Better reception f/my CD Player set up?

OK... I know this isn't the most technically sophisticated question... but thought I'd ask anyhow.

I have an Alpine CDA-7800 Series (I think... about 3 years old) and the reception is not very good. My wife's Liberty has MUCH better stereo reception f/her Factory CD Player/Radio. I also have the factory antennae on my XJ.

Any suggestions to help a guy out? I like to listen to some of the AM stations periodically and just about can't get anything on AM (sports and such) and a lot of the FM stations that should come in, don't.

Thanks.

Probably something in the stereo. When I put my new one in I had way better reception compared to what the stock one had. I doubt its the antennae. Try another stereo. Not sure what else to tell ya. Hope you fix it.

Sand

some companies skimp on the am/fm reception in order to cram other things into the radio's body, thus some companies make radios with better reception than others

i remember the alpine i had years ago didn't particularly have good reception either, but the eclipse i have now is pretty good

You can buy a FM amplifier from a stereo shop, or check radio shack. I had one several years back, and you plugged the antenna cable into it with a short cable going to your reciever. It required a ground and power, nothing fancy. You should be able to wire it up with no trouble whatsoever.

an alpine has a good fm receiver. I have a Pioneer with a Super Tuner III fm (another good/respected) receiver in my 2000 XJ and its reception is decent, but nothing compared to my Mits. Diamante with a similar Pioneer with the same Super Tuner III fm receiver. The radios fm receiver is a significant contribution, but it can't improve the antennas reception ability. Definitaly keep us posted if you find any mods to improve it.

when I swapped my supertuner III from my mj to my xj there was a significant decrease in reception. Cleaning all the white corrosion off the threads of the antenna mount and a new chromy antenna made a huge difference.

alpines are known for bad reception...and jeeps dont have the best reputation either. Get a combination of a signal booster as mentioned before and either a new antenna or clean it up. It will help get it close to stock.

If you have poor reception on a strong AM station, you have an antenna problem; the antenna or lead or connections.

Thanks all... We've had some REALLY bad weather (or at least worse than normal) here in Oklahoma and my Jeep is covered w/ salt,dirt,mud,dirt, etc... so could be that the Antenna connections and such are bad. Any suggestions on a good quality replacement ??? I can't really afford to replace my Alpine Deck right now.

A bad antenna will effect AM much more than FM.
I would guess the Antenna is bad, but don't expect AM to work great.
Very few High end systems worry about AM at all.

I had a 7800-series (CDA-7839, if memory serves) Alpine head unit years ago in one of my cars. From what I remember, it didn't have the greatest sensitivity or selectivity on either AM or FM. Not that it was particularly horrible, but it replaced an OEM sound system also manufactured by Alpine which was MUCH better in that regard.

Quick test for radio reception: if BOTH AM and FM reception is lousy, the problem is likely in the antenna or wiring to it. If only one band sucks, it's likely a quirk of the receiver. Note that this shouldn't be taken as an absolute - but it tends to hold true in most cases. Also, are you trying to tune the stations manually or automatically? I've switched the automatic tuning off on every Alpine I've ever owned since they seem to set the sensitivity threshold lower than I'd like.

You mentioned having a lot of road salt and other crud on the Jeep. Saline water is somewhat conductive, so it's possible you're effectively creating a short somewhere between the antenna and the receiver. If I were in your shoes, I'd unscrew the antenna from its base, clean the base out really well, then remove the base and clean the contact area where it seats against the body. Check for signs of rust damage at the antenna connector. If you need a new antenna, just grab a universal replacement from Pep Boys or similar before trying signal boosters, etc.