watty55 Posted November 17, 2017 Share Posted November 17, 2017 Hi, When travelling along in our MH the radio reception drifts so much that it becomes almost impossible to listen to, this is despite locking in numerous stations via the presets when stationary. I am led to believe that the radio antenna is located in the right hand mirror ( 65 reg. Fiat low profile). A few months ago i knocked the mirror against a bollard but fortunately the mirror electrics still work and i'm assuming the knock didn't affect the antenna, if indeed if that is where it is located. If not, where would it be located. Alternatively, is there any other device that could give a better reception? Any suggestions please. Regards Watty55 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted November 18, 2017 Share Posted November 18, 2017 These are some earlier forum threads relating to Fiat Ducato radio reception http://tinyurl.com/ycjsxcjd I believe your motorhome is a 2015 Auto-Roller 747. Although the radio aerial is often housed in a wing mirror, as will be seen from Steve928’s photo on this thread http://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Dab-gone-from-radio-Peugeot-Boxer-M-H-Nov-2014/40112/ that may not always be the case where a coachbuilt motorhome is concerned. (For example, Pilote has been fitting the aerial on a front wing.) It might be helpful if you said which make and model of radio your motorhome has (as some radios seem to be better than others reception-wise) and whether the problem is general (ie. affects FM, AM and DAB) or particular (eg. only affects FM). The problem may relate to the radio rather than the aerial. The Pioneer AVH-X2700BT radio-unit factory-fitted to my Rapido motorhome has ‘lost’ its AM capability. It used to receive and play AM stations well, then, suddenly, there was just static. FM is still OK. Fortunately for us this is no great loss as, when driving, the radio is used solely to display an image from the rear-view camera and, when we are stopped abroad, all the radio was used for was to allow my wife to listen to Radio 4 on Long Wave. However, reception on LW was often unsatisfactory and the no-AM-on-cab-radio fault has been sidestepped by buying an inexpensive portable radio with LW that can be positioned in the vehicle to optimise reception. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted November 18, 2017 Share Posted November 18, 2017 Another thing to consider is the time-frame... If your radio’s reception was OK when you obtained the vehicle and its behaviour has changed since then, there will be a reason for that change and this might be radioi and/or aerial related (ie,. a fault has developed). And if the present ‘drifting’ problem was not present before the bollard incident, it’s a fair bet that the mirror hitting the bollard is the likely cause. I’m guessing that the radio used to be OK, or otherwise you would have complained to the dealership that sold you the Auto-Roller. But if the motorhome is still under warranty, you could always ask the dealer to fix it or, if the radio is a Fiat unit, ask Fiat to investigate. There’s little point in trying to address the problem by (say) fitting a more sophisticated and expensive aerial if the fault lies with the radio. You could experiment with a different aerial to see if that improves matters and, if it did, then aerial replacement would be a logical next step. As I thought the aerial might be to blame for my Pioneer radio’s loss of AM reception, this was the approach I tried. Unfortunately It made no difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watty55 Posted November 19, 2017 Author Share Posted November 19, 2017 Derek, The motorhome is as you suggested, as for the radio it must be the bog standard unit that is presumably fitted to most Fiat cabs for that year. It is now in storage so unfortunately i can't check it out further, from memory i can't recall seeing a badge or sticker with a make on it and when turning the unit on, it initially shows Fiat illuminating up on the screen. I believe the radio is just a am/fm unit. Since the knock i have now fitted Mirror guards but i wouldn't think that could make any difference, it's just plastic over plastic. Maybe a visit to the local Fiat dealer might help. Thank you for your advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 Sometimes the little usb charger adapters interfere with reception, especially if they're the cheap Chinese ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will86 Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 Use a good stand-alone radio and an ear extension, never fails. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 watty55 - 2017-11-19 10:44 AM Derek, The motorhome is as you suggested, as for the radio it must be the bog standard unit that is presumably fitted to most Fiat cabs for that year. It is now in storage so unfortunately i can't check it out further, from memory i can't recall seeing a badge or sticker with a make on it and when turning the unit on, it initially shows Fiat illuminating up on the screen. I believe the radio is just a am/fm unit. Since the knock i have now fitted Mirror guards but i wouldn't think that could make any difference, it's just plastic over plastic. Maybe a visit to the local Fiat dealer might help. Thank you for your advice. If switching your radio on causes “Fiat” to appear on its display-screen, the radio will be one of the Uconnect models. This MHFun thread discusses poor DAB reception with Uconnect units https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/dab-reception-on-uconnect-in-new-fiat-cabs.152812/ and I note the warning about plug-in sat-nvs. If you have anything being powered from one of the dashboard 12V sockets, this could affect the radio. My Hobby motorhome had cables powering a sat-nav and reversing-camera monitor running across the top of the dashboard above the radio and, with the sat-nav and monitor turned on, the radio’s reception was virtually non-existent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisLon Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 Have had 3 Fiat based motorhomes and can confirm that the arial is in the nearside mirror. Makes them extremely expensive. The previous MH had a standard Fiat Radio and reception was never very good. Lack of stations and drifting. If you did have good reception, it may be that the knock has dislodged a connector, which would be the cheapest and easiest solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark S Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 Got so fed up with poor reception I have now removed OE radio from our 2011 Ducato and replaced with a Pioneer Avic- Z720 DAB. Took a bit of doing but have now got it up and working and it came with a reversing camera which was handy as bike rack fitted to ours obscures original camera. Been at it almost a week but now done and works brill. Got DAB radio no problem. Going away for weekend so will get a better idea then. I also fitted an Xtrons FV006 tv tuner and now got all the toys so feeling pretty chuffed with myself as none of the auto-electric installers I got in touch with were keen to to fit. FM radio still terrible but at least we have options now. CD,USB, DAB whilst mobile. Great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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