A good radio for Bongo

[BongoBongo123]

The radio we have is actually not very good, signal drops off quick etc. I like that it has a USB plug in the front so would like a car stereo with a USB socket in the front. What I am looking for is a very good radio reception. Anyone give recommendation on a stereo that has good radio reception sensitivity. CD not important really.

I appreciate the antenna is an important part of the radio as well of course and that all seems to be intact despite a break which I have repaired with a decent length of wire added.

[Bob]

I fitted these in both cars a while back:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B006 ... 1_1&sr=8-1

Pleased with them but don't know about usb sockets and its too flippin' cold to go out and look.

[Joe_anne123]

I'm very pleased with mine, Kenwood DPX406DAB.

[mikeonb4c]

I fancy something inexpensive but with bluetooth, for my new smartphone to take advantage of. Styling needs to be sober - so many garish looking head units out there All suggestions welcome

[helen&tony]

Hi
I must say i'm still sorely tempted by the double din / sat nav idea...current Sony CD / radio is adequate, but the sat-nav is bound to be better than the Garmin nuvi 1490 that I bought...I only tried the thing once, and it went wrong within 5 Km....LOL...I bought all the sandbag dash mount, leather case, etc. and it's stoopid...whipped the Samsung phone out, and dialled the google nav. in and straight there!!!...damned good!....The satnav on the radio uses Google, or I-go and another one...impressed!...
Cheers
Helen

[mikeonb4c]

Hi
I must say i'm still sorely tempted by the double din / sat nav idea...current Sony CD / radio is adequate, but the sat-nav is bound to be better than the Garmin nuvi 1490 that I bought...I only tried the thing once, and it went wrong within 5 Km....LOL...I bought all the sandbag dash mount, leather case, etc. and it's stoopid...whipped the Samsung phone out, and dialled the google nav. in and straight there!!!...damned good!....The satnav on the radio uses Google, or I-go and another one...impressed!...
Cheers
Helen

The new phone is going to do Satnav duty, and I see you can now save a Google map on the phone as insurance against loss of signal (though only 250 sq kms according to the write up I read, so a whole country is not an option yet ) so performance is creeping closer to a dedicated Satnav. But the radio on my head unit has been bust for years so I'm due a replacement. If I get a bluetooth one then the phone can output audio, offer hands free calls etc via that. Just don't want to spend more than needed. I like Sony,but whether I'm being irrational wanting one of those I don't know - but their menuing/user interface always feels relatively intuitive to me, which is great as I never get around to reading manuals!

One worry I also have is why did the radio fail in the old unit. It seemed to happen soon after it got moved across to the leisure battery for power when I fitted the Willinton kit. This meant it had to be powered off completely when not in use. It didn't fail completely at first, just couldn't pick up station signals properly. Possible also its just the aerial, though its now completely dead. Must do some investigations when I get time. So much to do, so little time after wasting it typing on here ha ha

But yes, those double DIN head units sound fab

[jimmo62]

As an alternative to Google Maps (and the problem of needing internet if you run off the edge of the maps) you can download NavMii which is a free full GPS/satnav system for the phone. It also has the advantage that you can download foreign maps - you do all the downloading on your internet connection before you go (or an wifi hotspots along the way if you prefer) so no expensive foreign data roaming charges to worry about.

[mikeonb4c]

As an alternative to Google Maps (and the problem of needing internet if you run off the edge of the maps) you can download NavMii which is a free full GPS/satnav system for the phone. It also has the advantage that you can download foreign maps - you do all the downloading on your internet connection before you go (or an wifi hotspots along the way if you prefer) so no expensive foreign data roaming charges to worry about.

That's a really handy tip and thanks. At the back of my mind, I recall hearing stuff like this was out there, but a direct recommendation/named product is what I needed in order to investigate properly. Do the NavMii maps offer any points of interest data (petrol stations etc)?

[jimmo62]

Their website says they do - but I have not tried this yet. Would be interested to hear if anyone else has tried this feature?

[Tony x]

When switching the power supply from the starter battery to leisure battery you can encounter problems. This can be due to the other gadgets that are linked to the same circuit and the interference they can cause in the power lines. Dash cams are a major culprit. It doesn't explain a complete fail. It's easy to misinterpret such interference as poor reception - the crackling sounds the same (well, on FM at least)
If you want to get around this, give the radio it's own dedicated power supply and earth. On our car and Bongo, I ran power leads directly from the battery to the radio and the earth directly to the chassis.

Cramming two subjects into one post, I find HERE maps an excellent and free sat nav app for phones. It gives good information, you can use coordinates and you can use it totally off line as it downloads the map (takes about 800Mb for the UK map)

I should add, when I say free, it is free for your first choice of maps (for which I chose the UK) but I believe you have to pay for additional maps for other countries.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... e.app.maps

[mikeonb4c]

When switching the power supply from the starter battery to leisure battery you can encounter problems. This can be due to the other gadgets that are linked to the same circuit and the interference they can cause in the power lines. Dash cams are a major culprit. It doesn't explain a complete fail. It's easy to misinterpret such interference as poor reception - the crackling sounds the same (well, on FM at least)
If you want to get around this, give the radio it's own dedicated power supply and earth. On our car and Bongo, I ran power leads directly from the battery to the radio and the earth directly to the chassis.

Cramming two subjects into one post, I find HERE maps an excellent and free sat nav app for phones. It gives good information, you can use coordinates and you can use it totally off line as it downloads the map (takes about 800Mb for the UK map)

I should add, when I say free, it is free for your first choice of maps (for which I chose the UK) but I believe you have to pay for additional maps for other countries.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... e.app.maps

Cheers Tony, really appreciate that. I must investigate before proceeding to purchase. Lack of time is my problem

[BongoBongo123]

Thanks for the suggestions, I will probably struggle on with the on I have for now. It would have been a luxury purchase and it not that the one we have does not work, it even sounds ok. But I think it seems to lose signals quicker than it should do.

Maybe I should lengthen the existing aerial a bit more, that may help.

[JoeC]

When switching the power supply from the starter battery to leisure battery you can encounter problems. This can be due to the other gadgets that are linked to the same circuit and the interference they can cause in the power lines. Dash cams are a major culprit. It doesn't explain a complete fail. It's easy to misinterpret such interference as poor reception - the crackling sounds the same (well, on FM at least)
If you want to get around this, give the radio it's own dedicated power supply and earth. On our car and Bongo, I ran power leads directly from the battery to the radio and the earth directly to the chassis.

This may explain the issue that I have with my aftermarket radio. Gonna try the dedicated power lines from leisure battery.

[BigPanzer]

Hi,

It might be a silly question, but somewhere in the menu system will be a local/distant reception option. It isn't set to local is it? You wouldn't have been the first person to have been caught out by this

Other than that, and assuming the receiver is well earthed, I would be looking at the aerial and cable first as its cheaper than replacing a possibly perfectly good receiver.

Peter

[stuc]

I know someone who bought similar to this from this site and is very happy, this one is only £19, it has Bluetooth, usb port, remote control and ok power 60W x 4.
Got to be worth a try.

https://www.wish.com/#cid=555affaba7094b0e9521a01a