No tunes on (in) my wagon

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C

clivees

Well-Known Member
Posts
2,070
Location
Somewhere in deepest darkest Hampshire
Hi Guys

What’s the accepted method for fitting a car radio to a Positive earth Landy?

1. Re-wire the electronics?
Doable but a pain.

2. Insolate the radio and wire up reversed.
This givers me a problem with the Arial screening.

3. Don’t do it you philistine.



Regards
Clivees

Ps
Of course it will be well hidden so as not to upset the look of the dash for all you purists out there.
 
How not to fit a negative earth radio into a positive earth car

My first C reg Imp was one of the old cars that had positive earth and I wanted to fit a radio. All the new radios at that time had changed to being negative earth. I purchase a flash Motorola with FM and presets and set about the install. I had to insulate the radio to make sure that the case of the radio did not short out to the chassis. I achieved this by wrapping it in foam. The lead for the aerial went through the bulkhead and was attached to one of those highly fashionable whip aerials fitted to the front boot lid (don't forget the Imp engine is in the back) that clipped back to the gutter (Well smart!) I had finished the installation and I was tinkering around inside the car with the boot lid up listening to Radio Caroline. The wind was getting up outside and a gust blew so hard, it blew the boot lid off it's hinges and over the top the car! As the aerial was mounted on the boot lid, it yanked the radio out of it's new insulated mount and the case of the radio shorted on the metal dash. My parents looked out of the front window wondering what the hell was going on, to see me sitting in the Imp that was filling up with smoke from the smouldering foam! I managed to disconnect the radio before the whole car went up in flames.

Parking an Imp in a tight space
 
or try this...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I now have a radio cassette to fit to my +2. There is room, because someone has modified the space where it fits by cutting the metal at the back of the slot (is it part of the heater?). I will sort out electrical compatibilty between positive earth car and negative earth radio-cassette, by using a DC-DC converter so I can retain the earthing.

The question is how to mount it physically. The original radios were short and light. Were they just cantilevered off the dash? Any suggestions how to support the extra weight of the radio-cassette?

t
 
Thanks guys

Converting my Landy to Neg earth seems a little drastic and I’m not too sure on the details in the instructions (Interesting reading).
Especially the bit about ”Polarize the generator” , If I remember my electronics correctly what they are doing here is reversing the charge on the exciting capacitor.
This is the Cap used to excite one of the coil (Rota or Stator) to start the generator, this system is only found in alternators / generator type system where there is no fixed magnets.
I’m pretty sure that my landy is a Dynamo (Fixed Magnets) and to reverse that I would have to either reverse the direction it turns or reverse the wiring or reverse the magnets.

So I think my choices are convert my landy to an alternator Neg Earth system or wrap a radio up in plastic or learn to hum.

Still guys you have given me some things to think about

Thanks
Clivees
 
yer wrong about the alternator bit.. you can flash the dyamo and reverse the output of it. or you could just install an alternator..you'll need the extra power for your karmon hardon radio
 
I might just do that, i have been thinking of converting the old girl to a alternator.
And it will allow me to annoy all the kiddies in there Corsa’s / Clio’s that insists on playing the same 2hr (BooM BooM) track so there mates in the next town can hear it.
:D :D :D
 
just buy a cheap ghetto blaster thingy...
mine cost 20 quid, batteries from halfords are inexpensive and last forever.. and with that tape wire bit you can hook your ipod up to it.
or with an itrip.
 
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