All I listen to on the radio is a local sports-talk AM radio station. My '80 300TD, with original radio, will only get the strongest 2 local AM radio stations, mine not being one of them. Is there any way to boost reception, or is a new radio my best option?
Thanks,
JL

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Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

JimmyL,

Only way to find out is to take the radio to a radio repair shop, preferably one that specializes in car radios. You might even talk to a radio technician before you remove the radio.

Some radios have a trim pot to match the input circuit to the antenna. Adjusting this trim pot might help you get better reception. I suggest you ask the technician about this.

P E H

An email to these guys might get some good information:

http://www.becker.de/html/de/produkt_promd4937.html

Then there is this site with a download manual for $15 :

http://www.beckerelectronics.com/beckermanual.html

Ive found the AM reception in these cars to be poor unless the antenna is to maximum length.

I just put a new eclipse radio in. I was hesitant to get rid of my old becker, but couldnt stand the lack of backlight, and it would have cost me more to get it redone than to buy the new (floor model) MP3/CD player. It looks good, except that it has blue backlighting on the two turn knobs (one on either side just like the becker), which is a distraction form the subtle lighting scheme the rest of the car has. The AM reception definitely has increased since replacing it (still only at max length), but the FM i think is a bit too sensitive now, and so it is a bit scratchy sometimes.

JMH

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Current Diesels:
1981 240D (73K)
1982 300CD (169k)
1985 190D (169k)
1991 350SD (113k)
1991 350SD (206k)
1991 300D (228k)
1993 300SD (291k)
1993 300D 2.5T (338k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (442k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (265k)

Past Diesels:
1983 300D (228K)
1985 300D (233K)

Insert a few yards of wire in the aerial connector on the radio. If the reception is still poor the fault is with the radio. It can always be repaired, however, the decision will be with you whether to pay for a repair or get another radio.

If the reception is good then the fault is to be located in the coax. cable that connects your telescopic antenna with the antenna connector on the radio. I learned the other day that 'they' put a capacitor in the connectors of the coax cable. Maybe so that no inducted current would damage the radio. It however decreases the signal strength.

There is a simple way to test this - take a voltmeter (for example) with a beep function - when there is a closed circuit the voltmeter will beep. Check the cable for consistency - short one end of the cable (short center with the shield) and check the opposite end with the voltmeter. It should make a beep. If it does not then the cable is either cut or has capacitors in its connectors. The latter was my case. I cut the connectors off and installed new connectors. Since then I have a good reception.

Does someone know what the exact function of the capacitors is?

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=antenna+capacitor&btnG=Google+Search

They haven't made an AM radio with decent reception since they quit putting tubes in radios! Seriously, go over all the connections including the ground connection at the antenna. Also look for kinks in the antenna cable. It really can make a difference on AM reception. AM reception is really an iffy thing when you put the radio in one end of the car and the antenna in the other. The losses along the cable of course increase with length.

What was decent in the tube radio days? On the AC delco radio in my truck, I can get AM hockey games from toronto at night in mid-eastern PA (at night), and on my cheapo Sony alarm clock, I get morning wakeup shows from Detroit in Northern DE (I wake up at 5am, maybe that has something to do with it).

I also know in my truck I can get the talk am radio station from north NJ/NYC that I like down well into MD, nearly to DC, albeit scratchy, all day long.

JMH

__________________
Current Diesels:
1981 240D (73K)
1982 300CD (169k)
1985 190D (169k)
1991 350SD (113k)
1991 350SD (206k)
1991 300D (228k)
1993 300SD (291k)
1993 300D 2.5T (338k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (442k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (265k)

Past Diesels:
1983 300D (228K)
1985 300D (233K)

JHZR2, He was being funny about that.....
Notice how he put " Seriously" after that statement ... that was the indicator....

Thee is a button on my Becker that adjusts the reception sensitivity, that resets to the low setting every time the car is shut off, the icon on it looks like a triangle with a circle at the apex, and on the display it gets more circles around it as its turned up....

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'84 300SD veg-oil bliss
'83 300SD veg-oil beater