Might as well get HD...

We had been hearing for a while that broadcast television was going digital and the old-style signal would no longer be broadcast.  Adapters for televisions are for sale so people can continue to use them.  Then we started hearing about HD Digital broadcast radio.  I wasn't in any big hurry.  I have lots of music sources and HD Radio is simply a new and improved way to get the same AM and FM broadcasts.

Then one night I was just looking at what was out there and I ran across the Pioneer GEX-P10HD that is compatible with my current setup.  What's more, one of the sellers mentioned a rebate...  Being curious to see how much I might save, I did some investigating and found that it was literally the last night of a three-month rebate offer for $50.00  No kidding it was 11:00PM on the last day!  What's more, in order to get the rebate form you had to "text" the word "UPGRADE" to 34343.  Now I am showing my age here.  I sat looking at my Blackberry for a while, could not figure out how to text using it.  Got into the owners manual and found SMS and MMS services that potentially held the key but neither was enabled on my unit.  Dead end.

Then it struck me - there is another cell phone or three in the house and I know that they have been used for texting.  So being the shameless fool that I am, I woke up my wife at 15 minutes to midnight, handed her phone to her, and had her text the magic words to the special number.  And it worked.

I went back to the computer, pulled down the rebate form with only minutes to spare, made the purchase of the unit, and wiped my forehead of sweat.  Hey!  With the $50 rebate, the unit cost me less than a good meal for one at a decent restaurant.  Truthfully, for as much as I listen to FM radio these days, I would not have purchased this item without the Rebate.  But I am interested to hear the difference between regular AM/FM and HD Digital AM/FM.  I am always interested in better sound and have known for a long time that AM/FM radios have the lowest fidelity specs of any music source going - even high end components have fairly dismal specs.

So for lunch money I get to upgrade with yet another well integrated component that I can hide inside my dash or under my floor and get the latest in AM/FM broadcast quality.  What's not to like?

Designed to receive high-quality HD Radio broadcasts for most Pioneer car stereos, this HD Radio tuner is a hideaway module that connects through the Pioneer headunit’s IP-BUS interface.

What is HD Radio?
HD Radio is the only system for digital AM and FM broadcasting in the U.S. Currently more than 1,000 radio stations are broadcasting primary signals in digital HD Radio technology, as a free service.  That's right, no subscription charges!

Compatible with the following Pioneer headunits:

• FH-P800BT, FH-P8000BT, DEH-P700BT, DEH-P7000BT

"External Control" capable with other Pioneer IP-Bus headunits, a/v receivers and navigation systems, with some limitations of display and control.  Please review Owner's Manual(s) for more details.

 

This unit is compatible with my Pioneer DEH-980BT in Head Unit Group 2 that means it's a near perfect integration.

Head Unit Group 2
Controls
Select HD Radio tuner as an external source	Press SOURCE.	External is displayed
Select a band To return to the frequency display	Press BAND.
Perform manual tuning	Push MULTI-CONTROL left or right.
Perform seek tuning	Push and hold MULTICONTROL left or right.
Recall radio station frequencies assigned	Push MULTI-CONTROL up or down.
Storing presets	Press and hold a button 1 to 6.
	(*1 models) Select one from 1 KEY to 6 KEY and then continue pressing MULTI-CONTROL.
Select a function	Use MULTI-CONTROL.
Change text information	Press MULTI-CONTROL in FUNC1 (F1).	Call sign or frequency—song title—artist name—program type
Turn BSM (Best station memory) on	Press MULTI-CONTROL in FUNC2 (F2).	BSM (best stations memory) lets you automatically store the six strongest broadcast frequencies. • The six strongest broadcast frequencies are stored in the order of their signal strength. • Sub channel cannot be registered.
Switching reception mode	Press MULTI-CONTROL in FUNC3 (F3).	If a digital broadcast reception condition gets poor, this unit automatically switches to the analog broadcast of the same frequency level. ON—Digital broadcast/analog broadcast automatic switching OFF—Analog broadcast fixed setting
Switching local function	Press MULTI-CONTROL in FUNC4 (F4).	Local seek tuning lets you tune in only those radio stations with sufficiently strong signals for good reception. FM: OFF—LEVEL 1—LEVEL 2—LEVEL 3—LEVEL 4 AM: OFF—LEVEL 1—LEVEL 2 • The LEVEL 4 setting allows reception of only the strongest stations, while lower settings let you receive regressively weaker stations.
Switching seek mode between ALL and HD	Press MULTI-CONTROL in AUTO/MANUAL (A/M).	AUTO (ALL) —Seek tuning (normal condition) MANUAL (HD) —Seek tuning (Digital broadcast stations seek)

 

It will show up on the source list as an "External" device, but all of the features of the unit and ease of operation through the head unit will be present.

Antenna Sharing 

There was one sticking point though, and I didn't catch it until after the unit had shipped.  It requires an antenna connection.  That's no big surprise - it's a radio Sherlock!  The thing is, most cars, and mine included, have an antenna connection and it's already used by the existing radio...  So in order to give this unit an antenna connection, a Y-adapter (or splitter) is needed.  This splits the wire coming from the antenna into two identical wires.  One goes to the regular radio; the other goes to the HD Digital radio.  The installation instructions for the Pioneer GEX-P10HD are ambiguous on this point and it shows in the results achieved by various reviewers on Amazon.com.  Some people simply followed the instructions and got marginal or poor results.  Here's what the manual says, including the spelling/typo error:

 "Car antenna cable (form vehicle’s antenna)
Connect the car antenna cable to this unit’s
antenna input. It is not necessary to connect to
head unit’s antenna input.

"If you use this unit with a navigation system that
can receive traffic information from the built-in
FM tuner, connect the car antenna cable to both
this unit and the navigation system with an
antenna splitter or to a separate antenna."

After reading these instructions I was tempted to take them literally.  First, am not using a navigation system so the second paragraph does not apply.  But it contains a clue - "antenna splitter".  The first paragraph suggests you may attach the car antenna lead to the unit and all will be well.  I think the spirit of this instruction carries the intention that by wiring the unit this way, you can listen to AM/FM by using the source mode that provides this receiver, and that you will abandon use of the existing (original) tuner that is built into the head unit.  And indeed, if you never plan to use the built-in AM/FM receiver, these instructions are fine. 

You could interpret the instructions to mean that by attaching the antenna lead to the GEX-P10HD, your built-in AM/FM tuner would still work.  If the manufacturer had the foresight or ability to carry the antenna connection all the way through the HD unit and share it internally with the built-in AM/FM tuner, that would be wonderful.  I am here to tell you they didn't do that.  The built-in AM/FM tuner will not receive quality signals without an antenna connection...  Those who reviewed the unit under that assumption were, predictably, profoundly disappointed by the huge drop in quality of their built-in receivers.  Testimony to the importance of clear installation instructions.

But in my case, I wanted both options - the ability to listen to either the original, built-in AM/FM receiver, OR the external HD receiver.  With the clue that there was such a thing as an antenna splitter, I decided that having both connected to the antenna would be the best option.  Putting aside the actual purchase location of the splitter, the cost of it is so low you could buy it, have lunch at McDonalds and get change back from your $10-bill.  I just doesn't make sense to leave it out for the benefit it offers.

The search for the Y-adapter began and ended in the same place - the internet.  Don't even waste your time going to stores.  With the exception of really specialized installers, you just won't find this hanging on a peg in retail stores.

METRA Antenna Works 40-UV44 Universal Antenna Accessory - Female to two male antenna adaptor cable

  

But like a fool I again drove to the stores one would expect might carry such a part - Best Buy, Advance Auto, Target, Wal*Mart, etc.  The closest I came to buying it near home was at Best Buy where a nice guy took me into the installer bay and let me look at the selection of adapters hanging on the wall...  It was like a kid in a candy store but in the end the adapter I needed (e.g. a "METRA Antenna Works 40-UV44 Universal Antenna Accessory - Female to two male antenna adaptor cable") was nowhere in sight.  So I went back home with bread and cheese and no Y-adapter.

When I got home I went back to where I found it - online - and ordered it.  I should have ordered it with the unit, but there you go...  Two days later it was sitting on my doorstep in a ridiculously oversized shipping box.  Five minutes later it was completely installed and tested in my vehicle.  Again, for ease of purchase (if you stick with the internet) and the bargain price, you'd do yourself a great disservice to skip this detail.

There's not much to say about the GEX-P10HD install - I simply put a spade connector on the power lead, a eyelet connector on the ground, ran the yellow wire to my "always on" auxiliary fuse panel, and the black wire to ground.  The antenna wire was connected to one side of the adapter I bought, and the IP-Bus cable to an open spot on the other components already installed.

Pioneer GEX-P10HD Owners Manual

 

Updated Fuse Box Layout

 

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Here is a logical view of the stereo system

Pioneer / Infinity Sound System   Radio Devices   External Devices   Sat Antenna   Antenna   USB Device iPod Music Phone   Generic Device   Cable   Cable Splitter   USB Cable iPod Cable Blue Tooth   Mini Cable                                         Source XM   External 1   External 2 iPod   BT Audio Phone   Aux                               XM Satellite Radio   HD Radio   USB                                           AM   FM     CD                                                                                                                                                               Sub     Head Unit IP-BUS                                     Out               Rear   Blue Tooth In                                           Front  Auxiliary Stereo Cable                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Factory Tweeter                   Factory Power Amp           Factory Tweeter Front Factory Mid-range                               Factory Mid-range   Factory Sub-Woofer                 Left Added Speakers Right         Factory Sub-Woofer                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Rear Speaker Array                                 Speaker Array                                                                                                                                                                                   Sub         Powered Sub-Woofer

The wiring chart below illustrates the configuration and additional pages added to the web site explain the Pioneer DEH-980BT head unit, iPod Adapter, XM Tuner, HD Radio, USB Adapter, Infinity 3022cf rear speaker array, and Infinity Basslink installations. 

Here is the updated component layout and wiring.  The major components may be clicked to see more details about them.

Of  course the point of all this wiring and plugging and component wildness is better AM and FM sound.  And in fact, the improvement is significant and very easy to hear.  When the unit first tunes in a station it plays regular FM.  If the station is a HD station, it goes to HD and you can hear the sound quality change - crisper highs, greater depth of sound, and better lows.  Definitely worth $30 and 15 minutes of install time!