Sound system

[Jim and Lyn]

Gday,
It's time to replace the double din sound system in the 100 series and I really want something with good AM  reception. It would be pretty handy if it all fitted without too much drama and as all the new stuff uses aps and gizmos they were intuitive. I've heard pioneer are supposed to be ok but a bit more collective wisdom would be great.
Cheers
Jim

[MarkA]

Fitted an Alpine unit to a mates 100 not long ago. Sorry no model number at hand. But it did everything you could want and the price was reasonable. Check there product range for what's available.

[Jim and Lyn]

Thanks Mark, I'll check them out!
Cheers
Jim

[Wetjala]

Questions:
1. What model LC100 do you have? (I think different models, say like the Sahara, have more speakers etc.)
2. Do you just want to have an AM/FM set up, one that also includes the CD player (i.e. just like the "standard" LC100 GXL?) or something a bit  more"snappier" (but not too complicated!).
3. Do you want to link it with an MP3 player, mobile phone, blah, blah, blah . . .
etc . . . . (as this information may help others suggest what you could use).

If you want a simple set up then one option to consider would be to replace the 2-din with a 1-din unit (which these days can be quite sophisticated!) and, if so inclined use the other 1-din slot for, say, a uhf/vhf CB radio. Maybe you want to combine the AM/FM radio with maybe a CD/DVD player and a navigation system . . . there's a gamut of options available out there so to get some good advice from the forum it may help to expand your requirements a bit further.

I think most receivers will give pretty good AM(/FM) reception these days so it's gonna depend on what other "goodies" you want with the unit. Good AM reception mostly means having  a good antenna. Anyway to give you an example I ripped out my standard (base model) Toyota unit and replaced it with a 2-din VMS unit which gives me AM/FM, Bluetooth phone connection, CD/DVD, USB connection, MP3 connection and more importantly (for me) the ability to use OziExplorer for navigation purposes.

I guess the point I'm trying to make here is expand upon what you really want with the 2-din unit (just AM?) because there are loads (and I do mean "loads") of choices and options available out there that people have some experience with or opinions about.

Cheers!!

[Phil G]

Gday Jim and Lyn (I think we met you at Kennedy Range last year).  I like my AM reception when out remote and my favourites are Kenwood head units and the Aerpro AP46 antenna on a good groundplane.  Have this combo in both Tvan and caravan now and usually get Adelaide ABC from over the border in other states.
Not sure about your 100series - the aerial would be the issue - I'd very likely use an decent aftermarket aerial rather than rely on the factory aerial which I'm guessing has an amplifier and is mounted in the rear glass?

With the Tvan, I have aerial mounted on the front steel panel and a mate has the same unit and aerial mounted on the jerrycan storage and the front panel seems to work a little better when reception is poor.

[Jim and Lyn]

Gday Wetjala,
That's a stack of questions I hadn't really considered but I'll put a bit of thought into. I've replace the aerial a couple of times with the standard power aerial replacement mast and don't know if they are available in a 'better' model or not - never thought of that type of aerial in that way before! The GME aerial I put on the tvan made an unbelievable difference but it's a whip and we'll tucked away from damage. I don't fancy something similar on the mudguard of the tug where it wouldn't last long on tight tracks.
Is that VMS unit running the same systems that the Kings version runs? We have a Hema that we are very happy with but is getting a bit old and a full upgrade might be a good move. Hey Eelzey if you read this is that the unit you've got in the dash?
Gday Phil,
If I've got it right you were on the way to a tropical island paradise - via a barge! We were a bit jealous having stayed out at Steep Point and then understanding how sensational it would have been! Sounded like it was pretty good if I remember the trip reports!

Looks like I've got some homework to do on what I require and the best way to get it all!

Thanks for taking the time to really get me thinking,
Cheers
Jim

[Eelezy]

Gday Jim!
Yeah just saw this! My in-dash vms has worked really well on this trip esp the navigation in both on and off road and the cd player and fm radio is excellent but the am and bluetooth is poor. Kenwood would be be great but expensive. I think hema do an in-dash unit now?
Chris

[Wetjala]

Hmm. Maybe mentioning that I have installed a VMS into my 'cruiser could be misconstrued as possibly promoting a specific product which was not my intention but rather to use my own experience to show that there are many ways to skin a cat (in relation to replacing the standard 2-DIN radio with another system) as it were.

Would I go down the VMS path again? Probably not as there are a few niggling issues with the unit that I have (older in-dash Touring X-Series model) which give me the "irits" (to misquote the late, great Benny Hill) so I would be far more discerning when selecting a future replacement. (There wasn't too much to select from at the time when I bought mine.) As this unit is no longer available I won't bother detailing them other than agree with a previous post that noted the "hit-and-miss" Bluetooth connectivity as being one of them. And after checking a few comments on a couple of forums, the later model units seem to continue the tradition of having a few minor issues to annoy the unwary.

[Jim and Lyn]

Hi, no I didn't think you were recomending the VMS, it was that I new Chris had one and the price hadn't been too bad - and that it was being given a six month work out.
I don't think that any of the GPS's are perfect and our Hema is a great device but compared to something like the graphics and intuitive operation of a TomTom it's not in the same ballpark. After some thought we didn't want a GPS/sound system because of the need to upgrade the whole unit if you don't like one side of the system.
Finally decided to stay with the Hema and got a Kenwood and harnesses from good old super cheap. Had it fitted in about an hour and very happy with it. Bizarrely it has two short wave tuner options which will no doubt come in handy when I want to check on radio Indonesia!!
Cheers and thanks again for the help
Jim

[Cruiser 105Tvan]

That's right Jim,  They gave Radio Australia the sack.
Now China uses the same Frequency to influence the Pacific area.

[Phil G]

Gday Jim,  good move with the Kenwood. Out of interest, what sort of aerial is it hooked up to?

[Jim and Lyn]

Hi Phil,
It's the standard electric power aerial. I've replaced it a couple of times when it's got swiped by trees. Really should drop it off road!!
Cheers
Jim

[Cruiser 105Tvan]

Power Antennas can be wired so that the aerial section gets pulled back down when the radio is turned off can't they?
Check the wires and make sure that it's possible, there should be a blue wire at the radio with the label 'Antenna/Aerial' on it.
If you have a Kenwood that has bluetooth as a function, I'm sure there will be a wire for the Antenna.
Might not be blue, but it should have a label on it.  Just have to check out how the Antenna was wired in. 
Then translate the Chinglish installation instructions.

[Jim and Lyn]

It's got an up and down button as well as auto down when you turn it off.  It's a matter of stupidity, not technology!!
😕
Cheers
Jim

[Cruiser 105Tvan]

hahahahahahahahah.