It may not be your windshield antenna.

[TommyGuns]

My K10 has the windshield antenna. It also had the original Delco radio. I had nearly zero radio reception and even a cigarette lighter Bluetooth FM transmitter had a bit of static.

I decided to replace the radio with a Custom Autosound USA-740, after replacing my factory speakers with Kenwoods. Obviously the factory radio had trouble driving them.

After installing the new radio, I can pick up a huge number of channels, very clearly. I suspect the FM circuitry in the original radio has failed. I won't be tossing the radio but I won't be repairing it either.

I'm sharing this as every thread I've seen talks about the windshield being the source of their reception woes. At least in my case, it was the receiver.

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[mlsceo]

I've been looking at Custom Autosound receivers. Glad to hear you're happy with the 740.

 

[TommyGuns]

I'm not 100% satisfied, but it is a good radio for the application, especially given the niche market. Some things that stood out to me:

It is much smaller than the original radio, making it so much easier to fit it up behind the dash.

The knobs feel cheap and you have to be careful to push them on to the split notch posts so that the tiny tabs fit into the notches. The factory radio posts had a "D" shape that could be pushed on without as much care.

The washers and nuts come installed on the posts so there was confusion on my part as to where the washers were at first. An inventory of included parts in the manual would be nice.

It would be nice if you had the option to not have the fake radio dial decal. I tried removing it but I did not want to damage the display.

The support bracket that comes with it is not pre-shaped to fit the truck. Not a big deal but I did have to cut a small portion off one end and bend the other end to attach it to where the factory bracket is supported.

The radio does have fade and balance, plenty of EQ settings, and also supports RDS so you get song title, station ID, or whatever other text the radio station transmits.

There's no way to set up an illumination circuit (the radio doesn't support it) but you can manually adjust the display brightness.

All in all I'm happy with the radio. Combined with some Kenwood Excelon 3" up front and 6x9s in the back, it's a huge improvement in sound without having to give up the behind seat storage for a speaker box or mess with an amp.

 

[TotalyHucked]

I tell people all the time that the embedded antenna is not this inherent problem people think it is. I get fantastic reception in my '85. Most people either have a broken wire from the windshield to the button, or under the dash somewhere, or a bad head unit.

 

[Snoots]

Capacitors don't age well. They're usually the culprit when radios and amps start going south.
You can replace them all and most of the time that fixes a lot of problems.

 

[DoubleDingo]

Back in '17 I had installed a repop antenna in Crusty Biscuit, one that extends about 8-10 feet in the air. I was thinking it would get great reception. NOPE! While driving in cities not one station would come in. I finally looked into the problem, the connection at the base of the antenna was loose. Not the nut that holds it all in place, that was solid, it was the female connection itself that slid on the male stud at the base. I have since replaced that antenna, and Crusty is down at the moment, but if I decide to use that antenna again, I'll solder that connection at the base of the antenna.

 

[TommyGuns]

I figured it would be the capacitors, which is why I haven't tossed it. If I get some free time I might take it apart and recap it if it's not a huge pain. The only problem is having a connector to plug in to the back of the radio for bench testing. Even then, I am more inclined to send it off for a restomod. It was such a bear though to get it out from behind the dash, so unless the Custom Autosound radio turns out to be trash it's probably going to stay.

 

[mlsceo]

Bob is still rockin an old Pioneer Super Tuner that the original owner installed in the early 80's. When I got him it wouldn't pick any stations, none, pure static. Removed the knobs and sprayed the control stems with Deoxit, worked them back and forth, repeated. 100% improvement. I've used it on my old home stereo receivers as well. Try it on any old unit, the stuff is amazing.

 

[Ricko1966]

Bob is still rockin an old Pioneer Super Tuner that the original owner installed in the early 80's. When I got him it wouldn't pick any stations, none, pure static. Removed the knobs and sprayed the control stems with Deoxit, worked them back and forth, repeated. 100% improvement. I've used it on my old home stereo receivers as well. Try it on any old unit, the stuff is amazing.

I've still got my eyes open for an old super tuner,and a pair of jensen triaxle speaker covers.

 

[Old Guy Bill]

Bob is still rockin an old Pioneer Super Tuner that the original owner installed in the early 80's. When I got him it wouldn't pick any stations, none, pure static. Removed the knobs and sprayed the control stems with Deoxit, worked them back and forth, repeated. 100% improvement. I've used it on my old home stereo receivers as well. Try it on any old unit, the stuff is amazing.

I used to repair a lot of home stereo equipment and still do occasionally.
Deoxit & FaderLube along with exercising each control is always what I do first, it solves many, many problems

 

[desertdog1]

Speaking of antennas, I have an 83 C20 and the button that attaches to the bottom of the windshield (which then attaches to the mating snap on the antenna cable end) has separated from the windshield. Does anyone know how to reattach the button to the windshield? I would assume some kind of conductive adhesive?

 

[mattsk8]

Speaking of antennas, I have an 83 C20 and the button that attaches to the bottom of the windshield (which then attaches to the mating snap on the antenna cable end) has separated from the windshield. Does anyone know how to reattach the button to the windshield? I would assume some kind of conductive adhesive?

Try mirror mount adhesive? Or even JB Weld since you can't see it.

As far as these vintage look radios go, they're all pretty cheap quality considering how much they cost. That said, I prefer Retrosound over the Custom Autosound ones, I've had both. They're almost identical but the Retrosound doesn't have the fake analog tuner label, and the display on my Custom Autosound quit working when it was about a year old. My Retrosound has been working well for 5 years now.

 

[DoubleDingo]

Try mirror mount adhesive? Or even JB Weld since you can't see it.

As far as these vintage look radios go, they're all pretty cheap quality considering how much they cost. That said, I prefer Retrosound over the Custom Autosound ones, I've had both. They're almost identical but the Retrosound doesn't have the fake analog tuner label, and the display on my Custom Autosound quit working when it was about a year old. My Retrosound has been working well for 5 years now.

There is a stereo shop about 1/2 mile from my house, about 7 years ago I went in to see what they had for just a radio setup, as I didn't have the means to play music via bluetooth at the time. Their base model Retrosound unit, just a radio, was $200. I said No thank you and walked out. Heck, it didn't even have a cd player. Granted, if I do buy one now, I have bluetooth tunes, so that $200 wouldn't be so bad, haven't checked but I am sure they are more than 200 nowadays.

 

[Doc_Ellis]

I remember my dad’s ‘87 k5 he bought new had amazing radio reception, same with his ‘76 T/A. I’m definitely a believer in windshield antennas being up to the task.