Question about american Prius radio

It is possible that the frequency hop setting is a hardware switch on the radio itself. Perhaps some kind soul who considers pulling their dash and radio a fun exercise could take a look for such a switch? At the other extreme of possibilities it is a firmware setting with essentially no hope of changing it outside of the factory.

 

Have you try the auto scan?

 

Yeah, the autoscan makes sense. It should find stations based on frequencies active in your area. There should also be a way to change the presets, though to be honest I don't know what it is. I usually listen to CDs and ignore the radio.

 

is there no setting in the radio menu about that?

i send you a PM i am intressed in some info about the importing

 

Auto scan should work. Or you could just use cd's/MP3 player's. The prius reception for radio is already a dissapointment to me so I hardly use it, and once I get the shark fin in the mail I would probably never use the radio anymore. lol

 

Excellent question. There's gotta be a way of switching it, the hard part is finding it. My guess is its a small dip-switch inside the unit. Try to contact JBL tech support somehow (email or phone local tech support in your country). If that's not possible, find a local radio repair shop. Failing that, go online and download a schematic... google "jbl radio schematic" and you will get lots of places wanting to sell you a schematic, but of course you need the model number. Good Luck!!

 

I did a little surfing for you... go here and ask them...
JBL - Car Audio

 

Both the frequencies used and the band edges are different in Europe. I think it covers that in the owners manual, but that may be my memory recalling another car I owned.

The scan will not work either, because the NA frequencies are not valid in Europe. It's actually a "channel scan", not a "frequency scan".

 

Of course they are. NA radios skip even frequencies (must be a brilliant FCC idea dating back from the 60's) while european radios use both even and uneven frequencies, by increments of 0.1 MHz in the FM band. Since frequencies are all selected by a PLL, I can't possibly believe that it's hard wired, unless they use a different, north america-only chip, which would be a really dumb way for Toyota of doing it (more inventory and procurement complexity).

 

Heh.

Back in 1989 when I divorced my first wife, she took our then new Toyota Tercel to Sweden with her. She found out that the radio had the same problem as yours.

You have my sympathies (she didn't).

If you open the radio, read off the chip numbers, go to the net and download their specs, you can probably find out which pin the tuner uses for selecting between US and European FM frequencies.

It is not for the faint of heart though.

 

Throughout the world, the broadcast band is 87.5 to 108.0 MHz (i.e. in the VHF range), or some portion thereof. In the U.S. it is 87.8 to 108.0 MHz.
The frequency of an FM broadcast station (more strictly its assigned nominal centre frequency) is usually an exact multiple of 100 kHz. In most of the Americas and the Caribbean, only odd multiples are used. In some parts of Europe, Greenland and Africa, only even multiples are used. In Italy, "half-channel" multiples of 50 kHz are used. There are other unusual and obsolete standards in some countries, including 0.001, 0.01, 0.03, 0.074, 0.5, and 0.3 MHz.

The original bandplan in North America actually used 42-50 MHz but this was changed in 1945. Currently in Canada and the United States, each channel is numbered from 200 (87.9 MHz) to 300 (107.9 MHz) in increments of 1 (200 kHz). Automobiles are unlikely to go overseas, but usually tune down to 87.7, so that TV channel 6 audio on 87.75 MHz can be received (although at a somewhat lower volume).
In the United States, the center frequencies of 87.9 though to 91.9 are reserved for non-commercial stations only, e.g., religious or educational. The center frequencies 92.1 through to 107.9 may contain either commercial or non-commercial stations.
Originally, the FCC devised a bandplan where stations would be assigned at intervals of 4 channels, or 800 kHz separation, for any one geographic area. Thus, in mid-Missouri, stations might be at 88.1, 88.9, 89.7, etc., while in the St. Louis area, stations might be at 88.3, 89.1, 89.9, 90.7, etc. Certain frequencies were designated for Class A only (see FM broadcasting), which had a limit of 3 kW ERP and an antenna height limit for the center of radiation of 300 feet height above average terrain (HAAT). These frequencies were: 92.1, 92.7, 93.5, 94.3, 95.3, 95.9, 96.7, 97.7, 98.3, 99.3, 100.1, 100.9, 101.7, 102.3, 103.1, 103.9, 104.9, 105.5, 106.3, and 107.1. On other frequencies, stations could be Class B (50 kW, 500 feet) or Class C (100 kW, 2000 feet), depending on which Zone they were in.
In the late 1980s, the FCC switched to a "bandplan" based on a distance separation table using currently operating stations, and subdivided the class table to create extra classes and change antenna height limits to meters. Class A power was doubled to 6 kW, and the frequency restrictions noted above were removed. Basically, as of late 2004, a station can be "squeezed in" anywhere as long as the location and class conform to the rules in their separation table. The rules for second-adjacent-channel spacing do not apply for stations licensed prior to 1964.

Following the collapse of the communist governments in Eastern Europe, the 87.5 to 108 MHz band began to be adopted and is now in use in all countries. This was prompted by the expansion of broadcasting and the modernisation of existing transmission networks, using new or second-hand transmitters from western countries, together with a general desire for standardisation with the West.


Well yes there is a method to the madness, however short of going into the radio and and doing board level modifications, I have not seen the schematic of the FM tuner, but it usually consists of cutting a trace or adding a jumper to change tuning capabilities, While its something I am perfectly comfortable doing, its my job, I would not recommend it to just anybody.

I think its time to bite the bullet, buy a European head end unit, if you have the JBL system, and sell the American one on eBay! At least it would be a simple swap. Or buy a radio when you get there and redo the whole system!!! Spend Euros like water and enjoy yourself!!


73 de Pat KK6PD

 

Sheez Pat ~ how come I feel like I just studied for the extra class or phone license ? ... Holy Marconi ! my eyes glazed over, & I'm one who LOVES historical technobabble !

I'm guessing there's a 50/50 chance he can simply find a local elmer to crunch the appropriate diode w/ a set of tweezers, and be done w/ it. It's worked on 100% of my Kenwoods ... receiving and transmitting
After all ... look at all the brands of all kinds of different transiever mods you can find on various web sites. EG: mods.dk - Modifications for radioamateur

w4abj

 

I suspect the entire FM section of the radio (and perhaps the entire radio section itself) is on a chip on the circuit board. In which case it will be pretty nigh impossible to change the frequency scan. As an aside, European FM uses a different signal de-emphasis than the US but all this will do is make the audio high frequencies roll of more quickly. On a car audio system (even a JBL) you probably won't hear this.