Am/fm antenna

[simidrm]

Has anyone found a way of upgrading the am/fm antenna that is mounted on the roof , my antenna mast is about 12in. Tall and only gets radio stations that are coming from the front, I go through a city and lose the stations about 10 min out, I really don’t want to make any new holes .

[Chateau_Nomad]

What type of rig do you have? Then, consider this explanation from a Quora post:

How does extending the length of the antenna on my car increase the input quality of weak radio station signals?
First things first: verify that your antenna is the problem. If no other car radio (inside another car and using some other antenna type, maybe) can receive the desired radio station properly, there are fundamental problems with radio coverage of that station at the troubled site so nothing can fix it.
Except for the antenna, things like water entering the antenna mount and cabling could have caused problems that need to be addressed for more important reasons than just radio reception, reasons like chassis rust at the mountpoint of the antenna. Even the radio receiver could be the problem, if it exhibits low sensitivity. Some setting on the radio could be causing problems, like auto tuning on local (strong) stations only.
There is an optimal lenght for the car antenna. That lenght depends on the frequency of the received signal and it is based on universal constants, the speed of light and the nature of vacuum (or air, they behave nearly the same).
That lenght is 72 cm (28.5 inches) for FM band radio.
With an antenna smaller than that, signal strenght drops. Larger than that, signal strenght (on certain directions) drops.
If you really encounter problems with reception and your car has an antenna about one foot (30.5 cm) long, try to replace it with an antenna near 30 inches long. You will certainly notice the difference.

And another thing: There are some chapters on the books of radio propagation that explain why there are some cases when no matter how good your antenna is, the very nature of the received signal is so downgraded already that it would end up muffled no matter how good your antenna is. Those are spots in radio coverage when the signal suffers from multipath propagation; signal reflected on nearby mountains literally jams the signal that’s coming directly from the transmitter site. Those spots are doomed to not have proper reception unless the radio station takes some serious action, and most radio stations care for urban coverage only and accept that there would be some spots with problems.

- Ioannis A. Makris, B.A Solid State Physics & Electronics (2019)

[MichFigs]

We had the same issue over time with the stock antenna.
Got busy a couple of years back and decided to go to Sirius/XM when traveling as this is always available. Bought a Browning truck mirror mount satellite antenna and replaced the stock unit with this. Install was not easy, as the headliner had to be completely removed to reuse the existing hole. ( insulated roof cap area while working in that area.

Very happy with the results and the usefulness of the satellite service wherever we travel. Best of Luck!

[Chateau_Nomad]

You never answered what coach you have, but if all you want is free OTA radio - there's two basic things to check - a metallic object on the roof close to the antenna blocking the signal, or a loose antenna connection.

Considering people have successfully used a metal coat hanger for a car antenna, it's usually something simple. And if you have a Thor (or RV dealer) installed radio AND antenna, anything is possible. But I'd put money on one of those solutions.

[sdsstep545]

Hi,
I am a Ham radio operator. Everything the people said to you before my reply is true. The problem with alot of the radios installed in the rv's, they are just thrown in there. My back bedroom radio was installed with the antenna wire just tied up with a twisty tie still laying under the radio. It was never extended into the wall or ran thru the roof. I swapped it it for a real antenna run thru the rv's wall and up to roof. It improved, but very little. Turns out the radio in the bedroom has a notoriously bad front end tuner and rf amp. So no matter how much signal I threw at it, it didn't get very good reception. I swapped in a marine grade radio and suddenly all the stations were there and strong.

Our front Radio had a bad antenna on the roof. I had to buy a new rubber ducky antenna and installed that. Our reception improved.

If you know a Ham radio operator near you, they may have an antenna analyzer. They can hook it up and see how your antenna is doing or if you have wiring issues.

I would also just look over the antenna install job and look for any damage or loose connections or in the case of our roof antenna - corrosion.

If you have dielectric grease, put it on the antenna connection(threads) on the roof - keeps it from corroding.

-Scott

[sportcoupe]

A 12" FM antenna is only going to receive near stations. You need length to reach out to the distant stations. That's why car FM antennas are 3-4 feet in length.

[Chateau_Nomad]

Originally Posted by sdsstep545

Hi,
I am a Ham radio operator. Everything the people said to you before my reply is true. The problem with alot of the radios installed in the rv's, they are just thrown in there. My back bedroom radio was installed with the antenna wire just tied up with a twisty tie still laying under the radio. It was never extended into the wall or ran thru the roof. I swapped it it for a real antenna run thru the rv's wall and up to roof. It improved, but very little. Turns out the radio in the bedroom has a notoriously bad front end tuner and rf amp. So no matter how much signal I threw at it, it didn't get very good reception. I swapped in a marine grade radio and suddenly all the stations were there and strong.

Our front Radio had a bad antenna on the roof. I had to buy a new rubber ducky antenna and installed that. Our reception improved.

If you know a Ham radio operator near you, they may have an antenna analyzer. They can hook it up and see how your antenna is doing or if you have wiring issues.

I would also just look over the antenna install job and look for any damage or loose connections or in the case of our roof antenna - corrosion.

If you have dielectric grease, put it on the antenna connection(threads) on the roof - keeps it from corroding.

-Scott

"Ex-Ham" here from mid 1980s (N8LHD)... stupidly let my license expire ... BUT studying again and in process of renewing. A VERY handy tool to have traveling to remote "no cell tower" areas.

[Chateau_Nomad]

Originally Posted by sportcoupe

A 12" FM antenna is only going to receive near stations. You need length to reach out to the distant stations. That's why car FM antennas are 3-4 feet in length.

Not necessarily... Quote from above:

There is an optimal length for the car antenna. That length depends on the frequency of the received signal and it is based on universal constants, the speed of light and the nature of vacuum (or air, they behave nearly the same).
That length is 72 cm (28.5 inches) for FM band radio.
With an antenna smaller than that, signal strength drops. Larger than that, signal strength (on certain directions) drops.

In short, the antenna should be a multiple of the wave length... usually reduced to 1/4 wave or 1/2 wave etc. to be arrive at a reasonably useable length.

[sportcoupe]

12" is shorter then 28". That's why the OP is having problems past 10 miles.

[Chateau_Nomad]

The OP never responded about the type of coach OR if the issue is with the AM or FM band. So anyone's guess...

[ducksface]

Dedicated car Radios are dinosaurs typing on Selectrics.
1,000,000 radio stations on-line and in phone apps.
No warble, no drift, no antenna, no geographics.
Download
Fmradio
For Apple or droid.
(Download policescanner also)

[Chateau_Nomad]

Originally Posted by ducksface

Dedicated car Radios are dinosaurs typing on Selectrics.
1,000,000 radio stations on-line and in phone apps.
No warble, no drift, no antenna, no geographics.
Download
Fmradio
For Apple or droid.
(Download policescanner also)

Except in most of the Appalachian mountains where there is no cell signal...

But there's plenty of RF... it just doesn't last as long.

[sportcoupe]

Originally Posted by ducksface

Dedicated car Radios are dinosaurs typing on Selectrics.
1,000,000 radio stations on-line and in phone apps.
No warble, no drift, no antenna, no geographics.
Download
Fmradio
For Apple or droid.
(Download policescanner also)

There are many parts of the country where people live with no or very little cell signal.

[Chateau_Nomad]

Starlink has now proven how internet can be accessible literally anywhere... which means VoIP is accessible.

Now it's just a matter of finishing satellite deployment, fine tuning firmware/software and... the biggie... billing structure.

The implication of this is HUGE. No more need for cell towers, or subscription to overpriced satellite "radio". RV travelers can have continuous connectivity anywhere with a clear sky view. Will radio antennas on vehicles disappear just like cigarette lighters?

But... will Musk allow roaming? Or artificially restrict access?

[sportcoupe]

Originally Posted by Chateau_Nomad

Will radio antennas on vehicles disappear

Yes, I remove the radio antenna on every vehicle I own.

[Chateau_Nomad]

Originally Posted by sportcoupe

Yes, I remove the radio antenna on every vehicle I own.

I always thought they were great to hang squirrel tails on...

[ducksface]

Look up
Zip gun.
On some older cars a .22 caliber shell fit perfectly.

And

Musk is threatening everyone with a
Starlink based cell phone.

[Chateau_Nomad]

Originally Posted by ducksface

...On some older cars a .22 caliber shell fit perfectly.

???

[sportcoupe]

Originally Posted by Chateau_Nomad

I always thought they were great to hang squirrel tails on...

Haha. You're dating yourself

I remember that too.

[Chateau_Nomad]

Originally Posted by sportcoupe

Haha. You're dating yourself

I remember that too.

AND "geographing" myself...