Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

good illustration and pictures This will help figure out what i need. I recently got my 1938 coupe back from the upholstery shop and i had gave him the cable to the antennas to install, but when I picked up my car he had lost it so im stuck on making one.

Jeff Casalegno

Garage sales can offer some interesting items....
I found a complete antenna salesman's kit several years ago.
Needless to say....the seller had no idea what it was.

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I recently got my 1938 coupe back from upholstery shop and the owner lost my harness that attaches to the radio connector out to running board antennas. I am hoping someone here knows of where or who can make the harness. attached is a picture of the connector from the speaker/radio box under firewall.

Jeff Casalegno

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I think Lavine Restorations in Indiana makes the running board antennas. Perhaps they provide the cables as well... ???

Is the connector on the end of the antenna wire a metal sleeve approx 3/8" in diameter and has a 1/8" hole at the wire end? If so I believe it is a standard female Motorola plug which is still being made. A standard antenna lead from a cheap universal antenna or even an antenna extension cable could probably be used to plug into the Packard end and replace the missing wire. Standalone male plugs are also available which could be soldered onto a length of coax cable but someone better versed with antenna impedance requirements than I would need to suggest the proper type and length of coax for best reception.

If the Packard part is something different and LaVine can't help then finding a suitable plug may be more difficult as many of the old plugs -- particularly at the antenna side -- are obsolete and hard to come by.

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I heard it was called a bayonet connector ? The inside dimensions are .330th

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If LaVine can't help wonder if flackmaster or Kanter might have a cable.

What does the inside of the connector look like? Is there a pin, a hole or a pad and if a pin or hole approx what dimension and how deep or how far down? If no one knows of or has a proper connector, depending on specifics it might be possible to make a piece or adapt a different type modern plug.

It has a round pad and the pad is 3/8 " down from connector here is a picture

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Pad picture

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With the connector having a pad and no pin or hole inside, it will be very easy to adapt half of a metal fuse holder to provide the male part of the connector if you cannot find a proper cable.

Rhode Island Wiringriwire.com and YnZ Yesterdays partsstore.ynzyesterdaysparts.com/metal-inline-fuse-holder.html both sell metal fuse holders. Measuring one I bought from YnZ, the side having the prongs to fit into the bayonet is approx .325 OD so should fit into the .330 ID of the Packard receptacle nicely.

Because it is a fuse holder the plastic insulators that come with the holder will not work without some kind of bridge to the pad in the Packard half. A new piece can be fabricated by using 1/4" nylon tubing such as used for ice maker water line or a length of 1/4 nylon rod with a hole drilled for the wire will work nicely. Length would be to fit so the pad soldered on the new wire mates with the pad in the receptacle. A spring to keep good contact might be needed if the Packard end does not have one. If the plastic part that comes with the fuse is not too long you could also wire as normal and use a piece of brass bar to make a length that would sort of mimic a fuse so the two pads could touch.

Make a new antenna lead to length using coax cable. Center conductor soldered to the new pad and outer shield to the fuse holder piece. What I don't have is enough antenna theory to know which type coax cable would work best. It comes in various impedance and capacitance per foot. For best reception it should complement the antenna but for such a short length maybe not that important. If someone versed with antennas would chime in that would be great but if not a length of TV coax from the home center or hardware store might be a good starting point.]

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