'94 quest-radio only works intermittently-help?

I just purchased a '94 Quest and the previous owner mentioned the radio only works sometimes. I got in...it worked for say, 30 sec before dying. The radio has only worked one other time for me at all, for about 2 minutes before going out again. My dad swears it must be a ground issue, but he hasn't proven himself the best "go-to guy" when it comes to vehicle issues. I've only owned this van for a couple days now, but we had a long trip planned early-august (8 hours) and being in complete silence for that long may just drive us crazy. Any ideas what's going on?

it may be the radio itself.i remember replacing a few in early 90's.call the dealer to see if thats been a problemsome area for the quest