crap radio reception

[sean n maggie]

my radio is crap for reception, Autotrail Apache 634, is there any way of putting a booster aerial on it ? i have read the aerial goes in to the mirror , is this true ? did not want to drill the body of the van, is there another way to get a better signal ?

 

[RS SPIKE]

my radio is crap for reception, Autotrail Apache 634, is there any way of putting a booster aerial on it ? i have read the aerial goes in to the mirror , is this true ? did not want to drill the body of the van, is there another way to get a better signal ?

i have the same problem on my boxer

 

[Manxcat]

I have spent £100s on this . the local electrical experts tried 2 or 3 aerials , in the end they got to the bottom of it. shit wiring by GMC of the reversing camera and the TV connection plus inherent VAN design. Radio (blaupunkt) now works better but not as good as he ford transit .

 

[sean n maggie]

aaahhhh well, guess i fill the glove box with cd,s

 

[PhilG]

i bet you can get 3 different Radio 3's and Classic FM , even when you are in Tunnel.. how does that work . All the shit channels can be got anywhere , but something you want , not a chance

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[TerryL]

I thought I read somewhere that some aerials simply hadn't been reconnected when the vehicle, and it would have been a coachbuilt, was ermm... built. As far as I am aware the aerial on the Ducato is in the nearside mirror although I've never actually checked the wiring run in the doorframe.

 

[PeteH]

Often (in the past) bad/non existent reception was nearly ALWAYS due to a poor EARTH on the aerial?. Something to consider?

Pete

 

[TheBig1]

the windscreen aerials, where a thin element is bonded to a vinyl sticker work well if you use a decent one and install it correctly

 

[Vanderek]

I fitted a blaupunkt windscreen aerial to my previous motorhome and got excellent reception . Very easy to fit as cables can go through behind glove box and behind windscreen trim.

 

[Just smiffy]

I fitted a new radio in mine as I was not getting a steady reception on the move and it was then that I found that there was an extension aerial lead that wasn't connected, but I did follow the lead trail to make sure it actually went to the aerial and all was good after that.

It's a pain following the lead trail but it's the only way you'll know...

Good luck

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[Bill_OR]

I also have a 634. The radio unit fitted in 2012 is pretty poor but I don't use it often enough to justify replacing it. However I did improve matters by getting a local audio electrician to fit an external (wing mounted) aerial.

 

[MikeD]

We had a 2012 Tracker and the radio/entertainment system was pretty useless in that.

Tried lots of fixes but in the end just ignored it. It really was a waste of money.

 

[tonyidle]

If you happen to have a solar panel a very good position for a radio aerial (the best possible) is mounted on the corner of the panel frame. Bring the aerial coax indoors through the same place as the panel wiring. Not easy to do but provides brilliant reception.

 

[terryb]

bought a amplifier booster off flea bay a couple of weeks ago £4.95 .fitted and it is 90% better (autotrail comanche ).

 

[Steve devon]

I've had a snooper 9020 fitted to my new adria sonic, the radio reception was crap so it went back in and they fitted an Ariel to th radiator housing under the bonnet, still not perfect so it's going in again, probably end up with a coat hanger on the roof,

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[DBK]

If you have a dashcam try the radio with it turned off. interference from my eBay dashcam caused poor radio reception in our MH.

 

[Steve devon]

If you have a dashcam try the radio with it turned off. interference from my eBay dashcam caused poor radio reception in our MH.

I do have a dash cam, next base 402g , completely independent of the radio though

 

[Figaro]

I would second what @John Laidler said.
My cheap Chinese dash cam made my radio reception terrible.
When it stopped working properly I replaced it with a road hawk dash cam. Quality kit but it still interferes with radio.
Now considering a hard wire kit for dash cam but not sure if it will be any better.

 

[stcyr]

The RoadHawk's chinese too

 

[Tea Bag]

hi.
Would a "Ground Plane?" make it any better? In CB days, whatever a "Ground Plane is/was,improved the set up for getting out,would it do the same in reverse. Don't ask me,i know nothing........
Tea Bag

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[tonyidle]

hi.
Would a "Ground Plane?" make it any better? In CB days, whatever a "Ground Plane is/was,improved the set up for getting out,would it do the same in reverse. Don't ask me,i know nothing........
Tea Bag

Yes it would and it does. Normally earthing the aerial base to bodywork constitutes a ground plane - not helpful with GRP bodywork of course. Long before sorting out a ground plane getting the aerial as high as possible and clear of shielding by adjacent bodywork is more important.

 

[Figaro]

The RoadHawk's chinese too

My understanding is it`s made in China to UK design spec and UK software.
It is certainly a big improvement to my £25 cheapy that stopped recording recently.
But the Roadhawk does still cause radio interference. I may try the hard wire kit but no idea if that will eliminate interference ?

 

[tjay]

Quote ,"]aaahhhh - well, guess i fill the glove box with cd,s

You are lucky that you can yous the cd's our New Elddis has a DAB radio in it, in my opinion that stands for "Dam Awful Bloody Radio"
Useless thing requires re tuning every few miles !! drives me nuts, Luckily it has a usb connection so i can use either my phone or Iplayer to listen to music but you do not get any traffic updates or news,Elddis are not interested in the problem either.
Will shortly purchase a double din facia and fit an upgrade radio/cd/gps which hopefully work as it should !!

 

[Bailey58]

I'd third what @John Laidler said about the satnav. Mine when in for a service and hab check in the summer and I asked them to check the radio. They suggested it was the extra cables feeding the satnav and reversing camera interfering with reception. (They fitted the camera as an extra prior to delivery three years ago).

 

[Feltwell]

I fitted a new DAB radio in mine (coachbuilt). Fitted a fancy amplified aerial on the roof on a big piece of stainless steel sheet to act as a ground plane.

Link Removed

Reception on DAB was dreadful, OK on FM/AM but no better than the original aerial on the front wing. Might work on a metal-bodied PVC but next to useless even with my ground plane.

So I fitted one of these inside the wardrobe - absolutely transformed the DAB reception. Clearly not intended for vehicles but worked a treat.

http://www.aerialsandtv.com/fmanddabradio.html#DABdipole

Just make sure you do go for a omni-directional type like this dipole - many of the aerials meant for fixed installations on buildings are directional, not much use on a MH!

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[GAVLAD]

Mine had the original Fiat cd radios fitted when I bought my mh. I wanted a better unit with DAB and also the facility to plug a memory stick in as so to stop carrying loads of cd's about.
The aerial was in the near side mirror and to be fair, the original set up was good and reception ok.
However, wanting better, I went to Autosound who are Blaupunkt dealers and bought a Stockholm model unit.
They advised to not bother with the wing mirror aerial but to fit a wing mounted aerial.
For the DAB, I needed a digital aerial and they fit one connected to a booster which fit to the windscreen.
We had issues with the steering wheel control buttons initially in that one of the skip tracks button wouldn't work but this turned out to be the steering wheel button.
Music sound is excellent.
FM radio is excellent.
DAB radio is hit & miss if I'm honest.
Depending on where I am depends on signal.
Lake District - forget it.
Norfolk forget it.
M6/M5/M1 - excellent.
Storage - excellent but 5miles down the road it doesn't get a signal.
Very frustrating but to be fair on Autosound, they did say that it was a work in progress with signal strength.
I've not had any issues with anything else on the van interfering with it so far.
I mostly use it with storing my music on memory sticks now.

 

[Vanman]

Before you spend too much on new kit you may want to check out this map.

http://www.ukdigitalradio.com/images/coverage-map.jpg