Retro Radio

[DT1]

Originally Posted by cdowns

i bought a USA-1 the best day i had with it was when i took the BFH to it and ended that piece of craps reign of terror/// poor quality non exisitant customer service

Did the same thing. I waited forever to get it and when I did, I was very disappointed. The customer service was so bad, I actually got much more satisfaction from smashing it into little pieces than I'm sure I would have by sending it back and spending the time to deal with them.

[Andy4639]

Just cut the dash and put a nice din radio in it and be done.If U take your time and cut it out right most want even notice it.Old picture but heck it's nice having good music to drive with as much as I drive it.
3200 miles in 7 days back in June and never listened to the same song twice. I love the SD/USB on it.
Just do it!

[DT1]

You could cut the dash and put a replacement radio in but I prefer to leave the old unit in and place a new DIN 1 unit under it. That way, I can change it out whenever I want to and not mess up the original dash.

[mac808]

Originally Posted by MidLifer

I had a Retrosound Model One - or should I say I had two of them- over the past two years. I had problems with both, but I must say that Retrosound stood behind them and promptly replaced both. I can't say enough good things about Chris Peterson at Retrosound.

Now, that said, when the second one crapped out, Chris called me and offered me a Zuma to replace it with, which is their new model. I've had it in the truck for about 2 months and so far it has worked great. He admitted that they had reliability issues with the Model 2's but said the Zuma has new guts in it and should work better. Only time will tell, but with a 2 year warranty and Chris and his team standing behind their product, you don't have much to lose.

Yikes! I just got a Retrosound Model 2...Hope it doesn't 'crap out'... At least the customer service sounds like its top notch in case it does. lol.

As far as my experience goes, so far I am very impressed with the sound, quality, and ease of use with the Model 2. What's especially attractive about the 2 is that it is about as current and modern tech compatible(A2DP BT audio streaming/phone connectivity w/mic included, USB inputs, RCA outs, etc) with tons of other cool features while looking absolutely, well, retro.

I didn't want to ruin the old school dash with a modern deck so I went through all the audio idea options(Secret Audio, hidden 1 din deck in glove box etc). So when it came time to change up and finally replace the Custom Autosound deck with CD changer(which, like someone mentioned sounds better than nothing), Retrosounds Model 2 was the perfect fit.

My set up is running Rockford Fosgate component speakers in the kick panel(tweeters and 6.5") off deck power and a Rockford Fosgate amp and single Rockford 10" sub behind the seat. To be honest, I was kinda skeptical about how good the sound out of a non-name brand stereo like RS would perform but low and behold, the sound with the component combo I used is very crisp, clean and quite comparable to brands like Pioneer, Sony, Alpine, IMO.

If keeping the 'retro' look is important without sacrificing actual sound quality and the amount of features and connectivity to your iphones/ipods etc is something you're looking for, I would definitely consider the Retrosound Model 2.

http://www.retrosoundusa.com/products/details/id/320

[Steve Hafner]

. . . .

The Retrosound One:

The Retrosound Two:

. . . .

[elf w/capital T]

^^ for the price of those...they LOOK cheap!!

[69GMCLonghorn]

CAS is cheap junk, but ironically out of 4 I've owned, I only had a problem with one and they swapped it for a new one. The controls are pathetically cheap, the only good sound is if you run an external amp. I do like the in-dash DVC speaker. It sounds decent with a couple 6 x 9's to fill in.

[ericjon262]

Who makes the LMC radios? are they junk too?

http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/cb/full.aspx?Page=111

[davepl]

The LMC look like Custom Autosound. I'd like to buy that company just so I could liquidate it and close it down.

I have the Hagan unit, and while I haven't gotten to that point in the interior reinstall, it certainly looks good. FAR better than the cheap knockoffs.

[ericjon262]

damn... they look nice overall, and I'm wanting to go back to a stock style radio and fix the ugly hole in the dash... guess I need to save a little more then I thought...

[Steve Hafner]

. . . .

The LMC radios:

. . . .

[RETROSOUNDUSA]

Hi all, thanks for mentioning our radios and really appreciate a previous poster's response about our service. Our Model 2 and Zuma radios are the best in the business and we're proud of how far we've come with offering some incredible features and value to our customers. Our radios can also be found at LMC and other companies---

Here are some photos taken of dashes with our radios installed at the recent SEMA show:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cntstpdrmn/11229499336

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cntstpdrmn/11356512926

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cntstpdrmn/11356597393

[JasonLS1]

Retrosound one is what I've got, does a fine job to a cheap pair of 6x9's, long as I can plug in my iPod and get some tunes I'm good to go.

[R.L.]

I'm in the same situation you fella's are in, I tried a couple aftermarket radio's didn't like em, had tuning issues maybe I should have wired my power in to another source; sometimes when I'd crank the truck the radio would loose all its presets. I went to a junk yard and found a caddy with a good looking interior from the 70s and took the old radio from that. It accepts the trucks knobs sounds like a old Cadillac with 8 track. I'm not totally satisfied with it but I'm building a shop truck anyway so with good speakers it works till something better comes along. If you ever jump anybody off or it sits and the battery gets a little weak it doesn't loose it's stations. There was a clearance issue in the back but a 2x4 and a hammer fixed that. I do wish it had a mp3 hook up, do they make something that plugs in between the antenna wire and the radio?

[Andy4639]

Here is the new Dual head in the dash. These are the speakers and the plate I made for the front dash. I have a sub box behind the seat with 2-10" subs 2 3 ways mounted under the seat and 2 tweeters mounted where the old clothes hanger would be.

[Lattimer]

Originally Posted by R.L.

I'm in the same situation you fella's are in, I tried a couple aftermarket radio's didn't like em, had tuning issues maybe I should have wired my power in to another source; sometimes when I'd crank the truck the radio would loose all its presets. I went to a junk yard and found a caddy with a good looking interior from the 70s and took the old radio from that. It accepts the trucks knobs sounds like a old Cadillac with 8 track. I'm not totally satisfied with it but I'm building a shop truck anyway so with good speakers it works till something better comes along. If you ever jump anybody off or it sits and the battery gets a little weak it doesn't loose it's stations. There was a clearance issue in the back but a 2x4 and a hammer fixed that. I do wish it had a mp3 hook up, do they make something that plugs in between the antenna wire and the radio?

They make FM modulators that can plug into the antenna.


Amazon.com: Scosche FM-MOD02 Universal Audio...

[R.L.]

Originally Posted by Lattimer

They make FM modulators that can plug into the antenna.


Amazon.com: Scosche FM-MOD02 Universal Audio Input FM Modulator for iPod, Satellite Radio or Portable Music Player: MP3 Players & Accessories

Thanks Lattimer.

[68ls1]

Originally Posted by Steve Hafner

. . . .

I bought one of these from Mike Hagan in October of 2010 for my 70 C-10.

I also purchased the in dash speaker he recommended.

Hi Steve, what speaker did he recommend?, thanks Roger

[Steve Hafner]

Originally Posted by 68ls1

Hi Steve, what speaker did he recommend?, thanks Roger

. . . .

Here's the link to the page on his website that shows the speaker I bought:

http://www.mikehaganantiqueautoradio...-speakers.html

. . . .

[jdw]

I'm confused. Is the original inquiry regarding converting an original radio or purchasing a new one. I don't have one in my truck, so don't know what we're looking at. If I did I would probably buy an am/fm analog and swap the board into it. Fm radio kits used to be the kind of thing we built out of junk as kids, so the $400 range sounds a little on the extreme side. There's basically $1.50 in components in it, the case is where the cost is at. Has no one done an easy build on this, and how much interest is there?

[Bigdav160]

Has no one done an easy build on this, and how much interest is there?

I'm sure there is interest. I'm not sure making the controls work between different radios is practical or easy.

There are dozens of companies that will convert you AM radio to AM/FM/Ipod and they all seem to be using circuit boards from Aurora Designs. Here's a link to a Ford radio being converted.

I have a decent desolder-soldering station. I'm not sure I am able to source the circuit boards.

[bollybib]

Originally Posted by DT1

...I prefer to leave the old unit in and place a new DIN 1 unit under it. That way, I can change it out whenever I want to and not mess up the original dash.

I agree with this approach. I hung a used Kenwood cassette unit under the AC controls a couple of years ago. It crapped out recently and I painlessly changed it in about 10 minutes to a brand new Kenwood CD unit with USB and AUX inputs for my iPod plus remote control.

This way I kept everything stock with no cutting or drilling. The stock AM radio doesn't work but who cares ?

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...5&postcount=58

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...7&postcount=59

[68ls1]

Originally Posted by Steve Hafner

. . . .

Here's the link to the page on his website that shows the speaker I bought:

thanks

[muley]

Originally Posted by jdw

I'm confused. Is the original inquiry regarding converting an original radio or purchasing a new one. I don't have one in my truck, so don't know what we're looking at. If I did I would probably buy an am/fm analog and swap the board into it. Fm radio kits used to be the kind of thing we built out of junk as kids, so the $400 range sounds a little on the extreme side. There's basically $1.50 in components in it, the case is where the cost is at. Has no one done an easy build on this, and how much interest is there?

JDW,
I started with asking about new radios. I agree the price is steep, and to this point, I've done nothing. My 69 Longhorn has a nice , functional A M in it now, and if I can find someone to use that unit and convert to AM/FM/AUX, I would be happy with it.