FM radio amplifier?

GordonThree wrote:
The no brand name head unit in my KZ went in the trash shortly after my first year.

Replaced it with a mid range Pioneer receiver and Polk speakers.

Ground plane is no problem for the KZ, one piece aluminum roof and aluminum siding, it's practically a Faraday cage.

So how do you like the Polks? I've been a big fan of them for years, and when I do change out my crappola speakers, I'm going with the Polks. How about the Pioneer receiver? Sounds like a serious upgrade; can't wait to do it myself!

Just a quick update, got back to the trailer today and, among a bunch of other mods, I added the splitter with this cable, and reception now is excellent, thanks for all the help!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GYLBU4O/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The no brand name head unit in my KZ went in the trash shortly after my first year.

Replaced it with a mid range Pioneer receiver and Polk speakers.

Ground plane is no problem for the KZ, one piece aluminum roof and aluminum siding, it's practically a Faraday cage.

GordonThree wrote:
Mine came with an oem fm antenna too. A long piece of wire on a spring. Works terrible. I don't listen to broadcast radio, so it doesn't bother me.

Those type of antennas would work much better if mounted on a metal surface, as opposed to wood roofs. Even if the structure below is metal it can increase the range. The biggest issue is the absolute garbage these RV electronics truly are. We have an IRV POS in our Rockwood. Not sure who wins the race to the bottom, them or Furrion/Lippert. The Furrion TV that came with the trailer went straight to the junk pile also. It had the worst picture I have ever seen on a HDTV. Don't even get me started on the audiophile grade speakers used in these things lol.

Mine came with an oem fm antenna too. A long piece of wire on a spring. Works terrible. I don't listen to broadcast radio, so it doesn't bother me.

ToddD wrote:
Ok, I'll give that a shot. Any idea why they don't just do that from the factory and save the cost of a separate radio antenna?

Mine came OEM FM antenna, same as TV antenna. It is a omni-non directional antenna, great for distant FM, and weather broadcast, not so great for distant TV.

Jerry

GordonThree wrote:
Bring a T line off the antenna cable feeding the television. Rooftop Batwing is a far better antenna. Even though not specifically tuned for broadcast FM.

Thats what I did. It improved FM reception 1000% and also brings in all the weather bands. The trade off is the loss of AM.

Any difference in this application between a "2 way" splitter and a tee?

Splitter

Tee

Tee would eliminate need for female adapter to attach to amp plate male outlet.

Just noticed our mid bunk head unit has excellent reception on same channel where living room is awful. I bet our bunk unit is teed into the TV antenna, which is much closer to it than the radio one on side of coach. Swapped the head units just to rule out the internals.

Range Maggot Bob wrote:

GordonThree wrote:
Bring a T line off the antenna cable feeding the television. Rooftop Batwing is a far better antenna. Even though not specifically tuned for broadcast FM.

I did just that and it works pretty good. That being said, you're not gonna get a lot of improvement with the cheap units they put in the RVs, especially with that useless antenna on the side of the unit.
After you hook up to the batwing, be sure to remember to turn the booster on or you'll get nothing.

Exactly. One very important factor is FM sensitivity, expressed in dBf. The lower the number means better reception.

Typically the low priced units that come in RVs do not have good sensitivity.

So if the head unit isn't going to be changed, the next best improvement would be the antenna suggestion.

Crutchfield does have an FM booster if the antenna change doesn't work out.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_12044UA60/FM-Signal-Amplifier.html

GordonThree wrote:
Bring a T line off the antenna cable feeding the television. Rooftop Batwing is a far better antenna. Even though not specifically tuned for broadcast FM.

I did just that and it works pretty good. That being said, you're not gonna get a lot of improvement with the cheap units they put in the RVs, especially with that useless antenna on the side of the unit.
After you hook up to the batwing, be sure to remember to turn the booster on or you'll get nothing.