Diversity / Soarer Antenna Fix
05-21-09, 06:10 PM
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Diversity / Soarer Antenna Fix
EDIT : My work is based off the writings of this guy.
So as anyone who has an aftermarket headunit has noticed the radio reception drops. This is because the oem system uses 2 antennas and a system called diversity. It uses the soarer built into the windshield antenna and the sc retractable antenna. The only unknown variable is if the oem system uses selecting or combing.
So lets get down to business. I used a motorola y-cable and a mini motorola to regular cable adapter to combine both my coaxial cables together. This method is called equal-gain combination. Most of the time both signals will be strong. so at the high end your not going to get static. But at the same time low end signal will get amplified so the odds of you getting static/signal dropping is reduced.
Tad ah, finished product
I did 2 tests. Well before i did the tests i needed to buy the parts. I got the Y-adapter at mar vac in costa mesa and the mini adapter at newport autosound.
First test was north of newport blvd next to purple haze. I disconnected the antenna from the headunit. As soon as i connected the y-adapter my signal instantly got boosted. Then i tried using only the sub antenna and the regular antenna, both gave me the exact same clear signal strength.
The second test was in laguna beach. As soon as i got into the city limits on pch, my signal instantly started dropping. But once i got past broadway and onto laguna canyon rd my signal quality improved drastically. I wouldnt say it was as good as oem but it better then just with the main antenna. I still had some static parts of the road but the music was listeable the whole time to the 405, it didnt drop out once.
Results : Its better. If someone knows of a box that will select and combine the signal to optimize the signal to noise ratio we could get the antenna reception back to oem quality, if not better.
Alternatively with that mini motorola adapter, you could only use the sub antenna This means you can fill up the antenna hole for that jdm soarer look. No idea why you would want to do that tho since your reception will most likely decrease.
P.S. Can some of you soarer guys can post a pic of your windshield? I am intrested to see if the antenna lines are any different from our SCs.
So as anyone who has an aftermarket headunit has noticed the radio reception drops. This is because the oem system uses 2 antennas and a system called diversity. It uses the soarer built into the windshield antenna and the sc retractable antenna. The only unknown variable is if the oem system uses selecting or combing.
So lets get down to business. I used a motorola y-cable and a mini motorola to regular cable adapter to combine both my coaxial cables together. This method is called equal-gain combination. Most of the time both signals will be strong. so at the high end your not going to get static. But at the same time low end signal will get amplified so the odds of you getting static/signal dropping is reduced.
Tad ah, finished product
I did 2 tests. Well before i did the tests i needed to buy the parts. I got the Y-adapter at mar vac in costa mesa and the mini adapter at newport autosound.
First test was north of newport blvd next to purple haze. I disconnected the antenna from the headunit. As soon as i connected the y-adapter my signal instantly got boosted. Then i tried using only the sub antenna and the regular antenna, both gave me the exact same clear signal strength.
The second test was in laguna beach. As soon as i got into the city limits on pch, my signal instantly started dropping. But once i got past broadway and onto laguna canyon rd my signal quality improved drastically. I wouldnt say it was as good as oem but it better then just with the main antenna. I still had some static parts of the road but the music was listeable the whole time to the 405, it didnt drop out once.
Results : Its better. If someone knows of a box that will select and combine the signal to optimize the signal to noise ratio we could get the antenna reception back to oem quality, if not better.
Alternatively with that mini motorola adapter, you could only use the sub antenna This means you can fill up the antenna hole for that jdm soarer look. No idea why you would want to do that tho since your reception will most likely decrease.
P.S. Can some of you soarer guys can post a pic of your windshield? I am intrested to see if the antenna lines are any different from our SCs.
Last edited by Ryeno; 05-21-09 at 06:18 PM.
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05-25-09, 03:01 PM
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the car comes with 2 antennas. When you go aftermarket HU, your reception drops because your only using 1 antenna. By going back to a diversity setup (albeit worse then oem) your signal quality will improve.
06-13-09, 04:01 PM
#9
have you actually verified there are 2 antenna.
If you go back to you trunk area, look where the antenna is and next to it there is a loose RF connector just hanging there. In my car it isnt connected to anything.. looks like its coming from way up front.
I think this is the second wire coming from the head unit. Maybe some models do not have 2 antennas. I have the pioneer no nakamichi system.
If you go back to you trunk area, look where the antenna is and next to it there is a loose RF connector just hanging there. In my car it isnt connected to anything.. looks like its coming from way up front.
I think this is the second wire coming from the head unit. Maybe some models do not have 2 antennas. I have the pioneer no nakamichi system.
06-13-09, 05:54 PM
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I have basically confirmed it. When the 400 had its rear windshield broken, i had it replaced. But i was lazy and didn't connect the wires to the windshield. My brother noticed the radio quality worsened, the keyless entry didnt work and of course the defroster didnt work. Then when i went to connect the wires i noticed 4, 3 wires on one side and 1 wire on the other. Obvious that 1 wire by itself is the ground. The other 3 wires would have to be the keyless entry, the defroster and the diversity antenna.
06-13-09, 06:49 PM
#13
Lexus Test Driver
06-14-09, 05:02 AM
#14
