AUX input jack for 67-72 AM radio

[69-72]

Any thoughts on an Am/fm? The blue wire from the pot on the am/fm goes to a capacitor soldered on the side of the case. The other wire from the pot which is black goes to the circuit board

[mikey2409]

Ok so I'm about to go to cell phone shack I mean radio shack to see if they believe in diodes resistors and all that fun electrical stuff still but before I leave I've read that the aux jack with 3 inputs works best and not the 5 and does it matter if it's stereo or mono and if I'm correct all I need is the 3 inputs cause all I'm doing adding a power signal and ground to the aux jack of so whiche wires should I be adding to or taking from since I'm more than likely going to running the out of the radio into the ash tray for a confined look

[PAWS 72]

Originally Posted by mikey2409

Ok so I'm about to go to cell phone shack I mean radio shack to see if they believe in diodes resistors and all that fun electrical stuff still but before I leave I've read that the aux jack with 3 inputs works best and not the 5 and does it matter if it's stereo or mono and if I'm correct all I need is the 3 inputs cause all I'm doing adding a power signal and ground to the aux jack of so whiche wires should I be adding to or taking from since I'm more than likely going to running the out of the radio into the ash tray for a confined look

Get the 5 wire and follow the directions and everything will work.3 is not cheaper than the 5 pin. As far as I know the mod I done is still working. I divorced 2 years ago and the son got the truck . It was his mom's dad truck.

[ext5060]

Holy smokes.. That was a great info thread. Wish I had the nerve to try that!

[serge]

Blkcorvair,
This is perfect. Hope to install this week. Will post results.
Thanks

[serge]

blkcorvair,
Followed your directions and it works great.
Last year I installed stock AM radio (with a speaker from Turnswitch) but used it very little due to poor reception. Now with this AUX jack set-up I get to enjoy the great sound the speaker puts out and maintain stock look.
Thanks for the post.
Serge
P.S. The only thing that is a little discouraging is the loose connection when patch cord is plugged in jack. Got them from radio shack.

[serge]

6 month update.
This set-up is still working great. I use it with my MP3 player all the time.
By far the best 5 dollars I have spent on this truck.
Thanks again Blkcorvair.

[chevy88]

Originally Posted by Bassetlounge

I am about to try this myself.. How have the others done implementing this? Anything to watch out for? I assume the radio still works if the aux jack is unplugged?
Posted via Mobile Device

Radio comes on as soon as you unplug it, and I did mine in 1 1/2 hours, i found it was a very easy job!!

[blkcorvair]

Im glad so many are interested in this mod. With all the great help I recieved here, I feel I gave a little back!

[ETsC10]

Will this same concept work for a USB port?

and you are correct...I'm not normally allowed near electronics...

[Kidd-7]

Originally Posted by ETsC10

Will this same concept work for a USB port?

and you are correct...I'm not normally allowed near electronics...

No that won't work; USB = serial data connection; transmit / receive, 5VDC & ground.

The AUX jack is just an analog +/- connection.

[chuck69ss]

Very nice!

[chuck69ss]

Did my mod and thought that I'd mention a few things.
- The directions were very well done.
- The resistors allow you to connect both stereo channels to one mono channel without risking damage to the MP3 player. The recommended 2K value can be different, but too large will attenuate the signal and lower the volume. The package size of the resistors doesn't matter as there is very little current. 1/4 watt are easy to work with. They could be incorporated into the wiring if you use larger resistors with leads that are too big to fit into the small terminals on the connector.
- There is no way to drive two speakers in stereo with this mod as the radio is mono and only has one amplifier channel.
- Someone asked about a 3pin connector. the 5 pin includes a switch that allows you to use am radio or aux input. If you use a 3pin connector, you would have to disconnect the am radio. Simply wire the audio pins of the connector to the blue wire. The resistors should still be used.
- The mod MAY work with a non-working radio. it depends upon what is wrong with the radio - meaning the tuning circuit or the amplifier. If you here static but can not receive stations, the mod should work.

If I think of anything else, I'll update this post. Thanks again for the detailed instructions.
Posted via Mobile Device

[jjzepplin]

subscribed! Now to find a radio...

[rambler]

nice.. I need to do this.

[doubleb's69]

Also subscribed for future use. Great write up!

[19stepSide72]

Just did this mod. So happy I did. Only thing I did different was I cut the blue wire in half and soldered the other wires to them, rather than resoldering to circuit board. Thank you for this write up.
Posted via Mobile Device

[PAWS 72]

Just finished the mod on my radio.

If I can do it, any body can. haha

Now can this be done on an 80's model am-fm cass. radio for a 86.

[HIGHWAY BY THE SEA]

So can this be done with an AC Delco radio with stereo capability or no? My 1981 C10 has an AM/FM AC Delco that supposedly came out of a Corvette that fits perfectly into the factory slot. My 68 c10 has an LMC type retro-fit radio that I might want to try also.

[red71c10]

Finally got around to doing this today. Works pretty good, but the little Radio Shack jack doesn't seem to grab onto the plug very tightly and it can be a little touchy. Once I get it plugged in well, it sounds fine. I does prove that my 43 year old speaker 'aint what it used to be. If I go into the EQ settings on my iPhone and use the Bass Reducer it helps a lot and I'm able to get more volume without it breaking up. The area where I'm currently living has no music stations on AM so this is a great thing to have when I'm out running errands in my truck!

[GuyO]

This is a very cool mod and should go into the cheap mod thread. Total cost $4.38 plus tax at Radio Shack! I made the mistake of drilling my hole a little far over then had to use a rotary tool to take away some material to get my 3.5 mm (1/8") receptacle inserted. Also, my soldering gun tip was loose which explained why it wouldn't get hot! Once I got that fixed and I plugged my phone into the jack, it worked great! I am amazed that even I could do it! Geezus my radio was filthy inside, so it took longer to clean it all up than it did to do the soldering! BTW, I used liquid electrical tape to protect all exposed areas.

[red71c10]

Did anyone else's radio die after doing this mod? I'm sure I installed it correctly and it did work fine for awhile, but now my radio is stone dead. The radio started making interference noise, then it worked intermittently (but not well) and then died. I have an extra AM radio I'll dig up and put in my truck, but I think I'll leave well enough alone and won't do this mod again.

[notchbackgta]

Originally Posted by red71c10

Did anyone else's radio die after doing this mod? I'm sure I installed it correctly and it did work fine for awhile, but now my radio is stone dead. The radio started making interference noise, then it worked intermittently (but not well) and then died. I have an extra AM radio I'll dig up and put in my truck, but I think I'll leave well enough alone and won't do this mod again.

It could be coincidence, the radio is, after all, ~40 years old.
It could be something simple too, if you did the mod yourself, open it up and check it out for something obvious

[69-72]

Here is a shot of the wires coming from the pot

[chuck69ss]

Couple of thoughts:
1. A cap soldered to the case sounds like a tone control, rather than volume. These are stacked pots, right?
2. The easiest way to figure this out is with an oscilloscope. I have also used a set of headphones with one side tied to gnd and uses the signal lead to poke around and follow the signal path. You want to find the input side of the volume control.
3. I wish that had an AM/FM to figure this out. :-)

Maybe someone else has figured this out.