FM Tuner Card, or remove hu?

gareva1 · 07-17-2004, 10:55 AM

I know this is a topic that has been discussed at great length, but I cannot find anyone committing to a particular side; I am looking at possibly doing away with my head unit, or relocating my head unit to the Glove Box. I have seen a lot of FM tuner cards online, but I dont know if the reception on them is adequate for an in car application. I do not want to add any amplifiers or speakers to my current vehicle, so at the most, I'm looking at buying a fm card and removing my head unit, or at the least, moving my head unit and using an fm mod, and possibly replacing the hu later for one with an aux in. What is the general consensus for fm reception? I am putting this in a 1997 Chevy Camaro, so space is extremely limited. I'm not very thrilled on putting my hu in the glovebox, so if anyone else has any other ideas, I'd be very willing to hear those too.

Nicholasp27 · 07-17-2004, 11:34 AM

i'm planning on replacing my HU with the carputer as well...i'm just gonna find the best decent usb fm tuner i can (i'll search on these boards for it) and try it out...i think some people are able to hook their tuner card to the car antenna to get good reception

only works on some models tho, i think, so check the boards

SinnerG · 07-17-2004, 12:37 PM

Quote:

I do not want to add any amplifiers or speakers to my current vehicle

Keep in mind that the output from your sound card can NOT drive you speakers. You will definately need an amp. Your HU has an amp built in, where as you sound card does not.

gareva1 · 07-17-2004, 03:35 PM

When I said I didnt want to replace any amps or speakers, I may have given off a bad assumption; the camaro comes with a Monsoon system which has an amp already built into the car from the factory, so there is an amp there to push the audio signal; Since I've posted, I've started leaning towards relocating my A/C controls to the armrest console and placing my hu where my A/c controls reside, and replacing my hu with one that has an aux in (the Pioneer 2600 series has one if you buy the adapter (about $40 or $50 from my local car stereo store)...so with the new hu and the adapter, I'm looking at about 200, but it will be direct line in, which will make the sound perfect...I'll just have to open the armrest console when I want to turn the a/c or heater on...unless someone can come up with a brilliant idea that I havent thought of yet...

mindscream · 08-23-2004, 04:45 PM

HI Gareva,

I have a 1996 Camaro. I tried many times to find a way to integrate my computer into my existing stock system. I gave up after several attempts and frying 2 FM Modulators.

I ended up rewiring everything and using independent amps. I disconnected the leads going to the speakers and ran new wires going to my amps. I completely removed the HU and put my Lilliput in its place. My system works much nicer than I expected, but lemme tell ya... takin that interior out and rewiring it was a hell of a job. Not impossible at all, just a big pain.

After I got it all up and going, I was very glad I did it that way.

Mind Scream out

gareva1 · 08-23-2004, 04:49 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by mindscream

HI Gareva,

I have a 1996 Camaro. I tried many times to find a way to integrate my computer into my existing stock system. I gave up after several attempts and frying 2 FM Modulators.

I ended up rewiring everything and using independent amps. I disconnected the leads going to the speakers and ran new wires going to my amps. I completely removed the HU and put my Lilliput in its place. My system works much nicer than I expected, but lemme tell ya... takin that interior out and rewiring it was a hell of a job. Not impossible at all, just a big pain.

After I got it all up and going, I was very glad I did it that way.

Mind Scream out

well, I suppose an update is in order; I have since relocated my hu to my glovebox, and replaced it with a boss dvd5000r, which will take care of my radio and aux in issues; I dont have any reviews on the piece yet, as the UPS guy hasnt delivered it to me yet, but I should get it this afternoon, and I'll let everyone know how it works out.

antimatter · 08-23-2004, 04:53 PM

I am waiting to see what Seth can produce

http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/general-hardware-discussion/30106-usb-fm-am-tuner-rds-rbds.html

I currently have the RadioXtreme which is In my opinios crap. I gues the Happague USB TV/FM tunner has the best reception but no AM or RDS like the one Seth is building. If you are willing to wait a few months i would wait to see what seth can produce. Frodo and the guys at Hybrid already said that they would write the software. I think seth plans on sending the protypes to the developers once they are built for integration

gareva1 · 08-23-2004, 04:57 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by antimatter

I am waiting to see what Seth can produce

http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=30106

dont get me wrong, I've been watching all the development of that piece too, but what I've got now will allow me to play dvds without running an ide cable or playing it off the computer in any way, avoiding one more install problem, plus, it lets me have a less powerful pc in the car, since it doesnt have to play dvds

antimatter · 08-23-2004, 04:58 PM

Screw headunits, computer all the way baby

gareva1 · 08-23-2004, 04:59 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by antimatter

Screw headunits, computer all the way baby

nice to see you contribute with more useless banter...

antimatter · 08-23-2004, 05:38 PM

Whatever dude, I help a lot of people around here. The majority of my posts are value added posts.

My comment was in reply to yours. I think ditching the head units make for a much cleaner looking and sweeter setup. The only drawback is that there isn't as of yet a good am/fm source. Hence my post about Seths project.... yea useless banter.

gareva1 · 08-24-2004, 03:22 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by antimatter

Whatever dude, I help a lot of people around here. The majority of my posts are value added posts.

My comment was in reply to yours. I think ditching the head units make for a much cleaner looking and sweeter setup. The only drawback is that there isn't as of yet a good am/fm source. Hence my post about Seths project.... yea useless banter.

I apologize antimatter, I was in one of those moods and read your post the wrong way...

on another note, I got my new hu in (boss dvd5000b) and it is wonderful in comparison to the model I had previously; it has a remote that actually controls everything, volume and radio included

! if anyone has questions or wants a full review, let me know and I'll spend some time writing on it.

Hark · 08-16-2005, 09:55 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by antimatter

I currently have the RadioXtreme which is In my opinios crap.

Antimatter, I'd be interested in hearing a more detailed opinion of why you don't like the radioxtreme. I have no experience with fm tuners for the pc, and am looking for a good solution (as are we all), but after seeing the specs for the radioxtreme, it looked interesting. Can you give me a few details?

Thanks!

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