Re: Gamma radio / antenna replacement recommendations?

[Elliott Potter <epotter@abraxis.com>]

Well the oem Gamma radio in the '93 90CS is a Blaupunkt, so probably
most of the advice you get will be to ditch it and buy a new one. 
Having said that, I wouldn't personally recommend you do that quite
yet.  If you're reasonably pleased with the sound quality that the
system makes, you might check and make sure that the antenna amplifiers
are operating correctly.  Also you may want to make sure that on the
receiver the "DX" button has been pushed and the "DX" lights up on the
reciever.  The reason I say this is that my experience with the Gamma
radio (got one on my 93 90CS) is that it actually picks up weak stations
better than most other car stereos I've seen, or at least the stations
that I listen to most.

Anyway, the antenna boosters are located in the right and left rear
D-pillars.  In the right side, it will have a black wire going to the
antenna and 2-3 other wires coming in/out of it.  On the left side, it
will have a red wire going to the antenna, a White wire going to the
defroster heating element, and 3-5 other wires coming in/out of it.

On the right side D-pillar, the black wire is for the FM reception, and
on the left side pillar the red wire is for the AM reception and the
white wire (the same one that goes to the heater element for the
defroster!) is for FM reception.

If you decide the whole thing is just awful and want to get rid of it,
Crutchfield (1-800-955-9009 to request a catalog or 1-800-955-9091 to
talk to someone) is a good place to start.

Hope this helps!

Elliott

BTW, did they really ditch the in-glass antenna in later cars?  I hadn't
noticed antennas sticking out of A4's recently; have they put in some
other kind of "stealth" antenna?

> I have been trying to follow the various radio related threads on the
> list in an effort to resolve the less than adequate performance of the
> gamma radio in my wife's '93 90CSQ. I am lost!  We both like the sounds
> that come out of my '91 200Q Bose system, so you audiophiles know that
> we are apparently not very discerning when it comes to sound!  We both
> agree that her system really is bad when it comes to FM reception and
> radio sound quality.  The car has an Alpine 5951Z remote CD changer,
> which sounds OK through the system, so I have concluded that the problem
> is probably related to the antenna, the tuner or both. The antenna is
> one of those in-the-rear-window jobs, which I notice has been
> discontinued in subsequent years in favor of a fender-mounted unit.  Is
> that my problem, or is the radio junk too?  I would appreciate any BTDT
> experiences on this issue.  Is the Audi OEM antenna for the later years
> the way to go or am I better off going with an after market unit like a
> Hirschmann?  What is the recommended replacement radio?  What are the
> best mail-order sources for these components? TIA for any help you can
> provide.  BTW, I am continually amazed (overwhelmed?) at the diversity
> of knowledge that this group has.