Atermarket HU - Diversity Antenna

[T4R_Finally]

Figured I'd start a new thread since my other one evolved into this discussion and was already 2 pages.

I read the discussion on the yotatech link below about using a Y adapter and micro adapter to plug both antennas into an aftermarket HU. Certainly straightforward. However, there is also some nerdy discussion about whether or not it actually helps or hinders the reception in some cases since, they feel, it is likely that the factory HU has a diversity circuit in it that would manage the two antennas vs. just having them both feeding in at the same time.

So, I'm curious, who here has an aftermarket stereo and did this mod? Did you do it after you did your initial install and found it to be an improvement overall?

Or, who has an aftermarket stereo and just plugged the mast antenna in and is fine with the reception they get?

This is my daughter's ride and she will be taking it off to college next year and will be in a mountainous area where radio reception is not always great to begin with. On the other hand, she almost exclusively listens to her ipod/iphone when driving, anyway, and I'm not sure the added expense (negligible I know) and effort is even worth dealing with. Bottom line, I don't want the radio to have no reception at all. But I don't care if it can pick up stations 100 miles away either.

Guide on How to Combine Both Front & Rear Antennas into One on an Aftermarket Stereo - YotaTech Forums

 

[theizzardking]

well if it has the circuit it should toggle to the one that has the clearer signal if not both should act in tandem, so regardless of the tech and nerdy stuff it's better to have 2 working one way or another then just 1 working and another unplugged, you know what im saying here?

in no way should it ever cause a worse signal...
unless you only hook 1 up and it's the back one by mistake

ooppss forgot to add i've only plugged in one with my hu and noticed a 30% loss in signal strength gaged by when my fav. station turns in to ufo's holy rollers and some strange Mexican with a Canadian accent...

 

[4-Ripcord]

I have an aftermarket HU and have done this mod.

Izzy is right, it picks the antenna with the best reception. So give it more than one antenna to choose from! This mod works well with the taco whip mod by the way. :bigok:



Its hard to hook up the wrong antenna though. The plug from the rear antenna is smaller than the one from the front. Aftermaket HU's only have a slot for the bigger (front) antenna. So you also need an adapter in addition to the Y-splitter.

 

[theizzardking]

I have an aftermarket HU and have done this mod.

Izzy is right, it picks the antenna with the best reception. So give it more than one antenna to choose from! This mod works well with the taco whip mod by the way. :bigok:



Its hard to hook up the wrong antenna though. The plug from the rear antenna is smaller than the one from the front. Aftermaket HU's only have a slot for the bigger (front) antenna. So you also need an adapter in addition to the Y-splitter.

thanks for that i would have been upset if i ordered the y cable and not the adapter after a year of only hainvg the taco whip plugged in, never even saw the other cable, does it hang out behind the glove box or do you know?
if not no worries i'm sure ill find once i get a digging!

 

[T4R_Finally]

Guys, yes it makes sense to me, but what I am saying is there is some discussion in that thread about it possibly not making sense, technically. If you have a unit that has a circuit in it that is monitoring both antennas for the best signal and locking on to one of the two, that's one thing. But, based on the discussion in the thread, simply running 2 antennas in parallel, with no circuit to choose between the two, it could be doing more harm (reception-wise) than good, because of some technical reasons beyond my comprehension.

All that said, the proof is in the pudding as far as I'm concerned. So, if folks have installed aftermarket HU's with one antenna connected, and then gone back and hooked up the second and experienced positive results, that's what I need to hear.

I do realize one connector is smaller than the other and I can't mix them up. That's why the micro adapter is needed with the Y splitter. I'm not trying to decide which one to use, just trying to figure out if I really need both or if the one that will fit (the mast antenna) will suffice. No need to take all that crap apart twice if I can do it once.

 

[4-Ripcord]

thanks for that i would have been upset if i ordered the y cable and not the adapter after a year of only hainvg the taco whip plugged in, never even saw the other cable, does it hang out behind the glove box or do you know?
if not no worries i'm sure ill find once i get a digging!

Its gonna be chillin behind the radio beazel. Open that bish up and get that slacker to work.

 

[4-Ripcord]

Guys, yes it makes sense to me, but what I am saying is there is some discussion in that thread about it possibly not making sense, technically. If you have a unit that has a circuit in it that is monitoring both antennas for the best signal and locking on to one of the two, that's one thing. But, based on the discussion in the thread, simply running 2 antennas in parallel, with no circuit to choose between the two, it could be doing more harm (reception-wise) than good, because of some technical reasons beyond my comprehension.

All that said, the proof is in the pudding as far as I'm concerned. So, if folks have installed aftermarket HU's with one antenna connected, and then gone back and hooked up the second and experienced positive results, that's what I need to hear.

I do realize one connector is smaller than the other and I can't mix them up. That's why the micro adapter is needed with the Y splitter. I'm not trying to decide which one to use, just trying to figure out if I really need both or if the one that will fit (the mast antenna) will suffice. No need to take all that crap apart twice if I can do it once.

OK, stop starting threads and start reading (42 threads in only about 200 posts! )

Read that thread you linked, he mentions how it helped reception.
Read my post, I said the mod works well.
Read my build, I said it works well there too.
Read other threads on this topic, they all say it works well.



Sorry to rant, but thread spammers are extremely annoying..

(especially when there are tons of repeat threads from the same person..)

 

[theizzardking]

meh it's the same thing as the radio in your bathroom when you attach a coat hanger to it, this would be one thing if we're talking about a cb ham or some other sort of transmitting ant. but this is purely reception , both ant's are designed to receive a signal so they should work in tandem as opposed to fighting each other like some over the top DX'er has suggested....

if you care to know more look into dx'ing and meter radio's
DXing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

DXing.com Web Resource for shortwave, scanner and ham radio hobbyists

 

[Millerad1651]

What they said...I added a new HU and reception was crap until I added the adapter.

 

[T4R_Finally]

OK, stop starting threads and start reading (42 threads in only about 200 posts! )

Read that thread you linked, he mentions how it helped reception.
Read my post, I said the mod works well.
Read my build, I said it works well there too.
Read other threads on this topic, they all say it works well.



Sorry to rant, but thread spammers are extremely annoying..

(especially when there are tons of repeat threads from the same person..)

So, can you help me see where I repeated a thread? I had a thread regarding removing the dash to access the stereo and it mutated into a discussion about antennas. So, rather than completely change the subject in the other thread, and get less input since the subject was not related to antennas, I started a new thread.

I don't see "moderator" under your name, so I guess you are just "that guy" that every forum seems to have that wants to police what and how many posts other people have. If it bothers you, ignore it. Is it costing you anything? Is it offending your morals?

Maybe my new thread to posts ratio is so slim because, rather than running from one post to the next complaining about such things, I actually use this forum to get needed information and also to give back whenever it is within my expertise or experience to do so.

It's not like there's so much traffic around here, that a fresh post now and then is causing mass confusion. I just bought my 3rd gen less 2 weeks ago and I'm still trying to learn. Makes it hard to do when you have to look over your shoulder wondering if it's okay with Mr. Ripcord.

 

[4-Ripcord]

So, can you help me see where I repeated a thread?

HAHA! You're making this too easy for me..
Here is a list of your threads.. http://www.toyota-4runner.org/search.php?searchid=1754473
Threads on re-coating crossbars: 3
Threads on radio stuff: 2
Threads on radiator stuff: 4
Threads on your P0420 code: 5

I may have even missed a few..

I had a thread regarding removing the dash to access the stereo and it mutated into a discussion about antennas. So, rather than completely change the subject in the other thread, and get less input since the subject was not related to antennas, I started a new thread.

So it moved to talking about antennas and that wasn't a good place to ask an antenna question... right.

Maybe my new thread to posts ratio is so slim because, rather than running from one post to the next complaining about such things, I actually use this forum to get needed information and also to give back whenever it is within my expertise or experience to do so.

Again, Your logic is flawed. If you wanted to get the info you would search like the rest of the community. I don't care how many posts anyone has, but started threads to posts ratio is a different story.

It's not like there's so much traffic around here, that a fresh post now and then is causing mass confusion. I just bought my 3rd gen less 2 weeks ago and I'm still trying to learn. Makes it hard to do when you have to look over your shoulder wondering if it's okay with Mr. Ripcord.

That's great that you are excited about your new truck, that's what forums are for. I enjoy helping to answer questions as much as the next guy, but not when the answers are right in front of your face.



Now back to the antennas..

 

[T4R_Finally]

Glad you have nothing better to do with your time than to keep up with what I'm doing. It may not suit your tastes but what I have done is not spamming. If it is, by all means, have me banned. I'm all for getting rid of true spammers just like anyone else. I am not trying to sell you drugs for your tiny manhood, or lead you to other websites, etc. Get a life and stop being a punk. If you had a problem with me, the high road would have been to just hit the back button and move on to something else.

I've had several posts recently that, even I admitted to being sort of noob'ish in nature, and ironically, I still had people respond with thanks for posting them.

Your number of posts doesn't give you any more right to post or criticize anymore than mine does. I guess you are the guy that calls the TV station to complain about what or what isn't on, instead of just turning the damn channel.

Don't bother to respond, I won't bother reading it anyway.

 

[4-Ripcord]

Why are we still talking about this? Its as simple as stop being lazy and do your own research.

Im not trying to get you banned, geez chill out. Just saying all the answer are already out there.

Since you are too butthurt to find the even search for the search function. Ill give that to you.. Toyota 4Runner Forum - Search Forums


Im done, theres no talking to you. You cant get over the fact that you think you are so innocent. You say we are the same no matter how many posts we have? Then stop falling back on your "I'm a noob" excuse and learn how forums work.

 

[jham]

Plug up the front antenna and call it a day. It works just fine.

 

[Nelsonmd]

You kind of answered your own question on your first post... You posted a thread where people talk about getting great reception with different setups, then ask how to get good reception. Then you say that your daughter doesn't even use the radio... So what's the point?

Try one of the methods, and if she complains, then try one of the other methods. It seems you have more than enough information to make this decision. No one can tell you if the mast will be enough for you, you will just have to try it.

And Ripcord isn't trying to get you banned or anything, it just gets annoying to have to sift through a bunch of threads that aren't adding any value to the site. If you have a technical question about the info in the Yotatech thread, then ask that, but otherwise, you are kind of asking people to do an experiment for you when you have said it doesn't really matter anyway.

 

[T4R_Finally]

Nelson i am not asking anyone to experiment for me. I am not asking anyone to lift a finger for me other than to type out their own experiences. If you dont have experience with what i spelled out in my request, or if it is just annoying to read it, just move on. What is annoying is to search for things like those that should be discussed in threads like this, only to find a bunch of crap totally off topic or other members being lectured on whether or not they should be posting to begin with.

My daughter will likely use her iphone the majority of the time, but when she or I want to use the radio, i would like to know it will work. If i didnt have to go out and buy more parts, i would just experiment myself. I was simply hoping that someone would have prior experience with this and be willing and able to speak to it without taking too much of their own valuable time and without *****ing about how many posts i have.

I always search topics before i post new ones.

And for the record, i havent even read ripcords response and wont be. Saw his name and scrolled right on past. I will be paying the same courtesy to any further posts you may have as well.

 

[004Gunner]

Here's my experience: I initially installed my aftermarket HU and only plugged in the telescoping antenna. I got maybe 3 clear sounding FM stations (in the Greater NY Metro area). I finally got the Y-cable and adapter for the rear glass antenna and got several more stations. I also have a switch I installed to disable the telescoping antenna and can tell you that the telescoping antenna does very little and often nothing to improve FM radio reception when extended vs. down.

Doesn't having the telescoping and glass mounted antennas serve to function the same as a dipole antenna? You can test this theory on a dipole antenna on a home receiver. Stick the poles to opposite sides of the window and scroll through the stations. Then unstick one pole and see if reception has worsened or improved. I'd bet the reception is better with 2 poles stuck to the window.

 

[Drcoffee]

I installed a Kenwood HU 2 months ago and the reception was on and off using just the single power antenna. Sometime clear and then static. I replace the power antenna with the taco whip but the static was still there and the signal was still weak. After reading this thread and your link to the other one (thank you) I bought the Y and adapter from eBay for $9 total and plugged it in. What I noticed was the small male plug had a loose fit in the adapter and the reception was still hit and miss. I tried using electrical tape to hold the plug into the adapter and that was a fail. So I took the adapter and squeezed the opening in the vice little by little until I had a tight fit between the two. Once the small male plug clicked in, it's not coming out unless I want it out. The reception improved right away.

So to answer you initial question, Yes. It was Well worth $9 for my truck to get great sound from the new HU. I highly recommend this mod.