[MrFixr55]

Hi Philco4Me,

In AM mode with the antenna connected, if you tune across the band, does the nature of the static change?  Does it get louder and softer?

Another member had suggested to place another radio nearby and tune through the broadcast band on that radio, to note what stations are available in your workspace.  In addition, try to shut off all computers, Alexa devices, your router, fluorescent and LED lights, etc.  If you receive AM stations now, the issue is all the EMI that is literally killing AM.  I cannot receive AM in my house.  If not much change in the tone of static, it is possible that the local oscillator does not work.  In superheterodyne radios (of which almost all radios from the 1940s on are) the station frequency tuned is "mixed with a local oscillator frequency.  The difference between these frequencies (from the heterodyne effect) is a fixed frequency no matter what station frequency is tuned.  The IF (Intermediate Frequency) stage is tuned to this fixed frequency. 

To determine if the local oscillator is working, try doing this:

• Again, you need a working radio.  Tune the radio to a station around 1000 KHz.
  
• Have the radio in question close to the "good radio".  CAUTION:  Do not allow metal parts of the two radios to touch and do not touch both radios at the same time!  
  
• Tune the radio in question through the AM band.  
  
• At a frequency approximately 455KHz below or above the station tuned, you should hear squealing or a lowering of the volume of the station tuned on the good radio.  This is due to interference from the local oscillator in the radio under test.  If this happens, this confirms that the oscillator is working.  If the local oscillator is not working, the radio will not create the "heterodyne" signal (Local Osc frequency - tuned frequency) that the IF stage amplifies.
  

Hope this helps.