Ok, so NT2000 and I are trying to figure out what the matter is with a PCATS tuner which we tested on our cars. Even though it looks perfect, its signal seems to be significantly lower or poorer than both my previous tuners (both original Empeg ones). The car install is virtually identical. The signal bars on the display behave as if the tuner is receiving a full strength signal, but the audio is much poorer than it was with my previous empeg tuner. It's as if the antenna was all at the sudden less powerful, and I can't figure out why. The extension is streight, and I think I went through all that I could find in the FAQs.

In the city, I get some apparently random noise even with some of the strongest stations (and even if the signal indicator says there's a full, perfect signal). In my house in the mountain I simply don't receive stations which I used to.

What could it be? What should I look at?

I've been having a similar problem with my original radio. I put it in a new car a couple of months ago. Everything went okay with the install except that I could only get 2 stations (sometimes) and then only because I already had them stored. Reading through the FAQ I realised that this might be because I hadn't attached the remote line (because the way the car is wired it has a permanent power - something I need to sort out). Over the weekend I attached the remote line properly expecting huge improvements. It is better than it was as I can actually find other stations on a scan but even though I get a good signal the sound quality is nowhere as good as it used to be. On 3 bars I get drop-outs and it is very crackly. Could this be the same thing?

Hello,
it could be something that's antenna-related; I presume you have the original Audi antenna, right? In that case you should use some kind of adaptor in order to get 12v to the antenna for its internal preamp. It's in my opinion a very dumb design by VW/Audi, because the 12v go trough the antenna lead (something like phantom current or the like...?)

I don't suppose you know if that is true of Alfa Romeos as well?

Please have a look at this thread. Seems there are a few tuner with the same problem:
http://empeg.comms.net/php/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=empeg_general&Number=170334

Thanks Alex 25 . That is an very interesting thread. Now that I read all those posts I think there must be some issues with some of the pcats tuners. Has anybody who posted there found a solution to the problem at all?

To answer the replies I got here:

I don't think it is the wiring, since I was using an original empeg tuner on this same car install. Before it broke for other reasons (at least that's what I think. See here if interested)
it was working great. The signal bar was not at full unless I was actually getting full signal. Now it shows the same problems that were mentioned in the thread Alex 25 is referring to. Moreover, the reception was significantly better!

Also, before using that original empeg tuner, I had another original one which I have been using for two years in my previous car. Unfortunately that tuner (I purchased it from empeg when thery were still selling them) was stolen with my car, but it used to work great as well. As a matter of fact, it seemed to me that it was even better than the one I have on my Audi now, but I think that deopends on the fact that on my old VW I had a stick.out antenna on the roof, while now I am using the rear window one. Personally, I think that tuner on my old VW had the BEST reception and signal quality I had ever had in my life. I was absolutely happy with it. The other original tuner on my Audi used to be close to it, even though not as good.

This pcats tuner sounds like a totally different device. I know it is not an that there must be something to do to fix it, but I have no clue what it could be, expecially after reading all the other posts at this regard.

Just to add few elements to this story, this pcats tuner has been used for a while by NT2000, who repeatedly said he did not like its reception. I was quite skeptical since my original empeg tuner was working fine and not showing any of the simptoms that NT2000 was describing to me (basically, poor reception). Now that I am trying it on my car, I notice the same problems, so there must be something different between my old ones and this one.

Now, I did not check the connection inside the pcats tuner, which I am planning to do asap. That's basically my only hope at this point. Also considering that, correct me if I am wrong, if the signal bar is full and the audio quality poor, it may very well means that the audio quality decreases going from the tuner to the empeg, right? I am just guessing here...

Thank you all who helped me figure this out, also!

I would very much like to find out what the problem is with the cases where people have reported this issue. I haven't been able to replicate it myself, even with a unit that apparently suffers from the problem in it's original installation. Like I said in the other thread, for me they either work correctly or not at all.

The RF module used in the kits is different from the original empeg tuners, because the manufacturers stopped making the old ones, but the replacement is supposed to be completely compatible just more sensitive. That may indeed be part of the problem, I suppose.

The rest of the electronics are pretty much identical to the empeg design, although there were a few minor changes to make it all through-hole. As I can't reproduce the symptoms, though, I can't really test to see if these changes are the cause of the problem, which appears to be fairly rare. If anyone has any ideas I can test I'm quite happy to do so.

pca

My tuner also has a bad reception.
Do you power your antenna amplifier with the tuner's antenna-remote-out? I've only measured 9-10 Volts. Maybe every tuner with poor recption only has 9V on remote-out?
Which software are you runnning? After downgrading from 2.0B13 to 2.0 (or was it 2.0B11...) I had much better reception - still not as good as the original tuner though.

cheers
Thorsten

I am running Alpha3. I haven't tested it with any lower version, and I will, at this point. Just to make sure. I tested it with Alpha5. No difference in reception between that and Alpha 3.

Anyway the fact that the old original tuner had a much better reception with the same software and same install makes me think it is not dependent on what payer sw version one is running.

Also, I power the antenna with the power adapter for VW antennas, but I am also planning to have that checked again. As you suggest, I will measure the voltage ans eee what I get. I want to solve this, I need a radio!

PCA, would a more sensitive tuner cause a lower audio signal or a more cracky lower volume signal? As a non expert I would expect the opposite, but I am just guessing and I may be totally wrong...

There is also the possibility that the tuner in question is assembled wrong. For instance, a chip soldered in backwards, or the wires to the connector soldered in the wrong order (or plugged into the connector in the wrong order).

I'm not saying that's the case, I'm just saying it's something to check.

Higher sensitivity is a two-edged sort of thing; It can give a stronger signal, but also means that the module is inherently more sensitive to noise and interference. Also, if a local signal is very strong, it's possible that the receiver frontend detector could be overwhelmed and effectively desensitised to weaker signals near the same frequency. I still think that plugging in an inline attenuator, as counter-intuitive as is sounds, would be worth a try in this sort of situation.

pca

PCA, I understand. Well, I am going to try that too, then. Actually, the fact that the tuners you used are more sensitive would explain the signal bar tendecy to indicate a stronger signal, wouldn't it?
Just thinking, did you use different tuners in your devices, or did you use only the same one model in all of them? In this latter case the fact that only few tuner kits showed this problem remains a mistery...

I pulled my dash apart 7 times trying to fix this issue. I just finally gave up and stopped listening to my tuner... If you try the attenuator, please let me know if it works for you. Could you also let me know where you got an "antenna attenuator" from...oh yeah, and also how many "dB" you attenuate your signal???

I gave up too, mainly because of lack of time. I returned the pcats tuner to the person who kindly lent it to me for testing. Now I am actually trying to fix my original empeg radio in which I found rust. It now seems to be working again, so my friend installer said that most likely cleaning it properly and checking all the contacts (resoldering those in need) should solve the problem for good.

Crossing my fingers...