No AM station in my hometown

Unknown

Here's an oddball situation that probably will affect more of us as time goes on. The last AM radio station in our area closed its doors about a year or so ago. I have a perfectly good radio in my 53 Hornet, but can't get any music out of it due to all our stations having switched to FM! I know the radio works fine because I can pick up a couple faint stations late at night, but short of only driving at night, what can I do -- hide a transistor under the seat?
I'd be willing to switch the radio innards to FM, but there are a couple snags to this that will have to be worked out. Number one is I am not willing to alter the stock appearance of the radio face in any way, or the way it operates, (the pushbuttons), and number two is I am not willing to switch to a 12 volt system.
Perhaps there is a small transformer I could use to up the voltage, but is there someone out there who can graft in a solid state reciever into the old housing? One thing I won't miss is the hum from the old vibrator!
Apparently, AM is going the way of the Hudson factory, so I'll bet I'm not the only one that will be needing this service in future.

silverone

Unknown

Buy a small hand held radio and use batteries. Should not alter your cars apperance
russ m

Unknown

Several companies will convert your old 6 volt AM radio to AM-FM, some of them actually using the old tube-type technology to do so. The radio looks exactly the same when they're finished (the dial, of course, would only bear the old AM markings). To change from AM to FM, one merely turns the radio off and on again. I have two friends who have had this done to their car radios, one with a Hudson and the other with a Studebaker. Look in the 'Services' section of Hemmings Motor News. (It may also be listed on their website at Hemmings.com )

Unknown

you can purchase a voltage inverter and run a 12 volt modern stereo radio/tape/cd player. The modern unit can be hid inside glove box, or under dash inside a tissue dispenser, like I did in my 51. Antique Automobile Radio Antique Automobile radio can convert your radio to fm or sell you inverter. If you want pictures of radio in tissue dispenser, e-mail me dsollon@comcast.net

[Deleted User]

Thanks Guys, I have sent off an e-mail to Antiqueautomobileradio and will see what they have to say. If they can't fix the problem, I'll check out Hemmings and see who can help me out there.

Unknown

You may also want to get in touch with the HET Radio Technical Advisor, Steve Engle. I just got my radio back from him and he did a super repair at a extremely reasonable price. His address and phone number are in the WTN.

Unknown

Most conversions are $500 on up

[Deleted User]

I checked with the folks at antique automobile radio as recommended, and they say they can convert my original radio to am/fm sterio and run it off 6 volt positive ground with an inverter. Price will be around 500 bucks as mentioned.
Sooooo -- another problem solved!!
What a clever lot --- these Hudson Folks!
I'm humbled to be thought of as one of them!
Thanks again!

silverone

Unknown

You might consider getting a remote controled radio. You can have Am/Fm, Multiplayer CD if you want. It can be mounted ANYWHERE in the car, and you could take it off, and transfer to another car in the future.

[Deleted User]

That's an interesting idea! Does the remote have to "see" the reciever for it to work properly though? If I went this route, I'd want all the components hidden away and out of sight completely, except for the remote of course, which I assume would be wireless.
This idea opens up another possibility as well, that being that one could record a couple hours or more of old radio programs from the era when your car was made, and play them for your passengers to give them that authentic feel and add to the experience with another dimension! I'll bet the older folks with you would really get off on that!
I used to tease the youg kids when I had another 1950's car, and they'd ask me if the radio really works. I'd tell them "Yes, it does, but it just plays really old music"! Without fail they'd all give me a puzzled look and for a minute or two stand there wondering if I'm really pulling their leg or not!
Now this is a way one could prove it!! That'd blow their socks off I'm sure, especially if you didn't give away the secret, and at least pretended to just be turning the dash radio on.
Somehow though, I'd feel better if the original dash radio was making the sounds, so I think I'll go with converting that one.

silverone.

Unknown

We think too much alike! Go to www.discjockey.org/topsongs.html and you can find the top songs of any year, from 1939 to present.

Unknown

In the WTN (I think the May-June 2004 Issue) there was an article about a Kenwood AM-FM, cassette radio that said "Hudson" on the front. You may want to look into this option as $500.00 is quite a bit of money to spend (to poor old me anyway). Yesterday afternoon I was able to pick up an AM station on my radio that was about 60 miles away and I was sitting inside a garage with a tin roof. This makes me wonder if your radio may just be weak or the antenna is faulty. Why don't you try this: at night you should be able to pick up the "clear channel" AM stations like WOR in Chicago and WSM and WLAC in Nashville. Tonight give it a try and see what happens. All that it costs is your time and you may be plesently surprised. 'Just a couple of thoughts.