Sony memory presets don"t stay

[e6bnfo]

I've got a 2007 19' Ocean Breeze with stock Sony Multi Disc Player MEX-DV2000 that will not hold the FM/AM presets in memory (along with the not holding the time). I'm wondering if this is a common issue or I'm alone on this problem?

It's a real pain to have to go back in every time I shut-down using the battery disconnect and have to re-dial in a radio station.

I'm not able to find that this unit has a built in battery but have read posts that indicate there is a wire that should have a constant connect to the battery.

Maybe someone knows if AS wired it for constant from the battery and mine is just wired wrong??

[Moflash]

It has no built in battery backup.When you shut off the store switch (by the door) cuts power to all

[wulfraat]

Moflash is correct. There is no constant 12v feed to your radio. It will loose memory each and every time you press the disconnect switch. This was by design believe it or not. Airstream have always been in the dark ages when it comes to AV.

[e6bnfo]

My 1983 Alpine Car Stereo that slid out (pre-faceplate) had an onboard button battery that maintained the pre-sets and would have been a good solution for when the whole trailer is disconnected.

Thanks!

[greghoro]

The primary function of the store switch is to simulate disconnecting the battery from the system, eliminating the need to physically do this at the battery itself. That said, there are a couple of items that are still connected, the Propane detector being the most prominent, most likely because of some safety code. The radio isn’t one of those items.

To keep a constant 12v, Airstream would have to run a dedicated wire along with a fuse at the power source to protect the wire. You could do this, although running a hidden wire could be extremely difficult. A more radical approach would be to create a rechargeable battery backup for the radio isolated from the trailers 12v circuits. Or replace the radio with one that has a backup built in. Given that cars rarely have their power disconnected, most radios don’t have this feature, although a prior poster indicted theirs did.

If this is super annoying, you can also take another approach and look at why you disconnect so often and what you can do to eliminate that need. As the old joke goes, “Doc, it hurts when I do this”, “Well, don’t do that”


Greg

[Mollysdad]

I'd like to think I'd be enjoying the camper in strange places where my favorite stations aren't in range anyway.

Is there a separate wire for the constant 12v? Perhaps one could devise a small sealed 12v. battery like a DeWalt tool battery and leave it in the cabinet.

[wulfraat]

Originally Posted by e6bnfo

My 1983 Alpine Car Stereo that slid out (pre-faceplate) had an onboard button battery that maintained the pre-sets and would have been a good solution for when the whole trailer is disconnected.

Thanks!

The problem is that with your Sony head unit the constant 12v is also the full power supply for the radio. So if you connected a small battery to it yes you would preserve memory but after a minute or two of playing music your small battery would be drained.

There is no good way around this problem other than to run a new, hot / constant 12v line from the positive bus that is upstream from the battery disconnect solenoid switch.

[YippieKiYa]

Do you have solar? Do you happen to store the trailer outside?

[e6bnfo]

I don't have solar but have a solar trickle charger hooked up for storage to keep the batteries topped off.

This is just one of those pesky little annoyances of life. When the power is disconnected, any pre-set stations I have entered drop off, and it reverts back to some stations that had been entered who knows when. So it holds some sort of memory, just not the one I prefer.

[YippieKiYa]

The radio uses very little power to keep the memory active, and since you use a solar trickle charger, I’m wondering if you could wire the radio directly to a full time battery power source? You’d still need a fuse, and it would need to be able to handle the draw when the radio is on, but that would solve it. Just be sure the stereo is off when you leave the trailer.