Poor Radio Reception - That Old Chestnut

[cre8toruk]

Hi All,

I've done the requisite research on Seloc and found various apparently very good solutions...
How on earth do you get a radio signal out of an elise... Saying that it was fine and has deteriorated over the last month or so...

Do I buy some aluminium tape and feverishly cover the inside of the boot lid, do I get copper tape and do the same, buy a windscreen mounted aerial (or could that be placed under the passenger side access panel... or is there another solution that isn't (turn the radio off, listen to mp3s etc etc) :-)

I tried using my portable DAB which was fine until I tried steering (since the DAB has to sit on the dash to get a signal) then it all became very tangled...

What's the best solution anyone ?

Incidentally, MW (AM) is my target as I like to listen to Radio 5 Live... good FM is a bonus.

8.

[Rakoosh]

What Elise do you have?

The radio for both FM and AM is absolutely fine in my car (an '08 s2) - the stock alpine unit has been replaced (before I got my car) with a kenwood of some sort though.

[cre8toruk]

Rakoosh said:

What Elise do you have?

The radio for both FM and AM is absolutely fine in my car (an '08 s2) - the stock alpine unit has been replaced (before I got my car) with a kenwood of some sort though.

it's an 04 111s

[cre8toruk]

ok well, I had the radio out and all the wires.... man a lot of wires....
couple of tips...

1. Re-make the aerial connection (don't know why but this seems to help)
2. Re-route wires (tidy them up)
3. Re-make ground connector from Radio (this is shared by the Bluetooth ground)
4. Velcro Tie Wraps - The business.

The result is I can hear radio again... FM is perfect, MW (Radio 5) is now audible if not the best and still a bit crackly.

Came up with a solution...

Purchase Ipod Female to 3.5mm jack and plug in your portable DAB radio... (well I'm hoping it works !)

8.

[Lione1 Richie]

Out of interest, what make was the standard fit radio in the 111s?

[cre8toruk]

Lione1 Richie said:

Out of interest, what make was the standard fit radio in the 111s?

I think the standard fit unit is a blaupunkt (which I still have in a box somewhere), but the installed unit is an Alpine iDA-X31RR

[Lione1 Richie]

I have a Sony Xplode fitted in mind but I've only ever had it on a handful of times and when it was in use the reception was atrocious!

Was just wondering if it was standard fit

[ad243S]

When I had my 05 111s the first thing I did was replace the blaupunkt radio with a Blaupunkt Woodstock DAB54 radio and windscreen aerial http://www.bluespot.co.uk/car-audio.aspx/761749520... . Never had any problems at all after that.

[cre8toruk]

Tried cable at lunchtime no blody joy....tccch

[cre8toruk]

well apparently Alpine do a cable to replace the Ipod Cable which is a 3.5mm jack and for use for "other audio devices"... £13.00 or £5.00 for a cheaper alternative.... doh ! All this just to listen to Radio 5... why haven't they gone on the FM waveband by now ?

[cre8toruk]

ok well I'm now the owner of a KCE237B cable and this is plugged into the bluetooth unit replacing the ipod cable.

I've plugged in my Pure PocketDAB 1500 radio and set the head unit to AUX... nothing, nada, not a sausage... oh this is very frustrating... I've emailed Alpine tech support not expecting a reply anytime this millenium....

Now this is a mission...It will be made to work if it's the last thing I do !

[cre8toruk]

ok well to finish this up then... I managed to switch on the High Gain setting on the AUX+ setting on the head unit...plug in the DAB to the KCE237B cable and voila DAB radio !!! all for the price of a cable...

I have an anti-slip mat on the dash where the radio sits, perfect... just need to route the cable a bit better but nearly perfect radio 5 live here we go ! :-)