better radio reception

[jayroc2k 10+ year member]

i have an Alpine 9812r, i replace my aging sony xplode mp-40 HU, i was hoping that the radio rececption would improve concidering the price but it is atill quite shit

i have a 1998 honda civic, i have heard better reception from many stock radio in Fords etc

what can i do??

Click to read more...

 

[Goldenknob 10+ year member]

get a fm booster for around 45 dollars local

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

A signal amp might really improve your reception, but if you have close-in stations already, it will probably do nothing but amplify both the signals and the background noise - your overall S/N ratio will stay the same. Also, cheap "signal boosters" will often times have horrible intermodulation distortion - in other words, you'll hear the same station in several different places up and down the band because the receiver's front end is overloading.

I would check and re-check your antenna connections first. Do you have a real whip antenna for FM or is it one of those in-the-windshield pieces of crap?