Improve Radio Reception

[PATSYS50]

Anybody got great tips how to improve the radio reception in my car radio?

Is there a special antenna I have to install or something?

[niky]

Anybody got great tips how to improve the radio reception in my car radio?

Is there a special antenna I have to install or something?

What car do you have and what's the stock antenna?

[ben_david19]

you can DIY this sir. magdagdag kayo ng wire sa antenna out nung HU, tapos kayo nalang ang mag-gapang nito. diskarte niyo na kung saan niyo pagagapangin.

[oj88]

^^ +1 on the car make, model and trim.

The HU's receiver sensitivity also plays a role in signal reception quality, as well as your usual location and the radio station you're listening to.

Personally, I've given up listening to local broadcast stations. I felt that the quality of the content have gone worse over the past decade or so.

[dr. d]

first of all, make sure your antenna is indeed effectively connected!
sometimes, reception will improve when you extend the length of the antenna to its maximum.
there are some instances, wherein it is the radio that is old and obsolete, that is, it is not as sensitive as the more modern models. in this case, your more obvious choice is to simply replace it for a more modern one.
in other instances, the radio signal is really weak in your area.. your only choice is to move to an area with stronger signal. or, is when the concrete walls are so thick, radio signals are blocked off. or, when you live on the other side of the concrete jungle, that is, you live on the other side of ayala..
and if you are refering to that classical music station, we have a problem. their transmitter is in bulacan, and their transmitting power is weaker than most other radio stations' .

[niky]

you can DIY this sir. magdagdag kayo ng wire sa antenna out nung HU, tapos kayo nalang ang mag-gapang nito. diskarte niyo na kung saan niyo pagagapangin.

The problem is not everyone is willing to take up a course in automotive wiring to increase reception.

As oj88 has said, sometimes, it's not the antenna at fault, it's the stock head-unit. My Lynx has a printed antenna... which is usually a recipe for pretty bad reception, but my reception is actually decent.

Even then, there's no need to wire in a separate antenna all the way from the HU... iif I wanted an external antenna, I'd simply splice from the wires in the printed antenna to a roof-mounted unit in the same location.

For cars with stubby antennas, you can get extended ones that screw into the stock socket.

For cars with telescoping antennas, a bigger whip will only give modest benefits... better reception might be found by cleaning contacts and making sure the wires are in good condition... or by changing your HU out... but then, this isn't a guarantee, either.

Some stations are really crap in the city, no matter what you do. Unless you drive around with a ten foot tall whip that catches on parking garage ceilings, there's little you can do about it.

[PATSYS50]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the replies.

My cars are Isuzu Alterra and Toyota Vios. Both have weak tuner receptions although the Vios has better between the 2.

Their antenna are standard ones, I do not know what they're called. For the Vios, it is the lines stuck in the rear windshield.

I think the antennas are connect properly (these 2 cars are only about 4 months old).

[xmax2010]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the replies.

My cars are Isuzu Alterra and Toyota Vios. Both have weak tuner receptions although the Vios has better between the 2.

Their antenna are standard ones, I do not know what they're called. For the Vios, it is the lines stuck in the rear windshield.

I think the antennas are connect properly (these 2 cars are only about 4 months old).

sir i have my 3 week old sportivo poor reception din sa RADIO hindi matanggal ang hisssing sound, ang sakit pakinggan. have you solved this kind of problem?

[gilcoolcruiser]

sir i have my 3 week old sportivo poor reception din sa RADIO hindi matanggal ang hisssing sound, ang sakit pakinggan. have you solved this kind of problem?

Iyan na ata ang sakit ng crosswind HU mahina ang reception sa akin din 2 months pa lng kahit nasa manila wala kng maintindihan sa pinakikinggan mo.

[oj88]

Get ready for a bit of long read... :D

There are a number of reasons for poor radio reception. Off the top of my head, reception problems may be caused by any combination of the following:

• Distance from the radio station or transmitter
• Obstructions - man-made structures or topographical (ie. valleys, mountains)
  
• Bad placement of, or broken, antenna (wrong wavelength, wrong orientation)
  
• Broken or loose antenna cables or connectors
  
• Defective/disconnected pre-amp or signal amplifier (where applicable)
• Weak receiver sensitivity
• Man-made radio frequency interference (RFI)
  

Most modern cars have antennas as an integral part of the windshield. Though this makes for a cleaner-looking and a much sleeker car design, it is one of the worst place to put an antenna. In principle, antennas must be installed as high as physically possible to clear the obstructions that the car itself present (ie. passengers, A,B & C-pillars, roof, etc.), and that the antenna itself must be of proper design (precisely cut for the frequency band it will be used for) with good quality cabling and hardware.

As I learned during my amateur radio days, the best place to put an antenna on a car is at the center of the roof since it is usually the highest point of the car and that the roof itself (as part of the chassis ground) provides for an excellent ground plane. But this may be considered as either impractical or unsightly by modern standards. Some do have OEM antennas on the roof near the front windshield (ie. Hyundai Getz) or near the rear windshield (Honda Jazz), and this is as far as perfect placement goes nowadays.

Going back to the windshield antenna, car manufacturers are aware of the inherent limitations of this design, so they tried to work around the problem by adding signal amplifiers to boost the reception. The problem is, everything is boosted up; the RF signal AND noise/interference or RFI. Thus far, there's nothing much that can be done but either drop the OEM windshield antenna and use an aftermarket one that you can have total control on placement, or replace the OEM radio with something that has a bit more quality in the receiver circuitry (ie. good sensitivity, high noise rejection properties, very good signal-to-ratio or SNR, etc.)

Another thing, broadcast FM transmitter antennas since after WWII have been designed to be vertically polarized. Without going into the itty-bitty details, suffice to say that the receiving antenna must be oriented vertically to capture as much energy from the transmitter as possible. The reason I mentioned this is that, a lot of those A-pillar collapsible antennas when extended, will almost always bend downward until they're practically horizontal. As such, it may not be as sensitive when receiving distant or weak FM stations.

Finally, the AM-band receiver antenna coil is usually built into the HU chassis. AM signals travels further than FM signals and does not require line-of-sight due to its longer wavelength, so it really doesn't need an external antenna. Reception performance in this case lies on the HU's receiver sensitivity.