Antennae of Yesteryear
 

For those youngsters among us who were not around,
the antennas for automobile radios were not on top of
automobiles until generally around 1935. Where were
they you ask? They were located along and under the
running boards. Generally with a pair of insulators and
an insulated metal band. Trivia..I was there..W6BWY

I was thinking in this direction recently..

Specifically, why do modern AM radios totally SUCK?

I used to sit at the drive in and listen to the LA radio stations, from
Honolulu, with the stock radio and antenna that came with the car. Now I'm
lucky if I can hear four AM stations reasonably well, and this has persisted
through three new cars.

On Fri, 17 Dec 2004 21:52:02 -0800, Bill Turner
wrote:


FM, on the other hand, seems to be just what consumers want.


Mhh..
I care for the program content, not the modulation type :-)

w.

"Bill Turner" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 17 Dec 2004 23:20:53 -0500, "Dave VanHorn"
wrote:
Specifically, why do modern AM radios totally SUCK?

It is a conspiracy by the leftist liberals to keep people from listening to
conservative talk radio.

On Fri, 17 Dec 2004 20:38:04 -0700, "Spike"
wrote:

For those youngsters among us who were not around,
the antennas for automobile radios were not on top of
automobiles until generally around 1935. Where were
they you ask? They were located along and under the
running boards. Generally with a pair of insulators and
an insulated metal band. Trivia..I was there..W6BWY


Because people aren't willing to pay for a decent AM radio for the
car. They want a CD player and good amps and speakers. The AM part
of the sound system is typically a "one chip" design. The FM tuner
isn't much better either. The old AM radios were horses. They were
multi-tube, multi-conversion designs with selectivity and sensitivity
to spare. It's all there was at the time. Modern cars, in fact all
modern consumer devices are designed to be manufactured as quickly and
as cheaply as possible. When it breaks, throw it away and get a new
one. Besides, it'll be obsolete next week anyway. You will never see
a classic '98 Olds in fifty years, it won't last that long. Of
course, I'm leaving out the whole discussion of "high fidelity" in the
car. Hint: wind noise is the loudest thing in the car at highway
speeds.

Russ

On Fri, 17 Dec 2004 20:38:04 -0700, "Spike"
wrote:

For those youngsters among us who were not around,
the antennas for automobile radios were not on top of
automobiles until generally around 1935. Where were
they you ask? They were located along and under the
running boards. Generally with a pair of insulators and
an insulated metal band. Trivia..I was there..W6BWY


Yep, I had a '38 Chevy with that setup and the whole thing was covered
with dirt and grime.

Danny, K6MHE

Russ wrote:
Because people aren't willing to pay for a decent AM radio for the
car.

How about a decent AM antenna with an IC-706?
--
73, Cecil http://www.qsl.net/s5dxp


-----------== Posted via Newsfeed.Com - Uncensored Usenet News ==----------
http://www.newsfeed.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----= Over 100,000 Newsgroups - Unlimited Fast Downloads - 19 Servers =-----

For those interested, AM radios can still be top notch. I have a 98 Honda
CRV. I bought this car because it suited where I lived. The AM radio was a
shock. It pulls stations in just fine from hundreds of miles away in the
daytime. I live in North central North Dakota. I can easily listen to French
stations from Quebec. When you push the search button it simply goes to the
next 10 khz spot and there will be a station there. My guess is that whoever
designed this radio used the latest technology to make a very fine receiver.
My Icom 718 with a 60 foot random wire does not work any better for
reception.

The down side of this radio is that during the night, many stations are
competing with each other on the same frequency.


"Spike" wrote in message
...
For those youngsters among us who were not around,
the antennas for automobile radios were not on top of
automobiles until generally around 1935. Where were
they you ask? They were located along and under the
running boards. Generally with a pair of insulators and
an insulated metal band. Trivia..I was there..W6BWY

Hmm, I wonder if I can fit that radio in my '98 Expedition??

The radio in my '84 "fifth avenue" works great. If I get rid of this
car, I'm keeping the radio, and the antenna. Darren





http://community-2.webtv.net/DEMEM/L...mes/page2.html

On Sat, 18 Dec 2004 09:27:44 -0600, Cecil Moore
wrote:

Russ wrote:
Because people aren't willing to pay for a decent AM radio for the
car.

How about a decent AM antenna with an IC-706?


Reminds about the leg pull some years ago on 80m when an Old Timer
wanted a better antenna for SSB reception.

We suggested he cut off one leg of his dipole so that he could rejecte
the unwanted USB a little better ... he may have fallen for it, who
knows!

Peter, G3PHO

Peter wrote:
Cecil Moore wrote:
How about a decent AM antenna with an IC-706?

Reminds about the leg pull ...

No leg pull intended. My IC-706 and ClearSpeech speaker work
unbelievably well on AM talk radio which is what I listen to
on AM. My home town has extremely noisy power lines. The
ClearSpeech speaker takes that all out.
--
73, Cecil http://www.qsl.net/w5dxp


-----------== Posted via Newsfeed.Com - Uncensored Usenet News ==----------
http://www.newsfeed.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----= Over 100,000 Newsgroups - Unlimited Fast Downloads - 19 Servers =-----

Darren:

Be prepared to rebuild the switches behind the push buttons pretty soon, and don't get near any transmitters, or you
will also have to replace the FET in the front end of the FM section.

And, if you have the power audio option, be sure to also find the outboard audio amplifier which is hidden up under the
dash somewhere, I forget where, and keep it too.

--
Crazy George
Remove N O and S P A M imbedded in return address
"D. Martin" wrote in message ...
The radio in my '84 "fifth avenue" works great. If I get rid of this
car, I'm keeping the radio, and the antenna. Darren





http://community-2.webtv.net/DEMEM/L...mes/page2.html

No leg pull intended. My IC-706 and ClearSpeech speaker work
unbelievably well on AM talk radio which is what I listen to
on AM. My home town has extremely noisy power lines. The
ClearSpeech speaker takes that all out........................

I like the MW on the 706mk2g. Has good audio, and is just the right
width for "general use". It's fairly wide stock, which is good for MW.
Sounds a lot better than the ham rig with only tight 4.8kc AM
filtering,
using the stock SSB filter. Using the 44 inch per side loop I have in
here, it works great. But it also works good on MW mobile just using my

ham antenna tuned to a lower band...Doesn't have to really be tuned to
resonance..Plenty of signal with the antenna set for 80m. But my trucks
also have radios...The ac-delco I have in one truck is real good, but
I've never really tested the other "whatever brand" with the tape deck,

etc. Actually, offhand, I don't think it's that good, but it might be
the antenna , or the trimmer in the radio being off. If I listen to MW
in the house, it's almost always on the 706 these days. MK

meal. Or you could just as well use veal -
after all, you have to be careful - Sicilians are touchy about their young
family members...

6 newborn or veal cutlets
Tomato gravy (see index)
4 cups mozzarella, 1cup parmesan, 1cup romano
Seasoned bread crumbs mixed with
parmesan
romano
salt
pepper
oregano
garlic powder
chopped parsley
Flour
eggwash (eggs and milk)
Peanut oil for frying.

Pound the cutlets.
Dredge in flour, eggs, then the bread crumb mixture.
Fry till golden brown in 350° peanut oil.
In a baking pan, place a layer of gravy,
then one of meat, gravy, and cheese.
Another layer each of meat, gravy, and cheese.
Then bake at 350° for 45 minutes.
Serve on hot pasta with romano cheese.



Southern Fried Small-fry

Tastes like fried chicken, which works just as well.
In fact you may want to practice cutting up whole chickens
for frying before you go for the real thing.
Whole chicken is much more efficient and inexpensive than buying pieces.

1 tiny human, cut into pieces
2 cups flour
Onion, garlic
Salt
pepper
garlic powder
cayenne pepper
hot sauce, etc.
Oil for frying

Mix milk, eggs, hot sauce in a bowl, add chopped onion and garlic.
Season the meat liberally, and marinate for several hours.
Place seasoned flour in a paper or plastic shopping bag,
drop pieces in a few a time, shake to coat thoroughly,
then deep fry in hot oil (350°) for about 15 minutes.
Drain and place on paper towels.



Miscarriage with Mustard Greens

Why waste it? Otherwise, and in general, use ham or salt pork to season greens.
The technique of smothering greens can be used with many vegetables;
green beans work especially well. Meat is not necessary every day, don?t
be afraid to alter any dish to vegetarian tastes.

1 premature baby, born dead
Large bunch of mustard greens
2 white onions, 1 cup chopped celery
Vegetable oil (or hog fat)
Salt, pepper, garlic, etc.

Lightly brown onions

(it is cheaper and better to
cut up a whole roast than to buy stew meat).

1 stillbirth, de-boned and cubed
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 large onions
bell pepper
celery
garlic
½ cup red wine
3 Irish potatoes
2 large carrots

This is a simple classic stew that makes natural gravy,
thus it does not have to be thickened.
Brown the meat quickly in very hot oil, remove and set aside.
Brown the onions, celery, pepper and garlic.
De-glaze with wine, return meat to the pan and season well.
Stew on low fire adding small amounts of water and
seasoning as necessary.
After at least half an hour, add the carrots and potatoes,
and simmer till root vegetables break with a fork.
Cook a fresh pot of long grained white rice.



Pre-mie Pot Pie

When working with prematurely delivered newborns (or chicken) use sherry;
red wine with beef (buy steak or roast, do not pre-boil).

Pie crust (see index)
Whole fresh pre-mie; eviscerated, head, hands and feet removed
Onions, bell pepper, celery
½ cup wine
Root vegetables of choice (turnips, carrots, potatoes, etc) cubed

Make a crust from scratch - or go sha