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Poor FM reception

_tiredTeacher
Explorer II
Explorer II
(I've posted this on the Rockwood forum and have not had any responses so I'm repeating it here.)
Our Rockwood 2604WS TT came with a great audio system and works well except for radio reception. No Wx band, few FM stations. We took a portable with us on our last trip and pulled in stations right and left. Example: Listening to 88.9FM loud and clear on the portable inside the trailer. The onboard radio was nothing but fuzz on that frequency.
Anyone have a clue? Bad antenna? Loose antenna cable? Bad antenna ground?

Teach
Wright and Penny
2010 Tundra 4X4
2014 Rockwood 2604WS
"Life is a cruel teacher. She gives the test first; the lesson then follows."
6 REPLIES 6

BigBoy11
Explorer
Explorer
Our FM radio in our Kodiak works much better when we have the tv antenna extended and the antenna booster turned on. Theoretically it should only impact the lower frequencies on the FM band but so much for theory as it definitely helps pull in many more stations.

Fizz
Explorer
Explorer
Pull it out of the cabinet for a look see.
On mine the CD player didn't work. After pulling it out I saw they forgot to pull out the plastic insert that protected it in shipment.
Clearly marked 'remove before instaling'

CincyGus
Explorer II
Explorer II
and if you never had an external antenna, pull your radio and see if there isn't a rolled up one behind the radio that was never installed. Many of the campers come with one of the old wire type "T" antennas and sometimes the factory or dealership doesn't properly unroll and mount them.
2015 GMC 2500 Denali Crewcab 4x4
2019 Forest River Wolfpack 23pack15

Hope your travels are safe and the friendships made camping are lasting.

brobox
Explorer
Explorer
I had the same problem with my MH. Climbed up on the roof to check the antenna and it was GONE. Walmart has a universal replacement antennas in the auto radio dept.

If that is your problem...I used lock tight on the set screw threads so that one wouldn't come loose.
Chuck
02 Travel Supreme, 2 street side slides
09 Toyota Tacoma 2WD

wa8shc
Explorer
Explorer
There are 2 very obvious sources for your problem.
1) the inside radio REQUIRES an external antenna. Of it's not connected or improperly installed, the radio will behave as you described
2) the radio is Defective.

Either would require a trip back to your dealer for warranty repair
JMHO
Denny WA8SHC (Rita RIP 10/13)
Siberian Husky Tikanni (Ta'kya RIP 11/13 Princess RIP 10/04 Taz RIP 5/08)
2007 Dodge Ram 2500 Quad Cab 5.9L CTD 3.73/LSD,Edge Insight monitor
2008 Rockwood 8243S 5th wheel
Pullrite 14K Superglide & MorRyde pinbox

rscraig
Explorer
Explorer
Sure sounds like an antenna problem to me. My first thought would be to remove the connectors on both ends of the antenna lead and inspect them for broken wires, corrosion, etc. While you have the one disconnected from the outside antenna, attach a short piece of wire to the lead and see if that gives you some reception.
Steve
2012 Jayco Eagle 26.5 RKS
2006 Dodge 2500 4x2 QC 5.9L CTD