eddie123 Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 Is poor radio reception the norm on the new Fiat Ducato or is there something wrong with mine? By poor I mean I can only get for example radio one in certain areas and even then the signal isn't strong enough for the radio RDS to function. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panagah Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 Well cant speak for the new ducatto, but on our 03 ducato coachbuilt radio reception is very poor. We have had a remounted ariel to no avail. Someone once told me that it is due to the coach built luton. I dont know if this is true or not but it does make sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenewellhome Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 The Luton will make little difference to radio reception if a good quality aerial is properly fitted, especially as most modern 'vans are made from GRP/plastic. A good quality (that doesn't necessarily mean expensive) telescopic aerial properly mounted to the front wing should solve your problems. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norma Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 We gave up on our useless ariel and radio and have fitted a DAB radio - a cheap one. Wel worth every penny. We had that stupid ariel stuck on the windscreen - bipolar (?) - or is that the driver? DAB ariel is glass mounted and both FM and DAB consistantly are much better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith T Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 With our Rapido, we suppplied an upgraded Radio/CD (even in 2002 they were still fitting Radio/Cassettes as standard!) but the real problem I think in certain parts of the country was that the aerial was stuck on the inside of the winsdscreen, although it was amplified. I note the new Burstner, which we are shortly to collect,(tomorrow actually) has an external cab pillar- mounted one, so we shall see what signal that produces. However, when most of the roof mounted Tv aerials also included a Radio aerial, why do the convertors not run a lead form this into the cab radio...surely that would give the best signal everywhere? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddie123 Posted July 4, 2007 Author Share Posted July 4, 2007 Yes mine has the external mounted aerial which apart from being pretty useless also resonates and rattles on the door pillar at certain speeds and wind directions. Until I found out what was making the racket I slowed down because I thought I may have had a loose wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 Keith T - 2007-07-04 5:53 PM With our Rapido, we suppplied an upgraded Radio/CD (even in 2002 they were still fitting Radio/Cassettes as standard!) but the real problem I think in certain parts of the country was that the aerial was stuck on the inside of the winsdscreen, although it was amplified. I note the new Burstner, which we are shortly to collect,(tomorrow actually) has an external cab pillar- mounted one, so we shall see what signal that produces. However, when most of the roof mounted Tv aerials also included a Radio aerial, why do the convertors not run a lead form this into the cab radio...surely that would give the best signal everywhere? If you get the same aerial on your Burstner as we had, Keith, it is very good. It was a glass fibre rod wound with relatively fine wire protected by a tough rubber sleeve, only about 15" long, made by Blaupunkt. Then, one day, recepiton plummeted. Somehow, the rubber sheath had got cut and with it, the underlying wire. Wondering, I temporarily soldered the broken wire, and the good reception returned, so I got a replacement wand. It only cost £16 inc P&P, so goodness knows how much a cheap aeriel costs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tp002c784tp002c784tp Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 Keith T I think you will find a quite a few vans with with the Status aerials and telecopic aerials attached are the main radio aerials, the trouble is a lot of vans do not extend the telescopic sections, mind they are still not the greatest, but do work better extended. Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith T Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 Brian Kirby - 2007-07-04 7:10 PM If you get the same aerial on your Burstner as we had, Keith, it is very good. It was a glass fibre rod wound with relatively fine wire protected by a tough rubber sleeve, only about 15" long, made by Blaupunkt. Then, one day, recepiton plummeted. Somehow, the rubber sheath had got cut and with it, the underlying wire. Wondering, I temporarily soldered the broken wire, and the good reception returned, so I got a replacement wand. It only cost £16 inc P&P, so goodness knows how much a cheap aeriel costs!Brian - yes, from the photos I took it does look like the one you describe.....so hopefully it's OK. We'll see tomorrow! Did you get the replacement aerial direct from Burstner, or via dealers, and then fit it yourself?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 The replacement came from Blaupunkt or, as they call themselvesin the UK, Blue Spot Car Audio; see http://www.bluespot.co.uk/The wand just unscrews and the replacement screws on in its place. A couple of minutes should do it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rees Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 Please can you tell us which aerial you bought for £16? I have logged on to the Bluespot site you mention on the www but cannot find any aerial for £16. I look forward to your further guidance. Many thanks, Rees Pryce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Way2Go Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 We've got one of the new Fiat Ducato motorhomes and have superb surround sound radio reception . . . sorry.We've just covered a 300 miles round trip through the midlands and cotswolds and have had no problems at all.We've covered about 2,500 miles so far from new and have never had the slightest problem with radio reception. We did have it upgraded to a DVD player (as part of the Elegance Pack) so it isn't the standard model. It sounds as though you may have a fault with your radio? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Madge Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 With our 03 Ducato we can get BBC Radio four in certain parts of Portugal. That's with the bog standard Radio as well. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenewellhome Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 Having re-read the original post I think we all might have mis understood, me included. Eddie specifically asked about the NEW Ducato which should have the aerial in the passengers (I think) door mirror assembly. Unless of course Eddie's is an A class 'van where the mirrors have been repositioned/replaced with bigger versions. It could be worth just checking that the aerial lead hasn't become detached from the set. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 Rees - 2007-07-09 8:02 AM Please can you tell us which aerial you bought for £16? I have logged on to the Bluespot site you mention on the www but cannot find any aerial for £16. I look forward to your further guidance. Many thanks, Rees Pryce ReesSory, no I can't find it any more. However, it still comes up if I go back through the link in the e-mail confirmation of my original order. But, it wasn't an aerial, it was just a replacement wand. Try giving them a ring? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddie123 Posted July 9, 2007 Author Share Posted July 9, 2007 Thanks David for re-focussing the thread. Yes mine is the new Ducato with an external aerial mounted on the passenger side of the windscreen column. It is plastic coated and has a ribbed texture. The guy who fitted a security system on Saturday said the aerial was a top quality Blaupunk job apparently costing (according to his memory) about £70. So I guess there must be something wrong. I will tell the Dealer but was hoping there may be some kind of test that will pin point the trouble and hopefully save me a trip to the dealer. thanks to all contributors-Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grumpyman Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 We had lousy reception on our Peugeot until we had a amplified ariel fitted to the windsceen now reception on radio 4& five plus all local stations is as good as Radio 1& 2. Also we've had the radio altered to stop the twenty minuet cut out disabled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
passionwagon Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 8-) The new FIAT/PEUGEOT/CITROEN has the aerial in the door mirror. Just come back from Poland in one of these new vehicles an Autocruise Stardream and what a dream it is. The radio worked a treat but in the fens near here some loss of signal when travelling.The geographical spread of FM stations on the continent is far greater than UK with many more transmitters. Hence the problem in some UK areas getting a good signal. I trust those with the problem have the AF mode ON and REG mode ON to ensure the radio seeks the best available station. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddie123 Posted July 11, 2007 Author Share Posted July 11, 2007 No they don't or at least some don't. My Ducato is three weeks old and it has an external wand type aerial. I have discovered that it is probably a characteristic of the Blaupunkt Travelpilot, my dealer informs me he has had numerous complaints about these units. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Way2Go Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 Hang on a mo . . . the Blaupunkt TravelPilot is a satnav device. I thought we were talking about radio reception? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 Way2Go - 2007-07-12 6:50 AM Hang on a mo . . . the Blaupunkt TravelPilot is a satnav device. I thought we were talking about radio reception? That aerial is the radio aerial, and it is a good one. It has naught to do with sat nav, it incorporates a booster and, when working as intended, gives excellent reception. If the reception is poor, either the aerial or its cable is damaged, the booster is defective, the aerial incorrectly connected to the radio, or the radio is not correctly tuned to the aerial. I'd suggest a trip, with the van, to an "in car entertainment" specialist, dealing in the brand of radio fitted. However, last thought, I wonder if the booster may be wired to the starter battery, but the radio itself wired to the habitation battery so that it can be used on site. This would be unusual, since I believe power to the booster is usually switched via the radio itself, but with different people fitting different bits, who knows? Without the booster you don't get much out of it either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Way2Go Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 Quite correct Brian but Eddie123 originally complained of a bad radio reception then several posts later added :-eddie123 - 2007-07-11 10:40 PM I have discovered that it is probably a characteristic of the Blaupunkt Travelpilot, my dealer informs me he has had numerous complaints about these units. The only effect a bad radio reception would have on his TravelPilot would be that his travel information updates may not get through or may be scrambled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 Yes but, the Amsterdam and Rome models, while still classed as Travel Pilots, are standard 1 DIN format combined radio/sat nav units (simple arrow type navigation visuals appear in the radio "tuner" window: the rest of the guidance is aural). I assume Eddie may have one of these units and the aerial is not "talking" to the radio element. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Way2Go Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 Oh, I see what you mean Brian. In that case we'll have to wait until he updates us ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddie123 Posted July 16, 2007 Author Share Posted July 16, 2007 Brian my Blaupunkt is TravelPilot E Exact to be specific. It is a radio/cd player/sat nav device and is part of the standard kit that goes with the new Burstner Solano range. The radio is fed by a wand type aerial that reverberates against the windscreen pillar providing a consistent loud really annoying un-synchronised backbeat to the music as the radio fades in and out of range. As I said earlier, I have spoken to the service manager at the dealership and he said he has a "pile" of these units he has taken out. It would suggest (unless the manager is incompetent) that the fault is a characteristic of the unit. The van is going in on Thursday to sort out a few commissioning problems i.e. to sort out why the leisure battery draining (covered in another thread) and why doesn't the shower drain. I will update you again on Friday. all the best to everyone- Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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