Windscreen Radio Aerial

[Randonneur]

Help needed. Has anyone fitted a windscreen radio aerial to a 2002 Fiat Ducato?

 

[Wildman]

can you still receive a signal inside the Fiat recall centre shed?

 

[American Dream]

I heard it was a bit like Area 51.Things go in never to be seen again.

Sorry No.

Is that for a mobile phone or normal radio?Fitted a bonded on aerial to the windscreen of a van in the past.

 

[Randonneur]

What on earth have the last 2 replies to do with the question i asked?

 

[Wildman]

well my post was a bit of fun, it is on Motorhome FUN
and the second, as well as fun asked a serious question, lighten up.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Randonneur]

Light enough already.

The first reply went completely over my head, didn't understand the meaning at all.

The aerial we are trying to fit is for a normal car radio (Sony). Don't know where the fitted aerial is in our motorhome but there obviously is one as we can receive French stations. On our previous van, a Rapido, there was a windscreen aerial already fitted and we were able to get Radio 4 which is what we listen to when travelling. We have swapped the Radios about with the one in our previous van, a Sony also, but nothing, so it is definitely the aerial.oh:

 

[camcondor]

Hi Randonneur,

On our A class Adria, fitting a windscreen mounted aerial was a bit of a mission involving getting behind the dashboard (Geo remembers that one I'm sure!!!) - I suspect you will have a similar situation of finding a route for the aerial behind the dash involving scrabbling around in awkward positions and places under the dash!!! Just a thought though - is there a current radio in your van? If so, there should be an aerial connection going to it which you should be able to attach to the new radio. If not, then there probably isn't one. Using a windscreen attached aerial, whether for radio or for sat nav etc, is pretty easy really, just ensure the plug is compatible with your radio plug, test the radio with said aerial BEFORE going to all the trouble of installing it under the dash, then route the aerial wire to the radio in a way that is as visually "invisible" as possible and it should be ok. I guess your problem is really how to route the lead under the dash........

Regards

Laurie

 

[Bulletguy]

If the aerial is an internal strip type, then it should have an adhesive backing with co-ax lead attached. Simply peel off backing and slap the aerial strip on your screen.

If its an external glass mount aerial then it wont be a strip aerial and will be in two parts. The part with the co-ax is stuck to the inside of the glass with the aerial base fitting stuck on the outside.

If neither of the above answers your question i'd suggest nipping down to any nearby auto electric or ICE (in-car entertainment) dealer and they will soon sort you out.

 

[Randonneur]

Hi Randonneur,

On our A class Adria, fitting a windscreen mounted aerial was a bit of a mission involving getting behind the dashboard (Geo remembers that one I'm sure!!!) - I suspect you will have a similar situation of finding a route for the aerial behind the dash involving scrabbling around in awkward positions and places under the dash!!! Just a thought though - is there a current radio in your van? If so, there should be an aerial connection going to it which you should be able to attach to the new radio. If not, then there probably isn't one. Using a windscreen attached aerial, whether for radio or for sat nav etc, is pretty easy really, just ensure the plug is compatible with your radio plug, test the radio with said aerial BEFORE going to all the trouble of installing it under the dash, then route the aerial wire to the radio in a way that is as visually "invisible" as possible and it should be ok. I guess your problem is really how to route the lead under the dash........

Regards

Laurie

Many thanks for the replies.

We have a radio already installed with an aerial that comes from somewhere!!!!!! My OH has taken part of the dash away and tried to get the pillar cover off but this cover goes all the way down to the floor, as far as we can see, and this is the problem trying to get the aerial wire down at the back of the pillar cover where it meets the bulky part of the dash where the air outlets are. We could push the wire in but with movement it will cut into it in no time.

 

[Bulletguy]

We have a radio already installed with an aerial that comes from somewhere!!!!!! My OH has taken part of the dash away and tried to get the pillar cover off but this cover goes all the way down to the floor, as far as we can see, and this is the problem trying to get the aerial wire down at the back of the pillar cover where it meets the bulky part of the dash where the air outlets are. We could push the wire in but with movement it will cut into it in no time.

As you already have an aerial installed....why are you trying to fit another?
It seems like you are making work for yourself which isn't really necessary. You will end up removing the entire dashboard, and on many model vans that can prove to be a long fiddly job.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Randonneur]

As you already have an aerial installed....why are you trying to fit another?
It seems like you are making work for yourself which isn't really necessary. You will end up removing the entire dashboard, and on many model vans that can prove to be a long fiddly job.

Because the aerial fitted, wherever that is, is not good enough to pick up the radio stations that we want. We have no problem receiving Radio 4 in our car and we had no problem picking up Radio 4 in our previous motorhome but the aerial in this newer van is useless. It is definitely the aerial and not the radio which is a new Sony model because we fitted our previous Sony model and we still can't get Radio 4. Radio 4 is the only English speaking station we can receive here in France.

 

[Bulletguy]

Because the aerial fitted, wherever that is, is not good enough to pick up the radio stations that we want. We have no problem receiving Radio 4 in our car and we had no problem picking up Radio 4 in our previous motorhome but the aerial in this newer van is useless. It is definitely the aerial and not the radio which is a new Sony model because we fitted our previous Sony model and we still can't get Radio 4. Radio 4 is the only English speaking station we can receive here in France.

I'm assuming you must be motoring around close to the northern coast near the channel then? Much further away than that and no 'normal' aerial will pick up signals from the BBC (apart from sw). You'd need to carry 60+ft of tower mast around with you and somehow i couldn't see many site owners being too happy about you erecting a thing like that!

Before taking anything apart i'd establish first 100% that it is the aerial at fault.

Simplest and quickest way to do that would be to do what i suggested previously. Go along to a local auto electrics or ICE store and let them look at the situation first. It might cost you a few quid getting it right, but would be money well spent and will save you lots of mither.

 

[Bulletguy]

Radio 4 is the only English speaking station we can receive here in France.

Blimey!! I've just had a look at your location in France.

If you managed to picked up BBC radio on VHF or MW from there all i can say is......amazing!

The frequencies on that band are directional and as a result are (for obvious reasons) not aimed south.....at least not that far south! If you want to listen to english speaking radio then i'd suggest you buy a good quality short wave receiver. There are even a few made for in dash fitting though personally i'd sooner buy a good table top set.

 

[Wildman]

Before spending money you may not need to I assume you were able to receive radio 4 in your old van at your current location, recently. In which case are you sure the radio has SW/MW and you are switched to that rather than FM. France is too far to pick up an FM signal unless propagation is very good. As we are currently at the bottom of the sunspot cycle propagation is very poor at the moment, that means radio signals are much weaker, If for instance you were there in you last van a few years ago then the situation would have been much different. If you still have your old van there can you still get radio 4 in it. If yes then 1st thing to try is connecting any other antenna to the radio and see if the situation improves. Good luck

 

[Jim]

You will probably find that your aerial is in your wing mirror, I had a fiat motorhome with this setup, the reception was terrible. I ended up putting a Haffords stubby aerial on the wing.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Wildman]

If as Jim says it is in the wing mirror and the glass easy enough to remove you may be able to fit a stubby ant on the back of the mirror using existing wiring, that would be very neat, tidy and straight forward.

 

[Bulletguy]

Radio 4 is the only English speaking station we can receive here in France.

Just a thought but why bother with an aeriel at all?

Go digi and get a sat set up and you will receive all the BBC stations.....plus a lot more of course.

 

[Kon tiki]

Just picked our new MH an Adria Izola on the Renault Master, fitted our old radio in but couldn't get it to tune in to any stations. This was while we were still at the dealers, the guy there had a go even trying a different radio. He then contacted Adria only to find they have to remove the original roof aerial as the van is a coach built but don't replace it with anything :Angry: They even fit extra speakers but we found these aren't connected to anything the wires are just left under the dashboard
The guy at Timberland thought it was stupid as well & agreed for me to get one fitted & they will cover the cost.
I was wondering if I do get one fitted on the bodywork somewhere would there be any implications with the warranty :Sad: or am I better getting a winscreen aerial, if so which ones work best?? Our last van came with a winscreen aerial & it worked ok but did seem a bit directional.

 

[gillr49]

When we were in S. Burgundy we got radio 4 on MW for 6 months not using the van radio but using an old radio with a pull up ariel the last couriers had left. It was our only link with the UK as it was difficult to get papers out of 'season'If/when we go again we will definitely use a sat. dish.
So the cheapest answer to your question is to get an old radio with a pull up ariel. We could never get Radio 4 on the van and still cannot understand it as we have a top of the range Becker radio.
Not much help, sorry

 

[pappajohn]

As you already have an aerial installed....why are you trying to fit another?
It seems like you are making work for yourself which isn't really necessary. You will end up removing the entire dashboard, and on many model vans that can prove to be a long fiddly job.

my ducato had an aerial coax already installed BUT it originally went to a factory fitted standard ROOF mounted aerial........pretty much useless and in the way on a coachbuilt so the manufacturers just remove it and fit nowt to replace it. :Angry:

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Geo]

Stay well clear of after market screen arials, factory fitted units only just cope
I live by a motto told to me by an ice fitter many many years ago "a cheap radio needs a good arial, an expensive radio deserves one" and it still holds fast to day, my choice would be an all singing dancing auto electric retractable, the next best would be a small rubber wing mounted :thumb:
Geo

 

[Tony Lee]

May not be relevant there, but some vehicles have metallised windscreens to reduce heat entry, so in such a case, a windscreen mounted antenna may not be much use

 

[656]

I tried one of these, about as good as a Chocolate Teapot. Got an outside one now. but not a lot of good either. Tried one of these -> Link Removed noN a lot of good either when not in town. Could be to do with the overcab tho!!!

 

[Jaws]

As in a previous existence I was kinda heavily involved in things radio ( at the RF design end of things ) I would back up 100% the words of 656.
The whole concept of the windscreen mounted antenna is flawed.. If you are getting poor results from your hidden one, expect no better or probably far worse from a windscreen mounted thing.
If you want to get technical ( as some folk usually do ) it is pretty much all down to something called skin affect.. and the fact there is virtually no bandwidth available..
The theory of the antenna's is good.. They are. basically, a 1/4 centre fed dipole.. Sadly the theory also demands that they are directional, and that they are a tuned lentgh to a failry specific frequency..
Soooooo.. You would need to point you van in exactly the right direction and optimise the thing by cutting shorter or adding to the lengths of the diploe legs, depending on the channel ( therefore frequency ) of the station you are trying to receive..
Taking radio 4 in the Norfolk area for instance, the dipole 'legs' should be:

94.1 / 300 / 4 * .95 ( VF )= 750mm per leg.

Taking radio 1 in the same area:
99.3 / 300 /4 *.95( VF ) = 711mm peg leg

Ok, so it is arguable that ALL vehicle antennas are a compromise.. this is of course true, but the FATTER the antenna the more SKIN area there is and the more bandwidth you get..
The very thin wires used on windscreen antennas preclude the possible inclusion of any skin affect and are therefore extremely sensitive to the point of tune they work at..


A whole LOAD of waffle to say.. well just do not do it basically !!
There are lots of better options out there if you shop around

 

[Randonneur]

we were the ones who originally started off this post. We have just arrived in the UK for a visit and the windscreen aerial that we fitted is working brilliantly, got Radio 4, my OH choice. It is in France that we have a problem, we have no problems getting radio 4 in our car but can't get it in the motorhome. It maybe that we will have to have a proper roof mounted aerial fitted.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Kon tiki]

Just fitted a Link Removed aerial. Up to now seems to do the job ok. Only other choice would have been to dril a hole in the body somewhere to mount an outside one. I was concerned that this might have some implication regarding corrosion warranty. On our last MH there was a screen aerial already fitted & I found it worked ok. I bought mine off the same company but via eBay & the cost was £20.49 delivered.

 

[pappajohn]

we were the ones who originally started off this post. We have just arrived in the UK for a visit and the windscreen aerial that we fitted is working brilliantly, got Radio 4, my OH choice. It is in France that we have a problem, we have no problems getting radio 4 in our car but can't get it in the motorhome. It maybe that we will have to have a proper roof mounted aerial fitted.

i'm suprised you can get radio 4 or any other uk stations that far into france.
you must be using longwave as FM has a very limited range without repeater stations.
i dont think many uk stations still use long wave.
i never bother with the radio in france so i could be well off the mark with the above comments.

john.