Pioneer Radio Woes - Can I get your thoughts?

[leahrumbarge]

One of the disappointing things that happened to us during delivery of our new trailer is that we recieved no help in understanding the AV in our unit, the staff at our dealership couldn't go into any detail. We have been left on our own with the manuals to figure everything out which isn't as intuitive as one would think. I do not blame the dealership, because when I called Airstream direct with my questions, the rep that answered didn't know either, and had to talk to management to get me answers.

The Pioneer radio that is in our unit has a very bright light (actually several bight flashing lights). This is somewhat annoying to watch, but even more so in a dark trailer when you are trying to sleep. There is no way to power these lights off (according to the manual and AS Customer Support). The only solution is to pop the face of the radio off. Am I crazy to want a on/off button? I want to hear what other owners think about these radios and if you think they are as irritating as I do? Airstream has already switched from these Pioneer radios to a Clarion model.....after only installing them for part of the 2014 year.

Also, I have found that you can not play a music CD (in the blue ray player) without the TV on. This seems absurd as why would I want to put hours on a TV when all I want to do is listen to a CD? Not to mention, the sound comes through both the TV speakrs and the speakers in the trailer....and it sounds awful. Airstream told me that there is no workaround for this either, since the unit uses the amplifier in the TV. Have we really moved away from playing CD's so much so that I am in the minority with this complaint? I want to hear what you think about this as well!

Thanks everyone for taking the time to read and leave me your thoughts/opinions.

Leah

[HowieE]

Contact Pioneer customer service. They actually support customers.

[idroba]

There was a post on this very subject yesterday with at least solutions on how to get the disco lights turned off on the Pioneer radio. However I don't know where the post was, I just checked the electronics section of the forum and it is not there. Just like this post, under Flying Cloud rather than electronics.

Not trying to be critical, it is hard to decide where to post questions often, but it also makes it hard to locate other posts on the same subject when they are in the wrong area.

Maybe someone else can locate that other post on the same subject.

[richinny]

most auto type radio/cd players have a wire that when the headlights are on, dims the display. pioneer can help with that issue if your unit has that option.

[leahrumbarge]

Great point idroba! I'm not an avid user of this forum, and get lost putting posts in the coorect place. Is there a way to link my post to the Electronics area that you know of? Should I create a new post under electronics? I do appreciate your comments and help!

[Airrogant]

Until you find a more permanent fix you might consider trying this:

Amazon.com: Dim It ® light dimming sheets: Everything Else

[m.hony]

On most aftermarket car stereos you press the power/source button for a few seconds to get the flashing display to stop.

[LucaBluPlus2]

Well, you are not alone. You may find some answers on this recent thread:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f516...ff-118616.html

I am going to check on the flashing lights and fading speakers out of the bedroom later. I will report back if I figure things out.

Good luck.

[LucaBluPlus2]

Just found this YouTube video for the stereo. Most of the video is just a walk-through but around the 10 minute mark, he explains how to turn off the demo mode.

If you do not turn this mode off, any changes you make to the audio, or light show will not hold. The demo mode will kick in after about 15 minutes and erase your changes.

After turning demo mode off, you can shut down the light show under the "illumination" mode... I think it is around the 7 minute mark that he walks you through the steps to do this.

New For 2014 - Pioneer DEH-X6600BT - Out Of The Box - YouTube

[Wayne&Sam]

The soy's lights are too bright also. The default is blue but I changed it to red and it's fine. Not nearly as bright.

[Safari-Rick]

Well, it seems you have the same Sony radio that I have in my 2005 Safari. Same issues.... so, I'm going to be changing out to a different brand with an AUX plug and much duller light plate. )

[Crusty]

I put enough layers of scotch tape over all of my bright indicators to dim them to an acceptable level.

[idroba]

Originally Posted by LucaBluPlus2

Well, you are not alone. You may find some answers on this recent thread:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f516...ff-118616.html

I am going to check on the flashing lights and fading speakers out of the bedroom later. I will report back if I figure things out.

Good luck.

To the OP: post #18 on the above thread is the one which I saw yesterday, and should get the lights to behave, I would bet.

My very early 2014 has the Sony Radio, which has it's own flashing light issues, which are a bit different from what you apparently have on the Pioneer.

I think a moderator is the only one who can move a post from one location to another. It certainly can be difficult to decide where to put a post originally, and you (an I) are not the only ones who have not located them right, so don't be too concerned.

[reinergirl]

I have moved this thread to the electronics section so that others can find it easily

[idroba]

Originally Posted by reinergirl

I have moved this thread to the electronics section so that others can find it easily

Thanks from all of us.

[m.hony]

Once demo mode is disabled and you use the "store" switch it comes back and has to be disabled again.

[leahrumbarge]

m.hony - that was going to the next thing I tried to find out, if after turning demo mode off, if you went to store, would it stay that way. I don't know what others are thinking, but I really don't think this is acceptable. These trailers aren't cheap, and this is an issue that surely should have been thought about when choosing a new vendor. We loved the Sony stereo in our 2007 Bambi. It had an integrated CD player, TV did not need to be on to play a CD, and you could actually power off the display. I am not understanding a stereo that you can not power off.

[idroba]

On my Sony in my early 2014, every time you cycle the use/store switch it goes back to the disco display mode. Unfortunately, since the radio is in a cabinet and cannot be seen it sits there winking and flashing and using up power and could flatten batteries very rapidly if you are not plugged into grid power.

I wound up putting a real on/off switch on the 12 volt input to the radio and only turn that on when I wish to use the thing. Then, on the Sony, I have to remember how to turn the disco display off after I turn the new added switch on. I agree, a very dumb system overall.

[m.hony]

I've gotten used to pressing the power/source button for a couple of seconds every time a turn on the use/store switch. It is annoying when I am lying on the couch in the dark and I notice the flashing lights through the little gap in the cabinet door.
I'm going out to the trailer now to turn on the refrigerator for tomorrow's trip. I'll go ahead and disable the disco now.

[m.hony]

Disco disabled- I never turned the store switch off when we came home Sunday-