Aftermarket HeadUnit Antenna help

Does anyone know if the Yukon/Tahoe has a remote power antenna? (and I'm not talking about the remote lead power wire that turns on the amp)

My problem is that I installed a Alpine Head Unit and now I can't get good reception for the radio.

Thanks,
tann

I don't see anything on the 08 specs online that tell me that the Yukon/Tahoe has a remote power antenna. I do think a lot of vehicles, the Yukon's likely being one, are going to the in-glass antenna.

I'm scratching my head on your Alpine, however. Regardless of what you have, you are going to have an antenna lead going to the radio and one has to assume you did plug that in, correct?

I guess I am a little confused. Are you not seeing an antenna and thinking that it's a remote power that isn't going up??

Thanks for the quick reply, I have a 01 Denali, my antenna is the mast type on the passenger side on the top of the flare (close to the hood line)

I do not have the in-glass antenna, well not that I can see.

The antenna is a male type that plugs into the female (hole) in back of the headunit.

I was wondering if there was such a thing as a remote power or something, cause my reception (on some stations) has alot if static.

It doesn't bother me because I listen to my ipod but the wife always listens to talk shows in the morning and she's getting irritated.

Is there some sort of in-line booster could run?

Hmm, interesting. In as much as you likely will not like this answer, if this were my setup, I'd pull the Alpine first and plug back in the original head unit and then try the antenna. Something you didn't alude to was whether you had antenna issues with the first radio. I think you need to diagnose whether it's the antenna or radio.

If the old radio is clear and the Alpine isn't, the Alpine might be faulty, or might need a separate ground to help. If the antenna is bad on both, then it sounds like either a) the cable is bad on the connection to the base of the antenna, or the cable is broken.

Do you have an electrical meter and are you familiar with testing for continuity? If you are, check the antenna lead against the antenna mast and then check the antenna's outer connection against ground I think it is. If neither works, you have a problem with that cable.

That's at least where I'd be looking and hoping I'm on the right track.

The factory radio works perfectly.

I'll try the seperate ground for the alpine.

So, I'm thinking it must be the alpine head unit. It's under warranty, so I'll try to get it exchanged or fixed after I try the ground.

Thanks, tann

I look at it this way. If you plug in your old unit and it works like a charm, then your getting antenna reception. Unplug the antenna from the old unit and if you get crappy reception and you plug it back in and the reception is clear, then it's obvious your antenna is working fine.

If then the Alpine is not working on that same antenna, either a) there is some weird setting that not's set, and I'm just throwing this in because technology does change, or b) the Alphine faulty. It's a matter of rule out and the antenna sounds fine by what your telling us.

Makes perfect sense. I'm actually gonna try a another alpine head unit I have sitting around.

Thanks for the input, that's some good stuff, process of elimination!

if this helps

i sold high end car audio for 8 years and alpine was a brand i sold and owned. the point i am trying to make is .... after market head units have alot more tech. in them than a oem. but and this comes straight from the alpine reps mouth the oem radios have a better tuner than a after market most people do not ever no this but i am a big talk radio fan. and any of my oem radios have always picked up am stations better than a after market exp eclipse alpine pioneer i have owned them all but the other things i gain with a after market deck offset this neg. so i have just delt with it.

now the tech side of this is the alpines sensitivity is not near a sensitive as a oem just look at the specs on your alpine compared to your oem specs you will see what i mean

i hope this helps a little understand whats going on

I'm a little surprised to hear this and though I never sold car audio and don't work for Alpine, I find this a little hard to believe

I've put Alpine into two cars and never had issues with the reception. I put an Eclipse into another and never had an issue with reception. When you consider the thousands of these radios put out every year to different cars and sold through so many distributors, I'd find it hard to swallow that their fm tuners are made to a lessor standard and don't pick up as well.

Now, that said, I can see the reception for distance being less in certain radios, but when you are looking at around town, local towers, there shouldn't be any problem at all.

Now, that said, I can see the reception for distance being less in certain radios, but when you are looking at around town, local towers, there shouldn't be any problem at all.


that is what im saying exactly but i am also saying that i only had problems with after market ones when i was trying to pick up a weak or not as powerful am station. with my oem head unit i could pick these stations up just fine but once again look at the specs on sensitivity for both and you will see the oem is more sensitivity .