Poor Radio Reception in Cougar

Ayotte · 09-16-2011, 07:20 PM

I was wondering, is everyone happy with the radio reception? Seems like mine is not very good unless you are close to the stations. (which doesn't happen to often in our area) Is it because there is no outside aerial? My jayco had a outside aerial and it worked great. Is there any way to solve the problem?

**hankpage** · 09-17-2011, 07:28 AM

My '07 Cougar has an antenna on the roof

reception still is not great but acceptable for a cheap radio. Are you sure you don't have one or just the base and the mast is missing? Hank

Charli · 09-17-2011, 02:55 PM

Now that you mention it we also noticed we were unable to pick up stations on the radio when they were coming in fine on the truck. I know our previous trailer had an antenna similar to the ones you used to find on vehicles and the reception seemed to be better. You would think the TV antenna would be able to serve dual duty.
On another matter related to the 26SAB it seems that the noise created by the Fan/AC unit is significntly louder than the Springdale trailer we had before or perhaps there is something wrong with ours. I will have to ask the dealer next time we are there.

Ayotte · 09-17-2011, 03:52 PM

I did take the sterio out of the cabinet and there is about 6-8ft. of wire in the back of the cabinet that is hooked to the antena lead on the sterio. Probally a outside aerial would be much better.

SteveC7010 · 09-29-2011, 05:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ayotte

I did take the sterio out of the cabinet and there is about 6-8ft. of wire in the back of the cabinet that is hooked to the antena lead on the sterio. Probally a outside aerial would be much better.

I found the same thing. There are two wires coming off the antenna lead, maybe about 3' each. I am going to try to stretch them out into a "T" shape and see if that improves reception.

While I am in there, I am also planning a 12vdc cutoff switch for the radio and at least two cigar lighter style power outlets so we can charge our cell phones when boondocking.

**JRTJH** · 09-29-2011, 09:04 AM

The coiled wire connected to the antenna recepticle on the back of the radio is an "updated" dipole antenna. It's like the old clear/gold or black ones that used to come with most every stereo. If you remember "back then" you needed to connect it to the stereo, then string it up and use two thumbtacks to stretch it out on the wall. This is pretty much the same. I found mine coiled in a 5" circle. I opened it up, ran one side over to the edge of the entertainment center (behind the radio) and the other up through the cutout going to the TV and then pushed it into a joint opening along the back of the front facing. It improved reception a little. The best thing I've found is to use the spare coax connector on the back of the TV amplifier and just raise the TV antenna, turn on the amplifier (little button on the TV Amp) get a green light and listen to more stations than any other attempt has provided.

Ayotte · 09-30-2011, 05:09 AM

If a person added a longer wire(possibly a bunch of wire coiled on something) do you think it would give better reception?

SteveC7010 · 09-30-2011, 05:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ayotte

If a person added a longer wire(possibly a bunch of wire coiled on something) do you think it would give better reception?

Antennas like this one need to be pulled out straight. Coiled won't work very well, and wadded up in the compartment behind the radio doesn't work to well either.

The tradition FM "T" that JRTJH described is what the existing wire antenna is supposed to be.

But I like his ideas of using the television antenna a lot better.

One major advantage is that the Wineguard antennas can be rotated 360 degrees to fine tune reception. But even not cranked up, the Wineguards should work pretty well for FM radio reception.

Ayotte · 10-02-2011, 09:21 AM

If I was able to fish a wire in from outside,would a auto radio aerial work on the radio in the camper?

SteveC7010 · 10-02-2011, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ayotte

If I was able to fish a wire in from outside,would a auto radio aerial work on the radio in the camper?

I don't see why not. BTW, my old trailer had an AM/FM antenna with a base that was designed to be screwed down to a flat surface like a TT roof. I just looked through Go-RV.com and Priority RV catalogs and they don't show that antenna any more.

Whatever you do for an external antenna, be sure to adequately seal up your mounting. If it is on the roof, use the Dicor self-leveling caulk liberally.

oldfamer · 10-02-2011, 03:11 PM

I have the same problem on my Laredo. After a short while when you listen to an AM station (only way I can listen to baseball) you start to get a lot of static noise. Does anyone else have this problem?

Ayotte · 06-01-2012, 11:47 AM

Came to the conclusion that the problem with the radio is not the aerial. The radio works fine as long as the camper is not pluged into 110. As soon as the converter is pluged in the radio goes crazy. Is there any kind of a 12 volt filter I could install in the power going to the radio or would this help? Thanks

Ayotte · 06-04-2012, 08:10 AM

Please anyone have any ideas what I can do? Thanks

azlee56 · 06-04-2012, 10:39 AM

my radio won't work very good when I changed to the cable connection in a park. I changed it from antenna and the radio didn't like that too much. :-(

CincyGus · 06-05-2012, 06:22 AM

I use a XM Snap Radio for most of my listening pleasure. Cheap unit, easy to plug in to a 12v power source and about $7 a month. Use it in the car when commuting and bring it along when camping. No static and most of the time, I don't even have to route the antenna outside through a window, just leave it sitting on the dinette next to the window.

As for a noise filter, I think I would visit the local radio shack or radio installation big box store and ask to speak to one of the installers and ask what they recommend. Some of those inline noise filters are junk and others seem to do pretty well.

One other thing to be aware of azlee is when you switch to the cable hookup for your TV, to press the amplifier button on your antenna booster and turn it off. that may be what is causing your issue. The amplifier is only to be on for over the air signals and turned off when hooked to cable.

Good Luck in resolving it!

golfpro · 06-05-2012, 10:13 PM

I have a off brand TT and when they put the thing together they pulled the antenna through the roof and when doing so they pulled the tip of the wire out of the connector, thus poor radio reception. I found it and re-soldered the connection and it did improve somewhat. The radios in these Tt's are so cheap they only pick up a station if it's 500,000 watts and in your back yard. even a cheap radio shack radio is better than the ones in today's TT's

azlee56 · 06-06-2012, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by golfpro

One other thing to be aware of azlee is when you switch to the cable hookup for your TV, to press the amplifier button on your antenna booster and turn it off. that may be what is causing your issue. The amplifier is only to be on for over the air signals and turned off when hooked to cable.

Good Luck in resolving it!

Thanks. I did turn off the booster to get the cable, and I am guessing then it really messed with the radio station? If I turned it back on then maybe the radio would have played better, even though not connected to the attenna? The thing is, I saw in there some where one of those connect ring like attennas so maybe I just need to pull that out a bit for it to get reception better when disconnected and on cable? Is my thinking right?

Ayotte · 06-21-2012, 04:17 AM

Can anyone else give me some ideas on how to solve the probem. Friend has same problem. Seems that all later keystones have problem with readio reception. Did they change the converter in the later models?

Ayotte · 08-03-2012, 08:09 AM

Have been in contact with Keystone and they say the new converters produce clean power. If anyone is having problems maybe they shoul contact keystone so they are aware there is a problem. Have attached their response below.
Mr. Ayotte,

I have reviewed your question with our Cougar team. Our convertors are the new style that has clean power. It may be necessary to add a noise filter to stop the interference, but this would be an aftermarket install. You can get the sound you are experiencing from a bathroom vent fan motor running; refer cooling fan; or the convertor transformers. Much like a vacuum interferes with a tv at home.

Thank you,

Michelle Diaz

Owner Relations

From: Michelle Diaz
Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2012 8:44 AM
To: '[email protected]'
Subject: RE: c2500213

Dear Mr. Ayotte:

Is your radio issue when you are on AM or FM. Is there anything else on in the trailer when you are trying to pick up the radio?

Thank you,

Michelle Diaz

Owner Relations

The email is [email protected]

Ayotte · 09-22-2012, 05:16 AM

Recently got in contact with Jensen tec support. Below is their response to my questions.
Product: - AWM965 - JENSEN AM/FM/CD/DVD/MP3/USB Wallmount Stereo
Comment: I have a Jensen stereo in a 2012 Keystone Cougar 5th wheel. The radio works fine as long as I am not plugged into shore power. As soon as I connect to the 110 the radio goes all noisy and I even loose some stations. The problem is the converter in the camper-if I flip the breakers for the converter off the radio works fine again. I have contacted Keystone and they say that the converters they use in their campers create clean power so that is not the problem. If the converter is off radio works fine, converter on-radio no good. What do I do to correct the problem? I read somewhere if you run a separate power wire directly from the battery it would solve the problem-did that didn't help. What would you suggest-all the rest of the system works fine-just the am and fm radio stations. Basically the radio is useless in the camper. Thanks for any help you can give me. Allan

Thank you for contacting ASA Electronics. When you connected power from the AWM965 to the battery, did you also run the ground wire directly to the battery as well? Also when you separated power for the AWM965, did you test the TV with the external sources disconnected, like the TV? Is the noise just with AM/FM on the AWM965 or are you getting when playing a DVD or using an auxiliary input? Do you know what style of antenna is being used with the radio? If you isolated the radio and are still getting the noise when the converter is running, it might be putting out RF noise that the antenna is then picking up and creating the issue.

Yes I did run two wires-a ground directly to battery ground and a positive directly to battery. The dvd and cd player works fine-it is only the am and fm radio stations. It does not have an external antenna –it is a wire in a t form(I believe you call it a Dipole). I extended the antenna lead and moved the antenna up to the top of the cabinet above the tv (it was shoved in the wall behind the stereo) but this didn’t help. Hopefully you can find a solution for me as the radio is useless the way it is. Thanks. Allan

I know that you were told by the OEM that the converter couldn’t cause the issue, but it sounds like the converter is putting out RF noise and the radio is picking it up through the antenna. Since you have connected the radio to a separate power source, and are still getting the noise, it doesn’t appear to be induced through the power wires of the radio. Have you tried a portable radio in the RV to see if it also gets the interference?

I do not have a battery operated portable but took and extension cord from a completely different circuit than the camper is on and a small house radio and put it in the camper. Have same problem with the house radio. Seems to be from about 660 to 980 on the am stations. They ether cut out or whine. This being said if I bought a RF interference filter and installed it on the antenna lead, do you think this would solve or improve the operation of my stereo? Thanks Allan

You could try an antenna filter, it should help, but depends on how much noise is hitting the radio. I’m not sure if going with a mast style on the outside of the RV would help, the noise might be induced to the coax cable. I would see if you could test by extended the antenna to outside the RV and see if you still get the noise. The last thing would be to try again to get the converter changed out.

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