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MG MGF Technical - Radio reception
| I have a kenwood MP3 player and thought with the football being on would tune it in to radio 5 live but MW reception is crap and was wondering if this is a std problem or whether or not I have got a problem. FM reception is fine so have never noticed rubbish MW reception. Any ideas? Tom |
| Tom Randell |
| Medium and long wave reception isn't good on mine either. I suspect the cable isn't earthed well enough at the aerial end, but as I only tend to listen to FM, I've not bothered to investigate further. I think you can get "adapters" that enable you to add an additional earth at a link in the cable (I'm pretty sure there will be one quite close to the aerial)... Neil. |
| Neil |
| Or you could upgrade to DAB, most kenwood headunits are DAB compatible. a bit pricy, but interesting nevertheless http://www.justkenwood.co.uk/stock01/ktc9090dab.asp |
| Kingsley |
| I was listening to radio 5 driving in this morning (er, vive la France) and it was as clear as anything at 648-ish on my 2001 VVC with the bog standard CD-radio for that model, and the factory-fit aerial. This and Radio 4 LW cricket are the only AM stations I listen to, so I cannot claim to have made a thorough assessment! While my car was parked up awaiting a new head, the aerial was left out and the socket is now a bit rusty - but this appears to have had no effect on reception. Perhaps try quickly with someone else's head unit? Isn't the MGF pretty standard fitting? |
| David Bainbridge |
| The aerial sticking out the car is for FM reception only. AM reception (MW/LW) is achived through a ferite core aerial built into your head unit IIRC, so not having the aerial removed makes no difference, reception quality will vary by headunit. |
| Kingsley |
| Hi Guy's, I had exactly the same problem on MW, so before the world cup kicked off, I got myself down to B&G and treated the little monkey to a set of 8.5mm competetion HT Leads. Took about 40 mins to fit, start to finish. Works a treat. Also should sort out any potential cold starting problems and appears to run a little smoother too - or could that be the Shell Optimax.....? HTH Cheers Kieren |
| Kieren Gibson |
| New HT leads have been fitted a couple of weeks ago, but has not effected reception was crap and still is. Tom |
| Tom Randell |
| Ohhhh, not sure then Tom. Is it a VVC or MPi ? Cheers Kieren |
| Kieren Gibson |
| 1.8i MPi |
| Tom Randell |
| Is MW crap all the time or just when you start the engine. In other words do you think it's a poor signal or interference. MW and LW bands are amplitude modulation, so prone to interference and during the evenings, will fade in and out as the signal phases, as it bounces off the ionosphere. Car radio's do use the aerial for AM by the way, portable radio's don't though (they use a ferrite rod aerial inside for AM). I don't know if Kenwood units have a trimming capacitor (usually through a small hole in the cabinet), usually you have to trim the radio to match the aerial for AM, perhaps that's not been done. It maybe worth a look at the fitting instructions. Good luck |
| Keith |
| >>>>Car radio's do use the aerial for AM by the way I did wonder about that. After all, an AM aerial might not work too well in a little metal box (the radio) in a little metal box (the holder) in a little metal box the car). Faraday cage - is that the term or am I talking bollocks again? |
| David Bainbridge |
| Thats the guy, and maxwells laws - they were bastards, i mean, probebly very useful, but differentiating three dimentional polor coordinates, give us a break |
| Will Munns |
| It is crap reception and does not matter whether or not the engine is running. I have no clue what it is but it is only MW so can live with it even if it means I can't listen to the football. Thanks for everyone's ideas what it could be. Tom |
| Tom Randell |
| Hi all, I own a 1.8mpi MY2000, and I intent to buy for pure aesthetical reasons MS stubby aerial ( I mostly listen to cds) ..... Is there a possibility that this change might significantly improve radio reception in FM (in those few times i tune to an FM radio station)? sorry for my stupid and slightly OT question. Regards from Greece, Theodossis |
| Theodossis Kazas |
| There was a discussion about this a while back, and I think it was agreed that, unsually for the F, the Rover standard part works the best! |
| David Bainbridge |
| David, thanks for the reply! Theodossis |
| Theodossis Kazas |
| Kingsly >The aerial sticking out the car is for FM reception only Hhhmmm ... dont think so. My Dad had an old MW/LW radio which would only work with an aerial. The metalwork on the car will shield MW sigmals received only by the ferrite core. MW reception is probably poor due to the length of the aerial. FM aerials are shorter because the frequency is higher - hence shorter wavelength. MW has longer wavelengths and requires a longer aerial which is usually a fraction of the mid wavelength. Stubby aerials will exacebate the problem. ER |
| Ewan Ramage |
| In the "olden days" before FM radios and MW/LW was all that was available, car radios worked with aerials similar to today's FM aerials. Since the wavelength of a medium wave signal is so long, you would need an aerial several meteres long, even to get a quarter wave. |
| Brian |
| If Ewan is correct, then I think B&G sell aerials in a range of lengths (as probably, do many other outlets!). Buy the longest aerial you can find, tie a ribbon on it, put the roof down. Then get your mate to stand at the side of the road and feverishly press the buttons on his mobile phone. Everone will think the F is the largest remote control car they've ever seen. |
| David Bainbridge |
| >>Buy the longest aerial you can find, tie a ribbon on it, put the roof down. Then get your mate to stand at the side of the road and feverishly press the buttons on his mobile phone. Everone will think the F is the largest remote control car they've ever seen. << Brilliant ! :-) Tom, it could just be that this area has terrible reception. The Blackwater Valley Road in particular is poor (because it's in a valley?) Chasing good AM (MW/LW) reception is a lost cause, IMO. Steve |
| Steve |
| Dave Excellent Idea!! Alternatively drive to the big masts at Droitwitch and plug your radio into them!! ;) |
| Ewan Ramage |
This thread was discussed between 11/06/2002 and 17/06/2002
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