# Radio reception is very poor with antenna adapter



## Nola111 (Oct 27, 2005)

I have a 2006 Passat. I've switched out the stock headunit with an aftermarket, and used the adapter seen in this link to connect my OEM radio antenna to the aftermarket receiver:
http://enfigcarstereo.com/shop....html
The problem is that the reception is very poor compared to the reception with the OEM headunit. I noticed that there are two connections for the OEM radio antenna, but the adapter above only uses one of them. I believe the 2nd connector is a diversity selector that switches between the two power antennas in the back of the car, but I have no idea if the bad reception has to do with whether this is connected or not. In any case, the above adapter is the same one that all the install shops use, so I guess it has to be the right one even though it only uses one of the two connectors. BTW, I have the blue wire of the adapter connected to the "power antenna" wire of the wiring harness. 
Anyone have any ideas to help me increase reception and decrease static?


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## royer25 (Dec 7, 2007)

*Re: Radio reception is very poor with antenna adapter (Nola111)*

When i installed an aftermarket in my 93 Passat, i had bad radio reception. Turns out the car is equiped with an antenna signal amplifier. On my car, the antenna had two wires going to it, one was the one you plug into the back of the radio in the antenna plug and the other one was supposed to be hooked to a 12 volt switch and powers the antenna amplifier.
Hope this helps.
~Roy


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## Nola111 (Oct 27, 2005)

*Re: Radio reception is very poor with antenna adapter (royer25)*

Hi Roy, thanks very much for the reply.
Right now I have that wire connected to the "power antenna" wire of my wiring harness. I wonder if I should switch it to either my ACC or 12v line instead?


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## BassNotes (Mar 16, 2005)

*Re: Radio reception is very poor with antenna adapter (Nola111)*

Try connecting it to the ACC bus.


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## Nola111 (Oct 27, 2005)

Bob, will do... thanks for the suggestion.


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## Nola111 (Oct 27, 2005)

Ok, I've switched the wire from the Power Antenna lead to the ACC lead as suggested. Unless it's my imagination, reception DOES definitely seem better than before, but it's still not like the reception when my stock radio is in. 
Perhaps I should try another antenna adapter just to make sure my current one isn't bad. What's inside that tube anyway?


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## BassNotes (Mar 16, 2005)

*Re: (Nola111)*

The tube is just putting a DC voltage--probably +12 V--on the coaxial cable to the antenna. That powers the amp in the antenna.


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## Nola111 (Oct 27, 2005)

Oh ok. So then I should be able measure the end of the adapter with a multimeter and see some voltage coming out if the adapter is working correctly. I'll try that. Thanks again.


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