Hi, car radio specialists. I'm a girl and I don't know anything about car radios. I bought a Toyota Rav 4. I live in New York and the only radio stations I like to listen to are: AM 1010 Wins and FM 105.3 Dance Music Station. None of these two stations come clear through my radio. Should I go to one of those car radio installation shops and buy another radio? Which radio is best? Thanks guys. Elaine.
If you have the money to burn, then look at a satellite radio. I think they charge $10 - $12 per month just like cell phones, but it's capped. Doesn't increase. That should give you 80+ channels of clear music that's good thoughout the country. If that's not in your option, then you can invest in a better headunit and antenna. Maybe you might want to get mp3 player instead? Then, you don't have to depend on a radio station.
Thanks for all your answers. Dear Jack, I don't know Jack about radios or antennas. What is a stock HU? Dear Why, I have a regular detachable antenna that I unscrew every time I have the car washed. Dear Isaac, I am a little cheap. I don't like to spend money. I am one of those FTA (free to air satellite) members of this site. What is a head unit? LOL... My father agrees that I need a better head unit on my shoulders, but he doesn't know anything about car radios. What brand of antenna do you suggest? Thanks. Elaine.
Creek, tell him that you need a better father, just kidding. You can get one of those retractable antenna. I think it costs around $30 - $60. It should be better than stock antenna. You can also get a new radio for $100 or less. I to have FTA. What brand is yours?
Okay, you might not want to replace that headunit. It'll cost you more money cause it's not a "standard" sized faceplate. Looks like you have a cd player as well as cassette? Try looking into a better antenna for your car. It'll be cheaper and less of a hassle too (not much down time). If you were to replace the headunit, then you're looking at 2-4 hours for install + extra fee for the service. That doesn't even include the price of new radio. I had Viewsat Extreme too but I upgraded it to Ultra. It is way easier to program. No more serial cable and computer. Just load the file onto the usb key and plug it into the receiver. Then from the menu select it. Takes about 1 minute and it's done. With Extreme, you have to turn off the receiver first, then start the loader, turn on the receiver, wait till it downloads, then some more for it to program. I found out it's 2x - 3x faster with Ultra. I thought of getting a smaller dish for the car. I've seen some that were portable. Since I have LCD tv in the car, I could watch movies.
Isaac, yes you're right there is a CD and cassete player. I knew I would have to go to a car radio shop to have the best and proper radio installed, but it's OK. I need to get rid of that endless static on my 1010 wins news. Every night they are zapping Nagra and I have to enter new numbers on the viewsat. I think it's a great idea to get a portable dish for the car, maybe you could also connect your radio to get Sirius satellite stations.
Creek why is your receiver getting zapped everynight? Why are you entering the keys manually? It should do it automatically. What bin file are you using? You should be using the one dated Feb 6th, 2007. That will fix all problems. Actually depending on the satellite, you do get radio channels, almost 100.
Blaine, I would love to see your Rav4 pictures anyway, it will give me some additional ideas. Isaac, thanks, I'll download the latest bin dated Feb 6th. You're right, downloading bins using a serial cable is really annoying, I'll get an Ultra soon. How's the Ultra compared to the Extreme? I have to research about it.
Hello Creek, Ultra and Extreme are pretty much identical in spec, except, the Ultra has a faster processor, longer EPG and USB for programming (20 sec or less). Depending on the number of dishes you have, the EPG can range from 6 days to few days. That's still far better than Extreme's 24 hour EPG. If you're going to buy a new receiver, make sure you stay away from the CLONES. They look exactly like the original. Buy it from someone that can guarantee in writing that you're getting the real one.
