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we look at what you get
Five companies lent us radio cassette players for our staff to try in their cars. Some had drawbacks, but they are better than the cat's whiskers
4-CAB ENTERTAINMENT is no inger the luxury it once was. An icreasing number of goods ahicles are carrying radio casAte players and they are allost standard items in the 3aching industry.
We invited a number of appliers to supply equipment ir evaluation — five responded. Dur of the five were Japanese ianufactu re rs.
Pioneer KP4800
Pioneer made two sets availtile. The first was its model P 4800. This is a stereo unit rith long-wave, medium-wave rid FM frequency and a cassette eck. This set we could not ?commend as it is Pioneer's lanual control model. The acDmpanying brochure advises le owner to stop the vehicle then retuning. Sound advice, ut not always possible. Drivers Duld be easily distracted from leir main function if they had to aarch out the programme of leir choice when on the move. In addition, there are useful 3finements on the KP4800 but ?ey are also potential sources f distraction.
The "Local" switch, when acvated, cuts out local interfer ence, The "Attenuator" switch reduces volume temporarily without adjusting volume control and the "Loud" switch reinstates the volume to the preselected level.
These button switches are small and most items have to be looked for. But the main hazard is undoubtedly the manual radio tuner.
In operation, the set played well. Reception was good most of the time. Only on a section of the M25 which sits below a hill in Surrey did we lose a local radio programme, and then only for a few seconds. The KP4800 costs £133 including vat retail.
Pioneer KP5800
Pioneer was quick to respond to our criticism of the manual unit and replaced it with a KP5800.
This was altogether a better prospect. Wavebands are preselected and the button switches are large enough for man-sized hands to find by touch. One long, two medium and two FM bands should cater for most tastes.
Reception on the 5800 was perfect in all circumstances. When parked, we tuned into a wide range of European stations with ease and the clarity of the reception left nothing to be desired. A mono switch can be activated to cut out interference when listening to FM stereo.
The cassette deck is located above the frequency band indicator and fast forward and rewind control is large and placed alongside. The 5800 costs £136 (including -vitT..
Pioneer supplied ana ntteu two door-panel speakers. They are flush fitting and do not interfere with the locks or window mechanism. Passengers commented favourably on the quality of reception. These speakers TS162 models are £23 per pair (including vat).
Pioneer points out that these are typical selling prices, so discount deals seem possible.
Undoubtedly the quality of reception was enhanced by the use of a good quality aerial. For this test we fitted a highly flexible rubber aerial. It is vandalproof in as much that it cannot be bent out of shape or broken. It can be unscrewed and locked in the cab when the vehicle is parked overnight or when the vehicle is going through the "wash". The mast is held in a ball-socket joint by an Allan Key. It can be unscrewed with ease and can be mounted anywhere through an 8mm aperture. The equipment is supplied by Sonic Instruments Ltd of Birmingham and costs £15.00 retail (including vat.
When compared with either of the Pioneers, the basic Ford radio as fitted in saloon cars is little better than a "Cat's Whisker" wireless receiver. On the three which we tested, reception was frequently weak and almost constantly suffered from distracting interference.
• lain Sherriff