AM Car Radio Question

J

JohnG

Joined
Oct 6, 1998
Messages
745
My wife's 97 Outback had a decent am/fm/cassette that finally went on the blink. The radio worked well, although we needed to use the whip antenna to get am reception during the day

Circuit City had what looked to be a good deal, so we went and had it done for $125 or so, installed. Sony brand, their recommendation. It's shiny and LED-y and has a remote. The FM works fine but NO AM reception at all. I mean, not even static.

The installer dude says none of their car stereos will provide "good" AM reception--no aftermarket radios do, only the OEM ones. But no AM at all? We live 55 miles from New York City and 35 from Philly and I can get dozens of AM stations on any other radio, so it's not the location.

Can this possibly be true? I'm assuming they didn't hook up something like the antenna....?
 
Yeah, did the same to an older '80 F150. New antenna, new radio, couldn't get crap 15 miles from the station. The factory AM/FM would pull that particular talk radio station in at the limit of it's range - over 45 miles.

With the lack of bells and whistles available on newer models, at least the AM side still works, and I'll probably not buy aftermarket again because of it. But radio is not a prime issue with me, or mega watt output. I tend to appreciate the machine more than the accessories. I hear music in the hum of BFG AT/KO's or the 2300 rpm drone of a 302 with Tri Y headers . . .
 
Thanks, tirod3. I spend a lot of time on the road so a good quality radio makes traveling a bit easier for me :-)
 
JohnG said:
The FM works fine but NO AM reception at all. I mean, not even static.

The installer dude says none of their car stereos will provide "good" AM reception--no aftermarket radios do, only the OEM ones.
Click to expand...

He's full of it. Complain to the manager.

If the OEM radio worked well, then get another; the installation will be a slam-dunk. Junk yards are full of wrecked '97 Outbacks with radios that are fine which are easy to remove and they'll sell you cheap. Look on eBay too. You'll probably find a nice one tehre for cheap.
 
i have had aftermarket cassette/AM-FM radios installed on a couple of cars and the AM reception was fine FWIW,
 
I suspected as much--a rush job at Circuit City versus going to a specialist who might charge an extra $25 . Thanks for the tips, guys, it's greatly appreciated.
 
If you're still interested in aftermarket, you might try Blaupunkt. They've always had a reputation for strong AM/FM tuners.
 
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