[MrWrestlingII]

I’ve always had a problem with the AM/FM faceplate on my radio, where originally it wouldn’t fully flip to the FM faceplate, and later, where it did not flip to the FM faceplate at all. It’s something that’s always annoyed me but not enough to get off my ass and fix, until today. Once I figured out how the mechanism works, it took all of 15 minutes.

To get at the innards the faceplate cover and radio top/bottom covers need to be removed. They are attached with small sheet metal screws.

The AM/FM faceplate has a spring on the left side and a cam on the right (looking from the front). There’s a nylon cord that attaches to the cam, runs to the back of the radio and attaches to the right side of a lever that pivots from the middle. When the FM button is pushed, it pushes the right side of the lever which tightens the cord and rotates the cam and the AM/FM faceplate rotates with the cam to display FM. When the AM button is pushed it pushes left side of the lever, which loosens the cord, and the spring pressure on the faceplate rotates it to display AM.

The cord is a loop with the ends spliced together in the middle of the run between the cam and lever. In my radio one end of the cord loops had slipped off the cam. This is why the display wouldn’t flip to FM. Once fixed I was back to the original problem, where the faceplate wouldn’t fully rotate to FM, this is due to the cord stretching just a tiny amount. To fix this I detached the cord at the rear lever, for enough slack to get at the spliced ends, and looped/tied some fishing line at the inside of the splice. This effectively shortened the loop a tiny amount. This improved the situation but the display needed to rotate just a bit more. So I did the same thing, this time tying my knot just inside of the one I’d tied previously.

Whaala, my 32 year problem is resolved, at least until the cord stretches again. I’ve no doubt this was cutting edge technology back in the day, along with the windshield antenna (a personal favorite).

[MrWrestlingII]

Remaining PICs

[MrWrestlingII]

All of the remaining PICs this time

[indymanjoe]

Just starting to have that issue with mine as well. Thanks for the write up!

[rustedgoat]

good to know the workings of the faceplate.

[MrWrestlingII]

Also, knowing how it works, I'll try to remember to leave it in the AM position to keep the cord from stretching. Except when blaring FM radio thru the original single dash speaker, of course.

[sd7369]

Dial can also easily be adjusted slightly by bending the loop the cord goes through one or another