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Poor FM reception? (Is it broken?)

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by naterprius, Oct 21, 2004.

  1. naterprius

    naterprius Senior Member

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    My 1994 Camry with an old-fashoined power antenna gets great reception. My 2000 Isuzu Trooper with nothing but two of those on glass dealios with antenna amplifier gets great reception. My 2004 Prius, with an antenna on the roof AND on the back glass, gets crappy reception. Is there an antenna amplifier? Is mine busted?

    Boba, KBCO (97.3) is about the only thing that comes in well.

    Nate
     
    #1 naterprius, Oct 21, 2004
  2. djc

    djc Junior Member

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    Might be. I also have a 2000 Trooper, and the Prius compares favorably here in Chicago. Last weekend, I took the Prius up to Lake Geneva, WI (about 60 miles away) and was able to pull in Chicago radio stations for almost the whole trip.

    --Dan.
     
    #2 djc, Oct 21, 2004
  3. naterprius

    naterprius Senior Member

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    Hey djc, have you thought about improving the fuel economy of your Trooper by adding manual locking hubs to the front wheels? I hear this gives 2 MPG or more. Also, some folks have reported that the supercharger can improve things as well.

    Nate
     
    #3 naterprius, Oct 21, 2004
  4. djc

    djc Junior Member

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    No, if fact, I've never even looked into ways to improve the mileage on the Trooper. Do you have any links handy? Is there a good site like this for the Trooper?

    I get 14-15 mpg in the mostly short-haul city driving that I do. Hence, the Prius. :mrgreen:

    --Dan.
     
    #4 djc, Oct 21, 2004
  5. Varko

    Varko Member

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    I have the same complaint. My last car was a minivan with the antenna imbedded in the rear window glass and it got much better reception than my 2005 Prius.
     
    #5 Varko, Oct 21, 2004
  6. naterprius

    naterprius Senior Member

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    Dan, Isuzu's sales are way down, so there is not much new to say about the Trooper. The best Isuzu SUV site out there is www.vehicross.info. It's Vehicross centric, but they tolerate the Troopers, Axioms, and Rodeos. Not a lot attention paid to MPG, though. You'll find me over there often; less so now that my Prius is here.

    Here's a list of good ones, in order of my favorites:
    http://www.vehicross.info
    http://www.planetisuzu.com
    http://www.4x4wire.com/isuzu
    http://www.itog.com

    Also, I have the full service manual and wiring diagram for the 2000 Trooper, so let me know if you ever need anything.

    Nate
     
    #6 naterprius, Oct 21, 2004
  7. Batavier

    Batavier Member

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    Aye, radio reception is pretty bad in the Prius. We've had this discussion on the Dutch Yahoo Group as well.
     
    #7 Batavier, Oct 22, 2004
  8. naterprius

    naterprius Senior Member

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    Very disapointing. I'll find out if the amplifier's gain can be increased or if the amp can be replaced with a better one.

    Nate
     
    #8 naterprius, Oct 22, 2004
  9. Varko

    Varko Member

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    Disappointing indeed. I hope you can get find an simple solution. I am tired of static with my music.
     
    #9 Varko, Oct 24, 2004
  10. Frank Hudon

    Frank Hudon Senior Member

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    I'm wondering if there is an antenna trimmer capacitor on the 2k4 Prius radio. It wouldn't surprize me at all. Just haven't found where.
     
    #10 Frank Hudon, Oct 25, 2004
  11. bruceha_2000

    bruceha_2000 Senior Member

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    My reception is generally OK except when I am along the lake in Burlington where the multistory expensive condos and hotels block the direct path to the towers on Mt. Mansfield. I will have to try various stations to see if some are better. At least 2 use local towers SE of the problem location. I had the same problem in my Odyssey.
     
    #11 bruceha_2000, Oct 26, 2004
  12. naterprius

    naterprius Senior Member

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    I discovered this cold morning in Colorado that what I thought was a diversity antenna in the back glass was in fact just a funky circuited part of the rear defroster! (Either that or the diversity antenna doubles as a defroster... is it possible?). This is disappointing.

    On a positive note, I've discovered the antenna from a Mazda 3 is slightly longer but is otherwise identical to the factory antenna. Reception seemed about the same (maybe a little better) in my 5 minute test with my neighbor. We also tried the antenna from his Mini; it was the exact same antenna, and we noticed no change.

    Nate
     
    #12 naterprius, Oct 26, 2004
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