Jeremy's Radio Emporium: Old Radios for the Modern Era

[89 MJ]

What would the correct radio be for an 89 (Sportruck, if it matters)? My grandmas want to buy me stuff for Christmas. 

[Minuit]

2 minutes ago, 89 MJ said:

What would the correct radio be for an 89 (Sportruck, if it matters)? My grandmas want to buy me stuff for Christmas. 

In a super-base model Sportruck, either no radio or an AM-only manually tuned radio.

 

It could also be optioned with one of the Korean Automatic Radio ones with the brown buttons.

I don't recommend these. I don't sell them. I only work on them if the customer insists. Better to go for an RX-170/AR-7750 ('88) or RX-171/AR-7751 ('91) if you like the original look, or an AR-7752/3 or RX-172/3 if you'd like a clock.

 

For everyone else: Waiting List Update

My medical problems have slowed me down by about three weeks. I've also been started on a new medication related to the above medical problem that might cause unpredictable side effects. As a result of setbacks which are entirely my fault, the waiting list is now back up to 104 customers.

 

But, I've managed to finish a brand new, much less cramped lab setup in the mean time.

 

This will dramatically improve my productivity, and my capabilities because I now have room to slot this into my permanent test setup:

 

This mammoth device is a radio-frequency signal generator - primary purpose (for my uses, anyway) being testing and alignment of radio transmitters and receivers. It takes up about three square feet of bench real estate, weighs 40 lbs, and is fresh out of the calibration lab. The main reason I bought this is due to an influx of inquiries about older, manually tuned radios - alignment of the manual tuners in these radios is a major part of properly servicing them.

 

 

[89 MJ]

18 minutes ago, Minuit said:

In a super-base model Sportruck, either no radio or an AM-only manually tuned radio.

 

It could also be optioned with one of the Korean Automatic Radio ones with the brown buttons.

I don't recommend these. I don't sell them. I only work on them if the customer insists. Better to go for an RX-170/AR-7750 ('88) or RX-171/AR-7751 ('91) if you like the original look, or an AR-7752/3 or RX-172/3 if you'd like a clock.

Ok. What would you run in your 89 option/radio wise and what would the price be?

[Minuit]

29 minutes ago, 89 MJ said:

Ok. What would you run in your 89 option/radio wise and what would the price be?

I cannot make that decision for you. The options I laid out are more or less equivalent, except for the Korean ones being worse in every way. It's up to your personal preference.

 

Prices are listed here - CC members with an account older than 3 months will receive a $15.00 discount on any order including a radio. If you're wanting to go older, AMC radios are priced on a case-by-case basis.

https://radio-emporium.com/radios

[89 MJ]

35 minutes ago, Minuit said:

I cannot make that decision for you. The options I laid out are more or less equivalent, except for the Korean ones being worse in every way. It's up to your personal preference.

 

Prices are listed here - CC members with an account older than 3 months will receive a $15.00 discount on any order including a radio. If you're wanting to go older, AMC radios are priced on a case-by-case basis.

https://radio-emporium.com/radios

Sounds good. Thanks. I will look through the options and let you know what I’m thinking. 

[Minuit]

2 minutes ago, 89 MJ said:

Sounds good. Thanks. I will look through the options and let you know what I’m thinking. 

[Minuit]

Transparency Report: 5 December 2020

Number of people on waiting list: 107, including 22 new additions
Projected orders shipped next week: 3

 

Why have the numbers changed so little since August? Here are a few excuses:

I was out of the state for most of September. Shortly thereafter, my medical issues showed their face again and caused approximately two weeks of downtime.

 

For those who don’t know, I was diagnosed with epilepsy early in the year, which makes me prone to seizures that can mentally and physically debilitate me for as long as three weeks afterwards. The medication I take seems to be working, but it has its own side effects.

Waiting List Clarification

The process of contacting people in groups of 10 in the correct order is by its very nature meticulous and slow. In addition, some customers are on the waiting list for orders that are simpler to complete than full radio restorations or purchases, such as a wiring harness adapter or DIY kit.

 

As a result, I will be implementing the following changes effective immediately:

The following items are now exempt from the waiting list, and can be ordered by anyone at any time:

• All DIY Kits
• All wire harness products, including wire harness adapters and pre-made repair harnesses.

For more information on these items, please contact me or see the “Products” section of the website. Expect your item to ship within approximately a week after payment is received.

Enhanced Radio Listings

In the coming weeks, I will once again be offering Enhanced Radios from my stock for sale at times. These radios will mostly consist of Chrysler-Era units with the most popular options. These offers will be posted on the Facebook page, the website (under the Radios For Sale section), and on my vendor page on Comanche Club’s Classifieds section. Customers on the waiting list who have shown an interest in a radio similar to the one being offered will also be made aware of the offer.

 

The process will work as follows:

The listing will be made public on all platforms at the same time (within an hour, at the very most). For 48 hours, the listing will be only open to those who have entered themselves on the waiting list. If no-one on the waiting list has claimed the radio within that time, the listing will become open to anyone who is not on the waiting list.

Website Updates

The website has received a significant update, bringing it to version 2020.12.05. A summary of changes is as follows:

 

A disclaimer has been added to the “Contact” page advising potential customers of the waiting list in an eye-catching way.

 

The outdated “store” page should no longer appear on Google search results (for some reason, a software glitch was causing Google to lead people to a version of the site from 2017!).

 

The underutilized WordPress blog on the front page has been updated, and new major posts will now feature on the website’s front page in addition to Facebook and Comanche Club.

 

A new "Radios For Sale" page has been added, which will be where any current Enhanced Radio offers are listed, in addition to here.

[89 MJ]

Thanks for the update!

I’m looking forward to getting mine for sure!

[Minuit]

Merry Christmas... and some other stuff

 

2020 is almost over. No matter what, I think we can all agree that's a good thing. I sincerely hope that you'll be spending the end of this terrible year in safe, warm comfort.

 

Anyway, I wanted to wish everyone a very merry Christmas (or whatever holiday you'd prefer) and a happy new year, and maybe provide some useful information along the way.

 

The AMC Model 5751145

I am now adding the 5751145 AM-FM shaft radio (pictured) to the list of radios I service, upgrade, and repair. While I have no detailed schematics, I have accumulated enough experience with this unit to feel confident in performing most work short of major repair. I can now add auxiliary input, perform mechanical maintenance to the tuner movement, and much more.

 

The 5751145 is a basic AM-FM stereo radio with manual tuning, five mechanically stored presets, a single tone control, and single-ended outputs - this radio does not operate like a standard car radio of today with a "positive" and "negative" speaker terminal, both of which carry a signal. It only has positive and ground. This reduces output power greatly, and changes how I would suggest connecting it to an amplifier - I'd suggest treating its outputs as you would RCA outputs on an aftermarket radio.

 

The 5751145 is made in Japan by Mitsubishi. It seems to pre-date the severe solder joint issues found in later Mitsubishi headunits, and seems very reliable if not mistreated. As always with mechanically tuned receivers, be careful to never turn the dial past its stops. The shafts are 5.5 inches apart.

 

I plan on making another update soon with more details of what will be coming in 2021. As always, thanks for your support and business!

[Pete M]

not going to lie, I kinda want one in the Liberty   

[TheDude]

Just wanted to share this weird one I snagged off eBay last month. First analog radio for an XJ I've ever seen.
And I really like the installation pictures that look like they're based off the concept art instead of what it ended up being in the end.





Founding Member of the Comanche Preservation Society

[Pete M]

that one's pretty too.     but I should probably quit dreaming since I do appreciate the clock and the instant tweaks i can apply to the bass and treble with my more modern unit. 

[Minuit]

On 12/25/2020 at 12:03 PM, TheDude said:

Just wanted to share this weird one I snagged off eBay last month. First analog radio for an XJ I've ever seen.
And I really like the installation pictures that look like they're based off the concept art instead of what it ended up being in the end.





Founding Member of the Comanche Preservation Society

That's another member of the 84-85 RX-141/131/758 soup. Never actually had one, but I came close to buying one from a junkyard but couldn't come to an agreement on price. Probably quite a basic AM/FM stereo with single-ended outputs. If so, I wouldn't be THAT surprised if it was basically the 5751145 in a DIN chassis.

 

Also, just throwing an idea out there: A video where I go through the high points of the AMC and Jeep radios, year by year. Yes or no?

[Pete M]

I'm always pro educational vids  

[eaglescout526]

Hell yes! I am for learning about them! 

[ghetdjc320]

Definitely! Any updates on rca pre-outs?

[Minuit]

On 1/3/2021 at 4:57 PM, ghetdjc320 said:

Definitely! Any updates on rca pre-outs?

Short answer: Yes, but I don't know if I have enough material to make for an interesting enough update on its own.

 

Medium answer: I think I have a solid, original circuit design and a pretty slick plan for implementing it into the radio, but my priorities lie elsewhere for this very moment.

 

Longer answer: I have a small number of the prototype boards and the components to assemble them and install them into radios, but between chipping away at the waiting list, preparing new informational materials (such as the video I just accidentally committed myself to making), and developing new products it's hard to keep everyone happy. So the end result is that I find myself rotating between those three main "modes". But on top of all of this - I'm not working 72 hour weeks at this, and I'm not afraid to admit that there are some days where the desire just isn't there.

 

I currently see my backlog as my biggest liability. Thus far I have been very strict in addressing customers in the order that they first got in touch with me. However, the reality is that some names on the list represent a lot more time than others. For example, one customer may want a complete rebuild of a rare radio with hard to find parts, no matter how much I try to talk them out of it. One customer may "just" want a bulb replacement or a wire harness. Two very different amounts of labor, but they both take up one line on the waiting list. If the first guy is ahead of the second guy, he (and everyone else below) has to wait for me to find those rare parts, lest I get overwhelmed.

 

I think I'd get a lot more names crossed off the list more quickly if I was a little bit more lax about doing the waiting list in order, and perhaps aiming to get some "easier" orders done in between big jobs. Curious what people would think about this.

[jdog]

i'd make up two lists, one that is rare or difficult and one thats just easy bulb and harness repair, pull one from the hard side and while waiting on parts grab the easy repairs. I know easier said then done.

[eaglescout526]

8 minutes ago, Minuit said:

I think I'd get a lot more names crossed off the list more quickly if I was a little bit more lax about doing the waiting list in order, and perhaps aiming to get some "easier" orders done in between big jobs. Curious what people would think about this.

 

I am surprised you werent already doing this to shorten your list. You would probably have less stress if you knocked out the easy jobs on one day and came back to a more demanding job the next. 

[BeatCJ]

I think you have to work in an order you see as making sense to get the most projects done. I don't know you or your.workflow, but doing smaller pieces of the bigger jobs, then stepping to a different project.doesn't sound as if it would work for you. If it could, you might find that a big help. I can do that, and have several projects going at once. But I get that's kind of unusual.

[JMO413]

For peace of mind and just generally feeling better about it. I would knock out the small easy jobs. Then do a long hard one. Then back to the simple repairs. This should help on all fronts. IMHO

[KoopaKid]

Could you retrofit a radio with Bluetooth that would fit into a 1988 Comanche? I am super interested if you could do that, especially if it appeared stock from the outside.

[jdog]

He could but has to go threw a bunch of testing and money spending, it's better that it's done as it is. He adds a aux and then you can buy the bt adapter. That's if I remember correctly and stated that correctly.

[Minuit]

2 hours ago, KoopaKid said:

Could you retrofit a radio with Bluetooth that would fit into a 1988 Comanche? I am super interested if you could do that, especially if it appeared stock from the outside.

@jdog is pretty much right on the money here. I would absolutely love to start adding Bluetooth to radios, and if legally selling them didn't cost tens of thousands of dollars I would start selling them tomorrow. But the reality is that it's just not economically viable. However, the aux input I provide works perfectly with any Bluetooth receiver that plugs into a 3.5mm stereo jack, and there are plenty of them that are very reasonably priced.

[Pete M]

On 1/22/2021 at 9:26 AM, KoopaKid said:

Could you retrofit a radio with Bluetooth that would fit into a 1988 Comanche? I am super interested if you could do that, especially if it appeared stock from the outside.

 

I have one of his radios and plugged a bluetooth dongle into the AUX cord to give me wireless tunes   while I was at it I added a second USB adapter in the dash to charge my phone.