[mayankk]

Hi, this must be a perennial question, but unfortunately, i couldnt find anything on the forum to address this.
See, i installed a pioneer AVH3200 DVD recently(In a fiesta, that in itself is a mission, but ,that's another story).

It tunes in to odd frequencies only, so i am missing the one radio station i listen to, 95.

The HU says HD Radio compatible,so i was slooking at HD radio units to attach, and they're not that expensive on amazon, etc.
I've done some research, and found that HD will receive regular fm as well, so it should be a question of getting the right HD tuner.

Now, has anybody tried this?
Before that, though, it is possible, yeah?

How does it connect?
Do i need to attach it through aux or something?
Or will an external HD tuner work in sync with the HU?
Any suggestions on which one to buy?
Seperate aerial?
too many questions?

Thanks guys.
I would really appreciate ANY information!!

[mayankk]

Oh man!!
uncharted waters, it seems.
well, for the people who have seen this thread, UK apparently doesnt have HD standards, and they seemed most feasible as their fm switching is conducive to even numbered frequencies.
US HD units will have the same issue of odd tuning intervals.

Somebody, please?
yes/no/maybe?
or maybe someone knows of HD radio zones which have 0.1 Mhz tuning intervals?

[DerAlte]

That's basic FM tuning region problem, nothing to do with HD. Check with Pioneer if they have a firmware patch that allows changing the region from US to Europe. In some models, manual tuning - especially direct input - overcomes this, but not sure whether this model has it.

[mayankk]

oh?
I thought an HD unit would operate as a stand-alone tuner, and basically provide the output to the stereo, and some interface.
reason why i say this is that the stereo says "ipod-ready", and "hd-ready".
now, it does take over the controls of the ipod once connected.
so i assumed..
didnt think about a firmware patch,lemme try.
otherwise i've messed around with ALL the settings in the HU, and there's no way to alter the regions as of now.
tsk!!
got such a shakedown from my mom,"what is the use of such an expensive stereo if you cant get all the stations?"

ah, the vagaries of impulse buying....

[mayankk]

Oi,any body know whether pioneer's own HD tuner addon ,"GEX-P20HD" has tuning intervals of 100KHz or 200 KHz?
Man, this one stereo install is making me deviate from all my other plans for the car!!
the transition timelines are shot to hell!

[mayankk]

ps:fixed now.
installed a "band expander" causing a 0.1mhz shift!
95 fm rocks!

[DerAlte]

What is a "Band Expander"? Is it software or hardware? Where did you get it from?

[mayankk]

Oh, i forgot about describing that bit.
Googling told me japanese and American imports (cars) to aus/nz had this problem with factory stereos.
Jap stereos tuned from 76mhz to 88mhz etc(not sure, and american units tuned only odd freqs.
so these guys had come up with this product.
what it basically does is sits between the antenna connector and the stereo, and subtracts 0.1 Mhz(for us units) from the signal(10mhz to 12 mhz for japanese units).
so, my stereo sees 95 mhz as 94.9 mhz, and is able to tune in.
its hardware.
It needs a power supply, from the stereo itself.
Based on what you need, you can put a switch on the power supply, so you have the full band available.I didnt cos i only need it for one station.
I got it from some people called merlinproductions(.com).
cost me 35 pounds(brits.they also have the same issues occasionally).
Although a guy in khan market tells me that he could get it for me, same cost, but without the waiting(now he tells me!)
Overall cost for the stereo still works out to be 7.5k under what i would paid for a similar HU specified for india.

[kk28]

Originally Posted by mayankk

Oh, i forgot about describing that bit.
Googling told me japanese and American imports (cars) to aus/nz had this problem with factory stereos.
Jap stereos tuned from 76mhz to 88mhz etc(not sure, and american units tuned only odd freqs.
so these guys had come up with this product.
what it basically does is sits between the antenna connector and the stereo, and subtracts 0.1 Mhz(for us units) from the signal(10mhz to 12 mhz for japanese units).
so, my stereo sees 95 mhz as 94.9 mhz, and is able to tune in.
its hardware.
.

Buddy,

Did this work? I am planning to get a HU from US. Really not sure if its all worth it. Please advise.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by kk28

Buddy,

Did this work? I am planning to get a HU from US. Really not sure if its all worth it. Please advise.

this works.
but if you havent bought the stereo yet, buy one which has 0.1 MHz tuning steps.

[esteem_lover]

Guys, take a simple advice from a simple man. Why invest on HD or some other hardware that you have to spend so much on ? Simply connect your phone to the aux input in your CD player and you get all the local channels cleanly. Almost all the HUs even in the range of 4-5k have the AUX input. No sweat. Me too has the Clarion and i do not get the only english station here. If you do not want to use your main phone, get a Nokia for 1.2k and connect that to the aux.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Guys, take a simple advice from a simple man. Why invest on HD or some other hardware that you have to spend so much on ? Simply connect your phone to the aux input in your CD player and you get all the local channels cleanly. Almost all the HUs even in the range of 4-5k have the AUX input. No sweat. Me too has the Clarion and i do not get the only english station here. If you do not want to use your main phone, get a Nokia for 1.2k and connect that to the aux.

Done.
Reception is very patchy,even after running a 2metre aux cord through the door liner(to keep it stable).

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by mayankk

Done.
Reception is very patchy,even after running a 2metre aux cord through the door liner(to keep it stable).

Try listening to FM on the same phone with a 2 metre headphone cable and you will feel the same.

[kk28]

Originally Posted by mayankk

this works.
but if you havent bought the stereo yet, buy one which has 0.1 MHz tuning steps.

Buddy,

Couple of questions:

How do I make sure that the HU i intend to buy has 0.1 MHz tuning? Unless I physically connect it I would not know that. Is there a way to figure that out?

Secondly, consider I get one from US with the 0.1 MHz tuning then will all of these work with no issues at all?

Radio City 91.1
Radio Indigo 91.9
Big FM 92.7
Red FM 93.5
Radio One 94.3
Radio Mirchi 98.3
Amruthavarshini 100.1
AIR FM Rainbow 101.3
Vividh Bharati 102.9
Fever 104.0
Gyan Bharathi 106.4

Appreciate your help!!

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Try listening to FM on the same phone with a 2 metre headphone cable and you will feel the same.

figure of speech, the 2 metre bit.
It didnt work for me, neither by way of the reception, nor by way of having a high end HU, and having to plug in the phone for something so basic as FM.

Originally Posted by kk28

Buddy,

Couple of questions:

How do I make sure that the HU i intend to buy has 0.1 MHz tuning? Unless I physically connect it I would not know that. Is there a way to figure that out?

Secondly, consider I get one from US with the 0.1 MHz tuning then will all of these work with no issues at all?

Pure US spec would be set to tune only odd stations(no 104/104.6, etc).
most of them, apparently, have settings for shifting between US and UK intervals, except for pioneer, as i found out.

you can either do your research online(look at user manuals).
or if you are buying it in person, ask.
mostly its available online.
dont worry too much.