JasonMK

I wasn't sure if this was a streetdeck, technical, installation, or straight up G4 question; feel free to reclassify as appropriate.

I installed my G4 a few weeks ago, and all is working sweet except for the AM radio. Did I miss something or is something not wokring right? I searched the forums and couldn't find anyone else having this specific issue, so I assumed it was NOT a SD bug. Below are a few photos I took while researching and installing. I needed to convert the black cable from the factory antenna cable to the back of my G4. The silver Crutchfield photo is the cable I bought. Everything fits nicely, but that doesn't mean I bought the right piece or that I didn't make a mistake.

The problem is pretty straight forward, I do not get any AM reception. If I am close enought to the city I will get a faint signal with poor reception, but unsuable. I get a few FM stations, although not nearly as clear as the factory HU. Took me so long to really diagnose the problem because I am having so much fun with the rest of the features. Any help would be appreciated.





Here is a picture of the back of the GM HU (if it helps), as well as an installation shot.





I also posted my worklog here, and another question about this antenna cable here, if that helps at all.

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IandI

If you are receiving any radio at all, you have the antenna connected. The quality of the connection is uncertain. One problem could be that you may not be getting a good shield connection. Make sure there is connectivity in both the core and the shield using a multimeter from the end that goes into the G4 to the antenna itself. Another thing that would affect AM much more than FM is interference from electronics or a ground loop. The electronics in the G4 or your car may render your AM radio pretty useless and there is not much you can do about that. If it's a ground loop, you can get a filter at a stereo shop or Radio Shack to try.

You might try contacting a piece of long wire to the G4 antenna adapter without the car on, if you can power the G4 without the ignition turned on. Do it out of the garage and a bit away from the house. Grab a hand held AM radio and try it next to the G4 with the same antenna, if possible. You could also hook the AM radio to your car antenna, or move it around the car to find the interference problem.

As far as the male/female question, you should have learned this at a very early age. If it has a middle member, it's a male, if not it's a female.

Hope you get it working!

JasonMK

So, I've been working on it and trying to isolate the issue. Pulled the radio antenna to the side away from the wiring harness trying to eliminate the two crossing over. No luck. But I have noticed two things, if they are helpful to anyone reading this with any suggestions.

The higher the AM frequency the better the reception (AM 680 does not come in at all, but AM 1500 comes in ok, with AM 1090 coming in weakly) But this could be a coincidence.

I've also notice that screen will say "1090" but the voices on the radio identify the station as "1190". Other times 1090 will come in, but with interference. I've been in the Baltimore area 2 years and never had these two stations competing before. Anyone else having something like this? Is it possible that the radio can't find AM 680 and I should be looking for it closer to 580?

IandI

I just tested my G4 on the AM band and the channels are dead on. I am actually surprised at the quality of reception I get throughout the whole AM band. The tuner in the G4 is really good IMO. I did notice that the scan function does not stop on most channels with a signal, but that's not a big deal.

I would try hooking up a different antenna (or piece of wire) to compare with. Also, make sure you use the latest SD update with the newer G4 install CD that you can obtain from MP3Car. The tuner driver may have been tweaked since the first release.

JasonMK

Downloaded an installed the latest update just the other day, but I will try using another antenna. I just need to get something other than just another wire

naqueal

I know someone with this same problem, Fm stations are clear yet his AM stations are shot when using a SD version over 1.08.1. Could you do me a favor and try 1.08.1 and see if that works if so we may have found a BUG.
Here is the link http://www.streetdeck.com/update/1_0_8_1.sdu

JasonMK

Glad to help in anyway that I can, do I just run the update or do I need to uninstall/rollback something first?

IandI

I am using v1.1.0.0 on the G4 with the updated G4 install DVD and it works fine on AM and FM. I don't think its a bug. Did you guys with problems reload your G4 with the newest G4 restore DVD? I would try that first if you didn't. That may be the problem.

JasonMK

My G4 is less than 3 weeks old, so that's as "new" as the install comes. On top of that I also tried installing v1.1.0.0. Not sure if it is a bug, but it certainly isn't working correctly

JasonMK

I "updated" to 1.08.1 and heard AM680 for the first time!, AM1090 was AM1090!, although AM1500 didn't come in as clear as before (may have been my location). So, your hunch was right, what does that mean for us now?

naqueal

Please post this issue in the Bug Report Forum. This issue may not be as isolated as I thought. Thank you for taking the time out to help me test this issue

JasonMK

Thanks naqueal, posted it yesterday

I also came across this thread this morning, which appears to be similar.

JasonMK

vkaramjem, your last posts appears to be a quote of one of my earlier posts. Did you have something you wanted to add or were you having the exact same problem and thought I said it perfectly the first time?

edit: post I was refering to was removed since my reply.

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