FM radio reception

[Joec]

We recently bought a 2021 Thor Winport 34R still learning a lot about it. It seems that the FM stations on the radio only pick up about 40 or 50 miles. I was wondering if this is normal A FM radio in a class a RV ?? I was wondering if anyone else has had this issue? Thanks for your advice in advance.
Joe Coffey

 

[RV Driver]

FM radio signals are in a much higher frequency band than AM radio. Their signals, at 88 to 108 MHz, are "line of sight" signals, meaning their signals do not follow the curvature of the earth as the low band AM radio signals do. So once you get beyond their straight-line range, you lose the signal. That happens around 40 to 50 miles away from the station, depending on the terrain.

The AM radio band is down at .5 to 1.7 MHz, a much lower frequency band. Signals in that band follow the curvature of the earth, so they can be received at much longer distances.

 

[16ACE27]

RV Drive speaks the truth; but in my limited Class A experience, the tuners and antenna combos in these aftermarket radios are nowhere near as good as what you get these days in an automobile. So your experience matches mine. My fix is to stream music from an APP on my phone or tablet via Bluetooth to the installed radio.

 

[Robert H.]

40-50 miles is not bad. You can make sure the antenna on the roof is standing up and the antenna cable is firmly plugged into the back of the radio. Some radios have a distance/local feature. If so, make sure it is set to distance.

 

[DogLovers]

Ok here's the straight dope as they say. I have traveled all over America many times and you're right. You get down the road a ways and you lose the station you were listening to then you search for another then pretty soon you lose that station. Even with a remote for the radio in the rig I got tired of scanning for stations all the time and realized the alternative to FM is AM and most of that it seems is religious programming and crop reporting with only the odd music station that is not country. So I ended all that crap with Sirius Radio. You can turn it one for a month or two and then turn it off if you like. So I subscribe for the summer travel months then just let it expire. Works for me.

 

[Mark54]

We recently bought a 2021 Thor Winport 34R still learning a lot about it. It seems that the FM stations on the radio only pick up about 40 or 50 miles. I was wondering if this is normal A FM radio in a class a RV ?? I was wondering if anyone else has had this issue? Thanks for your advice in advance.
Joe Coffey

My iPhone has a FM radio (local stations- still limited) app, and I can BT/ USB connect to my dash unit- or just load your phone music app and run thru dash unit's BT and listen to your favorites that way... just an idea.

 

[Robert H.]

Sat radio works great. You can usually bargain with them for the best rate. The other option would be Starlink and stream your preferred music. Many radio stations now have an online streaming service. As a bonus, you would have internet access.

 

[GD3]

I have to believe it’s a combination of the cheap Axxera radios and antenna placement in our Thor 23U ClassC, the bunk over the cab covers the antenna, on the E350 chassis. Here in central Mn in our VW or our Chevy pickup, we typically get 70 miles or more before signals breakup. The Thor set up is usually about 1/2 that testing the same stations. I was thinking about looking at FM boosters or different radios, or moving the Antenna to the top of the camper, but I really don’t want to put a hole in the ceiling and than trying to fish wires through the wall.

 

[SGilbert]

The whip antenna on my '18 Axis rotted out. Biought a new one on Amazon for less than $10. Screws right in.

 

[Jimbo57]

We recently bought a 2021 Thor Winport 34R still learning a lot about it. It seems that the FM stations on the radio only pick up about 40 or 50 miles. I was wondering if this is normal A FM radio in a class a RV ?? I was wondering if anyone else has had this issue? Thanks for your advice in advance.
Joe Coffey

You can get a free app from IHeart radio on you phone then if your station has I heart radio then any where your phone is you have radio. Most radios now days can link to your phone via Bluetooth or you can get a wireless speaker that Bluetooth to your phone and now you can listen to any where you have phone reception or anything your phone down loads

 

[Joec]

Thanks for all your replies
Joe C