Some time ago I replaced the AM original 544 radio with a Volvo transistor type AM / FM from '67 122. I had it gone over by a reliable service.
Afterwards, on the bench it brought in stations ok but on the road I could get only a strong local one and a lot of static. I replaced the antenna and it made no difference. Have others run into this problem?

Update:
I installed the loaner radio, also a transistorized model about the same age.
Performance was no better. Maybe 50 years ago we all thought this was OK and I
I have just got used to today's superior technology!
As a last resort I fitted an antenna booster. It definitely improves the quality of the stations I can pull in, by about 30%.

Is your car 6 volt?

I doubt if the reception ability of AM radios has changed much over the years, especially after they went to transistors. My '66 Ford I had back when I lived in Ohio could pick up stations as far away as New Orleans and Dallas, although mostly at night.

Did you use a new antenna?

Antennas can wear out as the connections between each piece of the shaft get loose or lose good connections due to lube and dirt.

Driving the car may cause the connections to deteriorate when the antenna is bent.

You might try to clean the antenna and close it a little bit at each joint to see if that helps.

FM needs a certain length to operate best.

Did you use a new antenna?

Antennas can wear out as the connections between each piece of the shaft get loose or lose good connections due to lube and dirt.

Driving the car may cause the connections to deteriorate when the antenna is bent.

You might try to clean the antenna and close it a little bit at each joint to see if that helps.

FM needs a certain length to operate best.

Thanks for your input. Antenna was already replaced with top grade item.
Update:
Sent radio back to shop.{60 miles away}. He says he went thru it again, it works fine and he can pull in stations in my area with ease!
I re-installed it and it is no better. My guess is that his shop antenna signal is a lot better than mine.
A friend is sending me a period spare radio to try.
The saga continues..........

Perhaps run the car and radio over to his shop and have him diagnose the problem. Have you tried to run the radio on your own bench. Easy to do.

Try a different antenna from the radio.
The feedline cable may be shot.

Bill

fter trying all the suggestions I called the radio tech I originally used.
He told me to check the AM band to see if I could pick up many stations, as this was an indicator of FM problems. I could get only a few, with a lot of static, so he advijgdfeturning it for investigation.
Many thanks for the continuing help. I will report the result

The behaviour you describe does kind of smell like a weak antenna signal that's on the borderline of okay for the tuning section when you're not driving and somehow becomes weaker when you're on the road.
o Any chance where you park and idle your car is in a better reception area, like parked out in the open or living on a hill or in a less built up area and away from power lines, while where you drive the car is in a poorer reception area, like lots of nearby buildings, in a valley, or in amongst lots of traffic?
o As others note, all connections and grounds for both the antenna and radio of course have to be solid, including a separate ground from the radio chassis just to be sure.
o You may have a ground loop. Check if the antenna base is isolated from the chassis at the mounting. It is best to have the antenna cable shielding grounded only at the radio chassis. Unplug the cable at the radio and if there's any continuity between the cable shield and chassis ground then it's not isolated. Despite what you might think and what many people say, it is actually the proper way to do shielding, as Art Benstein here once educated me.
o The antenna of course needs to be fully extended and long enough for the job. The stock position of the 544 antenna appears to be on the low front fender, beside the rounded side of the raised hood, not too far from the A-pillar. The lower 6"-8" of the mast isn't doing much good in that position. If you draw a straight line between all the high points of your car, that envelope is more or less the effective base of the antenna. The part of the antenna that extends above that envelope (as measured perpendicular to the surface of the envelope) is what's picking up the strongest signal (more of the wavelength), so the longer it is the better (within reason). The best place for an antenna is up on the roof and if it wasn't for things like garage doors, parkades and low hanging branches that's where they'd be, also out of the easy reach of vandals. Shark fin antennas on the roof are a compromise, trying to get the best signal with the least amount of antenna, using coils and signal amplifiers to try to make up for the loss of signal due to short length. Newer radios are also much better at being able to use weak signals, although with less and less people listening to AM/FM while demanding higher quality sound, more component space is needed for satellite, bluetooth and the audio section. The newer and decently rated Sony's I recently put in my 940s are not overly impressive when it comes to AM/FM reception compared to the stock radio, but of course the in-glass antenna used in the 940 wagon rear quarter panel windows doesn't at all help, but I digress....
o Any chance the shielding of the antenna cable is damaged somewhere along its run or it's near major electricals or moving mechanicals? Best not to run the antenna cable too close to things like the ignition coil, wiper motor, wiper arm linkages, fan motor, etc.
--
Dave -still with 940's, prev 740/240/140/120 You'd think I'd have learned by now

The aerial must be properly earthed. Does the reception get better if you hold the aerial mast? For AM you have to tune the radio to the aerial. There should be a small tuning screw behind a small hole in the facia. Turn the knob to a weak station somewhere in the middle of the band and carefully turn the little screw back and forth to get the best reception. FM cannot be tuned like this, it just needs a well fitted aerial. Make sure the radio case has an earth to the body metal/dash.

Pebee;

First step in quieting down a car for a radio installation is determining by which mechanism it is entering the radio...by way of the antenna (in which case it is likely ignition noise), or power line (in which case it is more likely Generator brush noise)...each interference has its own specific remedy...

...and Chris has also touched upon it...generally when radios were installed (by the dealer) it was accompanied by a "radio installation kit" which quieted both the ignition and power buss, so if you are going to retrofit a radio now (where the car had none previously), you will also need to do make the modifications necessary to allow quiet AM listening when the engine is running (FM is inherently somewhat more immune to noise)...

Recommended reading: https://www.sw-em.com/Radio_Notes.htm#Radio_Interference

Good Hunting!

Thanks for the suggestions. I am familiar with static from the generator etc. With or without the engine running, the sound quality is the same and I can tune in several stations, but on the road there is little separation between stations and apart from the strong local one, nothing comes in clearly.
Just wondering if this is the best I can expect or if the service shop missed something!

Pebee;

Sensitivity is a function of the antenna and how well its coupled into radio (see Derek's posting)...and Selectivity is mostly a function of internal alignment adjustment of the radio (which a qualified radio shop should be able to get right)...of course if the radio is being supplied with a low V for power, both would suffer...have you another 12V radio which you can try on that antenna and power wire, to check if its one or another...?

Good Hunting!

Have you tried playing the radio without the engine running? It may be that the alternator (generator?) or ignition system needs some sort of filtering. If it’s quieter without the engine running then you could determine if it’s ignition or alternator by disabling the alternator and running the engine.