I have an 80s model delco am/fm radio. I'd like to attach an external
long wire AM antenna, an external FM antenna, and rig something up so
I can listen to it with headphones at bedside.

Questions:

1. What do I need to do/build the headphone connection? Can I put
something together using the car radio speaker wires?

2. Is it possible to hook up the long wire antenna without getting too
complicated? Can I use the antenna plug on the radio in some way, or
will I have to get inside the box? I don't know a lot about
electronics. I have a soldering iron and have fixed the occasional
loose wire on things around the house, but not much more than that.

Or should I just forget it and buy a portable receiver? I mainly want
to listen to AM talk at night and a particular FM college station in
the next town. I read on several posts about using a car radio
because of the AM reception.

I've also thought about buying a used Grundig receiver, in particular
the S350. I think having the option of listening to shortwave might
be fun. Does this thing put out good audio via headphones?

Thanks.

"ellisc" wrote in message
m...

1. What do I need to do/build the headphone connection? Can I put
something together using the car radio speaker wires?

You can use the speaker wires, however, the audio used to feed the speakers
will be amplified, and will probably overdrive your headphones. You'll need
to find a way to match the headphones to the speaker output.

2. Is it possible to hook up the long wire antenna without getting too
complicated? Can I use the antenna plug on the radio in some way, or
will I have to get inside the box? I don't know a lot about
electronics. I have a soldering iron and have fixed the occasional
loose wire on things around the house, but not much more than that.

It should be easy to connect a random wire antenna to the jack of the car
radio. Just solder the plug onto the wire antenna. I think they use
Motorola type plugs as a standard. However, an antenna that is good for the
AM broadcast band won't necessarily be good for the FM broadcast band.
However, as you stated below, you just want to listen to an FM station in
the next town, so a random wire antenna will probably work OK.

Or should I just forget it and buy a portable receiver? I mainly want
to listen to AM talk at night and a particular FM college station in
the next town. I read on several posts about using a car radio
because of the AM reception.

Well it all depends on if you're looking to do it easy, or if you want the
challenge of making it work. If you're looking for a technical challenge
then the car radio will fit the bill. You'll need to match the headphones
to the speaker output, attach an antenna, and find a way to power it from
12VDC, either from a battery or power supply. It would be fairly easy to go
buy a decent AM/FM radio for DXing (GE Superradio comes to mind).


--
Tom Sevart N2UHC
Frontenac, KS
http://www.geocities.com/n2uhc

"Tom Sevart" wrote in message
...

"ellisc" wrote in message
m...

1. What do I need to do/build the headphone connection? Can I put
something together using the car radio speaker wires?

You can use the speaker wires, however, the audio used to feed the
speakers
will be amplified, and will probably overdrive your headphones. You'll
need
to find a way to match the headphones to the speaker output.

This is easily done with a resistor divider... I'd put a load
for the speaker, too. This would look like an 8-ohm 20W
resistor (RatShak sells 'em) across the speaker leads, with
a 500ohm pot across that... your h-phones are tapped
from ground to the center wiper of the pot. Adjust for taste.
__
Steve
KI5YG
..

ellisc wrote:

I have an 80s model delco am/fm radio. I'd like to attach an external
long wire AM antenna, an external FM antenna, and rig something up so
I can listen to it with headphones at bedside.

Questions:

1. What do I need to do/build the headphone connection? Can I put
something together using the car radio speaker wires?

2. Is it possible to hook up the long wire antenna without getting too
complicated? Can I use the antenna plug on the radio in some way, or
will I have to get inside the box? I don't know a lot about
electronics. I have a soldering iron and have fixed the occasional
loose wire on things around the house, but not much more than that.

Or should I just forget it and buy a portable receiver? I mainly want
to listen to AM talk at night and a particular FM college station in
the next town. I read on several posts about using a car radio
because of the AM reception.

I've also thought about buying a used Grundig receiver, in particular
the S350. I think having the option of listening to shortwave might
be fun. Does this thing put out good audio via headphones?

Thanks.

It would be easier to buy a normal radio. For AM a CCRadio or GE
Superadio 3 would work. The best FM reciever there is is the Tivoli
Audio Henry Kloss Model One, but be prepared to plunk down mucho dinero
for one ($100 last time I checked) and it's not that great on AM. I'd go
with a SR3, or you can try to get an SR2, which some think had better
build quality, but since it's (obviously) an earlier, out of production
model it's hard to find.

tommyknocker wrote in message ...

It would be easier to buy a normal radio. For AM a CCRadio or GE
Superadio 3 would work. The best FM reciever there is is the Tivoli
Audio Henry Kloss Model One, but be prepared to plunk down mucho dinero
for one ($100 last time I checked) and it's not that great on AM. I'd go
with a SR3, or you can try to get an SR2, which some think had better
build quality, but since it's (obviously) an earlier, out of production
model it's hard to find.

The superradio isn't fm stereo, is it? I want stereo for fm listening.

"ellisc" wrote in message
m...
I have an 80s model delco am/fm radio. I'd like to attach an external
long wire AM antenna, an external FM antenna, and rig something up so
I can listen to it with headphones at bedside.

Questions:

1. What do I need to do/build the headphone connection? Can I put
something together using the car radio speaker wires?

2. Is it possible to hook up the long wire antenna without getting too
complicated? Can I use the antenna plug on the radio in some way, or
will I have to get inside the box? I don't know a lot about
electronics. I have a soldering iron and have fixed the occasional
loose wire on things around the house, but not much more than that.

Or should I just forget it and buy a portable receiver? I mainly want
to listen to AM talk at night and a particular FM college station in
the next town. I read on several posts about using a car radio
because of the AM reception.

I've also thought about buying a used Grundig receiver, in particular
the S350. I think having the option of listening to shortwave might
be fun. Does this thing put out good audio via headphones?

Thanks.

"ellisc" wrote in message
m...
I have an 80s model delco am/fm radio. I'd like to attach an external
long wire AM antenna, an external FM antenna, and rig something up so
I can listen to it with headphones at bedside.

Questions:


Depending on the frondend design... Early AM car radios included the
antenna feedline capacitance as part of the tuned circuit; and included
a trimmer to fine tune the radio tracking to match the antenna. The
antenna was connected to a very high impedance point of the RF
stage tank.

Later designs used aperiodic frontends, and were less critical. You
might loss ground using a long antenna on the set, depending on its
vintage.

pete

On 6 Feb 2004 10:25:58 -0800, (ellisc) wrote:

I have an 80s model delco am/fm radio. I'd like to attach an external
long wire AM antenna, an external FM antenna, and rig something up so
I can listen to it with headphones at bedside.

Questions:

1. What do I need to do/build the headphone connection? Can I put
something together using the car radio speaker wires?

Get a 1/8" stereo jack from RS or wherever. Use a 100 ohm resistor
between left and right speaker outputs and the jack. Too loud? Try a
higher value. Not loud enough? Try a lower value. Resistors are
cheap.

2. Is it possible to hook up the long wire antenna without getting too
complicated? Can I use the antenna plug on the radio in some way, or
will I have to get inside the box? I don't know a lot about
electronics. I have a soldering iron and have fixed the occasional
loose wire on things around the house, but not much more than that.

For normal use just put a 5 foot length of wire on it. That should
work for FM, too. It's not much different than what was on the car.

If you want to listen to distant stations a different antenna is
needed for AM and FM. I used a tuned loop antenna with a shielded
pickup loop on a mid-80's Dodge radio and it worked great. It was
selective enough to bring in stations adjacent to a nearby 50,000 watt
clear channel station (WHAM 1180, Rochester, NY).

Anyway, try it out. It will cost a buck or two and you will learn
something in the process.

Good luck,
Jim

"ellisc" wrote in message
om...

The superradio isn't fm stereo, is it? I want stereo for fm listening.

It's only got one large speaker, not sure if it has stereo through the
headphone jack. Heck, I'm not even sure if it does have a headphone jack.
Mine is stowed away in the camper & is mainly used for listening on camping
trips.


--
Tom Sevart N2UHC
Frontenac, KS
http://www.geocities.com/n2uhc

CDE,

The CCRadioPlus has FM Stereo via the Headphones and LineOuts.
+ External Antenna Connections: AM is OK and FM is Poor.
+ Build-in-Speaker Sound: Designed for th Human Voice; but Good.
+ Price = $160 -&- Value = Good
http://www.radiointel.com/review-ccradioplus.htm
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CCRadio/

The GE Superadio III 'only' has Mono-Phonic FM Sound.
+ External Antenna Connections: AM is Ok and FM is Ok.
+ Build-in-Speaker Sound: The Best.
+ Price = $60 -&- Value = Very Good
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SuperadioIII/

The Tivoli Model One FM Stereo via the Headphones and Rec-Out.
+ External Antenna Connections: FM is Ok and AM None.
+ Build-in-Speaker Sound: Very Good.
+ Price = $100 -&- Value = Good
http://www.tivoliaudio.com/pm1blu.htm

The Grundig S350 has FM Stereo via the LineOuts
and only Mono-Phonic Sound via the Headphones.
+ External Antenna Connections: AM is Very Good and FM is Very Good.
+ Build-in-Speaker Sound: Very Good.
+ Price = $100 -&- Value = Best
http://www.radiointel.com/review-GrundigS350.htm
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Grundig-S350/

Recently claims have been made about the better than average
AM & FM Recetion of these radios:
* Cambridge Soundworks CD 740
* Sangean WR-1 Wooden Radio
* Sangean Q Radio


FWIW: I was not impressed with the FM Reception of the Tivoli Model
One.
- In the "Urban" SF Bay Area using an Omni-Directional "X" External
FM Antenna mounted at 28Ft. The Tivoli Model One performed as well
as the CCRadioPlus, GE Superadio III, Sony ICF-2010; Grundig S350;
and Grundig Satellit 800-M.
- In the "Rural" Twain Harte,CA location Up-in-the-Hills and
Down-in-the-Valley using an FM Reflect External FM Antenna located
on the second story of the house. The Tivoli Model One did not
performed as well as the CCRadioPlus, GE Superadio III, Sony ICF-2010;
and Grundig S350.


iane ~ RHF
..
..
= = = (ellisc)
= = = wrote in message . com...
tommyknocker wrote in message ...

It would be easier to buy a normal radio. For AM a CCRadio or GE
Superadio 3 would work. The best FM reciever there is is the Tivoli
Audio Henry Kloss Model One, but be prepared to plunk down mucho dinero
for one ($100 last time I checked) and it's not that great on AM. I'd go
with a SR3, or you can try to get an SR2, which some think had better
build quality, but since it's (obviously) an earlier, out of production
model it's hard to find.


The superradio isn't fm stereo, is it? I want stereo for fm
listening.

= = = From: ellisc )
= = = Subject: messing with a car radio
Newsgroups: rec.radio.amateur.homebrew, rec.radio.amateur.antenna,
rec.radio.amateur.equipment, rec.radio.shortwave
Date: 2004-02-06 10:25:59 PST

I have an 80s model delco am/fm radio. I'd like to attach an external
long wire AM antenna, an external FM antenna, and rig something up so
I can listen to it with headphones at bedside.

Questions:

1. What do I need to do/build the headphone connection? Can I put
something together using the car radio speaker wires?

2. Is it possible to hook up the long wire antenna without getting too
complicated? Can I use the antenna plug on the radio in some way, or
will I have to get inside the box? I don't know a lot about
electronics. I have a soldering iron and have fixed the occasional
loose wire on things around the house, but not much more than that.

Or should I just forget it and buy a portable receiver? I mainly want
to listen to AM talk at night and a particular FM college station in
the next town. I read on several posts about using a car radio
because of the AM reception.

I've also thought about buying a used Grundig receiver, in particular
the S350. I think having the option of listening to shortwave might
be fun. Does this thing put out good audio via headphones?

Thanks.