Radios - are they all rubbish? (1 Viewer)

[bladerunner]

Is there any way I can easily improve the radio in the sprinter based Frankia?
I had a similar problem in the Fiat based Swift.
The radio reception is very strong in some areas and then drops out completely in others. Returning sometimes helps, but often not.
It is FM rather than DAB, but also has reversing camera and GPS so replacing the unit would be too costly.
I can't believe the average MH has such a shadow effect on the reception, so why are MH radios so much poorer than the ones in cars?

 

[Jim]

Most every motorhome I've ever owned I've ended up fitting a "proper" aerial somewhere, normally on the wing.

 

[Steve devon]

I put a snooper 9020 double din in our new motorhome, the sat navy is good but the radio is utter shite! The fiat fitted radio in our old van was a king to the snooper. Be interested to hear what other snooper owners think

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[sewinlynne2]

Factory fitted Elddis aerial is on the roof. No problems whatsoever-job done.

 

[Steve devon]

The dealer even fitted an aerial to the radiator on an a class, is this the norm?

 

[Steve and Denise]

We have a Pioneer very poor reception we have a roof aerial with an earth back to the radio the van is GRP

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[Fletton]

The dealer even fitted an aerial to the radiator on an a class, is this the norm?

I found mine in engine bay.. but on a strut next to rad.. factory fitted I guess..
Reception is hit and miss - especailly if I plug tablets etc into 12v charge sockets - in hab area.. or turn on the 12v supply at the panel.

 

[jollyrodger]

Mine came with an after market windscreen antenna which is crap on distant stations ,when I get the time and wx I shall be fitting ,as @Jim suggested fitting a decent antenna on the wing

 

[Clarky]

Most motorhomes have a GRP (or similar) roof rather than the steel used in car bodies. Mounting the antenna horizontally under the bonnet isn't going to work well as it is surrounded by steel and should be vertical for FM reception.
The answer seems to be to have a good earth plane.
Our Carthago has a factory fitted antenna on the roof with a steel plate underneath. It works very well both for radio and DTV.

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[HobbyHarvey]

I have an internal windscreen mounted aerial on my A class Frankia, it gives acceptable reception the majority of the time, might be a solution.
Mike

 

[Steve devon]

Most motorhomes have a GRP (or similar) roof rather than the steel used in car bodies. Mounting the antenna horizontally under the bonnet isn't going to work well as it is surrounded by steel and should be vertical for FM reception.
The answer seems to be to have a good earth plane.
Our Carthago has a factory fitted antenna on the roof with a steel plate underneath. It works very well both for radio and DTV.

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I dont really want to drill holes in the roof of a new van, but if I fixed it to the front wing which is some form of plastic, and earthed it to the radiator or somewhere on the chassis do you think the reception would improve. Also is an aerial an aerial or are there good and bad?

 

[Jim]

I have an internal windscreen mounted aerial on my A class Frankia, it gives acceptable reception the majority of the time, might be a solution.
Mike

You can often get away with windscreen mounts on A Classes. But with over-cab bed on coachbuilts we've owned signal has been poor.

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[Popeye]

My Frankia is on a Mercedes Sprinter and I have no problems with reception. My aerial is about ten inches factory fitted (Frankie) on the rear view mirror.

 

[Revolvor]

...... Also is an aerial an aerial or are there good and bad?

I got an aerial from here:
http://www.dabonwheels.co.uk/DAB_car_aerials.html
I originally had a windscreen aerial when I upgraded to DAB, but it was not very good so I got an amplified one, mounted on the wing. It was a great improvement.

 

[Vanderek]

My Elddis had poor reception - so I fitted a Blaupunkt windscreen aerial - and this was earthed to windscreen frame behind trim - obviously with a coach-built you would need to find a suitable earth - the reception was great http://www.blaupunktdirect.co.uk/antennas-aerials/am-fm.html

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[tonyidle]

The obvious place to me is on the roof - on a simple 'L' bracket off one of the solar panel fasteners. Bring the lead in alongside the solar panel wiring - if you have a solar panel of course. There is only one type of aerial that works properly: one that isn't screened by adjacent metalwork, that is designed for the frequencies in use, that is mounted on metal (or has an equivalent ground plane), and that is mounted as high as possible. A decent DAB aerial will cost upwards of £30. A 'decent' ground plane is one that extends horizontally from the base of the aerial by at least a foot (for DAB).

 

[Zigisla]

You can often get away with windscreen mounts on A Classes. But with over-cab bed on coachbuilts we've owned signal has been poor.

Although I have only had the one MH, our is overhead cab with the windscreen aerial and works very well all over the UK. We do have DAB though if this makes any odds.

 

[Jim]

Although I have only had the one MH, our is overhead cab with the windscreen aerial and works very well all over the UK. We do have DAB though if this makes any odds.

Funny you should say that because we had a new digital radio fitted just a few days ago and even though we have a large overhead cab it's been OK so far.

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[eddie]

Funny you should say that because we had a new digital radio fitted just a few days ago and even though we have a large overhead cab it's been OK so far.

Digital comes at you from many angles!

 

[magicsurfbus]

Our first MH had a Luton so we had a wing-mounted bendy aerial fitted and the radio worked properly after that.

 

[Steve devon]

The thing I notice the most is we get no travel news, when we are up around London, travel news is awlways interrupting the radio , but we get nothing,,, and yes it is switched on !!

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[Vanman]

The thing I notice the most is we get no travel news, when we are up around London, travel news is awlways interrupting the radio , but we get nothing,,, and yes it is switched on !!

Maybe the traffic isn't moving far or fast enough to make it worthwhile?

 

[Madcaravanner]

Just wondering who used to be CB'ers thinking about this problem
When we mounted a CB aerial we had to make sure that there was a ground plane to make sure the reception was assured

SO
a simple radio receiver needs to have a grounded aerial (who remembers the DV27 on a biscuit tin lid in the loft)
so it doesn't need much but an aerial on the roof is so much more preferable to one of those amplified windscreen things - an amplifier will amplify rubbish as well as signal meaning rubbish coming out of the speakers

In the caravan we did use the TV aerial until we had it removed which worked fine but now I have rigged a long wire from the remaining amplifier so get a decent signal wherever we are


BUT I will note that DAB radios are still difficult as you need one for the UK and One for Spain as both use different digital systems

 

[Xabia]

Had problems with radio reception in my A class Hymer, fitted an aerial to the chassis inside n/s wing and get very good reception on Smooth but hardly anything on other channels.

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[bladerunner]

My Frankia is on a Mercedes Sprinter and I have no problems with reception. My aerial is about ten inches factory fitted (Frankie) on the rear view mirror.

hmmm - so is mine. I have an ariel there, Maybe a poor connection?

 

[ivorantony]

We have a Pioneer very poor reception we have a roof aerial with an earth back to the radio the van is GRP

you need a ground plane underneath the aerial, its next to useless running a earth return back to the radio,
run some copper tape from the base of the aerial radiating out about 12 inches in six or eight directions ,
but as i have said before the best radio in the world will still give poor reception if you use an aerial that hasn't been fitted correctly,
But if you use a quality aerial like the kinetic range you stand the best possible chance of decent reception,

 

[Xabia]

Had a thought, I have an Oyster satellite dish on the roof which has a large aluminium base plate, if I attach a bracket to the plate, mount the aerial on that and run an earth lead back to a chassis point is that likely to result in a good signal?

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[Steve and Denise]

you need a ground plane underneath the aerial, its next to useless running a earth return back to the radio,
run some copper tape from the base of the aerial radiating out about 12 inches in six or eight directions ,
but as i have said before the best radio in the world will still give poor reception if you use an aerial that hasn't been fitted correctly,
But if you use a quality aerial like the kinetic range you stand the best possible chance of decent reception,

I did put some aluminium tape in a large x on the underside of the roof hoping to improve it but with only a small improvement I will take a look at the kinetic range.

 

[ivorantony]

I did put some aluminium tape in a large x on the underside of the roof hoping to improve it but with only a small improvement I will take a look at the kinetic range.

I used this chart to get the best aerial possible for Max reception,
I also changed the head unit head unit for a Sony DAB+/FM/AM to give me the biggest choices of stations available,

 

[Larrynwin]

The reception on the Sony fm radio fitted to our new mohome was patchy to say the least, took it back to the dealer and the 12v feed to the aerial amplifier hadn't been connected behind the set so soon corrected and now works perfectly .

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