Date:         Mon, 1 Dec 2008 22:03:25 -0700
Reply-To:     Andrew Grebneff <goose1047@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Andrew Grebneff <goose1047@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: radio and stereo question - ignore previous (incomplete)
              email!
In-Reply-To:  <120220080438.4277.4934BBBB00091BA7000010B52200734830CDC09D0A05070D9B03@comcast.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

>> Mine makes horrid scratchy
>> noises a lot of the time, especially if I've been running the radio on a
>> long drive - I think it overheats or something.  I don't think it's the
>> speakers - I replaced them a couple of years ago, and this doesn't happen
>> with tapes.  (Yeah, it's old, has a cassette player.)

It could be high-tension (sparkplug-lead) interference. This even
happens in current vehicles with stock systems!

>> -   are all car (van) stereos the same size, or are they particular to the
>> vehicle?  If the latter, is it hard to find stereos for vanagons?

Aftermarket headunits are standard sizes... either DIN or double-DIN;
the latter is twice as tall as the former. Cars these days tend to
have headunits designed-in, and aftermarket units will not fit in
their place, which I consider to be seriously bad design (though the
quality of these units has gone way up). They can include slide-out
TVs.

>> -   do car stereos and speakers come in a package, or can I reuse the
>> speakers I have and not pay to replace them?  (I'm not fussy about sound
>> quality - I listen mostly to NPR news, not music.)

As far as I know only cheapies come in a package. Better units you can
mix-and-match headunit, CD stackers, speakers, amp etc.

>> -   do they still make car stereos with cassette players?  Or only DVDs and
>> MP3 connections?

It would be stupid to stop making tape units... though tapes aren't
the best, CDs are dangerous for the driver to change on the move, as
they are so fiddly to decase and insert (or remove and encase). CD
stackers are a good compromise for safety.

>> -   and the most interesting question (to me) - do they make car stereos
>> with remotes?  I'd love to be able to hang out in the back listening to the
>> radio, and not have to scramble and stretch to turn it off.  A remote would
>> be grand.

I've had a secondhand Sony tape/radio headunit (with CD stacker
control) with remote lying around literally for years, waiting for my
van to be back on the road before installation. It has both a fob
remote and a wired remote.

Beware of shoddy stereo installers... I have seen some really bad jobs
by the local "top" incar entertainment (ICE, as the Poms call it)
system installer... roughly-cut-out metal for the rear shelf speakers
(with sharp screws and jagged metal edges sticking down into the
trunk), floppy headunit bezels, loose cruddy wiring etc.

--
Andrew Grebneff
Dunedin, New Zealand
Fossil preparator
Mollusc, Toyota & VW van nut
Temporarily in Calgary, AB, Canada
<goose1047@gmail.com>

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