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Antenna Repair & Replacement

Carol22

Nov 2, 2022
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Hi! New Member here with what I hope is a simple question with a simple answer. Located my grandmother's AMC Solid State transistor radio hidden in box in closet for years. In good condition except it's missing antenna, snapped off. How do I find a replacement? Tried eBay, no luck. Info: AMC TF-97 telescopic antenna, male part. Much thanks from a grateful granddaughter.
 

kellys_eye

Jun 25, 2010
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You are unlikely to find an identical replacement part unless you ask on a radio-specific (vintage radio repair etc) forum to see if anyone has one. The usual method is to take the relevant measurements and fit the next-best-thing.
 

bertus

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Nov 8, 2019
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73's de Edd

Aug 21, 2015
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Mme Carol . . . .

Come on . . . .now . . . . time to . . . . . "FESS up . . . . . . was it REALLY yourself or one of your cousins, BEING responsible for that staff getting broken off, back in childhood times ?

Firstly . . . . . let me Edd-i-cate you a bit, before having you spending 'enny of your's HARD earned munneys !



There is being the AM portion of the radio and then the FM portion.
The AM reception . . .
is dependent upon a ferrite rod antenna located inside the radio case and is being as well protected as The Pillsbury Doughboy is, inside of his cannister.
So, initially evaluate the radios AM performance and I am expecting it to be normal and fully adequate.

Now for the FM portion . . .
Is dependeent upon assistance for pulling in weaker FM stations, by the lifting up of that telescopic rod antenna.
So o o o o o o . . . . . . it looks that the bottom ~6 inch enclosed length of that staff is still intact and doing the best job that it can for you.
You're just missing the top 12-18 inch portion.
If being MY situation, what this wise old owl would be doing is finding myself a 24 inch length of wire in order to then touch its one ends exposed copper wire (s) to that chromed antenna nub; to see if a weakly received FM station will THEN pop up to having GOOD reception.
It can be laid to any side direction and does not particularly have to be held up vertically.
I can also immediately think of several "chromed" / "( NON INSULATED OR PAINTED OVER )" pieces of metal of that length, about the house, that I also could touch to that ant rods end connection.
In my thinking of "girlie" things, as substitutes, a hair curler iron or blow drier comes to mind.
Just try one / or / the other plug ends, touching to that nub to see the results, with the cord wire being the receive antenna.
If this then doesn't make the FM work, then expect a circuit fault of the FM section inside of the radio.
Then, there will be no expense of finding-buying-installing a rod antenna . . . . . if this test tells you that action would be futile, anyhow.

Ye Olde Tyme Ray-Dee-Ooo . . .
AMC Transistor TF97.png

73's de Edd . . . . .


If I could just say one thing about my wife's cooking . . . . she sure broke our dog from begging at the table.


.
 
Last edited:

Carol22

Nov 2, 2022
5
Joined
Nov 2, 2022
Messages
5
Mme Carol . . . .

Come on . . . .now . . . . time to . . . . . "FESS up . . . . . . was it REALLY yourself or one of your cousins, BEING responsible for that staff getting broken off, back in childhood times ?

Firstly . . . . . let me Edd-i-cate you a bit, before having you spending 'enny of your's HARD earned munneys !



There is being the AM portion of the radio and then the FM portion.
The AM reception . . .
is dependent upon a ferrite rod antenna located inside the radio case and is being as well protected as The Pillsbury Doughboy is, inside of his cannister.
So, initially evaluate the radios AM performance and I am expecting it to be normal and fully adequate.

Now for the FM portion . . .
Is dependeent upon assistance for pulling in weaker FM stations, by the lifting up of that telescopic rod antenna.
So o o o o o o . . . . . . it looks that the bottom ~6 inch enclosed length of that staff is still intact and doing the best job that it can for you.
You're just missing the top 12-18 inch portion.
If being MY situation, what this wise old owl would be doing is finding myself a 24 inch length of wire in order to then touch its one ends exposed copper wire (s) to that chromed antenna nub; to see if a weakly received FM station will THEN pop up to having GOOD reception.
It can be laid to any side direction and does not particularly have to be held up vertically.
I can also immediately think of several "chromed" / "( NON INSULATED OR PAINTED OVER )" pieces of metal of that length, about the house, that I also could touch to that ant rods end connection.
In my thinking of "girlie" things, as substitutes, a hair curler iron or blow drier comes to mind.
Just try one / or / the other plug ends, touching to that nub to see the results, with the cord wire being the receive antenna.
If this then doesn't make the FM work, then expect a circuit fault of the FM section inside of the radio.
Then, there will be no expense of finding-buying-installing a rod antenna . . . . . if this test tells you that action would be futile, anyhow.

Ye Olde Tyme Ray-Dee-Ooo . . .
View attachment 56769

73's de Edd . . . . .


If I could just say one thing about my wife's cooking . . . . she sure broke our dog from begging at the table.


.
Yep, that’s my grandma’s radio, complete with protective jacket. Thank you and the others for your thoughtful and prompt responses. (And yes, it WAS my cousin who snapped the antenna.) I immediately took suggestions on testing the AM and FM reception. I can get AM and a few FM stations without an antenna. At times reception is good, but other times it fade out and there is a lot of static and general radio noise. When I tried using the blow drier plug, the reception improved! So with that hopeful sign, I started looking at different stores others suggested and was surprised to be contacted by eBay. A seller had the same make and model radio I could buy for for parts. Radio does not work but it has an attached antenna. Price seemed reasonable, so I took a chance and bought it. I will send pictures of both radios when the “parts” radio arrives. Do you think it is possible to detach the antenna from “parts” radio and attach it to my grandma’s?
 

Carol22

Nov 2, 2022
5
Joined
Nov 2, 2022
Messages
5
You are unlikely to find an identical replacement part unless you ask on a radio-specific (vintage radio repair etc) forum to see if anyone has one. The usual method is to take the relevant measurements and fit the next-best-thing.
Thanks!
 

Carol22

Nov 2, 2022
5
Joined
Nov 2, 2022
Messages
5
Hello,

The antenna seems to be build in.
You could measure the length and diameter to find out wich antenna would fit in the radio.
Here I found a page that shows some pictures:

Have a look at walmart for telescopic fm antennas:
https://www.walmart.com/search?q=telescopic fm radio antenna&typeahead=telescopic fm

Bertus
Thanks! I will get measurements and check them out.
 

73's de Edd

Aug 21, 2015
3,613
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3,613
Mme Carol . . . . . . .

YOU'RE . . . . . . . . . . B a a a a a a a a a a a k.

Ve choost dun bin thinkink dat yer being gettink l o s s s s s s s t !

What I am expecting you to be finding is that the existent ant shaft goes to the very bottom of the radio where that staff end has a cylindrical end stud that is tapped internally.
That end is using a machine screw that both holds the whole antenna staff in place as well as anchors itself to the radio bottom case proper.
Thereby, there is no possibility of that whole staff being pulled out while fully extending the antenna staff outwards to its max.
NO EXTRA CHARGE . . . . . there is also being a FM antenna wire that terminates in a loop terminal that is clamped into electrical connectivity between the screw head and the internally threaded stud at the staff end .
MEANING . . . . . . . no soldering is required ! , maybe just fighting / scraping off a dab of DUCO clear plastic cement from the screw head, that was being added at the factory and used as a screw locking agent.

Th a a a a a a s sit . . . . . .

73's de Edd . . . . .


A northern fairy tale begins with :
‘Once upon a time…’
A southern fairy tale begins with :

‘Y’all jes' ain’t gonna believe this 'a here…'


.
 

Carol22

Nov 2, 2022
5
Joined
Nov 2, 2022
Messages
5
Hi. A few weeks ago I posted about trying to repair/replace the antenna on my grandmother’s transistor radio, an AMC Solid State TF-97. I located a similar radio on eBay to use for parts. Still waiting for it to be delivered. While waiting I've been reading other posts and doing some Internet research about other possible reasons for the reception problem (since many of you pointed out that AM stations should be okay without an antenna). Many say problem could be volume knob which makes sense since the AM stations do fade out and produce static sounds when knob is moved(which I thought was the antenna). So... what I've been reading says that reception might improve with cleaning--to squirt contact cleaner into the volume control. Here’s the thing. (Remember, I have no clue what I’m doing.) Where exactly do I squirt? Is there a hole or indention? I don’t see one. Do I need to take the volume knob off to see it? That’s not what I’m seeing in the online photos, and I don’t want to unscrew or detach anything I don’t have to. I purchased two types of cleaner – CRC QD & DeoxIT-D5. Some say use one, then the other. Others say use CRC only. Can someone suggest next step? Thanks!!!
 

bertus

Moderator
Nov 8, 2019
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Hello,

You could blast some contact cleaner in the potentiometer near the connections:
Potentiomater back pointer.jpg
This could remove dirt from the carbon track, when moved a couple of times all the way up and down.

Bertus
 
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