2005 Winnie Vectra Sound system "Off" switch location

[oldryder]

Coach has factory audio system that puts TV or radio output into living area. Works fine except when I do ham radio transmit and wife is in the coach she can hear some of it and finds it annoying. Simple solution if I could find the OFF switch for the audio amp the drives the sound system speakers. No luck finding it in the manuals or by physical inspection.

thx to anyone that can offer info.

Mark in MN

ps. for the geeks out there my portable station is properly set up with tuned antennas and feedline chokes so problem is not due to excessive RF leakage. Also I only use 100w.

 

[emiddleb]

There isn't a true "Off" switch for the River Surround Sound. You have a switch that controls radio/tv source and one for house/engine battery power. Best I can offer is to play with them, maybe switch to radio/engine, leaving the radio off.

The amp itself is hidden in various locations depending on the year/make/model. I believe yours is the same as mine (a year older.) In the front driver bay you have banks of 12v breakers. The panel they are on is actually hinged. You need to remove several screws on the side of the panel, which will allow it to swing open towards the front. Behind that panel is an area that contains many things, like the relays for various items, your keyless entry, Smartwheel controller, and your Surround system. On my 04 wiring diagram, some of this is shown on page 74, yours may differ but be in that area for your manual.

 

[ChasA]

In my 2010 Journey it's in the DVD (home theater}.

 

[emiddleb]

Yes, but in the Vectra/Horizons of the '04-05 era the surround is a Riverpark MTSAMP-04 Surround system. It's not true surround sound, more of a fixed volume amp that routes either the radio or TV through the stereo speakers and woofers. Sometimes its under the dash (Journeys), but in the OPs model, like mine, its in the front bay with all the fuses.

 

[John Canfield]

Ah, a fellow hamster. My call is WB5THT, you can check out my station on my QRZ page.

I use a Tarheel 100A-HP that's on the roof with the electric linear arm lift and a large counterpoise of sheet aluminum underneath the mount. Zero RFI running digital and <100 watts.

Try bypassing the speakers at the voice coil with a ceramic disc capacitor - I don't think the value is real critical.

 

[oldryder]

John, thx for the suggestion. Checked out your home station on QRZ; it's nice to run with the big dogs. My station is more modest but still a lot of fun and I am enjoying various antenna projects and the learning curve for portable ops.

mark s. (KD0ZGW)

 

[John Canfield]

That's my dream station and my last one so I wanted to do it right. It was a bunch of fun getting the tower and antennas up and running, that was almost more fun than operating the radios .