Well.. today I spent about 1hr installing the HD tuner for my avn-5435 eclipse hu.

hardest part was routing the wires behind the dash to the passenger floor unit..

install is pretty simple... remove your h/u run the attena extension wire and hd-cable (same as a cd changer cable) thru your deck opening to thru the dash to where you want to locate your HD-tuner. (I placed mine under the passenger seat)

also you have to run a 12vlt pwr wire to the tuner as well, i tapped into the power for my cathodes b4 the switch. found a bolt already being used for chasis ground and connected that as well

mounting the unit in the car consists of 2 brackets that screw into the sides of the tuner then cut a slit in the carpet either side and slide the brakets into the slit(s) i had to unscrew 1 side to get it into the slit then screwed it back in. double sided tape is suplied the with the parts and you can use it to secure to the floor... i did put it on the brakets but did not adhere it the floor as i didnt cut into the pad and frankly.. unless you rip the slits bigger in the carpet or something its not really moving anywhere. I do need to go buy some wire loom to clean up the power/ground wires tho.

once you plug everything back in, you can turn on your HU and test it out.... it took about 30 seconds for it to recognize the new equipment for the first time... erased all my radio presets. but after re-assigning them... you can notice nice difference between HD and standard Radio stations. select your station as normal... it comes in fine... if its a HD station about 10seconds after selecting it you can hear it switch to digital tuning.... lots of static and hiss goes away, sounds much clearer and noticable audio improvement overall. even non-digital stations come in noticably clearer

I have yet to take a spin with it installed now.. but if the driveway test is anything... i forsee better qualitiy radio experience in my future... plus the "title" feature works now too.. radio call letters displays, song title/artist and what ever the station sends out displays now.

only thing i havent tried yet is to find "hidden HD stations" that supposedly exist.

I'll try and take some pics of the installed tuner... but otherwise install is the same for anything with the stereo in an xB/xA/tC... remove trim piece/ac features etc....

(now to find out why my floor is wet on the passenger side.. hasnt rained signifigently in a week or 2)

 

good to know i was thinking about installing one cause i have a hard time catching stations

 

Nice, the HD unit is a lil expensive though.. priced around $450 if I remember correctly. Sirius is a bit cheaper, but some people love local radio.

As far as the floorboards, check under the car to make sure your A/C drain is not pluged. Sometimes they can clog and have water backup into the car.

 

RH.... hmm.. i'll check the A/C stuff...

Actually got it for $370 shipped... from I.C.E.KING or something like that in the sponserd sales section...

Drove it around some today.... figuring out the quirks.... think most stations do broadcast in HD around the Seattle area... but havent worked out the kinks yet.... tho.. like any station.. closer i get to the towers.. the better reception...

kept switchin to regular and HD going away from seattle... not sure if due to geograhpy(hills/valleys etc) or weather... or both.. its raining here for the first time in awhile...

still sounds better once it switches to HD... tho not sure if can find any "Hidden" stations that they advertise in comercials....

 

Yea the thought of using the stock antenna to pick up differnt stations doesn't appeal to me. That and the fact that the reception goes in and out too. I get annoyed if my XM statics out for a second during a good song.

Oh and here is a list of Stations for ya

 

hmm... wonder if a different antenna would make a difference?? hmm

i dont think the eclipse can pull out the 2nd/hidden stations ... dang it... oh well.... it works for me... for now....

 

Nope the HDR-105 from Eclipse is not compatible with multicasting (the "hidden channels). That's the only reason that I haven't already gotten one. Go to www.hdradio.com and click on hd radio buyer's guide and it will show a list of products compatible and those that are not.

 

Oh, and click on hd format list for a list of stations in your local market. Below is for Seattle since you mentioned it.

Seattle, WA
KUBE 93.3 93.3-1 Rhythmic Hits 93.3-2 Extreme Hip Hop
KMPS 94.1 94.1-1 Country 94.1-2 Future Country
KJR 95.7 95.7-1 Classic Hits 95.7-2 All 80's
KJAQ 96.5 96.5-1 Adult Variety 96.5-2 Progressive Talk
KBSG 97.3 97.3-1 Oldies 97.3-2 Blues
KISW 99.9 99.9-1 Active Rock 99.9-2 Live Rock
KQBZ 100.7 100.7-1 Talk 100.7-2 Urban AC
KZOK 102.5 102.5-1 Classic Rock 102.5-2 Deep Cuts Classic Rock
KNBQ 102.9 102.9-1 Country 102.9-2 Progressive Talk
KMTT 103.7 103.7-1 Triple A 103.7-2 HD2 Comedy / HD3 News
KFNK 104.9 104.9-1 Active Rock 104.9-2 Urban AC
KBKS 106.1 106.1-1 Hit Music 106.1-2 New CHR
KNDD 107.7 107.7-1 Alternative Rock 107.7-2 International hits

 

yeah... think i kinda knew it didnt but wasnt 100% sure... now i am. no hidden goodies for me...damn them... now my gf is like "you spent ??? and it doesnt get???!!! send it back..." ....lol...:sigh:

 

lol. Yeah, that's quite a chunk of change for it. I actually called Eclipse to ask about the multicasting and if they would be offering a product in the near future that was capable and the person who I was speaking with was clueless to what it even was. Then after being on hold a couple minutes, she came back and said good question and they have no plans to offer such a product unless there was enough demand for it.

I'm thinking she was just straight clueless and surely they are developing a tuner capable of multicasting.