Car audio system in Japanese imported Honda

elljay

Dear all, I've bought a Honda imported from Japan which has a Kenwood audio system in it. However I can't get it to work very well. It's been converted to UK and I can get radios 123 and 4 and local radio but only if I'm in a strong signal area and picking up these is more luck than judgement, I just press all the buttons and luckily hit on something!! I have no idea how to operate the cd player which seems to be in a separate unit on top. There's also a cd slot behind the drop down radio front. As I'm used to radios that pick up the normal stations and can play a cd, and don't want anything more complicated than that, can anyone give me advice about where to go for help with this? I've looked at manuals on both the UK and Japanese Kenwood sites but can find nothing at all like this set up. I've tried, using bits of instructions from other manuals, to set the clock and date (though I think this is the wrong way round from the British way which will drive me mad!) but that's as good as I can get. I've emailed Kenwood with no result.
Am I better off forgetting it and getting a cheap system installed in Halfords or somewhere, or can anyone suggest ideas for finding out how this might work. I just want basic radio and cds, nothing fancy or complicated.

Many thanks

Liz

Conor_3

They use a "frequency extender" to allow Japanese radios to work in the UK. TBH they're a bit pap. You're far better biting the bullet and fitting a new one. Its a double DIN size so you end up with a head unit at the top and a coin tray etc underneath or you can get one of the fancy double-din size headunits with a 7" display that plays DVDs as well.

elljay

Thank you Conor I'm very grateful. What a drag when it all looks so beautiful and shiny. I've had a quick look in Argos but again am blinded by information overload. Is there any particular brand I should go for (or avoid?) I'm completely ignorant of what to look for though I am pleased that they're not as expensive as I thought. Would it be possible to keep any part of it?

Thank you so much again. Liz