Low Noise compact cars?

[N1RSR]

Hi All-

Anyone here own a current Honda Civic or Toyota
Corolla?     I'm going to be in the market for a new
car and was wondering how these vehicles did in the
RF noise category.    Main concern is fuel pump noise
and the like, and then after that, ignition noise, and
then possibly blower noise from the AC/vent system.  
Wipers are not a big deal.       Years ago I had an 89
ford tempo and it was terrible WRT fuel pump and it
would always threw S5 of ignition noise without the NB
enabled, on 6M.   I'd like to be able to get away
without having to use the NB.  (the NB on the 706MKII
rig I have sucks, as it distorts strong signals. )

I'm not opposed to looking at other cars outside of
the aforementioned, so I'm open to other suggestions
as well...  as long as it's not a Hyundai.    (they're
on my ban list, long story).

FWIW,  I'm not opposed to doing some mods if I
have to, but I'd like to keep the baseline noise
low to start with!  

Thanks for any suggestions.

73,
-Mike

[K0BG]

All three of the vehicles you mentioned use COP technology which lessens the perceived ignition noise if you do a modest amount of bonding.

All three also use some form of a multiplexed integrated control system. These are busses running to the various on-board devices (engine CPU, ABS, SRS, etc.) allowing them to talk to one another. In the case of the Honda, there are three basic frequencies used by the MICS. The harmonics from them can be heard throughout all of the HF bands.

As a result, some planning needs to be done with respect to where and how you mount your HF antenna. For example, one of the hot spots on a Honda Ridgeline is in the vicinity of the Navi and AM/FM antennas on the top rear portion of the cabin. The Civic, all of the Toyotas, and most other modern vehicles all have the same basic problem. Most of the time, these bothersome RFI sources can be mediated (attenuated) enough that they aren't too big of a hinderance.

This said, the one type of vehicle you do not want to buy, if you plan on using HF, is any of the hybrids which use the Toyota system (about 90% including Fords). They are just too noisy and costly to "fix".

Alan, KØBG
www.k0bg.com

[K4GOT]

I just rented a Corolla from Alamo. It was a great car to drive. I took a mag mount Larsen and my Yaesu FT-60R. I have used that combo in other vehicles and it worked OK but the Corolla had more noise than my Ford Ranger. And Ford Rangers have a bad reputation when it comes to RF noise due to their fuel pump design.

I don't think it is a Toyota issue because we have a Highlander that is very quiet.

BTW, the mount has a 12' cable. I placed the antenna dead center on the roof and routed the cable in the back door gasket and around the back of the driver's seat up to the center console. Reception was good, especially with the car turned off. When I started the car there was considerably more noise and when scanning the radio would stop on frequencies due to the noise. I had to turn the squelch most of the way up to minimize this.

[KO1D]

Another problem Mike is that you can have 12 cars that are the same make, model and year but each have their own noise issues. It's not unheard of.

For what it's worth, I have driven a 2000 Olds Alero GLS 4dr that was not bad til I hit the gas pedal and then the  alternator noise was unbearable (back before I knew better ) I now drive a 2002 Ford Escape XLT which is really not bad at all. I have a few more tweaks to it but for the most part the car is electrically quiet and what noise there is the TS480SAT noise blanker easily handles.

Dan S
KO1D

[K0BG]

Wes, there is one thing to keep in mind; operating FM from a mobile is much different than operating SSB. A properly designed FM radio will be nearly immune to AM pulse noise. This fact makes a comparison moot.

Alan, KØBG
www.k0bg.com