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#2647 - 28/04/2000 09:04 AM tuner solutions?
Bruno
new poster

Registered: 28/04/2000
Posts: 13
Loc: Berks., UK
Does anyone have a solution to the current lack of an AM tuner option? My registration number is somewhere in the 4000s, so I'm hoping to get an Empeg unit some time this summer. But I really don't want to do without AM radio. It seems to me, in the UK at least, that FM is for music, and AM is for news, sport, discussion etc. With an Empeg, I won't be stuck for music, so if I want to play radio, I am more likely to want to tune into the sort of stations that you find on AM.

I have spoken to our best local car stereo installers, and they could not come up with any suggestions. The car I am planning to put it in only has space for one head unit, otherwise I guess it wouldn't be too difficult to have two head units linked to the amp. I don't mind some sort of bodge job while we wait for the AM/FM module to come out. Has anyone found a way to hook some sort of AM tuner into their empeg-based system?

Cheers,

Bruno [email protected]
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Cheers,

Bruno
[email protected]

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#2648 - 28/04/2000 09:33 Re: AM tuner solutions? [Re: Bruno]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31597
Loc: Seattle, WA
It seems to me, in the UK at least, that FM is for music, and AM is for news, sport, discussion etc.

Same here in the States.

With an Empeg, I won't be stuck for music, so if I want to play radio, I am more likely to want to tune into the sort of stations that you find on AM.

Wow, that's a very good point. I'd never thought of it that way. Empeg guys, are you listening?

I don't mind some sort of bodge job while we wait for the AM/FM module to come out.

Once upon a time, many years ago, I had only a tape player in my car, but no radio. I was planning a long trip on the weekend and didn't want to miss a certain radio show while I was driving (for U.S. residents: I didn't want to miss Car Talk.). I bought a cheap portable AM/FM headphone radio (very small, smaller than a pack of cigarettes) and swapped the tape player's outputs for this thing's headphone jack. It wasn't the perfect solution, and I had to adjust the radio's volume carefully to prevent overdriving the outputs, but it worked. In the case of the Empeg, you could use its aux-in connector for a similar thing. It would be pretty easy to do, just get a stereo headphone-to-RCA adapter plug, and run headphone extension plug out from under the dash somewhere.

Tony Fabris
Empeg #144
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Tony Fabris

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#2649 - 28/04/2000 11:06 Re: AM tuner solutions? [Re: tfabris]
Bruno
new poster

Registered: 28/04/2000
Posts: 13
Loc: Berks., UK
In reply to:

Once upon a time, many years ago, I had only a tape player in my car, but no radio. I was planning a long trip on the weekend and didn't want to miss a certain radio show while I was driving (for U.S. residents: I didn't want to miss Car Talk.). I bought a cheap portable AM/FM headphone radio (very small, smaller than a pack of cigarettes) and swapped the tape player's outputs for this thing's headphone jack. It wasn't the perfect solution, and I had to adjust the radio's volume carefully to prevent overdriving the outputs, but it worked. In the case of the Empeg, you could use its aux-in connector for a similar thing. It would be pretty easy to do, just get a stereo headphone-to-RCA adapter plug, and run headphone extension plug out from under the dash somewhere.


Thanks for the suggestion. That sounds perfect as a stop-gap solution while we wait for the AM/FM tuner module (I really hope this arrives - Rob didn't sound 100% confident in the message that I read).

Funny thing is, I suggested this might be possible to the guy I spoke to at the car stereo shop, and he didn't think it would be worth it. I think that was mainly because he thought there would be problems with reception as it wouldn't connect to the car aerial. But I'm not looking for perfection, so if it worked well enough for you, I'll give it a try.


Cheers,

Bruno [email protected]

_________________________
Cheers,

Bruno
[email protected]

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#2650 - 28/04/2000 11:16 Re: AM tuner solutions? [Re: Bruno]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31597
Loc: Seattle, WA
I think that was mainly because he thought there would be problems with reception as it wouldn't connect to the car aerial.

The radio I bought happened to depend upon the headphone cable as it aerial. I had to fiddle with the wire a bit, and yes, the reception wasn't great, but it was better than nothing. Of course, I was using it for FM radio at the time, not AM, so I have no idea what the reception would be like if you tried it. Let us know how it goes.

Tony Fabris
Empeg #144
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Tony Fabris

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