It's the tuner module warm up as far as I can tell.

Mmm-hmm! OK then. I'll buy that.

I can hear it on AM 1530 very loud, but not hardly at all on AM 830.

I heard it on 770 (WABC, New York). At one point, I moved the tuner module and I thought it momentarily disappeared, then came back. Perhaps it's me.

The Power Antenna wire is supposed to be activated whenever the tuner is active. This is the recommended way to activate a power antenna of either type. There are some known bugs with this implementation which hopefully will be sorted out in the next software release.

Makes plenty of sense. Thanks - I groked that. I still keep thinking how the original head unit relayed much stronger signals. I suppose there's a chance I might have a dud connection (careful as we were to check 'em but you never know). Still, when I moved that tuner I did get a SLIGHT change in signal strength, but it was more like the tuner was struggling than anything else. Perhaps it wasn't the tuner but a wire making better contact. That sort of thing. I'll have to check those wires one by one again. They're all hooked up via very well-crimped bullet connectors, but perhaps one isn't as crimped as it could be.

Do you have full and accurate documentation on the harness pinouts in that car?

Alas, no. I bow to the powers-that-be at Crutchfield (who supplied me with a wiring harness). All but one wire on it was used (dimmer). Of course, there must be other wires on that harness that aren't passed through to the other side. F'rinstance, the now-temporarily abandoned steering wheel remote. Oh how I long for it ... but I digress.

... all of your symptoms still point to an antenna amplifier that is not being activated properly. Either that, or the antenna cable itself has become damaged/frayed, or its connection with the tuner module is not solid. Or there's something wrong with the sled/tuner wiring.

Right. Something else I'll have to try - reconnect the original headunit and see if the reception comes back to the way it was. Just as a reality check. If not, then something's amiss, either with my wiring or elsewhere. I suuuure hope it isn't elsewhere. If that head unit works, I really want to find a problem in my own wiring, 'cause I wouldn't know where else to look!

I'm not certain about this, but there might be some kind of system where the power is actually supplied down the antenna line itself. If that's the case, you would need an adapter of some kind to be fitted on the end of the antenna wire.

Good question, and - no idea. I think a Chilton manual is still in my future. The local Honda service dept. is quite adept at not telling me anything. An example: "Do you have the pin diagram for the 2001 Odyssey wiring harness?" "Who wants to know?" "I do." "What are you doing messing with the wiring harness?" And so on ...

BTW, yes, the antenna is indeed plugged in. Good question though. That was my first thought on Sunday, that it came loose. I did re-plug it in several times, since when I did this originally (and with the extension connector) I found reception DID improve quite a bit. Or perhaps I was dreaming and it was still so-so.

Well, at any rate, I'm getting really good at dismantling the dash! That makeshift antenna idea sounds like it's worth a shot. I'll see what I can do with that.

(BTW, would etiquette dictate that I start a new thread WRT this? Or just leave it go for now?)

In other news, Nancy (um, everyone knows her as Nancy) just gave me a pile of Beatles and holiday CDs to rip. The infection. It's spreading ...