kmacafee
Senior Member
Since I installed a FWC Eagle on my Tacoma, the one big frustration has been the loss of a consistent satellite radio signal. Toyota chose to place the shark fin antenna on the rear of the cab which is completely covered by the camper overhang. The other frustration is that Toyota chose to use a proprietary cable plug for their factory installed radios and antennas which makes it difficult to find a cheaper solution than replacing the entire radio. After a fair amount of research, I came up with a solution that some might still consider expensive, but is far cheaper than buying a decent new radio.
The first challenge was finding a cable. After searching thru various sites, I found a patch cable is being made and sold here:
http://www.tss-radio.com/vais-technologies-toyota-radio-satellite-antenna-adapter-cable-fra3m.html
In addition, you will need another antenna that can be mounted anywhere that is not being blocked by the camper. Here is one example but they can be bought at Best Buy, Target, etc.
http://www.tss-radio.com/sirius-dot-micro-car-antenna.html
My initial research revealed that the Tacoma factory antenna plugs into another cable that is behind the panel to the left of the emergency brake. Once I found the location, I assumed it would be simply "plug and play" but that didn't work. After trying a second cable with no luck, my only other option was to plug the new cable directly into the radio itself -- success. Now, that does involve removing the factory installed radio but that turned out to be extremely easy to do. In fact, here is a step by step tutorial on radio replacement (just skip the new radio install):
http://tacotunes.com/car-audio-video/toyota-tacoma-double-access-cab-xrunner/how-to-remove-stock-stereo-and-install-new-aftermarket-head-unit/
Once you unplug the factory antenna wire, there is one more modification to the new cable that has to be done before the cable will plug into the radio.
Here is what I ended up with:
The antenna is placed on the small flat spot in front of the windshield. Magnet holds it securely.
There is a small gap between the windshield pillar and the quarter panel that the antenna wire slips through and is protected. I then ran the cable down behind the rubber door gasket, under the plastic panel behind the emergency brake and made the connection to the patch cable. Blue tape is temporary until I make sure the location is just right. ;-)
Radio reception is great in all directions and my wife no longer has to listen to me sing the one or two songs I can remember.
Any questions just send them on.
Cheers
The first challenge was finding a cable. After searching thru various sites, I found a patch cable is being made and sold here:
http://www.tss-radio.com/vais-technologies-toyota-radio-satellite-antenna-adapter-cable-fra3m.html
In addition, you will need another antenna that can be mounted anywhere that is not being blocked by the camper. Here is one example but they can be bought at Best Buy, Target, etc.
http://www.tss-radio.com/sirius-dot-micro-car-antenna.html
My initial research revealed that the Tacoma factory antenna plugs into another cable that is behind the panel to the left of the emergency brake. Once I found the location, I assumed it would be simply "plug and play" but that didn't work. After trying a second cable with no luck, my only other option was to plug the new cable directly into the radio itself -- success. Now, that does involve removing the factory installed radio but that turned out to be extremely easy to do. In fact, here is a step by step tutorial on radio replacement (just skip the new radio install):
http://tacotunes.com/car-audio-video/toyota-tacoma-double-access-cab-xrunner/how-to-remove-stock-stereo-and-install-new-aftermarket-head-unit/
Once you unplug the factory antenna wire, there is one more modification to the new cable that has to be done before the cable will plug into the radio.
Here is what I ended up with:
The antenna is placed on the small flat spot in front of the windshield. Magnet holds it securely.
There is a small gap between the windshield pillar and the quarter panel that the antenna wire slips through and is protected. I then ran the cable down behind the rubber door gasket, under the plastic panel behind the emergency brake and made the connection to the patch cable. Blue tape is temporary until I make sure the location is just right. ;-)
Radio reception is great in all directions and my wife no longer has to listen to me sing the one or two songs I can remember.
Any questions just send them on.
Cheers