Radio Reception

[mark4Jesus]

I have read a few posts about reception issues, most seem to be that the OP's have none. The weaker stations that my Victory picked up are a challenge for my Spyder. The stronger stations are fine. When I say weaker, I mean transmitter power of the station. Is this just the way it is with the Spyder? When I have a station it sounds great, I just lose them faster.

[ARtraveler]

A common complaint or issue. Try it up here in AK sometime. Both of our rides are equipped with factory radio. If we get 15 miles from the station we are listening to, its a good day.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I have read a few posts about reception issues, most seem to be that the OP's have none. The weaker stations that my Victory picked up are a challenge for my Spyder. The stronger stations are fine. When I say weaker, I mean transmitter power of the station. Is this just the way it is with the Spyder? When I have a station it sounds great, I just lose them faster.

A couple of years ago I discovered that BRP uses an insane amount of thread-locker on the antennae connection ..... use a 7mm deep socket to remove it , and clean off ALL the Thread Locker .... I also used a gun cleaning metal brush with wd-40 and cleaned the inside threads....When I re-assembled I put ONE drop of household white glue on the top threads and my reception improved .... good luck .... Mike

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Other than what BlueKnight says it's just the nature of the radio. Why Radio Sound designers haven't come up with a better system is a mystery to me. My Titan pickup radio does a whole lot better at picking up my favorite stations farther out than does the Spyder radio. Maybe, it has something to do with the lack of metal in the Spyder compared to a car and the resulting ground plane that is available. However, that is generally a much more critical issue for transmission than for reception as in the CB performance.

[mark4Jesus]

Other than what BlueKnight says it's just the nature of the radio. Why Radio Sound designers haven't come up with a better system is a mystery to me. My Titan pickup radio does a whole lot better at picking up my favorite stations farther out than does the Spyder radio. Maybe, it has something to do with the lack of metal in the Spyder compared to a car and the resulting ground plane that is available. However, that is generally a much more critical issue for transmission than for reception as in the CB performance.

My Victory was larger with a lot more metal. Antenna length is about the same. Even then, I am surprised in the difference between the two.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

My Victory was larger with a lot more metal. Antenna length is about the same. Even then, I am surprised in the difference between the two.

To top it off, the radio in the Victory was built by Radio Sound also!

[mark4Jesus]

To top it off, the radio in the Victory was built by Radio Sound also!

Learn something new everyday! I wonder if it may be that the radio is integrated with the other controls on the screen. Whereas on the Vics the radio is a separate unit. I wouldn't think it would matter, but that is a difference.

[slick999]

The radio doesn't receive FM very good unless your close to a big city thats why I like sirius,my 6month subscription just expired so now I am suck with the FM for the rest of the riding season which won't be long before the cold sets in.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

The radio doesn't receive FM very good unless your close to a big city

And in my experience it doesn't make much difference what kind of antenna you have. When my OEM antenna broke off on the Interstate last year I installed a Scosche shortie antenna from Walmart that several on here have bragged about. No improvement over the OEM. This year I installed my old CB antenna since I'm using a Firestik CB antenna now. Again, no improvement. I get 30 miles from an FM transmitter and the reception goes to pot.

[UtahPete]

Other than what BlueKnight says it's just the nature of the radio. ... Maybe, it has something to do with the lack of metal in the Spyder compared to a car and the resulting ground plane that is available. However, that is generally a much more critical issue for transmission than for reception as in the CB performance.

I'm guessing it's a ground plane issue, but who knows? I have a Honda Odyssey that has lousy reception even though it's supposed to have a signal amplifier.

I only use the radio for weather channels and I can usually get one of the four when I need it. Fortunately, the sound system is pretty good (amplifier, speakers) so other music sources (XM radio, ipod, etc) play well through it.

Mostly I'm touring anyway and constantly having to search for new stations would be a pain in the *** so I don't miss it.

[mark4Jesus]

I suppose I will plug my phone into the system. I have an iPhone and Apple Watch, so I can control the music with my watch. I would like to get XM, I just need to make up my mind. The factory installed radio is expensive, and the plug cannot be controlled my the bike controls, soooo, decisions, decisions!

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Learn something new everyday! I wonder if it may be that the radio is integrated with the other controls on the screen. Whereas on the Vics the radio is a separate unit. I wouldn't think it would matter, but that is a difference.

I suppose the Spyder radio is a breed unto itself. It communicates with the cluster via the CANbus so it's more than just a radio. It also controls the CB, XM, and iPod when they are installed. The radio does the CANbus communicating with the cluster and then sends the control signals to the CB, XM, and iPod. The CB, XM, and iPod are not connected to the CANbus. I'm guessing all the audio screens you see on the cluster are programmed into the cluster. It shows the screen and then sends the appropriate commands to the radio, which then sends control commands to the other devices.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

IMHO #1. the Spyders are poorly grounded and way to much Thread - locker ...that stuff is an INSULATOR , it doesn't conduct electricity ..... #2. I have JBL ...2 ohm speakers ... and they can play loud enough to HURT your ears, while remaining crisp and clean sounding .... Because my OEM antennae broke I replaced it with a Bosch collapsible AUTO antennae and my reception improved 50% ....... Mike

[mark4Jesus]

IMHO #1. the Spyders are poorly grounded and way to much Thread - locker ...that stuff is an INSULATOR , it doesn't conduct electricity ..... #2. I have JBL ...2 ohm speakers ... and they can play loud enough to HURT your ears, while remaining crisp and clean sounding .... Because my OEM antennae broke I replaced it with a Bosch collapsible AUTO antennae and my reception improved 50% ....... Mike

What model JBL's?

[robhowen]

I discovered the same thing about the thread locker the other day when I replaced my OEM antenna with a short one. Most Spyder bolts have thread locker, but as Blueknight says, there was an insane amount on the antenna threads. I cleaned mine all out as well.

Rob

A couple of years ago I discovered that BRP uses an insane amount of thread-locker on the antennae connection ..... use a 7mm deep socket to remove it , and clean off ALL the Thread Locker .... I also used a gun cleaning metal brush with wd-40 and cleaned the inside threads....When I re-assembled I put ONE drop of household white glue on the top threads and my reception improved .... good luck .... Mike

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

What model JBL's?

I will ONLY tell you what I know for a fact .... the ones I have are no longer in production and the ones that re-placed them aren't TWO ohm's ..... That being said I have seen them on E-bay selling for 75% from orig. list price .... Look for GTO 528 & or GTO 508c ( the 508c is easier to find ) in 5.25" size .... and YES the larger size will fit in the rear IF you en-large the speaker mounting Hole to 4 5/8ths in....not difficult with a Dremel using a Coarse stone ,( and everyone should own one imho )....good luck .... PS last week I found 3 pr of 508c's on E-bay at an insanely low price, for a member here....so they are out there ....Mike

[mark4Jesus]

A couple of years ago I discovered that BRP uses an insane amount of thread-locker on the antennae connection ..... use a 7mm deep socket to remove it , and clean off ALL the Thread Locker .... I also used a gun cleaning metal brush with wd-40 and cleaned the inside threads....When I re-assembled I put ONE drop of household white glue on the top threads and my reception improved .... good luck .... Mike

I took my antenna off today...you are right, an insane amount of blue Lock-tite was on the threads. When the antenna finally broke loose, it popped quite loudly. I cleaned the threads up with brushes and contact cleaner. The reception did improve sitting in my driveway. I am going to try to do a riding around test tomorrow. I got some dielectric grease, I am going to put a small dab on the threads. "Insane" is a good word to describe the amount on the threads.

[ARtraveler]

I took my antenna off today...you are right, an insane amount of blue Lock-tite was on the threads. When the antenna finally broke loose, it popped quite loudly. I cleaned the threads up with brushes and contact cleaner. The reception did improve sitting in my driveway. I am going to try to do a riding around test tomorrow. I got some dielectric grease, I am going to put a small dab on the threads. "Insane" is a good word to describe the amount on the threads.

Sometimes, the people putting it together use the "Makers Mark" method. If you have seen the commercials, they have a tub of the melted red wax. They insert the top and neck of the bottle into it--giving it the unique red seal. Good for Makers Mark, but not good for antenna reception.

And then sometimes, they forget the blue locktite altogether. That happened on my 2010. The antenna fell off. I got it replaced under warranty. That gave me some temporary use of the WalMart shorty that cost around $10. It worked too.

[Bob Denman]

If you're not going to use any sort of thread-locker on the antenna threads: at least use a star washer!

Oh! I wouldn't put any sort of grease on those threads either...

[mark4Jesus]

If you're not going to use any sort of thread-locker on the antenna threads: at least use a star washer!

Oh! I wouldn't put any sort of grease on those threads either...

I may put a small dab on the upper end of the threads so that the lock-tite doesn't coat all of the threads, just those few at the top.