Radio

[Ron.K]

I own a 1970 280sl with an original radio. The radio was working, but now only the am works. I've looked on line and found original Becker radio's that have been adapted and now can play music through your ipod for $650.00-$1,000.00.
I would like to know where I can send my radio to repair it and or adapt it as the ones on line are.
Ron.

[Ron.K]

I own a 1970 280sl with an original radio. The AM works but the FM does not. I've looked on line and found original Becker radio's that have been adapted to work with ipods ect for $650.00-$750.00. I am looking for either someone to repair my radio and adapt it to work with an ipod.
Ron

[scoot]

I own a 1970 280sl with an original radio. The AM works but the FM does not. I've looked on line and found original Becker radio's that have been adapted to work with ipods ect for $650.00-$750.00. I am looking for either someone to repair my radio and adapt it to work with an ipod.
Ron

Hi Ron -

You don't need to do either.   Buy the stereo (not mono) version of this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/321273817843
Contact the seller and tell him you need a stereo version.  He's probably out at the moment.   He's been selling these for years.
It won't fix your FM but that won't matter if you want MP3...

Specifically what radio to you have?  (What is the white lettering in the black plastic bar at the top of the radio in the chrome bezel?)   I'm guessing you have a Europa Stereo or a Grand Prix....    Oh wait.  You said your car is a 1970...   You might have a Europa mono.  If you have a mono radio then the gizmo on ebay will work for you.  If you have a MEXICO then the gizmo will _not_ necessarily work for you.  You need to look at the back of the radio and see if it has a black plastic cap covering a din plug...

Scott

[Ron.K]

Thanks Scott.
I have the Becker Europa mono version with the six pin connecter. I will be getting one of those adapters. I  would still like to get the FM working though.
Ron

[jameshoward]

Can you post a picture of the rear of your radio? You can buy a lead that plugs into the back of a Becker radio, I think it's to an aux input, which allows you to play music through the radio. The lead is about €30. Not quite sure what your 650-1000 gets you on top of that.

There's some information on this site about that mod if you search a bit.

[jameshoward]

Some mp3 players have radios you could use. Note that if you have the lead plugged for the mp3 player, you can't switch back to the radio without unplugging the 3.5mm lead from the small box shown interest picture. At least that's the case with the Becker adapter I have. Perhaps a small switch between the box and radio would make things easier. I have the lead and use it all the time (the Becker one, not the eBay one).

[dante53]

Be sure you buy a switchable one. Otherwise you will not able to revert to radio sound once you insert the six pin connector in its socket!

[Peter van Es]

The iPod interface is easy, you can DIY, see here: http://www.sl113.org/wiki/Electrical/Ipod

These pages also have much more info on radios. There are a couple of places that do repairs, listed on the same page.

Peter

[Ron.K]

Thanks for all the help. I bought the one on Ebay. I believe that if I plug my ipod into the new adapter, the sound will be coming from my ipod. When I unplug my ipod from the new adapter,  I'm hoping it will go back to the radio sound without touching the 5 pin connecter.
Ron

[jameshoward]

Ron,

If you bought the standard lead, which is the one I have, 'hope' won't make it work. You will only get the radio back by unplugging the male 3.5mm male jack from the female on the little black box. If you leave those connected, you won't get radio, so put it somewhere on the car where you can get to it.

Dante mentions a switchable lead. I have never seen or heard of one, but it sounds like a great idea. It would give you greater flexibility. However, you should be able to put a switch in the lead you have just bought also. I'd suggest that as an option. Plugging and unplugging the lead is a bit of a pain.

JH

[dante53]

This is the one I got from www.oldtimer-radio.de. Maybe it's sold also somwhere else

[jameshoward]

Looks perfect. Wish I'd seen that earlier!

[mmizesko]

James,

I've just been through this process.

Becker Autosound in New Jersey is who you want to use.  They will refurb your whole radio for less than $200, clean it, replace bulbs, and fix your FM. 

http://www.beckerautosound.com/


I opted to replace my Europa mono in my 280SL with a Europa II stereo, which I bought from Desert Pagoda (on this site) for about $325.  I also bought the kick panel 4" speaker housings from him, though I had to buy new speakers from Becker as well.

The DIN7 port on the back with the black plug should be on the mono as well.  That was used for the old external 8 track/cassette units that were mounted below the dash.  Ebay has a simple DIN7 to 3.5 mm cable/connector for about $50 US that will do the trick.  When the 3.5mm jack is in, the radio is defeated, when out, radio plays fine.  Watch the output on your ipod or similar mp3 device.  some have regulators on the output, which causes playback through the radio to be very low, even with the radio volume turned up all the way, (which causes distortion as well).

Let me know if you need more information.  You can do the whole stereo conversion for less than $800-$1000, but you can get away with $300-$400 or so if you just fix your mono Europa (probably want a new front speaker as well).

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

I played with the idea to get the Becker radio working again, then made a move to purchase a Bluetooth  speaker and I'm glad I did .... details here ---> http://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=19791.0

I will get the radio done sometime in future, however, it will never sound anything like my iPodTouch and Bluetooth speaker combo for $300- plus tax.