Would a stock radio on a 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix have good sensitivity for the most part. When test driving the car yesterday and had it on a few radio stations from 85 miles away and pick them up with just some static. Which can't even be done on my Pioneer DEH-44HD which I bought a few months ago for my van. The radio was made by AC Delco, I know I have to replace the speakers when I buy the car but was wondering should I bother replacing the head unit. Especially if it has good AM/FM Sensitivity and a CD Player. For MP3 player I could just buy a FM Transmitter that plugs to the Cigarette Lighter.
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Opinions on AC Delco/ GM Stock Radios
- Thread starter gamefreak
- Start date
IME, the biggest issue with stock radios that old is noise generated by the vehicle itself on the AM band. You can usually....but not always cure this by replacing the spark plug wires and/or the alternator. But if you don't have that problem and the radio is otherwise good, I'd say there's no reason to replace it. As for the FM transmitter, I'd suggest spending $125 and getting a Whole House FM. Google it or buy online from Amazon.
R
rbrucecarter5
Guest
gamefreak said:
Delco makes some good radios, but the last one I had only used two ceramic filters for IF on FM, which hurts the selectivity. I'd swap them out for narrower ones like 150 kHz, and put an extra one in series in the second position. That turns Delcos into really selective DX monsters. Of course the single most important thing you need to do for 85 miles out is get a whip onto the fender of the car. I can usually be done fairly easily, won't look bad, but it will really help your reception. 85 miles in some parts of the country is quite challenging. Here in Houston, 85 miles is nothing - the stations are still like locals. But we have full class C 100kW stations off 2000 foot towers and flat terrain. At 85 miles, there is barely a fade.
I don't know what is wrong with your Pioneer, usually even the non-3D version of Supertuner runs rings around Delcos. I have a Delco in one car, and even modified with three ceramic filters, and using a whip antenna it still is mediocre compared to my DEH-9400. The Delco still gets a first adjacent from Austin 170 miles away, but it is much weaker than on the Pioneer, which has virtually no dropouts on the same station. The Delco also has strange dead zones and blank frequencies that Pioneer doesn't.
Maybe it isn't the Pioneer radio but the fact the antenna is in the front of the van. Which is the stock antenna, would replacing the antenna from Advanced Auto be a good idea. The antenna on the van is a stock GM Antenna. The antenna on the Grand Prix however is located in the back.
I don't know, I have trouble picking up WOCL 105.9 from the house and that station is only 75 miles away. Which is a 100,000 watt and a 1,500 foot antenna. A station that I even have set on my alarm clock radio. A station that a stock radio on a 2003 Ford Expedition can pick up without a fade or whiff of static.
How much would be be to install a whip on the car though.
I don't know, I have trouble picking up WOCL 105.9 from the house and that station is only 75 miles away. Which is a 100,000 watt and a 1,500 foot antenna. A station that I even have set on my alarm clock radio. A station that a stock radio on a 2003 Ford Expedition can pick up without a fade or whiff of static.
How much would be be to install a whip on the car though.
)
R
rbrucecarter5
Guest
gamefreak said:
A little confusing --- but it sounds like you have a whip antenna on both vehicles. If you don't, I would suggest installing one. If you do have a whip already, check for corrosion at the base where it is mounted on the fender - I had a friend in LA with that problem, he went from no reception on stations 80 miles away to perfect reception.
I lived in Central Florida, WOCL is a monster. That DeBary antenna location is on a hill, making the HAAT even higher. I lived in Daytona, of course it was local there, but I also lived down the coast in Palm Bay. By that time, they had abandoned oldies so I didn't listen, but they were still as strong as a local, and that was probably 80 to 90 miles. Both on Pioneer and stock radios - my wife won't let me change her car radio. The one factor in common was whip antennas.
Incidentally, the rap station 101.9 is also on that DeBary tower, and I can get them all the way up on I-10 about 60 to 70 miles outside of Tallahassee before they finally fade for good.
I have two vehicles (1998 and 2000) that came equipped with Delco AM-FM-CD units and both with the black fender mounted vertical whip antennas.
This past year, I replaced the radio in my regular ride with a Pioneer Supertuner 3D (ST). I like the ST on FM and I like the Delco on AM.
The FM performance of the ST is superior to the Delco. It is more sensitive and much more selective. I can hear adjacent channel stations right next to other stations.
A couple of examples, 89.1 WRVS and 90.3 WHRO are both IBOC “HD” stations. I can still DX 90.1 in between those two noise makers, even when I’m less than 2 miles from the WRVS transmitter site.
Another example is there are two full power Class C “Bob” FMs that are solid here in NE NC, 93.3 WERO and 93.7 WNOB. On the ST, I can usually hear 93.5 WBBC “Bobcat” from central Virginia.
Both of the above examples are impossible with the Delco radios.
The AM performance of the ST is not as good as with the Delco. I guess the sensitivity is about the same but the selectivity of the Delco is better.
An example, 790 WNIS is solid here day and night. During the day, I can listen to 780 and 800 for DX purposes on the Delco. Those are not clean and clear signals due to the sideband splatter from WNIS (they are not IBOC) but those adjacent frequencies can be monitored.
On the ST, the 790 signal wipes out 780 and 800 completely during the day.
There is also the annoying problem with the ST on AM that it seems to not have a very good AGC compared to other car radios I’m familiar with. The ST will get really loud on strong signals and get much weaker on weak signals. Turning up and down the volume on the radio while driving is a pain and can be distracting. During sunrise/sunset listening, the signal strengths of most stations are bouncing around so it also makes the audio level go up and down. Bill
This past year, I replaced the radio in my regular ride with a Pioneer Supertuner 3D (ST). I like the ST on FM and I like the Delco on AM.
The FM performance of the ST is superior to the Delco. It is more sensitive and much more selective. I can hear adjacent channel stations right next to other stations.
A couple of examples, 89.1 WRVS and 90.3 WHRO are both IBOC “HD” stations. I can still DX 90.1 in between those two noise makers, even when I’m less than 2 miles from the WRVS transmitter site.
Another example is there are two full power Class C “Bob” FMs that are solid here in NE NC, 93.3 WERO and 93.7 WNOB. On the ST, I can usually hear 93.5 WBBC “Bobcat” from central Virginia.
Both of the above examples are impossible with the Delco radios.
The AM performance of the ST is not as good as with the Delco. I guess the sensitivity is about the same but the selectivity of the Delco is better.
An example, 790 WNIS is solid here day and night. During the day, I can listen to 780 and 800 for DX purposes on the Delco. Those are not clean and clear signals due to the sideband splatter from WNIS (they are not IBOC) but those adjacent frequencies can be monitored.
On the ST, the 790 signal wipes out 780 and 800 completely during the day.
There is also the annoying problem with the ST on AM that it seems to not have a very good AGC compared to other car radios I’m familiar with. The ST will get really loud on strong signals and get much weaker on weak signals. Turning up and down the volume on the radio while driving is a pain and can be distracting. During sunrise/sunset listening, the signal strengths of most stations are bouncing around so it also makes the audio level go up and down. Bill
The antenna on the Pontiac is mounted around the trunk. So getting just a basic Pioneer with SuperTuner 3D would do the trick right.
N4GBK, since your two cars are from GM would I hook the antenna to the Pioneer aftermarket the same way as the stock radio or do I need a adapter to use the antenna already on the Pontiac. Also are the antennas on the older GM cars amplified or are they not. Heard a lot of people who replace their stock radios with aftermarket would have reception issues. Mainly because the fact that the stock head unit had an antenna amplifier in it. The aftermarket one didn't or didn't know how to turn the antenna amp on.
I want to keep the whip that it on the car already. I'm just wondering of my antenna is amplified, if it is I need to figure out how to enable the amplifier with the new stereo.
N4GBK, since your two cars are from GM would I hook the antenna to the Pioneer aftermarket the same way as the stock radio or do I need a adapter to use the antenna already on the Pontiac. Also are the antennas on the older GM cars amplified or are they not. Heard a lot of people who replace their stock radios with aftermarket would have reception issues. Mainly because the fact that the stock head unit had an antenna amplifier in it. The aftermarket one didn't or didn't know how to turn the antenna amp on.
I want to keep the whip that it on the car already. I'm just wondering of my antenna is amplified, if it is I need to figure out how to enable the amplifier with the new stereo.
While we're on the subject of GM Radios, I have a 2002 GMC Envoy. The radio has the single CD player, no cassette, and no built in Sirius/XM, but was one of the first digital FM receivers out there. My problem is that when I have a cell phone plugged into to the charger, my FM range drops noticeably. Stations of moderate strength become noisy, while weaker signals disappear completely. When I unplug the phone, the moderate signals again become clean, the weaker signals reappear. This has always been a problem from the days of the flip phone down to the current iPhone. This was the only model year where the radio antenna was in the rear side windshield. In 2003 and subsequent years, GM went back with the whip antenna located on the right front fender.
Any ideas as to what is causing this drop in FM reception with the phone plugged up?
Any ideas as to what is causing this drop in FM reception with the phone plugged up?
It's not a guaranteed thing, but I've found that quality made chargers, often OEM specific to your phone brand, are the key to minimizing or preventing interference issues. The ones I've used that are cheapy no-name brands off Amazon or from mall kiosks cause the most damage to the radio bands, and the ones branded (and most expensive, naturally) and manufacturer direct do the least.
I get zero noise from a Samsung-branded OEM charger that came with a Samsung car kit for one of my old phones, but the aftermarket cheapo I bought when someone in the family "borrowed" it makes me lose HD completely and most DX analog FM, too. It doesn't affect AM.
I get zero noise from a Samsung-branded OEM charger that came with a Samsung car kit for one of my old phones, but the aftermarket cheapo I bought when someone in the family "borrowed" it makes me lose HD completely and most DX analog FM, too. It doesn't affect AM.
Aftermarket, imitation, and counterfeit battery chargers and power supplies are a notorious source of radio interference. Even if they look just like the original OEM part, and often even copy the manufacturer's logo and put on a fake UL approval sticker, they are cheaply made with the metal shielding and RF chokes left out of the circuit -- you can tell by how light the fake charger is compared to the original!
And in my experience, Amazon and eBay do not adequately screen out these fakes when they claim to be the real OEM part. If the seller is in China or Hong Kong, it is practically guaranteed to be a fake! And even some U.S. sellers buy the Chinese fakes in bulk and then resell them at a profit.
Here is a video demonstrating just how bad the radio interefence caused by counterfeit AC adapters can be:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nTRIxloDcI
And in my experience, Amazon and eBay do not adequately screen out these fakes when they claim to be the real OEM part. If the seller is in China or Hong Kong, it is practically guaranteed to be a fake! And even some U.S. sellers buy the Chinese fakes in bulk and then resell them at a profit.
Here is a video demonstrating just how bad the radio interefence caused by counterfeit AC adapters can be:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nTRIxloDcI
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