I have had one of the USA-4 units in my truck for about 5 years. It died
once and was promptly repaired free at the factory. It has survived repeated
deluges from a leaky windshield and cowl vent. So I would have to say it is
a reliable unit and the support is good.
Mine is I think 20W per channel and sounds OK considering the noise level in
the truck. I have tried a variety of surface mount speakers and none of them
are that great. The FM and especially AM reception are only fair unless you
live near powerful stations. The cassette portion has worked fine. The unit
fits perfectly and is easy to install.
My only complaint with these units is the cheap, plastic chrome face knobs
and buttons, and the illegible digital display... they just don't look right
in the old trucks. The USA-6, from the pictures I've seen, is even worse.
The CA radios are all styled about the same, they just add a decal and
surround for the specific vehicle.
Nobody else that I know of makes a retrofit radio for the old trucks.
Several vendors offer conversions on the original radio which replaces alll
the innards with a AM/FM stereo tuner card. They run about $350 (up) and of
course you have to provide the radio and all the cosmetic pieces to make it
look like new. All of the knobs, buttons, flippers and dial faces are sold
by most of the Old-Truck vendors, so it wouldn't be a great leap for
somebody to come up with a little box containing the tuner card and operated
by the original hardware. Whether the potential market would support such a
product, I dunno, but the original radio design looks wonderful in the dash,
sort of art-deco, and the CA units don't even come close.
Jack Halton
51 GMC 1/2 ton
Winter Park FL
----- Original Message -----
From: "THE BROWNS" <armory@swbell.net>
To: <oletrucks@autox.team.net>; <old-chevy-truck@egroups.com>
Sent: Friday, September 22, 2000 11:14 PM
Subject: [oletrucks] Custom auto sound
> I was looking into the USA 6, but have noticed people making a few comment
> about them lately. Are the radios really that bad, or just their
speakers?
> Who else make a good retro-fit radio? Thanks
>
> Eric Brown
> 1951 Chevrolet 3100 "Christine"
>
> oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
>
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
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