aerial signal booster

[kentphil1]

Hi,

I am about to install an Alpine CDE-123R unit into my mk1 Octavia VRS, and was told when I ordered the unit that I required a signal booster injector which I ordered at the same time.

This car is the first I have owned that requires one of these so I am a little in the dark as regards fitment. I understand that the blue lead on the booster links into the radio loom at pin 5, but my question is this.

Does it piggyback the Alpine radio loom blue lead by a connection like a skotchlok or soldered connection teeing into the existing unbroken loom, or do I cut the blue lead on the Alpine radio loom and connect direct from the Alpine radio loom to the booster blue cable thereby severing the connection between the radio and the wire already in the car loom ISO connector at pin 5?.

I realise this is a simple question to all you guys that have already done this, but all questions are simple when you know the answer

Many thanks for any help in advance

Phil

[Raf_]

Heard that some owners have just replaced the radio and not bothered with the broken booster and have good reception? Would of thought wiring the sub switch to the booster would of worked?

[mannyo]

Reception without the booster will be ok'ish. The factory headunit powers a booster at the base of the aerial, which no aftermarket headunit can so you need to add another elsewhere in the chain. Without it, you'll get reception but it will drift in /out and flip between Stereo and Mono, this will be more obvious in weaker signal areas, but in stronger areas maybe less so. There will be no MW reception at all, so if you listen to 5 live sports or similar then you will need the booster.. Most headunits have an electric aerial connection on the wiring harness, simply connect the blue wire from the booster to this wire on the headunit and you'll be sorted.

[Tech1e]

Be careful if tapping into an electric aerial feed as some of these are timed lives which switch off after 10 seconds or so (the time it takes an aerial to go up). Tapping into any ignition live will be fine, I normally add it into the aerial amp remote wire.

[kentphil1]

Hi Tech1e,

just so I'm crystal clear on this, I leave the Alpine loom blue wire intact to connect to the standard loom at pin 5 as it is configured from them, and then I add this as an additional booster onto the amp remote turn on lead (blue/white)?.

Am I now on the same page as you or am I still wrong?.

Many thanks for all the responses

Phil