Car radio being all weird

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BiggusDoggus

224 posts

Master Geek

Topic # 84791 8-Jun-2011 08:41
Need some advice please peeps. Car radio cassette has been working fine since buying it a few weeks back. On the way home last night the FM radio went really quiet - I had to turn it up a lot just to hear it, and it was in mono (it had occasional bursts of "normal" volume, which nearly blew thre speakers!). Same this morning - started off fine then the same happened. Here's the thing though - it only does it when tuned to a station. When off station, the volume is normal - only static, of course, but normal volume static. Any ideas? It's a Sony, btw. "He's not the Messiah, he's a naughty boy"

780 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

Reply # 478841 8-Jun-2011 08:55
Return it. Sounds like a fault to me.

224 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 478842 8-Jun-2011 08:57
wreck90: Return it. Sounds like a fault to me. Can't - TradeMe. It's a radio cassette. And it was working fine for at least a couple of weeks so the previous owner wouldn't have had the issue, I would have thought. "He's not the Messiah, he's a naughty boy"

756 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 478865 8-Jun-2011 09:47
Try forcing mono mode. Pre-amp could be failing which will die when it goes into stereo mode and kicks in

224 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 478887 8-Jun-2011 10:43
Another piece of info - the tape deck works fine too (the volume is normal). It can't be that the tuner has died otherwise I wouldn't get anything at all on the radio. And I know - I can replace the whole thing because car stereos are cheap as chips etc etc etc. I just want to make sure there isn't an easy fix, as I would rather not spend too much chip money at all. "He's not the Messiah, he's a naughty boy"

900 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 479067 8-Jun-2011 18:41
A cassette? How much did they pay you to take it away? Anyway, check the aerial connection, and the earth too. --- James Sleeman My hobby - listing small amounts of interesting/useful hobby electronic components hardware and stuff on Trademe for cheap, all good geek stuff for the "maker" revolution ;-) Tip for Trademe addicts: install an addon for your browser to get thumbs for all listings.

598 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 479081 8-Jun-2011 19:40
sleemanj: A cassette? How much did they pay you to take it away? Anyway, check the aerial connection, and the earth too. +1 arial connection I know a little more than nothing but not much...

2975 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Subscriber

Reply # 479083 8-Jun-2011 19:41
Sounds like it could be a bad solder joint inside the radio. If you are keen, and adept with a soldering iron, try taking the cover off, then apply power and poke around with something made out of plastic (a pen with the nib retracted or similar). By this means, you may be able to find where the bad joint is, and resolder it. Failing that, you are up for a new head unit. This is the trouble with buying such old stuff on Trade Me. You never know what you are going to get!

224 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 479097 8-Jun-2011 20:53
Checked the aerial - all good. Earth is fine. Pretty much like clockwork between 5 - 10 minutes after turning it on the sound goes (as I said, it's still clear, no static, but volume right down, mono, only on FM and only when on a station). So it looks like it happens when it warms up a bit. And every so often for a couple of seconds it comes right then back to poo. Stuffed if I know - looks like I'll have to spend the chip money!! Eventually, anyway - that's why I got a cheap radio cassette, just to see me through until I could get enough funds for a new one. Thanks for your help though. "He's not the Messiah, he's a naughty boy"

756 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 479109 8-Jun-2011 21:21
Im still betting on the mosfet chip giving out when its trying to kick into stereo output load.

224 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 479114 8-Jun-2011 21:28
Oblivian: Im still betting on the mosfet chip giving out when its trying to kick into stereo output load. Tried that too - nada. "He's not the Messiah, he's a naughty boy"