Volume control
The type of volume control provided in the radio.
Rotary knobs,
sensors or
mechanical buttons are most often used in this role; Here is a more detailed description of each of these options.
— Rotary regulator. The traditional regulator in the form of a round knob, which does not lose popularity nowadays — in fact, it is he who is installed in most modern car radios. Such prevalence, among other things, is due to the fact that the rotary knob is compatible with both digital and analogue volume control circuits — which means that it can be used in devices of any level, from top-end to the most simple and inexpensive. In addition, such a regulator stands out noticeably on the radio panel, so you can even find and turn it by touch, without being distracted once again from the road. The disadvantages of rotary knobs include perhaps some bulkiness compared to buttons and sensors, but this moment is extremely rarely significant.
— Mechanical buttons. Traditional mechanical buttons — more precisely, most often one double-sided rocker button, vertical or horizontal. Unlike the rotary knobs described above, they can only be used with digital volume control circuits; therefore, most radio tape recorders with buttons are advanced devices with extensive functionality and a size of at least 2DIN (or a screen of at least 5 ", for standard models). In such cases, the advant
...age of buttons over rotary controls is that the rocker can be made very narrow and install even on a very thin screen frame, while the handle requires a fairly wide additional panel. And if you compare this option with sensors, then mechanical buttons are somewhat cheaper, and you can control them blindly without taking your eyes off the road to the radio panel. On the other hand, the mechanics tend to wear out with use, making it less reliable, and many users simply don't like buttons more than sensors, and for these reasons, and a few others, this option is relatively rare.
— Touch buttons. Controls in the form of sensors that are triggered not by pressing, but by touch. Like mechanical buttons (see above), this control is only compatible with digital volume control and is mainly used in advanced radios with large screens. At the same time, the sensors give the device the most advanced and “technological” appearance, attractive to many users from a purely aesthetic side. The main disadvantage of this option is that the touch buttons usually do not protrude from the panel — so it is almost impossible to find the right sensor blindly, and when controlling the radio, you inevitably have to be distracted from the road. However, with more or less decent driving skills and due care, this moment is not a serious drawback, so this type of control in high-end radio tape recorders is used much more often than traditional buttons.Speaker connection
The type of connectors used to connect an acoustic system (in other words, speakers) to the radio tape recorder.
— RCA. With this connection, tulip-type connectors are used to connect the radio and speakers; while each column has its own separate connector. Such an interface is quite difficult to connect, so it is relatively rare.
— ISO. The interface used to connect to the radio and acoustics, and power. It is a single plug to which all the corresponding wires are connected. Thus, the process of installing a radio with an ISO interface is as simple as possible: just connect the plug to the appropriate connector — and the device is ready for use. Most cars of recent years of production are equipped with an ISO connector, and if it is not available, you can buy and install such a connector separately.
— ISO/RCA. The main connection in such radios is carried out according to the ISO standard, and the RCA interface is used as an additional one — for example, to output to a subwoofer.
Line out
The number of line outputs (see above) provided in the design of the radio. It should be noted that usually these outputs use RCA connectors (“tulip”), and the analog format allows only one audio channel to be transmitted through one such. Therefore, to work with a stereo signal,
two RCA connectors are required, and just a pair of such jacks is considered to be one line output - a set designed for one set of stereo speakers. The main difference between this interface and the same RCA used to connect speakers (see above) is that the line output receives a signal from a preamplifier that is unsuitable for feeding to passive acoustics. Such a signal must be sent to active speakers or an external amplifier (whereas the speaker is connected to the output of a power amplifier designed for passive speakers).
Subwoofer output
A separate output for connecting a low-frequency speaker — a subwoofer. Ordinary speakers tend to have low quality bass reproduction; a subwoofer is used to “overlap” this range, as a result, the sound becomes much more powerful and rich. However, connecting to a regular audio output would require the use of frequency filters — so that only low frequencies enter the subwoofer. A separate
output for the subwoofer eliminates the need for such devices — this connector is already filtered signal. However note that usually this interface is designed to connect an active subwoofer; passive will need a separate amplifier.
Built-in memory
The volume of the internal
built-in memory of the car radio. The presence of built-in memory allows you to record content (music, video, etc.) directly to the device and play it without using any additional media such as optical discs or USB drives. For comparison: the volume of a file with a photo is up to several megabytes, the size of one song in MP3 rarely exceeds 15 MB, the volume of lossless music files is estimated at tens of megabytes, and movies in DVD quality start from 1 GB. But for now (as of 2021), the memory in car radios is significantly inferior to smartphones and tablets — the bulk has
32 GB or
64 GB. But there are
128 GB radio tape recorders.
