2004 Avalon - Tuning FM radio to unused station?

Hi,
I'm setting up a GPS/DLO combination in my 2004 Avalon and seem to be
having difficulty tuning to an unused station. It appears the "TUNE"
button on the radio will only stop on frequencies that appear to have
a signal (e.g. the radio is on 88.9, I select the TUNE button and the
frequency changes to 89.1 skipping 89.0). Some of the frequencies are
low power and work ok for the DLO, but since there is a signal
(usually static), the playback is not that great.

Does anyone know how to tune (if possible) the radio to specific
frequency regardless of signal?

Thanks in advance for your replies,
Bennie Gibson

In article <8mc6o2tqnor11qlr937o9lanhkjqcbf12o@4ax.com>
[email]benniegibson@nospam.mindspring.com[/email] "Bennie Gibson" writes:
[color=blue]
> Does anyone know how to tune (if possible) the radio to
> specific frequency regardless of signal?[/color]

Not sure if this covers it - for years, radio transmissions have
been confined to specific channels (ie, frequencies). Standards
differ between the US and non-US for Medium Wave at least (hence
the little switch found on "world" radios). Here we are talking
about VHF where channels are widely spaced, thanks to its use by
FM transmissions that have substantial bandwidth. AFAIK setting
an inter-channel frequency is not possible on a basic car radio.
--
Andrew Stephenson

"Bennie Gibson" <benniegibson@nospam.mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:8mc6o2tqnor11qlr937o9lanhkjqcbf12o@4ax.com...[color=blue]
> Hi,
> I'm setting up a GPS/DLO combination in my 2004 Avalon and seem to be
> having difficulty tuning to an unused station. It appears the "TUNE"
> button on the radio will only stop on frequencies that appear to have
> a signal (e.g. the radio is on 88.9, I select the TUNE button and the
> frequency changes to 89.1 skipping 89.0). Some of the frequencies are
> low power and work ok for the DLO, but since there is a signal
> (usually static), the playback is not that great.
>
> Does anyone know how to tune (if possible) the radio to specific
> frequency regardless of signal?
>
> Thanks in advance for your replies,
> Bennie Gibson
>[/color]

I'm pretty sure that you are using the "seek" function where it scans and
stops at a frequency with a signal. Instead of holding the button until it
beeps, try tapping it or see if you can tune it by turning or touching the
knob on the right side of the radio. If all else fails, try the owner's
manual ;-)
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

Ray O wrote:[color=blue]
> "Bennie Gibson" <benniegibson@nospam.mindspring.com> wrote in message
> news:8mc6o2tqnor11qlr937o9lanhkjqcbf12o@4ax.com...[color=green]
> > Hi,
> > I'm setting up a GPS/DLO combination in my 2004 Avalon and seem to be
> > having difficulty tuning to an unused station. It appears the "TUNE"
> > button on the radio will only stop on frequencies that appear to have
> > a signal (e.g. the radio is on 88.9, I select the TUNE button and the
> > frequency changes to 89.1 skipping 89.0). Some of the frequencies are
> > low power and work ok for the DLO, but since there is a signal
> > (usually static), the playback is not that great.
> >
> > Does anyone know how to tune (if possible) the radio to specific
> > frequency regardless of signal?
> >
> > Thanks in advance for your replies,
> > Bennie Gibson
> >[/color]
>
> I'm pretty sure that you are using the "seek" function where it scans and
> stops at a frequency with a signal. Instead of holding the button until it
> beeps, try tapping it or see if you can tune it by turning or touching the
> knob on the right side of the radio. If all else fails, try the owner's
> manual ;-)
> --
>
> Ray O
> (correct punctuation to reply)[/color]

Thanks for your replies. First - I'm using the TUNE button and not the
SCAN button. I think the problem is as mentioned in the first reply...
I was looking to TUNE to frequencies that may not even be 'tunable'. I
just find it intriguing that every frequency I can tune to seems to
have some amount of noise and even a 'stereo' indicator.
Again, thanks for the quick and concise replies.

In article <1166228390snz@deltrak.demon.co.uk>
[email]ames@deltrak.demon.co.uk[/email] "Andrew Stephenson" writes:
[color=blue]
> [...] AFAIK setting an inter-channel frequency is not possible
> on a basic car radio.[/color]

Out of follow-up curiosity, today I fiddled with my Prius' radio
and see that on VHF (UK, NB) it steps by 50KHz and stations seem
to be set at 100KHz spacings. So that clobbers the "cannot tune
between channels" theory -- at least on UK VHF. Sorry. :-( Or
maybe the Prius' radio doesn't count as "basic"? :-)
--
Andrew Stephenson

Ray O wrote:[color=blue]
> <benniegibson@mindspring.com> wrote in message
> news:1166231763.650662.227260@79g2000cws.googlegroups.com...[color=green]
> >
> > Ray O wrote:[color=darkred]
> >> "Bennie Gibson" <benniegibson@nospam.mindspring.com> wrote in message
> >> news:8mc6o2tqnor11qlr937o9lanhkjqcbf12o@4ax.com...
> >> > Hi,
> >> > I'm setting up a GPS/DLO combination in my 2004 Avalon and seem to be
> >> > having difficulty tuning to an unused station. It appears the "TUNE"
> >> > button on the radio will only stop on frequencies that appear to have
> >> > a signal (e.g. the radio is on 88.9, I select the TUNE button and the
> >> > frequency changes to 89.1 skipping 89.0). Some of the frequencies are
> >> > low power and work ok for the DLO, but since there is a signal
> >> > (usually static), the playback is not that great.
> >> >
> >> > Does anyone know how to tune (if possible) the radio to specific
> >> > frequency regardless of signal?
> >> >
> >> > Thanks in advance for your replies,
> >> > Bennie Gibson
> >> >
> >>
> >> I'm pretty sure that you are using the "seek" function where it scans and
> >> stops at a frequency with a signal. Instead of holding the button until
> >> it
> >> beeps, try tapping it or see if you can tune it by turning or touching
> >> the
> >> knob on the right side of the radio. If all else fails, try the owner's
> >> manual ;-)
> >> --
> >>
> >> Ray O
> >> (correct punctuation to reply)[/color]
> >
> > Thanks for your replies. First - I'm using the TUNE button and not the
> > SCAN button. I think the problem is as mentioned in the first reply...
> > I was looking to TUNE to frequencies that may not even be 'tunable'. I
> > just find it intriguing that every frequency I can tune to seems to
> > have some amount of noise and even a 'stereo' indicator.
> > Again, thanks for the quick and concise replies.
> >[/color]
>
> Be aware that in Toyotas, the tune button often has a tune and a seek
> function, while the scan button scans the preset channels. The
> dual-function tune/seek button usually has 2 modes - a quick tap to step up
> or down, and hold until it beeps to seek the next station with a signal
> above a certain threshold, or else you turn the knob to electronically tune.
> --
>
> Ray O
> (correct punctuation to reply)[/color]

Actually, my Avalon has separate TUNE / SCAN buttons. I've just
noticed the TUNE button advances the frequency by .2 with each press
(e.g. 88.9, 99.1, 99.3) etc. I'm now suspicious that my signal problem
is more related to the distance from the DLO to the radio antennae on
the rear window. Thanks again for all the input.

<benniegibson@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:1166302285.093816.237210@79g2000cws.googlegroups.com...[color=blue]
>
> Ray O wrote:[color=green]
>> <benniegibson@mindspring.com> wrote in message
>> news:1166231763.650662.227260@79g2000cws.googlegroups.com...[color=darkred]
>> >
>> > Ray O wrote:
>> >> "Bennie Gibson" <benniegibson@nospam.mindspring.com> wrote in message
>> >> news:8mc6o2tqnor11qlr937o9lanhkjqcbf12o@4ax.com...
>> >> > Hi,
>> >> > I'm setting up a GPS/DLO combination in my 2004 Avalon and seem to
>> >> > be
>> >> > having difficulty tuning to an unused station. It appears the
>> >> > "TUNE"
>> >> > button on the radio will only stop on frequencies that appear to
>> >> > have
>> >> > a signal (e.g. the radio is on 88.9, I select the TUNE button and
>> >> > the
>> >> > frequency changes to 89.1 skipping 89.0). Some of the frequencies
>> >> > are
>> >> > low power and work ok for the DLO, but since there is a signal
>> >> > (usually static), the playback is not that great.
>> >> >
>> >> > Does anyone know how to tune (if possible) the radio to specific
>> >> > frequency regardless of signal?
>> >> >
>> >> > Thanks in advance for your replies,
>> >> > Bennie Gibson
>> >> >
>> >>
>> >> I'm pretty sure that you are using the "seek" function where it scans
>> >> and
>> >> stops at a frequency with a signal. Instead of holding the button
>> >> until
>> >> it
>> >> beeps, try tapping it or see if you can tune it by turning or touching
>> >> the
>> >> knob on the right side of the radio. If all else fails, try the
>> >> owner's
>> >> manual ;-)
>> >> --
>> >>
>> >> Ray O
>> >> (correct punctuation to reply)
>> >
>> > Thanks for your replies. First - I'm using the TUNE button and not the
>> > SCAN button. I think the problem is as mentioned in the first reply...
>> > I was looking to TUNE to frequencies that may not even be 'tunable'. I
>> > just find it intriguing that every frequency I can tune to seems to
>> > have some amount of noise and even a 'stereo' indicator.
>> > Again, thanks for the quick and concise replies.
>> >[/color]
>>
>> Be aware that in Toyotas, the tune button often has a tune and a seek
>> function, while the scan button scans the preset channels. The
>> dual-function tune/seek button usually has 2 modes - a quick tap to step
>> up
>> or down, and hold until it beeps to seek the next station with a signal
>> above a certain threshold, or else you turn the knob to electronically
>> tune.
>> --
>>
>> Ray O
>> (correct punctuation to reply)[/color]
>
> Actually, my Avalon has separate TUNE / SCAN buttons. I've just
> noticed the TUNE button advances the frequency by .2 with each press
> (e.g. 88.9, 99.1, 99.3) etc. I'm now suspicious that my signal problem
> is more related to the distance from the DLO to the radio antennae on
> the rear window. Thanks again for all the input.
>[/color]

You got it! The adapter should work fine from the front of the passenger
compartment to the rear window. My kinds use one in our Avalon and it seems
to work OK. I'm not sure how they tuned the transmitter, but they had it up
and running about 2 minutes after they got it out of the package.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

On Sat, 16 Dec 2006 19:53:12 +0000, Andrew Stephenson wrote:
[color=blue]
> In article <1166228390snz@deltrak.demon.co.uk>
> [email]ames@deltrak.demon.co.uk[/email] "Andrew Stephenson" writes:
>[color=green]
>> [...] AFAIK setting an inter-channel frequency is not possible
>> on a basic car radio.[/color]
>
> Out of follow-up curiosity, today I fiddled with my Prius' radio
> and see that on VHF (UK, NB) it steps by 50KHz and stations seem
> to be set at 100KHz spacings. So that clobbers the "cannot tune
> between channels" theory -- at least on UK VHF. Sorry. :-( Or
> maybe the Prius' radio doesn't count as "basic"? :-)[/color]


European tuning is different from North American and Japanese tuning.
Having not lived in Europe, I don't know why, but the European tuning is
tighter.

I have had radios by Kenwood and JVC that could be set for the shorter
stepping.

In article <LT0hh.446$386.35@trndny01>
[email]Trueno@AE86.gts[/email]
"=?iso-2022-jp?q?Hachiroku_=1B$B%O%A%m%=2F=1B=28B?=" writes:
[color=blue]
> European tuning is different from North American and Japanese
> tuning. Having not lived in Europe, I don't know why, but the
> European tuning is tighter.[/color]

Things are a bit more crowded here. (For now at least. Once you
guys have filled up the place with people and, um, Stuff from sea
to formerly-shining sea, that should change.) Could be we became
more stringent about receiver performance, sooner, because of the
competition. Medium Wave crawls with fragments of distant trans-
missions here. Nowadays we all buy our radios from China, so the
USA could tighten its specs too -- except for the major hassle of
wholesale retuning of transmitters _that_ would entail. <g>
--
Andrew Stephenson