Modern Delco Car Stereos for DX at home

[OKCRadioGuy]

Has anyone tried using one of the newer DELCO/GM car stereos out of a vehicle for DX'ing? Are there any pitfalls with their serial buss system and theft protection to where a car stereo from the salvage yard couldn't be heated up on a bench with a 12volt supply? I REALLY like the selectivity of my 05 and would like to have the same unit in my house to use as a DX receiver.

 

[mr_elbows]

I'd go with a early-mid 90's plain-jane Mopar radio-AM-FM, no CD, no cassette

I use them for off-air receivers, and their sensitivity / selectivity / immunity to front-end overload is awesome

sitting under the towers at KHMO 5 kw on 1070 I can listen to KMOX on 1120 with no problem

and they're CHEAP..........salvage yards will sell you the radio + connectors + antenna lead for 20 bucks, caue there's no demand for 'plain-janes'

 

[menotti1]

great choice Gary.Had one that would pick up stations miles further that others i've heard.Best AM was one out of a dodge truck.Also the radio out of a 03 v6 accord is pretty darn good too.Honda uses different brands alpine,panasonic,clarion.i think this was the alpine model.

 

[amfmsw]

Ahh...the classic '87-'95 Delco. The radio that single handedly killed music listening on AM. 'Round here, we call it the radio that picks up everything, but sounds so bad you can't listen to anything.

The Concert model by Blaupunkt installed as original equipment in Cadillacs will do as well, but with hi-fi mono or C-Quam AM.

 

[OKCRadioGuy]

The AM on my unit isn't nearly as bad as many of the older ones. With that being said, I want to use it for FM DX. I've used one of the 90s Crysler units for an air monitor too. They work great for that. They also have a pretty decent FM section, but they don't hold a candle to these newer GM units for selectivity. They are so darn good I can slip over to the adjacent to one of the FMs here in town and can tell if they are running their HD hissmakers or not. It's that darn selective. I can drive around in the city of license of my little class A and hear a c3 65 miles down the street adjacent-channel almost like it's in town. The thing is truely amazing.

 

[radiorob2.0]

What needs to be done to convert a car radio to be used as an air monitor? I was planning to attach a non-inductive 8 ohm resistor on each channel so the amp would see a speaker and utilize the pre-amp out (RCA) to feed the air monitor. Any better methods?

 

[OKCRadioGuy]

What needs to be done to convert a car radio to be used as an air monitor? I was planning to attach a non-inductive 8 ohm resistor on each channel so the amp would see a speaker and utilize the pre-amp out (RCA) to feed the air monitor. Any better methods?

Sounds like an acceptable idea. I wonder if the right transformer might be a good idea to match the impedance? I sort of remember hanging one on the back of the Crysler tuner we used to use. I worked at a place that had a TON of old parts accumulated from years and years of radio so I think we just grabbed something off the shelf that looked right and tried it.

 

[mr_elbows]

"What needs to be done to convert a car radio to be used as an air monitor?"

For Mopars, you need to first know that neither speaker lead is grounded

I use a quad of 16 ohm 10 watt resistors, mounted on TS's soldered directly to the metal top cover

then off the '+' end of the LF and RF, take a 100 mfd 50 V cap to a 2.4 K resistor, and hang a 620 across an XLR for the output

adjust the 2.4K for desired level with volume control at about 1-2 o'clock

if you want or NEED balanced, use a 16-ohm to 70 V line xfmr in place of the 2.4 / 620; in that case you may need a series resistor to drop levels to acceptable

pictures as soon as I can remember how to post them

G

 

[OttoM]

Has anyone tried using one of the newer DELCO/GM car stereos out of a vehicle for DX'ing? Are there any pitfalls with their serial buss system and theft protection to where a car stereo from the salvage yard couldn't be heated up on a bench with a 12volt supply? I REALLY like the selectivity of my 05 and would like to have the same unit in my house to use as a DX receiver.

The newer GM radios use the serial bus system to lock the radio to the vehicle. When you buy a radio from a salvage yard, you have to take the vehicle to a GM dealer for it to be programmed or else it won't work. So you can't run it out of the vehicle as you could older radios (although I'm sure GM radio techs have a way to do that).

 

[OttoM]

What needs to be done to convert a car radio to be used as an air monitor? I was planning to attach a non-inductive 8 ohm resistor on each channel so the amp would see a speaker and utilize the pre-amp out (RCA) to feed the air monitor. Any better methods?

You could just buy this: http://www.crutchfield.com/S-qDkF94...Main.aspx?i=142SLC4&tp=2001&tab=detailed_info

It puts the proper load on the finals and also provides another line level output (which you don't have to use). If you don't want to mail order this item, your local Wal-Mart usually stocks it.

 

[OKCRadioGuy]

The newer GM radios use the serial bus system to lock the radio to the vehicle. When you buy a radio from a salvage yard, you have to take the vehicle to a GM dealer for it to be programmed or else it won't work. So you can't run it out of the vehicle as you could older radios (although I'm sure GM radio techs have a way to do that).
[/quote]

Thanks for the info. Too bad there doesn't seem to be a cheat out there to trick it into working somehow. They are really nice radios.. darn.

 

[dtube1]

A company named PAC http://www.pac-audio.com/default.asp makes Serial Bus adaptors for GM/Delco radios. I have one in my '05 Impala that activates the (2) sets of aux inputs. Make sure you get the right adaptor for your radio though (might take some serious research). They also make output adaptors for the various car mfgr radio.
-D

 

[OKCRadioGuy]

Wow.. Thanks for the info! I'll go check that out!

 

[WPPCProductions]

Back in the 70's or 80''s I can't recall which electronics magazine had an article on taking a Delco car radio and converting it to use indoors. they put the radio in a wooden box with the 12volt PS,small car whip antenna mounded on the top and also fitted with a pair of trixial 6x9's on the sides, I think it was pretty clever.If I was handy with woodworking, I would build one now.anyway my 1987 Olds radio would be a good candidate for the project.I've already modified the radio with line outputs tapped before the volume and tone circuits for a clean flat signal for my md recorder for on the road DXing and local airchecks in the cities I'm visiting.