VW Passat B5.5 (Mark IV) - Medium Wave reception in VW Passat (B5.5)

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Sat 7 Mar 2015 20:38
VW Passat B5.5 (Mark IV) - Medium Wave reception in VW Passat (B5.5) - Stevedore

Firstly, can I apologise - I know there are existing posts on problems with VW stereos receiving medium wave I just can't work out how to comment on a previous post. Perhaps the thread is closed.

Anyway, I've reached the conclusion that I'm going to keep my 2002 VW Passat for a while yet so thought I'd finally try and get this problem sorted once and for all. The problem is that I can't pick up any medium station in the car. I want this to listen to sport on BBC 5 Live and TalkSport.

I went to a reputable retailer and enquired about the problem. I thought I could just buy a booster for the standard VW Gamma radio which came with the car. I was told that the booster was integrated within the head unit of this radio so I would be just better buying a new head unit. This I have duly done.

Excited with the prospect of getting the problem sorted I set about fitting the new Kenwood stereo along with extra fittings and a booster with gusto. I got everything sorted then turned on medium wave and alas no improvement whatsoever!!

Prior to making this investment (over £100) I was assured that the risk of the problem lying elsewhare was negligible so I felt pretty confident that this would sort it.

I went back to the shop to be told (in so many words) that I was foolish to have hoped that the new head unit (and extras) would have solved the problem as "German cars never get medium wave". Now, I think that is nonsense. However, the guy went on to say that a DAB car radio would solve the issue and that I should have got one of these from the get go.

Given the poor quality advice I've received from this business previously I'm not sure if I can trust this assertion that a DAB car radio will fix the problem. Any thoughts?

By process of elimination it would seem to be that the original problem was the aerial on top of the car (apologies I'm not very technically minded but that is how I know this device). I read on a previous post that the power supply to this exterior aerial can be a problem. If so, is this easily remedied?

On the DAB radio issue - is it true to say that DAB coverage is not uniformly good across the UK? I live in Belfast. Does anyone know what the reception is like for DAB car radios in this area?

Many thanks,

S

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Sat 7 Mar 2015 22:52
VW Passat B5.5 (Mark IV) - Medium Wave reception in VW Passat (B5.5) - Hamsafar

The roof aerial has a built-in booster in the base that is power by 12v up the coax cable. The PCB in it is likely corroded to bits and inoperable. What is more, you new head unit may not power it up if you replace the aerial base. You may need to fit an in-line antenna.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k_d2zTiHp8

www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/archive/index.php/t-14...l

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Sun 8 Mar 2015 01:49
VW Passat B5.5 (Mark IV) - Medium Wave reception in VW Passat (B5.5) - Stevedore
Thanks very much for your response and the links.

Replacing the antenna sounds like it may be beyond my capabilities but I'll have a look at removing the existing one and take it from there.

It may be that getting a digital radio or fitting an in line antenna are the more cost effective options for me.


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Sun 8 Mar 2015 18:49
VW Passat B5.5 (Mark IV) - Medium Wave reception in VW Passat (B5.5) - Railroad.
AM reception is poor at the best of times, and very poor at night due to the way Analogue Modulation works. Many more stations can be received at night and they all bleed over each other making listening virtually impossible.

My suggestion is invest in a Pure Highway. It's a DAB receiver that transmits an FM signal that is then picked up by your existing car radio. Simply set the Highway to transmit a signal on a frequency that is not used by anything else, and tune your car radio to that. I set mine to 87.5mhz and it works perfectly.

DAB reception is either excellent or not at all, and that's the downside of DAB. I also listen to TalkSport, Radio 5 Live and Planet Rock. I get reception more often than not but I wouldn't want to be without it.
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Mon 9 Mar 2015 00:33
VW Passat B5.5 (Mark IV) - Medium Wave reception in VW Passat (B5.5) - Stevedore
Railroad, thanks for that advice.

I was able to return the kenwood stereo and exchange it for a pioneer dab radio with glass mounted aerial. I've had a bit of a look at how to fit the interior aerial. There is talk of having to remove the a pillar trim and some mention of needing to avoid the the airbag. I'm beginning to wonder if this is a job for a novice such as me. Is there a risk of setting off the passenger side airbag? Is fitting an aerial such as this pretty straight forward?

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Mon 9 Mar 2015 08:15
VW Passat B5.5 (Mark IV) - Medium Wave reception in VW Passat (B5.5) - elekie&a/c doctor

This can probably be done without removing the side windscreen trim.Pull the door rubber away from the body and lift the pillar trim a little and run the antenna cable in the gap up to the screen.You can't set the airbag off,but you do need to be careful of any cabling that runs up the pillar.

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