MyGig in a pre-08 review, issues, concerns, questions, suggestions

[ChargLex]

First of all, the mother of all MyGig in a pre-08 LX thread is here:

MYGIG installed in Pre-08 LX using MYGIG Adapter

Mine has been going for 24 hours and I love it, but it's not perfect (yet).

First of all, I'm getting my NAV antenna tomorrow from Eastway Chrysler (a site sponser) so I don't have 100% functionality yet.

But I have noticed a few things audio-wise...

1) AM reception is horrible ! AM is often done with a coil inside the radio, is maybe this a physical difference in the antenna(e) in the 08's vs. pre-08's ? Or maybe the RER MyGig doesn't have a coil where the REF unit did ???

2) Even FM reception is lame vs. the old CD-only REF radio, thought it's nice to see some digital song info (on at least one local FM channel). I have to admit the FM antenna connector was a wreck when I plugged it into the Lockpick Adapter FM adapter, but with FM it's usually all-or-nothing so I think it's connecting OK right now.

Those are easy to overlook if only this next one wasn't an issue....

3) Sirius reception drops way too often with my "legacy" Sirius Starmate antenna's placement when compared to the reception on the old Starmate Replay unit.

The reception I got with the old Starmate Replay in the current sat antenna location (under the A-pillar cover on the driver's side on top of some sheetmetal where it crimps from vertical to horizontal) was AWESOME, but now it cuts out immediately under any bridge or tree, or even in the open sometimes...

Does the MyGig not receive signal from the terrestrial repeaters or something ??? I was usually able to sit under bridges in Toronto and continue to get signal with the Starmate...

That said, I have to admit that the audio quality on Sirius has made a decent leap forward with the MyGig. I was getting sick of hearing digital artifacts through the Starmate but on the MyGig they're gone (though it must be said that most Sirius channels are nowhere near as dynamic as FM, let alone a CD or MP3).

I've also tried downloading MP3s from my Archos via USB "PC HDD Mode" and it drops at 40% (after about 4 gig yet there's currently 11 gig worth of MP3s on the Archos).

It's also sad to see that I can't just browse the HDD for songs. I hate relying on the ID3 tags as I never wasted my time tweaking them -- I spent my time fixing filenames, which the MyGig doesn't seem to care much about when presenting music files.

And finally, I am a bit disappointed that I can't "compile" commands via voice. Though some say the voice command is limited, I freakin' love it, but I sure wish I could issue a command like the following:

"Radio FM tune 107.1"

Right now it's a "one step at a time" system.. the "radio FM" command is all it can deal with. I sure wish I could "stack" commands to get more done with one key press.

At least with this last complaint I am optimistic that Harman Becker might listen to users and add this functionality, because from what I've heard they far surpass Chrysler and other companies we may be used to dealing with as far as user support

[ChargLex]

Oops, antenna was just not making proper contact... same problem that someone else reported in the big thread with the Lockpick antenna adapter cable. I think I'm going to put RCA connectors on the ends instead.

This *might* also affect the Sirius terrestrial repeater reception as well ??? Not sure about this but hopeful.

[4life]

How much did you get your Nav antenna for from Eastway?

Also did you just move your FM antenna connection around to make it work better, mine has crappy reception right now.

[ChargLex]

Adam at Eastway was able to find the NAV antenna on its own for under 60 bucks... most dealers will recommend a kit for over $100.

I first had the nav antenna right on top of the MyGig (a bit to the right) but later on the install day I barely got one sat. This weekend I moved it to under the dash, stuck with double-sided tape to the pad just under the dash and am getting 5 - 7 satellites.

The FM antenna adapter from Coastal simply sucks !!! They seriously think we'll be happy with an antenna connection that's within a few molecules from touching. When I manually manipulate it I can get a perfect signal on AM and FM.

I think I am going to put basic male/female RCA connectors on the stock antenna lead and the Lockpick adapter... it's just too difficult to do too much with the car's stock antenna lead so the lead coming from the car will be my first area of attention... might not solder it, just wrap the lead around an RCA connector's "hot" lead and ground the ground. Hopefully I won't have to get the soldering iron in the car but worst case I will.

I'm hoping once this is properly connected it will also help me get the Sirius terrestrial repeaters while I'm under bridges etc. but this is a stretch, as the Sirius Starmate receiver obtained the repeater signal(s) using the basic Sirius antenna alone...