[NOPLUGN]

I have the original radio in my 2001 Insight..and the FM works great, however, AM stations seem to come in very weakly. BTW, I have the original antenna on the car. I'm wondering if this weak AM reception and performance is an issue with all OEM Insight radios?

 

[boogetyboogety]

I jettisoned my OEM Honda radio early in my ownership of my Insight... but I have a gadget attached to the replacement that allows me to tune in TV audio only from local stations via the am band. It's never been an issue, and indeed, I get a better signal in my car than I do with my over-the-air home antenna (at least I will until February '09)... :evil:

 

[atlaw4u]

boogetyboogety, could you list or describe the device you speak of.

 

[boogetyboogety]

Sadly, these devices are now discontinued... although they do appear on eBay from time to time, sometimes for under $20 shipped!

http://www.electricalconnection.com/aud ... totalk.htm

And even sadder... they will be useless after February '09, when analog TV signals are to be supplanted by digital transmissions... bah... :x

 

[Scott]

AM radio?? What's that? (kidding) Never tried AM on my OEM stereo so I can't say how good/bad the reception is.

 

[bfivelover]

AM, FM??? Haven't listened to those since I got Sirius two years ago. But as I recall, AM reception has been poor in just about every vehicle I have ever had, including the Insight.

 

[hack123456]

The Insight comes with a factory installed powered AM antenna amplifier. From what I understand there is a power line to the base of the roof-mounted antenna. I have heard that it is common for aftermarket installers to forget to reconnect this power lead when a new stereo goes in. What I haven't heard is if the amplifier ever dies, or the power connection is prone to opens. I noticed my AM reception dropped off steeply about a year ago and I haven't quite got up the gumption to pull the headliner to check the antenna base to see if there's still 12v up there.

 

[northroad]

Does the insight naturally produce a lot of rf interference in the AM spectrum? My AM reception is great with only the accessory on, but it goes to **** with the key in the on position, regardless of engine on or not. Just wondering if something is wrong with my radio or antenna amp or possibly grounds.

 

[Thor]

Same here - AM works fine with Accessory only, but when the engine/IMA is running it is full of static.

Best that I can tell, RFI could come in from the front end (antenna) or the back end (power supply & ground). Radio is an Alpine, maybe 5 years old.

There is not much on line about AM antennas that perform super well...... on some Ham sites there are posts about wavelengths and antennas, and it would seem that at 1.0 MHz, the antenna would be about 300 meters. You could base load this, but it would hang out in the air and be a real drag.

There are filters available for conditioning the power line in, but I haven't looked to check connections, grounds and all that yet. Some day.....


Thor

 

[talonmike]

You still have AM stations?

 

[northroad]

Same here - AM works fine with Accessory only, but when the engine/IMA is running it is full of static.

Best that I can tell, RFI could come in from the front end (antenna) or the back end (power supply & ground). Radio is an Alpine, maybe 5 years old.

There is not much on line about AM antennas that perform super well...... on some Ham sites there are posts about wavelengths and antennas, and it would seem that at 1.0 MHz, the antenna would be about 300 meters. You could base load this, but it would hang out in the air and be a real drag.

There are filters available for conditioning the power line in, but I haven't looked to check connections, grounds and all that yet. Some day.....

Thor

I have the stock radio, good to know that just getting an aftermarket one won't change anything.

Crutchfield Noise Suppression Guide Not AM specific but useful

Noise filters are cheap, I'll install one soon and tell you if it helps.