Part Identification: 79 Avanti

[Lou Van Anne]

Can anyone identify exactly what this is....my guess: interference filter? The antenna plus into it and one of the two cables connects to the radio.....the second cable goes no where....

[Gunslinger]

I would think the second cable would be a ground.  

[WayneC]

Was the can just sitting loose on top of the radio?

There appears to be a clue written at one end, where the word "tune-" is visible in the picture, but partly blocked by the antenna cable... is there more there than just that word? I tried a search on the numbers that appear on the can, but had no luck with that.

Your car was built back when CB radios were in vogue, I think, so perhaps it's a part left over from a prior owners CB add-on device installation that made use of the car's radio speaker by outputting a particular radio frequency that the radio could tune to (perhaps the device itself only received CB signals, like a police scanner).

A part left over from a satellite radio aftermarket add-on product may be another possibility.

A build sheet for the car could possibly contain clues if this device was factory-installed.

Edited December 16, 2018 by WayneC

[Lou Van Anne]

Thanks, I'm the original owner. This "can" mounts to a bracket that is attached to the dash board cover. Nothing is visible other than "tune" with an arrow pointing right and the number....the end of the antenna cable is "loose".....going to take it to radio shop to see if they can repair/replace. I'm thinking this is the source of my static issues.....

[Gunslinger]

Is there a screw that can be turned where the arrow is pointing?  That could be an adjusting screw for "trimming" the antenna.  It's more or less a lost requirement since digital radios have been standard.  Trimming screws were usually a part of the radio but maybe whatever your car came with used an external trimmer.

You might give Dan Booth a shout as he would probably know what it is and possibly even have a replacement.

Edited December 16, 2018 by Gunslinger

[mfg]

Possibly an "FM Signal Booster"?...They used to be quite a popular add-on!

[Lou Van Anne]

Turns out it was an "antenna splitter" used to add an optional CB radio......I removed it and added a new tip to the antenna cable and PROBLEM SOLVED!

Thanks to all who offered suggestions.....

 

[Jim78]

10 hours ago, Lou Van Anne said:

I removed it and added a new tip to the antenna cable and PROBLEM SOLVED!

Do you mean that the whole static issue went away?

 

 

 

[Lou Van Anne]

13 hours ago, Jim78 said:

Yes, appears the static issue has gone away.....

 

[studegary]

34 minutes ago, Lou Van Anne said:

 

I believe that the extra, unattached cable was acting as an antenna and picking up extraneous signals that it was feeding back to the radio via that antenna splitter. 

[Lou Van Anne]

23 hours ago, studegary said:

I believe that the extra, unattached cable was acting as an antenna and picking up extraneous signals that it was feeding back to the radio via that antenna splitter. 

I have to disagree....the cable splitter had been on the car since new....never a problem until a professional tune up......then the static started.....they rechecked everything and couldn't find the problem...two years later the shop has new service manager and new technician who had a great electrical reputation....I got the new folks to recheck everything again.....they added a "radio noise suppressor" and removed the cable splitter, put a new tip on the buggered up antenna cable and connected direct to the radio....whalla!.....no static!

[studegary]

55 minutes ago, Lou Van Anne said:

I have to disagree....the cable splitter had been on the car since new....never a problem until a professional tune up......then the static started.....they rechecked everything and couldn't find the problem...two years later the shop has new service manager and new technician who had a great electrical reputation....I got the new folks to recheck everything again.....they added a "radio noise suppressor" and removed the cable splitter, put a new tip on the buggered up antenna cable and connected direct to the radio....whalla!.....no static!

That sounds like they messed up the antenna lead when they installed the new radio.  Also, they may have relocated that extraneous cable to where it would pick up "noise" and that helped to create the problem.

[Lou Van Anne]

On 12/19/2018 at 6:33 PM, studegary said:

That sounds like they messed up the antenna lead when they installed the new radio.  Also, they may have relocated that extraneous cable to where it would pick up "noise" and that helped to create the problem.

Could be!....I'm just happy to have this challenge in the past......Thanks to all who shared their ideas......(Still love my Avanti....she's been with me since day 1 and will be until the the final day.....). ...then my nephew gets her.....he keeps dropping banana peels in front of me.....I wonder why?

Edited December 22, 2018 by Lou Van Anne