Aftermarket stereo and bad reception

[BGR]

I had swapped the stock head unit out for one that has am/fm radio and input for AUX, USB and SD Card. The unit sounds great, but the radio reception sucks. I was wondering if it is just this unit (Pyle PL90MU) or does all aftermarket head units have bad radio reception?

I put the stock head unit back in today and the radio reception is damn near perfect. I'm going to put this Pyle(ofshit) into my other car and look for another head unit for the Galant. Anyone have any suggestions on a good head unit, possibly in dash touch screen with HD reception? It has to get good radio reception, either standard or HD signal.

[starh4x]

My cheap sony is the same way. radio quality incomparable to stock.

[QnzMostWanted]

my pioneer and alpine radios sounded great in the G, it might be the cheap radios

[BGR]

my pioneer and alpine radios sounded great in the G, it might be the cheap radios

That's what I'm thinking. However, when I play the MP3's, the sound is more crisp and clear than the stock system, so that's a plus for the cheap H.U. But the radio reception... ass.

I would like to look into HD radio (not satellite radio), however, I'm curious to know how those signals work. I mean, do they work like TV digital signals? Either you get the signal or you don't, so if the aftermarket head unit gets crappy reception, I can only imagine it's not going to get the digital signal, either. I haven't been able to find a lot of info on HD radios or the HD add-on units to make a solid judgment on it, but what I have read about it sounds pretty good, especially since you don't have to pay a monthy service fee for it.

[JAC00BLKES]

i noticed the same thing when i switched to my pioneer headunit
i can't really listen to my favorite station my whole entire commute anymore
just about halfway sometimes....but i did notice the difference in radio quality

[ZigenScarface]

for the founder of TGC u sure do ask a bunch of noob questions =p jj.p w u.. pyles sensitivity towards am/fm arent that great.. you can try an fm booster which will take a acc. wire will give you better quality with reception but prolly not as good as your stock hu delivered

[BGR]

for the founder of TGC u sure do ask a bunch of noob questions =p jj.p w u.. pyles sensitivity towards am/fm arent that great.. you can try an fm booster which will take a acc. wire will give you better quality with reception but prolly not as good as your stock hu delivered

At least I ain't asking questions about if it's possible to have my FACE carbon fibered on an object. LOL. Yeah.

[nyjets985]

i have absolutely no signal with my JVC hu its not a crappy brand or ne thing but i still get no signal...wat and where does that booster thing go and wat does it do ? ?

[BGR]

i have absolutely no signal with my JVC hu its not a crappy brand or ne thing but i still get no signal...wat and where does that booster thing go and wat does it do ? ?

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-4pdJnJccBJh/p_12044UA60/FM-Signal-Amplifier.html

[SPD_FRK]

One thing you guys may need to try out is making sure the RCA connectors have rubber covers ont he ends if they are not being used. Also attaching a ground wire to the "chassis" of the of headunit to a good ground on the dash will help too. If that does not help any then the unit may need to be disassembled and blown out with some compressed air.

[BGR]

One thing you guys may need to try out is making sure the RCA connectors have rubber covers ont he ends if they are not being used. Also attaching a ground wire to the "chassis" of the of headunit to a good ground on the dash will help too. If that does not help any then the unit may need to be disassembled and blown out with some compressed air.

The aftermarket H.U. has covers for the RCA plugs and I had the unit grounded to the chassis. However, the stock H.U. doesn't have a separate ground wire.

[SPD_FRK]

No ground wire from the head unit harness at all?? That is wierd man.

[SleekGTZ]

I had swapped the stock head unit out for one that has am/fm radio and input for AUX, USB and SD Card. The unit sounds great, but the radio reception sucks. I was wondering if it is just this unit (Pyle PL90MU) or does all aftermarket head units have bad radio reception?

I put the stock head unit back in today and the radio reception is damn near perfect. I'm going to put this Pyle(ofshit) into my other car and look for another head unit for the Galant. Anyone have any suggestions on a good head unit, possibly in dash touch screen with HD reception? It has to get good radio reception, either standard or HD signal.

What Pyle model do you have? I have a Pyle system on my minivan. At first the reception was really really bad. Then it went ok after putting in a ground wire to the back of the unit. There is like a screw hole at the back in my model, and that's what I used to connect the ground wire to.

EDIT: Nevermind, you already put a ground wire I see.

[littlerick]

i've never had good luck with pyle. i just got a touchscreen pioneer and it works great but doesnt have the sd card reader just usb and aux

[BGR]

No ground wire from the head unit harness at all?? That is wierd man.

The stock unit? No. There is a ground wire that is part of the wiring harness, but not separate like the aftermarket Pyle H.U. Funny, even though the Pyle had a separate ground wire, I could faintly hear the engine whine when I hit the gas, which is pretty common in aftermarket systems. Perhaps I should have grounded it somewhere else. I used the area where the back of the H.U.'s mounting bracket meets the firewall(?). My other car, I have the aftermarket H.U. grounded near the shifter and that has worse reception that stock. That car, the stock unit didn't have a separate ground wire, either.

[ZigenScarface]

most radios actually will ground with the factory antenna.. although this will not be a sutible ground it will still allow the unit to power up.. my ground i jus put it to the factory radio bracket (which attaches to chassis) and i was fine... try using a star washer to make a better contact also

[ZigenScarface]

At least I ain't asking questions about if it's possible to have my FACE carbon fibered on an object. LOL. Yeah.

haha u got jokes lol

[SPD_FRK]

The stock unit? No. There is a ground wire that is part of the wiring harness, but not separate like the aftermarket Pyle H.U. Funny, even though the Pyle had a separate ground wire, I could faintly hear the engine whine when I hit the gas, which is pretty common in aftermarket systems. Perhaps I should have grounded it somewhere else. I used the area where the back of the H.U.'s mounting bracket meets the firewall(?). My other car, I have the aftermarket H.U. grounded near the shifter and that has worse reception that stock. That car, the stock unit didn't have a separate ground wire, either.

Just curious, since oyu mentioned hearing the engine noise. Are you running an amplifier? Even if you aren't, the ground cables (typically on small gauge stuff) you will get that symptom and the fix is a better ground location, along with a heavier wire if at all possible.

[BGR]

No amp.

I probably should have located the ground to another location, however, for now, I put my stock deck back in and it's all good, except that I can't play MP3's off my USB memory card anymore.