Radio reception on the Elise

[gadgeroonie]

I've got a S1 elsie and the radio reception is terrible

has anyone got the same problem ?

can anything be done about it ?

[bogie]

very common. Things you can do:

get/make a grounding plate - thin bit of ally in a T shape, fit under the nut on base of antenna to underside of boot lid and ground it with a wire to the chassis/engine etc

get some foil adhesive tape - cover the aerial cable with this

get a better stereo with improved sensitivity

all the above DO help...(done them all) and you find you can get more stations with a strong signal...however its nowhere near as good as in a 'normal' (metal) car

[gadgeroonie]

Thanks Bogie

p.s - are you called bogie becasue you drive a green elise ?

[bogie]

no ...been called bogie since I was 5 years old due to picking my nose!

my elise is a black Type 72 S2

http://community.webshots.com/album/91708235COPHen

[Rik A]

gadgeroonie said:

I've got a S1 elsie and the radio reception is terrible ... can anything be done about it ?

Stereo's for Saxos! Either drive faster or fit a better sounding zorst. Or both.

[bogie]

LOL - I driver faster, have a noisy exhaust...but still like to be able to hear the stereo on a 5 hour motorway journey

[Rik A]

OK, if you must.
First swap the 5 hour motorway journey for 7 hours on A roads.
Next, go for the iPod with some top notch ear buds. Otherwise you'll sound like a Saxo in disguise and no-one wants that!

[gregmund]

the iPod rules... I know I'm going to sound like a salesman here but:

I have just bought an iTrip & it is so ingenious - it's a mini FM transmitter that you insert into your iPod - tell it what frequency you want it to transmit on (i.e. choose one where there is no radio station) tune in your radio & put it on shuffle play. Hey presto no annoying DJ's or adverts & tunes you know you are gonna like! Saves you having to cart loads of mini discs/CDs round with you too.

No loss of reception ever if you velcro your iPod onto the rear bulkhead & point the iTrip at the aerial.

I conceed not ideal in an Elise for 'Saxo' reasons, but you can take your whole music collection with you in any car & it is more sociable than in-ear headphones if you have a passenger...

[S Works]

It's what you want is, is one of these beaut's


www.mann-electronics.com/ccp51/cgi-bin/cp-app.cgi?usr=51F1151783&rnd=4322331&rrc=N&affl=&cip=194.203.201.209&act=&aff=&pg=prod&ref=podgearcardockFM&cat=&catstr=

Recharge you're 'pod as you groove and get a stronger reception on your radio.

Having sampled both, this kicks the iTrips batty 8 days a week!

[gregmund]

You are right
Except i'd have to buy a new ipod to go with it as mine's a mk1 which sadly ain't compatible.

[Pack Man]

Great! What are the chances! just taken delivery of a 4th generation Ipod, was thinking how I could fix it in the Elise.

Will have to find a 2way cigarette adapter though, as the Road Angel fits there currently.

[jjcc]

I too have terrible ie no reception in mine, tempted to get the littler aluminium arial, do these improve the reception at all or just alter the look?
Their must be an amplified arial out there that can sort out our poor reception....
anyone else replaced the arial?
J

[bogie]

Changing the aerial makes no difference - its not the aerial thats at fault. Its a combination of poor grounding and interference from the HT leads.

Make a grounding plate (or buy one from Tigga at www.autostyle-solutions.com) out of steel - a T shaped 2mm thick piece that goes under the nut that holds the aerial in place.

Then ground this with a wire to the chassis or engine

Insulate the wire and the other antenna wire with some reflective tape - heatshield tape will do

this improves the reception vastly...but as I said above, its still not as good as it is in a metal car.

Other option is to get a DAB head unit and mount the DAB antenna up front somewhere

cheers

bogie

[jjcc]

OK so whos got a grounding plate, price? easy to fit?
no ones bothered to change the arial then? if only for looks? - bling!
J

[bogie]

Well - Ive got a grounding plate - takes 1min to fit..unscrew, put grounding plate in, screw back up

Cost I think was £15 ...maybe cheaper to make youre own out of a £3 piece of ally if you are any good with a hacksaw !