement (not hard to do if you know how do solder.) Tube radios ive run into have more static, as already stated, (I think) can pick up further distances, but also have a higher fail rate. Transistor radio is less likely to just die on you one day, but it really is a matter of preference.
I like tube radios better because they are less complex, and I think they have a "Warmer quality" to the sound.
If you run across an old tube radio that needs fixing, I may be able to help you.

Good post.

I will add...

Daily-driving a car with a 1976 AM/FM mono radio in your area, I can pull this 1000 watt AM station (WMIC) from Sandusky, MI all the way from Auburn Hills to St. Clair Shores. Static around power lines, but better noise rejection than any newer car radio. Also have a 1973 AM-only in my truck. Also better than any newer radio on AM. I assume you plan to isolate the radio from noise generated by your AC to DC source?

I'm probably going to ditch the AM/FM mono radio in my Monaco for the stereo unit removed from my Magnum. You can have it if you want it. Free delivery to 1000 Chrysler Dr.

That said, AM is not much to brag about in this town. Until noon, WjR sucks. After 3, it goes back to sucking again until 7, when it switches to infomercials. Pathetic. 580 AM is good, but because of the mandated Canadian content, I can only listen to The Guess Who and Three Dog Night a few times before packing it in. Highly recommend Dennis Prager on AM 1400... Not so much "politics", more about "thinking".

 

[MarPar]

AM radios we thought sounded pretty good back in the 60's and early 70's. Good reception if you lived in a urban area. We could listen to WLS (not sure I remember the call letters correctly) out of Chicago while living in Milwaukee. A lot of people including me would listen to 8 tracks. Quality of sound improved quite a bit in70's with FM becoming popular with cassettes bumping out the 8 tracks.

Indeed it is WLS.

Fun Fact...WLS was founded and owned and operated by Sears for a long time. And the call letters stand for World's Largest Store. The radio station is still around on Chicago airwaves today. 890am

 

[Mike66Chryslers]

You can find some decent 6x9s at the discount store, possibly, that'll work decently well. Just put them in a good enclosure for best results.

Just some thoughts,
CBODY67

Our 1960s factory radios used 8-ohm impedance speakers. New automotive sound systems are designed for speakers with 4-ohms impedance. New off-the-shelf automotive speakers are all 4-ohm impedance. If you connect one of these to a factory C-body radio, it will sound distorted because you're overdriving the amplifier transistors, which will ultimately fry. If you're just wiring-up a radio for your shop, one easy solution would be to run two new 4-ohm speakers in series, so the series impedance is 8-ohms.

 

[1978 NYB]

IIRC, the ground on the old speakers is the metal frame of the speaker. I believe my NYB only had a power wire to the speaker.

 

[MarPar]

Sound familiar, Bob?

 

[68PK21 440.6bbl]

Ahh the old days in the 70's and early 80's ,,talkin to tuckers on my souped up CB radio in my 72 FuryIII driving up through TX to Boston and back. I would prefer driving late at night,cooler air that the engine liked better and no traffic. Shoot the **** with the truckers and listen to AM radio broadcasts,some talk, some murder mysteries ,some comedies.
I remember getting stations clear as a bell some evenings many hundreds of miles away. I think the Ham radio guys call that skip.

Don't forget the late night preachers, in the more rural areas of the country (south) it was about all that you would get late at night on the AM band. FM forget about it unless your in a urban area or could pick up a pirate ship. Once coming down I-95 on a Sunday morning I was happy to get a rock station on the FM out of DC but by the time I reached Richmond, it was all preaching all over the airwaves, we were all going to hell!
(I'll save the 'Cage Rash Story' for another thread).

 

[68PK21 440.6bbl]

50,000 watts outta Mexico, listen to the Border Radio!

50,000 watts? More like 500,000 (claimed), more history about "Border Blaster" radio stations in Mexico from Billy Gibbons himself.
Heard It On The X by ZZ Top - Songfacts

Texas Border Radio

BORDER RADIO | The Handbook of Texas Online| Texas State Historical Association (TSHA)