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slimchancepistolero
10-23-2018, 11:17 AM
i have a 2018 Passport RL2520 and of course the am/fm radio did not work up to my expectations so i replaced it with a Jensen unit ... when removing the factory unit i found the radio antennas thin stranded wire balled together behind the radio .... i installed the new unit and unballed the antenna wire, ran it up thru the tv shelf and attached the wires to opposite corners .. at home it works "OK" but in rural Pa, just 20 miles for Harrisburg i can NOT get even one good fm station .. this is mostly the same at the factory unit .. previous Keystone campers had outside am/fm car type antennas but not this one ... so short of drilling a hole in the roof what are some options??

dblanch57
10-23-2018, 11:37 AM
I use the bluetooth function on the Furrion Radio paired with my cellphone using iheart radio or something similar. Works great. If you don't have cell service then I would recommend cd's.

Pull Toy
10-23-2018, 12:29 PM
In one of my previous fiberglass sided trailers, I took an automotive type whip antenna and hid it in a cabinet near the outside wall. Try this before you drill. It may be all you need.

Good luck,

WNY Bullet
10-23-2018, 04:31 PM
I didn't want a hole in the roof either, so I installed through the side wall. Works 100% better than the ball of wire.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/s1VBrMhQ5ZtLlcxsO3ZWjcMrFJmvRADrUCzlzMZhL0S_b7Rrwc G7czSHo2sIR2ha6S3_V_deD12yopP8F7fGBPVkzNYRIXqu1iOG 5Nbj-gcXkqvWrWY7dslqM5yd_Viso0ufCwSmS5YlUc7pTz3DrM2Fcxa EuPYvWovQmHWvWI8Qe8xMROkmcGI-EHqsw0tZ6NdeGuSVoAlvS5yi0O3y_L5KvTSZG62zFAq8n6L6SJ YIBn67Cr9QxN28HNGkK9UhS_Zw6KFhEHjok1roA4THQwweAPcP cfZId8ri5j5x5vIDL6Fj6hpASQ8b5Ki86fil5VScrFHPeC0HMY QrlX96GKG2-TKUdW-X9-ox2RdE4h3RA-dXlQ9EBFYH4IyKS89bRq-17-ik27rDnwtlNIImSbQWJXAMy0amQkdfCxCfcxbWEBPtO5ugFzEk Mz1qSGGNI7DhgEi4RBRhD8oP43KOyrd6SqOLpTdn3BtR9yQmq_ 38XBUTDAn35flOhgVnHaPRK9PGM5B_ZL306AMWNearAWfrXw8p LkXePDlI96V2OyU_zH4TG8wiEWWcXmjExBTQF5ouII0S7cPiAl XYmIxNcAMhGrXsLUVnMOeJcQty82qeMSQ6NHiXYwtooh9nX-8=w397-h298-no

slimchancepistolero
10-24-2018, 12:10 AM
i got rid of the Furrion Radio since i thought it was to hard to operate with the black labeling on a black background in dim lighting and the remote was even worst in my opinion ... the car antenna inside was one of the things i was thinking about cause i am still not sure about drilling holes thru the walls

C.LeeNick
10-24-2018, 08:12 AM
The amplified TV antenna is also an excellent amplified FM antenna. Ours even says its a TV/FM antenna on the antenna's paperwork. I also found a "random wire" antenna balled up in the cabinet behind the radio...and it didn't work very well at all. I, too, tried stretching it out inside the cabinets, and though it helped, I wasn't satisfied either. I love radio!

The first "mod" I did was fish another coax cable through the ceiling from the Furrion radio to the cabinet behind the TV, where the connection for the TV antenna is. I put a splitter in so both the TV and Radio share the amplified antenna, and man, did that make a difference! In a "real world test", we now get excellent FM reception where we barely got some "staticky" radio on our first trip. I experimented while out there by shutting off the amplifier, and radio reception would drop off, so I know the antenna is doing an excellent job.

I haven't addressed AM reception yet. There are places where we plan to boondock with our Passport that don't get any radio at all during the day, but I'd like to mess around with a directional AM antenna for bringing in distant AM radio stations at night.

slimchancepistolero
10-24-2018, 12:36 PM
"amplified TV antenna is also an excellent amplified FM antenna" that is just what i was hoping to find out ... i will try hooking up the fm to the tv booster ... thanxs

slimchancepistolero
10-26-2018, 02:58 AM
tried hooking the am/fm up to the tv antenna and turning on the booster .. NO good, did not make any difference ... i think the roof top antenna for the tv is just another hole in the roof waiting to leak because i also get ZERO tv stations with this worthless antenna ... my batwing antenna on the 2014 keystone worked wonderful but not this one ... next step is a car antenna

chuckster57
10-26-2018, 03:44 AM
If your not getting any TV channels either, then you may have an issue with the antenna or coax from antenna to booster. Even the worst antennas will pick up some channels unless your in a remote location or deep in a valley.

ChuckS
10-26-2018, 05:57 AM
The ball of wire being used for an FM antenna 8smactually called a dipole antenna.. if placed in the proper T shape pattern it’s actually a good FM antenna...

However... it does present directivity so depending on how your RV is parked compared to “line of sight” with the FM broadcast station you may in fact get lousy reception..

C.LeeNick
10-26-2018, 08:37 AM
tried hooking the am/fm up to the tv antenna and turning on the booster .. NO good, did not make any difference ... i think the roof top antenna for the tv is just another hole in the roof waiting to leak because i also get ZERO tv stations with this worthless antenna ... my batwing antenna on the 2014 keystone worked wonderful but not this one ... next step is a car antenna

If you aren't getting any TV either, then there is definitely something wrong with the antenna system. The antenna should work real well for TV also.

Mine has a plate in the ceiling where the antenna jack is located, and a tiny switch to turn the booster on and off, and a red LED that lights up when the booster is on. Is that similar to yours?

Mikendebbie
10-26-2018, 08:38 AM
Pulltoy said In one of my previous fiberglass sided trailers, I took an automotive type whip antenna and hid it in a cabinet near the outside wall. Try this before you drill. It may be all you need.
WNY Bullet said I didn't want a hole in the roof either, so I installed through the side wall. Works 100% better than the ball of wire.

If I add an automotive style antenna (either inside the RV on a wall or thru the wall with an outside mount) - what type wire or coax do I use to go from the back of the radio to the new antenna? Do the radios have a plug-in socket on the back for an antenna or is it an old school screw attachment? I have not pulled my radio out to find the rolled up antenna - but I am reasonably certain it is there. Our FM radio is marginal at best...AM radio is non-existent.

By the way - the AM radio on our past couple of RVs was also non-existent...2011 Jayco and 2017 Laredo. Radios in an Alpenlite and a Sportsmen we had in the 90s was really good for FM and AM using built-in outside antenna.

C.LeeNick
10-26-2018, 08:42 AM
The ball of wire being used for an FM antenna 8smactually called a dipole antenna.. if placed in the proper T shape pattern it’s actually a good FM antenna...

However... it does present directivity so depending on how your RV is parked compared to “line of sight” with the FM broadcast station you may in fact get lousy reception..

I'll have to look at my factory antenna closer, as I was pretty sure my original antenna up in the cabinet was just a long straight single wire coiled up and wrapped with a twist tie. It has a "Motorola" style plug on the end.

slimchancepistolero
10-26-2018, 12:30 PM
well, mine is one of those "omni directional" or as i would say "non directional" saucer style roof top stationary antennas ... i live in a remote hollow and i am sure that is a problem for this tv/am/fm setup .. but the 2014 Passport got 4 tv stations parked in exactly the same spot (less than a year ago) and fm was also very good (using a batwing directional antenna), while am radio has never worked .... but while dry camping last weekend less that 20 miles from harrisburg pa the only fm station i could get was from lancaster (fm 97.3) and that was almost 70 miles away, i was on top of a high ridge camped in a clearing .... this is what is making me dig into this ... i will not take the roof top antenna apart and start my roof leaking .... it just seems hard to believe in this space age the mfgs put this kind of junk on campers

chuckster57
10-26-2018, 12:40 PM
As long as you put new Dicor back on the base you can remove the whole thing. Otherwise I think there is like 3 Phillips head screws that’s hold the “saucer” onto the base. Might be worth it to undo the saucer and have a look-see. I’ve seen coax not connected, coax pulled out of connector, antenna lead broken.

slimchancepistolero
10-26-2018, 12:56 PM
we cowboy action shoot, therefore very remote ranges and since we always dry camp the tv signal is low priority it has come up because it was suggested to hook up the fm (it's nice to hear the news) to the tv stuff .... that did not work ... i tried an old car antenna inside the rv with some success, but it was very directional(laid it on the floor and it worked good ... set it upright beside wall and not so good, so now am thinking (and that usually is a bad thing) of just taking a loose car antenna along and playing it by ear (so to speak) ...i might just try the 3 phillips screw cause i believe either the coax is not hooked up or the connection is loose or the booster does not boost

Steveo57
10-26-2018, 01:18 PM
Every single coax connection I have checked in mine has been barely screwed in a few threads, very loose. So it wouldn't surprise me if the coax isn't connected!

C.LeeNick
10-26-2018, 02:31 PM
A couple of things to check that I now remember from my old cable TV installer days 25 years ago. If you put the cables together yourself, with twist-on, or crimp-on ends, make sure the aluminum foil or wire webbing from the outer sheath of the cable isn't touching the center conductor anywhere..that will "ground" it out. Sometimes, when cutting the end, a tiny piece will fold over and touch the copper center conductor.

Another thing: If you are using a splitter anywhere, make sure you pay attention to the "in" and "out" ports. Most can be used as a "splitter" or a "combiner", but I THINK if you put the input cable (from the antenna) into one of the OUTPUT ports, and then try to use the other output as an output, and the INPUT as an output, it COULD cause problems. I could be wrong about this, but I seem to remember having that issue on a multi-splitter on a house once, where I had accidentally put the source (input) cable into one of the output ports. In that case, it was something like a 5 or 6 way splitter.

flybouy
10-27-2018, 07:24 AM
I've had pretty good luck using this: http://www.asaelectronics.com/jensen-am-fm-amplified-antenna.html I suspect that a proper exterior mounted antenna would garner better results.
Keep in mind a radio antenna intended for use on a car, using the metal of the car as a ground plane, will not work as well on a fiberglass camper or in a cabinet. You would most likely get more results with a marine antenna or a "stand alone, or interior antenna".

BadmanRick
11-01-2018, 07:29 AM
That bullet Premier should have had a roof am/fm antenna

lewy64
11-01-2018, 08:09 AM
I also have a 2018 passport 2520rl. Bought back in February this year. I dont really use my stereo. I have dish and listen to the music on there, but from the limited time I did, it seemed fine. I am a new fulltimer. I had only a few things wrong after pickup. The bedroom heater duct was crumpled up from factory, the ac divider between input and output was not sealed correctly leading to bleadthrough, and the toilet wouldn't hold water, the lever was out of one of the holes.


I had installed 5 12v usb and cigarette lighter type outlets throughout the unit. The two usb port under the tv was not enough. The cable connection to the dish receiver is going through the rv door, tried through the connector outside on the back, but no luck getting channels (with or without the amplifier on/off). Although the connector worked on an rv parks free cable.



Be careful with the cabinet doors above and below the tv, when moving the slideout in or out. I caught one of the doors multiple times and deformed the hinges and the moulding. I use kid proof locks to hold them in place now.


Greg

LaTundra
11-01-2018, 08:49 AM
I had read on this forum a while back about the radio not being connected to the antenna. I pulled the radio out and found the radio antenna wire not connected. I got a splitter and a short coax. Disconnected the coax from the TV, connected it to the input on the splitter, connected the short coax to the output on the splitter, then to the TV. I connected the radio to the other output on the splitter. AM, FM, TV, all work great.

WaltBennett
11-01-2018, 09:41 AM
... when removing the factory unit i found the radio antennas thin stranded wire balled together behind the radio .... i installed the new unit and unballed the antenna wire, ran it up thru the tv shelf and attached the wires to opposite corners .. at home it works "OK" but in rural Pa, just 20 miles for Harrisburg i can NOT get even one good fm station .. this is mostly the same at the factory unit .. previous Keystone campers had outside am/fm car type antennas but not this one ... so short of drilling a hole in the roof what are some options??

When we bought our new/used 2010 Monty, we had the same problem. Before really getting into it, I was looking through the documentation that came with it and found a cheapo dipole fm antenna in the Samsung bag. Since we've a rear entertainment floorplan with a power lift TV, I was able to staple it to the rear inside wall easily. Not the greatest, but it does work.

As to drilling holes - I had to drill one for an exterior coax connector near where our satellite receiver would go. Lots of sweating about that, but it came out fine.

n4qpcham
11-01-2018, 09:42 AM
I have a 2014 Montana HC 318RE that had the same rolled up dipole. I drilled an extremely small hole through the rear of the trailer at the back of the cabinet and pulled the small antenna wire through it. I crimped a ring terminal to the wire and attached it to a screw on the roof ladder. Instant antenna that works great! I came up with this idea when I remembered that some customized vans back in the 70's used the luggage rack for a dipole TV antenna. The crossbar was cut in half, a plastic insulator was put into the cut to separate and isolate the two pieces, and a 300 ohm to 50 ohm TV antenna adapter was connected to the crossbar on each side of the insulator. The coax then went to the TV inside the van.

jayhart
11-01-2018, 10:41 AM
We have a 2018 Passport Ultra-Lite and it has the omni-directional (disc) TV Antenna. I believe this is a "UHF only" antenna, since it does not seem to receive VHF signals. If you have a disc antenna, and I am correct about the VHF/UHF specifics of the disc antenna, I doubt hooking it to your radio will accomplish much; the TV band for VHF is very close to the FM radio band but no so with UHF.
If you have one of the bat-wing antennas, then connecting the FM to its coax should bring in some FM. You may have to rotate the bat-wing for directional reception and switch on the booster.

Also, should you feel the need to set up something externally, especially it it is 'portable,' you can connect a coax from it to the "Cable TV In" coax port on the outside of your unit. (You might need a 300 Ohm to Coax adapter to connect to a standard antenna or even a T-shaped setup of 'flat' 300 ohm, antenna wire).

Don't turn on the booster if you use this setup as the booster bypasses the cable inlet wiring and will kill the signal.

Dadmech
11-05-2018, 06:53 PM
We only have the roof mounted TV/Radio antenna on our 2018 Hideout 38FDDS. Both work "OK" Not good. Now using DirecTV, so only AM/FM using the disk on the roof. Poor set up IMHO
Saw a 2019 Hideout 38FDDS and it has the "Disk" and an external "automotive" type antenna. Owner tells me AM/FM works well.
Go figure.

C.LeeNick
11-06-2018, 04:33 AM
We have a 2018 Passport Ultra-Lite and it has the omni-directional (disc) TV Antenna. I believe this is a "UHF only" antenna, since it does not seem to receive VHF signals. If you have a disc antenna, and I am correct about the VHF/UHF specifics of the disc antenna, I doubt hooking it to your radio will accomplish much; the TV band for VHF is very close to the FM radio band but no so with UHF.
If you have one of the bat-wing antennas, then connecting the FM to its coax should bring in some FM. You may have to rotate the bat-wing for directional reception and switch on the booster.

Also, should you feel the need to set up something externally, especially it it is 'portable,' you can connect a coax from it to the "Cable TV In" coax port on the outside of your unit. (You might need a 300 Ohm to Coax adapter to connect to a standard antenna or even a T-shaped setup of 'flat' 300 ohm, antenna wire).

Don't turn on the booster if you use this setup as the booster bypasses the cable inlet wiring and will kill the signal.

The "disc" antenna on our 2019 Passport says in the manual that it's a TV/FM antenna. I ran the cable and hooked it up to the stereo, and FM reception increased remarkably. One particular state park we frequent is in a canyon, and radio reception is tough. Before hooking up the roof antenna, we barely received a few very "staticky" stations. Now we receive a lot more stations quite well. We even use the same campsite sometimes, so we've been able to compare. It was well worth hooking it up.

The booster works as well. When it's shut off, radio stations disappear. Turn it back on, and the stations come right back. The roof antenna does nothing for AM radio, however.