I have installed a CD Player/Radio in my 29 Plymouth coupe. I installed it behind the seat in the storage box, along with the speakers. My question is: Is it possible to hook up the "chicken wire" in the roof to use it as the antenna? Or what would be the best way/or kind of way, to hook up an antenna so it isn't seen? Any ideas? I posted this on the POC site as well, maybe I will get some good ideas between the two sites.
Thanks,
SD Glenn
There is an antenna made to go in the fairing on a motorcycle. I have used them but can't remember the manufacture. If you search for antennas for Harley Davidson you will find them.
Thanks Doug, one more thing...... The CD/Radio is hooked to a 12V Battery in the trunk and not grounded to the car body at all, only the 12V Battery, negative ground. What happens if the Antenna system completes a ground to the car body with the positive ground?
Thanks,
SD Glenn
These antennas have a coax cable just like any antenna but it also has to be connected to a power source and you would connect that to your 12v battery. The antenna itself is not grounded
Thanks Doug, We have a "Brand New" Harley Davidson dealer in my town, just opened his doors this spring. I will stop and visit with them tomorrow.
Thanks again.
SD Glenn
I stopped by the local Harley Davidson shop today. They had an antenna that fits behind the fairing on thier Bikes and works very well there, should work on a Plymouth then Right? Haven't looked into where to install it yet, maybe under the sunvisor, Maybe? I am a little unsure about the idea of putting it under the running boards.
SD Glenn
Where did I screw up. OK, this is what is happening.
The radio and CD Player work great... When the car is not running. As soon as I turn on the ignition ther NO problem, working good. AS SOON as I start the engine, There is nothing, it seems to shut down the whole radio. No sound at all, even the LED display does not work right. Any Ideas will be appreciated, maybe suppressors on the generator and distributor? There is definitely NO conection between the radio system and the car body, or the car wireing.Thanks
Has anybody done this before, curious....
BUT not the CD Player, it still is working with the car running. (another problem with that but I know what that is..When the vehicle is moving it skips tracks, radio is vertical, needs to be horizonal I think)
SD Glenn
You have the radio on it's own 12v power sorce, right?
You will haft to make sure the radio is not mounted to metal. It will haft to be insulated. I havfe done this before on "A"s and as long as you insulate them fully it works good and sometime you get electric noise tho. But that can be fixed too. Good luck Craig
The Radio has its own 12 Volt system, not hooked to the frame in anyway. The Radio is NOT touching any metal in the car at all. The antenna and radio are sharing the same ground and positive source from the 12V battery. This Motorcycle antenna requires battery power to recieve max output, and has that. Thanks guys. Tod suggested RFI from the plug wires, I am going to try that tomorrow. Will let you all know if that works.
Thanks
SD Glenn
Quote from: Glenn on June 19, 2011, 10:53:26 PM
The Radio has its own 12 Volt system, not hooked to the frame in anyway. The Radio is NOT touching any metal in the car at all. The antenna and radio are sharing the same ground and positive source from the 12V battery. This Motorcycle antenna requires battery power to recieve max output, and has that. Thanks guys. Tod suggested RFI from the plug wires, I am going to try that tomorrow. Will let you all know if that works.
Thanks
SD Glenn
Glenn,
RFI from the motor will not affect the FM radio. Most likely something to do with the antenna. If you have one, just plug in a regular antenna. My 48 Plymouth works fine with 8 inches of bare unshielded wire tucked between the windshield glass and the rubber gasket.
Chet...
Chet,
I tryed putting just a lead cable on my radio, the reception was pretty good, again as soon as I started the engine the same thing happened-- lost reception and the LEDs went goofy.
I tryed cranking the engine without the ignition on, the radio played on, immediately when I turned on the key the radio quit. lol.
I wonder, the 29 has a coil wire that is close to 6 feet long, from the distributor, thru the firewall, to the coil on the back side of the dask. Do you suppose, the coil being that close to the radio there could be some feed back that would effect this thing. lol (Picking at straws now maybe)
I may try a new RFI Coil wire tomorrow(if I can find one that long) to see what happens.
Thanks,
SD Glenn
Quote from: Glenn on June 20, 2011, 11:30:48 PM
Chet,
quit. lol.
I wonder, the 29 has a coil wire that is close to 6 feet long, from the distributor, thru the firewall, to the coil on the back side of the dask. Do you suppose, the coil being that close to the radio there could be some feed back that would effect this thing. lol (Picking at straws now maybe)
I may try a new RFI Coil wire tomorrow(if I can find one that long) to see what happens.
Thanks,
SD Glenn
Glenn,
The spark plug cable should be shielded but you could test this by introducing a transistor radio near the installed radio to determine if you are getting a strong RF off the coil wire. If not I would also suspect an AC signal on the power line. This could be isolated with a diode. The coil or cap will only work for radio frequency and must match the frequency to eliminate the signal. Maybe the ignition coil is producing such a strong RF it is killing the radio. That long coil wire could be acking like an antena. Interesting problem.
Chet...
Chet, Just about all you said is Greek to me. lol What would happen if I put a transistor radio near the radio?
Where would a diode be installed, to isolate the AC Signal?
Where would the AC signal come from?
The coil or cap will only work for radio frequency and must match the frequency to eliminate the signal. I don't know what this means?
I am not very bright on this kind of stuff.... sorry,,, not bright at all about this stuff. Thanks,
SD Glenn
one more thing ...... it is now 5PM, I have been trying different things with the radio, checking all the wiring, etc.
The last thing I noticed was... I reached over and shut off the radio, I got a shock. Not hard but enough to make me jump. lol. What do you think of that developement? Could RFI cause that to happen, or my imagination? lol
I did put a transistor radio next to the car radio, the car radio died when I started the car and the transistor radio played on with no change in the volume and no static.
Thanks,
SD Glenn
Glenn,
Could you post a diagram of how things are wired and pay attention to what is positive and negative. What if any wires are connected to your existing car wires ?
If you have a volt meter, measure the voltage across the power lines to the radio first on the DC volt scale then on the AC volt scale. This would be very helpful in determining what is going on. Do this first with the motor not running then with the motor running. Radio on.
Chet...
Chet, I will do that first thing tomorrow. After breakfast of course. lol I appreciate you taking the time to help me figure this out. There is a parade this coming weekend, about 100 mile north of me, but my grandson (8 year old) may be going with me, he seems to have some interest in these older cars, and likes to wave at the people and throw candy. lol
Later, thanks
SD Glenn
Quote from: Glenn on June 21, 2011, 10:35:27 PM
Chet, I will do that first thing tomorrow. After breakfast of course. lol I appreciate you taking the time to help me figure this out. There is a parade this coming weekend, about 100 mile north of me, but my grandson (8 year old) may be going with me, he seems to have some interest in these older cars, and likes to wave at the people and throw candy. lol
Later, thanks
SD Glenn
Let's see:
100 mile drive north,
with grandson,
in an old Plymouth,
You are a brave man.
Chet...
LOL, no, we will be trailering the Plymouth. However, I am pretty confident the Plymouth would make the trip (along with AAA of course). I have put a lot of miles on and had no problems, of course problems show up when you area long way from home, or in an ackward place.
SD Glenn
Chet, We got it fixed, thanks a whole lot.
I followed your instructions, even drew up the diagram. (The radio is on its own circuit)
When I started the Volt meter testing, I started with the ground on the car body and positive lead to my 12V lead to the radio, the volt meter showed no voltage, then I started the car, immediately I had a spike of .08 volts, and the radio died. I took the switch down from the dash (I have a switch on the dash to shut off the 12V system to the radio) and dropped it on the floor, the radio came back on with the engine running. Surprised me. As I moved the switch back toward the dash the radio would die. The switch was mounted only about a foot to the left of the coil, a little further away and there is no longer a problem.(there is about 4 inches difference of where it works or not) (The coil and Ignition Key are one assemble on the back side of the dash)
I would not have located this for a long, long time without your help. Thanks again.
SD Glenn
Good Glenn,
Early radio utilized a spark coil to generate radio waves. Basically an ignition coil crudely serves the same function. The long wire to the engine serves as the antenna. The old coil and wire must be poorly shield so the closer your radio circuitry got to the coil the more RF induced into the power line and radio circuitry until it totally blacked out your radio. This can happen to any radio in close proximity to a transmitter.
Lot's of thinks get fixed by serendipity. Just ask Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Watson. "Watson come here I need you" !!! and the telephone is history. They were actually trying to build a multi-tone telegraph that could transmit multiple telegraph signals on the same wire.
Have fun, Chet...