# 03 altima poor radio reception



## BarryOntario (Sep 3, 2007)

I just purchased a 2003 Altima 2.5 SL with 90,000km (60k miles). Car is great and of course has the BOSE stereo and the in-window antenna. I purchased it out of town and it had what I thought was good radio reception but it, I guess, was only picking up very local stations. In my town, we normally get 5 or 6 radio stations including the very local station (which kinda sucks) with two stations about 80 miles away with a much bigger market and stronger broadcasts...any vehicle I have ever been in gets them...however, my altima only gets the local station. When driving it home, I did go by the city with the two popular stations and they did come in loud and clear but only for a relatively short distance on either side of the town...maybe 20 miles at the most. So, the antenna is bringing in broadcast signals...just very poorly. The BOSE system with CDs works awesome.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Barry


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

Check the antennae for any breaks in the grid. You can test and repair the antennae grid the same way you would a defroster grid.


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## BarryOntario (Sep 3, 2007)

*how to remove the Bose radio*

Apparently the radio reception has likely always been poor since the previous owner installed window tinting which I was told contains metal that disrupts the signal. I didn't think that it could be so bad that I would lose a major station 10 miles out of town but the audio store I phone assured me that this happens a lot.

So, i don't want to replace the window obviously and I don't really want a mast antenna sticking up out of somewhere on the car...requiring a hole being drilled. So, on ebay there are a few different types of antennas that mount to the top of your windshield on the inside...not very big and go beyond/above the rear view mirror. They are generally referred to as hidden antennas...

I have taken stereos out of vehicles before, but not for a long time and they were custom stereos with special tools to remove them...no idea on how to get the Bose Stereo out to get to the back to plug in a new antenna...do you have to take the dash apart or is there some trick to it... I don't want start prying around scratching everything up.

Anybody tried any of these hidden antennas...do they work well? Any help on getting to the back of the Bose stereo would be much appreciated.

Starting to get tired of the local small town station.

Thanks.

Barry


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## aczeller (Mar 12, 2008)

FYI, in order to get rid of the tint (i used to tint myself), you don;t need to replace the entire window. it's basically a large, semi-transparent, high-tack sticker. if you want to remove it yourself, take a razor blade, and just go to it, scraping a little off towards the top of your window. once it starts to come off the glass, grab it with your fingers and try to jerk it off, a little at a time, it's like cellophane, so be careful or else it will tear and you will have to start over. don;t pull it ALL off... leave it attached at the bottom and let it drape over your door panel. you will thank me later, after i explain why.

once the tint is off, the glass will most likely have a haze to it... that is the residual adhesive. if it is warm out, take a LOT of windex, spray it over the glue, and use your razor blade to scrape it off. be careful of the blade corners so you don;t scratch the glass. if it is cool out (below 80), you can either still use the windex and take a long, long time, or use some brake-klean/goo-gone/acetone. this is where the dangling tint film helps... it protects your door panel from the over-spray/drips from the solvent. the glue comes off like butta'. if the glue gets tacky as the solvent starts to evaporate, just put more solvent on. the glue will start to roll up and look like a sticky booger (lovely, isn't it). just scrape it off and throw it to the ground... i mean throw it in the garbage. 

after it's clean, rip the rest of the tint off, then finish up with the scraping. you may have to roll the window down a bit to get the glue from the very top of the window (do this before removing the tint from the door panel). if it sticks, just pull it down with your hands (one on each side) and have a buddy roll it down. the window just stuck to the top of the window jam. no big deal.

there is tint out there that is guaranteed not to interfere with radios/cell phones/radar detectors and it will never fade (turn purple, blue, or green). it is made with carbon, rather than the metal composits that are present in "conventional films". it's made by SunTek. it works great... i have it on my hyundai and plan on putting it on my new Altima in the near future. i would reccomend having a professional do it tho, rather than applying it yourself. it isn't cheap and you can't get it from anywhere, other than a certified tint shop. trust me... this is better than the Wal-Mart stuff.

hope that helps.

Later,
Andy


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