Does anyone have a source for a universal HD radio converter box. The only one I've found is the Roadmaster unit and their website has gone dark.

 

First you have to have an HD compatable radio, Im assuming you do. All the radio manufacturers make a converter for their products. What I don't know is if they are interchangable. I would call a a store in your area that deals with those products.

 

What type of radio do you have?

 

Is the radio in the car am/fm or just am.If its fm I got a Visteon hd zoom hooked up in one of mine.The antenna plugs into the converter then connects to the radio antenna input, you tune the fm to a clear channel like 88.3.then select the hd station you want to hear on the visteon control panel. It improves the fm sound to near cd quality . To see what im talking about theres one on eveilbay http://cgi.ebay.com/HD-Radio-Car-Tun...230ec49d8elity.

 

Don't want to be a buster , but it is impossible to get "near-CD" sound from any FM radio. When the modern FM stereo broadcast system was designed, there was found to be an inherent potential for interference between the two channels (left and right) at higher sonic frequencies, so the standard was set to filter out all sound above (if I recall) 15khz. At the time, 15khz was seen as being a realistic cut off, since it was very hard to get good sonic reproduction at those frequencies, but as the technology has advanced, FM has been left sounding more and more flat.

You can get "CD quality" sound by playing you HD radio through any line-level (eg: CD) input if the rest of your system is good enough, but NOT by playing it through the FM tuner.

And cassettes are worse. Don't go there.

- Eric

 

That's what I'm looking for, thanks. Frankly, I don't care about getting n-th quality sound (particularly with Dynomax mufflers and the windows open). The reason I need an HD tuner is that here in the DC market (and probably everywhere else) all the Oldies stations have moved off the main dial to HD2 and HD3 channels. Heck, most of the songs I listen to were originally recorded in four track and even mono.

 

Well, apparently the Visteon unit is no longer in production, either. Amazon and others show it as currently unavailable and the Visteon website says that they no longer manufacture aftermarket products for the North American market. I may have to buy those ten units on ebay currently. I've got enough cars to use them all...

 

You never know they may increase in value like those 2 bolts for $99, you can corner the market!!!! LOL

 

If Crutchfield doesn't have something nobody will.

http://www.crutchfield.com/



Those two for $99 Corvette fuel pump bolts HD compatible??
You could sell them three for $199 to 'Vette guys and they would think that they were getting a better deal.

 

They don't. That was the FIRST place I looked.

 

How about this one????? I included a link!!! Also available at Amazon and Sears. There were some complaints about it getting hot????

http://www.walmart.com/ip/JVC-KTHDPK...r-Kit/12456256

 

I get a huge laugh at the "HD table radios" that come with a "built-in 4" speaker for full range sound". No way you can actually hear 20-20kHz through that. And who is actually broadcasting in HD?
Sad part is that the unknowingly do buy them and wonder why they sound like a regular radio.
It's that HD thing though - those two letters change everything you know...

I can't wait to get HD AM radio. I want those talk shows to sound live!

 

Hey Joe, what did you do about this HD converter thing??? JUst wanting to know as I never gave it much thought till you brought it up????

 

I ended up with the Visteon unit. I bought three of them on Amazon for $107 total, delivered. I'll let you know how they work out. I corresponded with the guy on ebay who had ten of them, but his package deal for all ten was still a considerably higher unit price.

Of course, it disturbs me a little that Visteon is a Ford company that got spun off in 2000 or so. I HATE it when I contaminate my GM that way...

 

Ok Joe,
You've had plenty of time to get that HD radio hooked up. Well, hows it work????