Poor FM radio reception

[Matthew_dee1]

Hi all,
I have noticed very poor radio signal reception on my new 2017 trail runner. It is an IRV multimedia headunit. Has anyone else experienced it's issue. I'm not even sure that there is a true fm antenna on this model, is that the case? Suppose I probably need to install one. Or does anyone think it's possible I just have a loose connection etc... Thanks in advance! Loving our new heartland trail! Can't wait for this year's adventures. Also Im so glad I found this forum lots of great info on here!

 

[danemayer]

Hi matthew_dee1,

Congratulations on the new Trailer Runner and welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum.

To figure out the reception issue, you may have to pull the radio and look at the antenna connection.

 

[Matthew_dee1]

Hi matthew_dee1,

Congratulations on the new Trailer Runner and welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum.

To figure out the reception issue, you may have to pull the radio and look at the antenna connection.

thanks​! will be taking a look back there soon

Sent from my LGLS991 using Tapatalk

 

[CDN]

Hello,

My TV antenna is used for FM reception. Make sure the preamp is turned on.

 

[JohnD]

We had a 2013 Trail Runner with a Jensen AM/FM/CD/DVD unit and the radio reception was basically non-existent.

I wound up pulling the Jensen unit out of the cabinet and found an old style wire diapole antenna wound up in a ball with rubber bands around it.

I strung it up over the top of the closest window valance and suddenly . . . radio stations!

If your radio is hooked up to the roof antenna and you're still not getting any stations, that can be a little more time consuming to track down.

 

[JohnDar]

Some of us with older rigs learned that the FM antenna mounted on the roof or wall was junk (the mast on mine fell off someplace). Using a standard coax cable and a splitter we hooked the radio to the TV antenna and got excellent reception (turning the TV signal amplifier off).

 

[carl.swoyer]

I found my antenna hooked up but it was not stretched out to pick up a signal.

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[Matthew_dee1]

thanks guys much appreciated

Sent from my LGLS991 using Tapatalk

 

[JohnD]

My Prowler had the radio hooked up to the roof TV antenna, but it was shorting out the antenna so it wouldn't work with the RV park cable TV.

The mobile repair tech destroyed the stock stereo trying to get it out, so they replaced it with a new one . . . and had the same problem.

After screwing around with it for months, plus having our dealership trying to figure it out (that was a big waste of time), they bought an antenna (FM only, no AM reception) from a boat shop and put it inside of the entertainment cabinet.

It still didn't pick up much so I had to remove the stereo unit from the cabinet so I could get at the antenna and pull the wire through so I could raise it higher in the air.

But it still doesn't pick up diddly . . . however maybe just a little bit better than before.

I think I am going to purchase an external antenna and mount it to the roof.

 

[Matthew_dee1]

oh man, I haven't hooked up to cable yet.. I'm going to take a good look at it soon. I'm glad for all the insight into possible things to look for.

Sent from my LGLS991 using Tapatalk

 

[Matthew_dee1]

Some of us with older rigs learned that the FM antenna mounted on the roof or wall was junk (the mast on mine fell off someplace). Using a standard coax cable and a splitter we hooked the radio to the TV antenna and got excellent reception (turning the TV signal amplifier off).

so when you had the TV antenna powered on it didn't get as good FM signal? I did try putting up the TV antenna, but then I turned the power to it on.

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[JohnDar]

With my floor plan, the radio/DVD player is next to the living room TV and the cable hook ups, so it was fairly easy to put the splitter on the TV line. My bad, the wife corrected me that we left the amp on. Might be one of those things I do at the beginning of the summer and forget about. I'll know for sure in a couple of weeks.

But, at any rate, the reception was much better connected to the TV antenna.


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[Matthew_dee1]

cool thanks. I have a very similar setup. should be simple fix if that is the problem

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[Matthew_dee1]

update..
found the antenna wrapped up with a rubber band behind the head unit. pulled it out and got slightly better reception. Just bought an adapter and a coax splitter on Amazon to use the TV antenna. hope that works like I'm hoping it will. thanks everyone for the tips!

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[Puzzled_1]

Hello,

My TV antenna is used for FM reception. Make sure the preamp is turned on.

I will have to try that before adding an FM antenna.

 

[JohnD]

One other problem I ran in to when the radio was hooked up to the roof TV antenna . . .

You couldn't have the radio and TV on at the same time . . . Only one or the other.