Hi: this question is only remotely related to Vanagon interests but since
there may be electrical engineers/ hi fi experts out there I thought I
would ask here first. -- 

The Alpine radio which came with the Westfalia when we bought it has recently
started acting up. Here are the symptoms:

a) poor AM pickup across the board - but the rare signals that do come in are
quite clear.

b) on FM a low-pitched screeching/howling on frequencies roughly below 93 on
the
dial. Sometimes the signal will be reasonably clear at this low end but
will then revert to the noises after 10-15 minutes run time. Signals above
this point are good, but there is a slight and faint sound of intereference
if the volume is turned up. Of the two the FM noise is more problematic and
annoying.

I have removed and reinstalled the radio several times to check for proper
grounding; and solid antennae connection. The radio has  its own power
source (meaning the line is not shared with other components). The tape
player works well. The system drives the standard four speaker
arrangements - two in the doors and two at the back. I recently replaced
the OEM door speakers with sighly better speakers.

BTW the radio was the third to be installed by the owner who lived in
Sausalito. The first two were stolen by breaking through the door vents at
the front. When I removed the front door panel there were many shards of
glass scattered around.

Thanks in advance for any advice - info. DC

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David Carment
School of International Affairs
Carleton University
Ottawa, Ontario
K1S 5B6
voice - (613) 788-2600-6662
fax - (613) 788-2889
Email address: dcarment@ccs.carleton.ca
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