For any owners who have had his/her TSX for awhile now, a question for you: do you find the long range radio reception to be as good, better, or worse than the radios in other cars you've owned?

I haven't traveled "out of town" with my TSX yet, but I live about 30 miles away from Pittsburgh. With my old car, the radio would pick up Pittsburgh stations pretty well. With the TSX, it seems like the radio is picking up static once in a while, like I'm going out of the range of the station (even though I know I'm not.) Any opinions, feedback? Does it have anything to do with the antenna being in the rear window?

 

Quite good, I think.

I don't have a very meaningful frame of reference, because all I've had for the last 15 years has been a Legend, a TL-S, and now the TSX. I found the stock radio in all to be very good. I have always been surprised at how far away I'm able to pick up, especially late at night and in the wee hours.

 

I have noticed the same problem. I live only 15-20 miles away from Philly stations, yet I hear static sometimes (particularly with one of them). It isn't a problem in our Passat, which has a normal antenna.

 

I experience both.

I get the occasional hint of static on some area stations.
But I also pick up a station I couldn't get in my old car.

 

In the issue of Car & Driver that just came out, Pat Bedard talks about that very issue - the radio reception in various cars. It's and interesting piece.

 

Same here, some stations appear more prone to static. I believe your suspicions are correct.

Many years ago (I'm dating myself), around 1969 - 1980 GM tried an experiment that failed miserably. They decided to embed two wires into their front windshields as radio antennas. They were terrible, beside marginal reception, they were prone to electronic interference each time the wipers made a pass.

Fast forward to 2003 where we now find many manufacturers embedding wires into the rear window. The claim is elimination of vandalism and wind noise, however sometime ago I read in a trade journal that automakers were losing thousands due to warranty claims on electric antennas. If true, why not put in short stubby antennas similar to S2000 and most European cars? You can only take cost cutting so far and then you mess up.

I don't believe these window antennas are amplified but I will try to check since I now received my Helm manual. Either way, short of replacing with a mast antenna, I think we're stuck? :'(

 

What month issue that? I always seem to get my subscription a week later then most of the magaines places... that sucks.

 

Don't have it in front of me, but I'm sure it's the Sept issue. It just arrived today. You can probably find it on caranddriver.com as well.

 

I swear i always get it around 1-2 weeks after the magazine comes out. What's up with that... if it came out today let's see when i get it.... =I

 

...my Acura 1.6EL has the antenna imbedded in the rear window and I get great reception, usually better than what I can get in my house, even on trips I've had no problems with reception or static. I think they're a great idea, I've had numerous antennas broken off or bent to the point of having to be replaced, not only that but I've never thought of a radio antenna as a particularly nice looking car accessory, some of the locations where they end up look down right unsightly. The only ones that look any good are the ones on some of the German cars, the little rubberized ones on the back or front of the roof.

Lorne Miller

 

Not a TSX owner, but I have a '97 TL, which was one of the first if not the first Honda/Acuras to have the antennae in the glass. For me it works fairly well, the TSX's I've driven seem to be a bit better. In my TL you either get a station or you don't. The TSX's seem to be able to pick some stations up that I normally can't but they don't quite come in perfectly either (better than nothing I suppose).

AM radio seems to be very good in my car.

 

I've noticed the same thing. It seems to happen once or twice a week. It may occur more often than that... I like to turn off the radio and just listen to the engine... Ahhh... Music to my ears...

 

That's what I usually do. That, + think.

 

According to the editorial by Pat Bedard, that's a decision the engineers have to make - either you get a station or you don't, in which case the sound quality is good; or you get a lot more stations, but there will be more static.

 

I'm going on a road trip through IN this week so I'll have all the information. I'll be comparing the TSX to a 2001 CL-S.

 

Well, I decided to investigate this issue by driving my TSX about 60 miles outside of Pittsburgh. (Or perhaps I was just using that "issue" as an excuse to drive my car.)

Anyway, it does seem like there is static on stations that previously had no static in my '91 Accord. However, when I kept driving further away from Pittsburgh, I noticed that I could keep the station (plus some static) for a longer range than in my Accord. I would guess about 10-15 miles longer than the Accord could. So I guess it is a tradeoff of sorts; a little static at closer range, in exchange for reception from a longer distance away.

lshenretty - thanks for the C&D reference. I'll be sure to check it out.

 

Gotta believe the advantage(s) are more than that, because I think probably everyone would agree an extra 10-15 mi. by itself isn't worth it.

 

I hope you're right, Larch. I don't think I've had the car long enough to elucidate what those other advantages might be.

 

Now that I've had a couple of cars with antenna in the rear windshield, I'll never go back to masts. My family used to drive 90-94 Maximas, and the power antennas would last no more than two winters.