HD Radio Tuner Audio Ground Problem

Posted by: wrungle

HD Radio Tuner Audio Ground Problem - 09/03/2011 06:31

Hi, glad to see that this forum is still active.

I got this HD Radio tuner from a friend and connected it to my Empeg but I'm not getting any audio unless I ground the RCA connectors to the car. I was wondering if this was a bad thing and are there any workarounds?

Posted by: Ross Wellington

Re: HD Radio Tuner Audio Ground Problem - 10/03/2011 04:43

Hi,

Could be an open ground trace on the PC Board that connects the RCAs to ground. This sometimes happens if the car Power Amplifier isn't well grounded and the RCA cables/HD Radio ground becomes a high current path to ground.

Sometimes, the pin for the ground shell breaks from flexing the connectors when the cable is plugged in.



USING ESD PROCEDURES, remove the cover, check the traces on the top and bottom of the board that go to the outside ring (ground shell) of the RCA connectors.

If the trace is open (burned), trim it, scrape the solder mask off 1/4 inch with a blade, and solder a wire across it.


Ross