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Old 10-19-2020, 02:03 PM   #1
Jpat652000
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2020
Location: Ottawa
Posts: 1
Radio and power antenna

Hi all question

Have a 2019 38fl .. Springdale keystone..
Been told that in these the radio is not hooked up to power antenna .. just has a small antenna connect to back of radio which pulls in 3 stations ... but when i run a cable from power antenna to back of radio i get every station
. Dealer says this isnthe way keystone does them
My last wildwood was connected directly to the power antenna ..
Any ideas?
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Old 10-20-2020, 04:09 AM   #2
Mikendebbie
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Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Austin
Posts: 360
Radio antenna

We have had am/fm radios in all of our past RVs. Radios worked best when the unit had a roof mounted antenna - basically a car antenna. Two of our most recent RVs (2011 Jayco and 2017 Keystone Laredo) did not have external antennas and the radios produced very little on fm and static for am.

I had heard about the coiled up antenna behind the radio in keystone units - so I finally got around to taking our IRV32 radio out yesterday. I found the antenna plugged into the unit and rolled up tight with a rubber band. The antenna is the same one in the screen shot below from amazon. Reviews for this antenna are horrible...and I agree. I unrolled the antenna and held it extended at various locations - up in the air horizontal...against an outside wall vertical...many other positions. FM reception marginally improved at a spot over our kitchen island. Nice to know but not an option for a permanent installation.

I am curious to see if reception would be improved with a cheap car antenna from Auto Zone or Walmart $20 or so. I would not mount the antenna outside or thru the roof but try it in the cubby behind the TV. Until I confirm that a new antenna actually works I don’t want to start drilling thru the exterior or the roof. Also I thought about an adapter to tie it to the coach TV antenna system (with a coax to motorola adapter and a splitter behind the TV.) The radio reception would be affected by the TV antenna booster switch - so I don’t think using the coach TV antenna is a good option.

I was curious if someone else had tackled and solved the radio reception issue. The answer might be that these radios are simply a pile of soldered Chinese junk and no matter what you do to improve the antenna situation - the Chinese junk pile will never produce anything more than marginal fm and static for am.

I will say that we watch DVDs using the IRV32 radio and it works fine. I do not want to spend money on a new Sony or JVC unit and go thru all the re-wiring process and end up with no improvement - unless someone else has a success story with a particular brand or radio unit.
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Old 10-20-2020, 05:49 AM   #3
flybouy
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Joppa, MD
Posts: 11,714
I bought an AM/FM powered antenna several years ago. Can't remember where or the brand. The antenna is powered with 12v dc so I used the switched wire from the stereo to power it. My radio has a wire identified as "power antenna" for that purpose. I mounted it in the cabinet over the TV. I'm sure an outside ant would be more efficiant but it works well enough for our use. Typically we turn on the radio to make noise for the dog while we are away by masking outside noises. In the pic you can see it in the top of the cabinet.
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Old 11-11-2020, 06:09 PM   #4
tex74
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Join Date: Nov 2020
Location: Toms River
Posts: 3
Jpatt652000 how did you make out with the fm radio? Bought 2021 Springdale and could not get fm radio.
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