[geoff]

On 16/03/2018 12:07 AM, Mike Rivers wrote:
On 3/15/2018 4:25 AM, geoff wrote:
Instead of all this palaver, why not simply buy a better car stereo
with more comprehensive EQ ? They are dirt-cheap these days.

That depends on how young, agile, and mechanically inclined you are. I
looked into replacing the radio in my 2003 Lexus ES-300 (a Toyota Camry
with better seats) in order to listen to HD broadcast when one of the
few stations I listened to in the car dropped their low power analog FM
transmitter and only broadcast that programming on one of their digital
channels.

There's no way I'd fit myself into the places I'd have to go in order to
remove the original radio and install a new one. I could buy a perfectly
reasonable one for about $100 but the shop told me that installation
would cost about $250. I figured that anything I've never done before
and didn't know how to do, that cost $250 worth of labor, wasn't
something I wanted to try. So I started listening to another station.

That's what I thought, until I googled "replace toyota caldina radio',
which showed simply popping the panel off, and undoing 3 screws. Didn't
have to bend at all. At worst, apart from the radio/CD/whatever, you may
need a wiring loom adaptor harness for about $10.

I chose a Panasonic radio/CD/iPod/Aux one. Aoart from other stuff that
you wouldn't want to attempt while driving, it has easy Vol and iPod
track controls accessible from remote. Has 6 bands of EQ, subwoofer
output controls (incl. main speaker HPF), but was around $150 US (new
from shop). Much cheaper now that current ones have DAB and Bluetooth,
but I don't need that.

geoff