Poor Radio Reception

There are so many different ones to choose from .. if you don't want a tall type antenna there are many shorty's out there and some call them rubber ducks. They are base loaded so they don't have so much length to work on the FM stations. There could be other problems leading to poor reception also as condition of the antenna and wire work .. Check out Ebay and you will see plenty of radio antennas for sale at a better then most price ..

Hope this helps...
Don

Lots of things could be the difference in reception.. the radio in our honda has the best reception of any radio in any vehicle we have ever had. Lots of times I think rv manufacturers put in very cheap radios that will never get much in the way of reception. You can try different antennas, but it might just be the radio.

I suspect that it isn't your antenna, but rather the very poor quality radio that many (most, all???) manufactures put in RV's.
After checking all connections and using a different antenna, I finally gave up and use a portable radio (with antenna inside the metal framed trailer) and get fine radio (both FM and AM) reception now. Someday, maybe, I might replace the radio. But honestly I am not sure if many auto radio manufactures put much emphasis on off the air (especially AM) quality these days.

Steve

My FM antenna is mounted on the roof to a flat piece of metal with a hole that goes thru the center of it. All is sealed up with dicor. The antenna itself is mounted thru this hole and connection made on the inside of the trailer. The top side is a large spring and then a whip extending up from the spring.

You might want to start looking at all of your FM connection starting at the roof and look for something broke. I have hit limbs with antenna on several occasions...

This is not my antenna but looks similar to this type of mount


The antenna connector that plugs into the back of the AM/FM radio may not be pushed in good...

My 2005 Flagstaff 8528RESS which is made by same people the Rockford is gets great FM reception.

If I was going to put up a new antenna I don't think I would go for the roof but mount on the edge and penetrate the trailer wall into a inside cabinet area. I have put several Amateur radio type antennas on the sides of trailer that look something like this photo..

I'm chicken liver when it comes to drilling holes in the roof...


hope this helps...

Heres my story on poor radio reception. I installed a JVC stereo in my 5th wheel. At the same time I upgraded my converter to a WFCO replacement unit. Got poor reception. I ended up buying a TuneTrapper antenna($39.00)that can be hidden in a closet or on top of the cabinets. Got awesome reception, was pulling in stations I couldn't get in the truck or house. Due to a defect in the converter I ended up replacing the WFCO with a Progressive Dynamics PD4645 converter and my reception went to just about zero, even with the TuneTrapper antenna. I tried everything suggested on this forum and others i.e. ground radio to frame,ferrite beads etc. nothing worked. Turns out Progressive Dymanics converters are notorious for emitting RFI which interferes with radio reception. As a last resort I ended up tying into my TV antenna (Wineguard)which was one of the first suggestions I received but didn't want to not use TuneTrapper antenna.Now I'm back in business ...perfect reception again. I guess the roof top antenna is far enough away and shielded from the converters RFI output?? Very easy to do. Buy a long car antenna extension cable (I got a 12 footer on Amazon for CHEAP money) cut the end that connects to the antenna off and simply put a RCA connector on it, plug the other end into the back of the stereo and attach to a good 2 way splitter going to your aerial antenna and your in business. I put the splitter in the ceiling where the crank for the antenna is.Feel free to PM me if you want/need more info.

Thanks everyone for your replies. guess it's time to try some of them. I think I will have DW bring a seperate radio tomorrow as we are off again.

Rob

Sounds good, but I couldn't find anything labelled "AM antenna" on the back of my Genesis unit. There was an unconnected wire labelled "IR" and one labelled "COAX Optical".

When you hook up to your TV Antenna do you have to put the booster on to get reception?

Yes, I need the booster when using the TV antenna. Since my last post, I've concluded that the cable labelled FM antenna must really be the FM and AM antenna.

Since I'm not to keen on AM, I built a J-pole antenna that is tunable to frequency ranges. When parked at the house, I like to listen to my favorite jazz station that has low broadcast power. The J-pole picks it up nicely. I mount the long J-pole on the side of my trailer using a steel spring tool holder screwed into a stud and through the siding. The signal connection is made through a coaxial fitting, connected to the radio inside and a short length of coaxial outside to the antenna. The antenna is made with 1/2" copper pipe.

About J-pole antennas