well the volume was so low that i didn't hear 'anything' until i plugged in the 12v for the antenna amp.

as far as the tuner 'working' ... as long as there is any static, does that necessarily mean that the tuner is working 100%? couldn't it just not tune anything in, despite having a great antenna? the reason i bring it up is because in the last car i had, it sometimes just didn't work...