No AM station on my radio

[Jay2504]

Turning off led lights helps me with reception also. I tried a spare antenna that I had, no luck. The next thing I’m going to do is try a separate wire from the camper frame to the radio case. I’m parked for the winter under my carport that is made of metal so I don’t know if it would help. I will probably get it done before I pull the camper out but it might not help until I get out into the open. Jay

[Mslaman]

Originally Posted by bikendan

How's does this help the OP?[emoji37]

It’s called a joke. Supposed to be funny.
Humor is good for the soul.

[Wolverine 1945]

Originally Posted by Dan1969

Mine doesn't get them either and I have the magnadyne (????)I need to dig back there and see what's going on.

Problem being that FR hooked the radio to the antenna under our Cab Overs !!!
On an E450,,, instead of hooking to the radio antenna on the roof !!!

[kamper00]

Generally speaking AM radios for quite some time have been built using a tuner on a chip, in other words, not like reception of yesteryear, AM reception is fair at best with any newer radio whether camper, car, or stand alone. Gone are the days where they were built with discreet components and had phenomenal coverage.

Not to show my age, but I remember back in the late 70's Radio Shack had a table top AM radio that was designed to even be even more sensitive. The reception was nothing less than steller.

so back to the issue, not really sure there is allot one can do other than to make sure the radio is not outright defective and the ant is connected properly.

[cheapskate]

"Why is it that I can get FM stations no problem but absolutely no AM stations
Is their a fix I can do
We have a brand new Vibe 24rls
Thanks"

All the TT/FWs I have seen recently that are 5 yrs old or less, seem to have the standard "Stubby" antenna. This unit is an amplified, 12 V DC powered unit. On my 5er it is mounted on the fiberglas exterior with two black wood screws that were used as self tapping screws with no pre-drilled pilot holes. Every time anyone has complained to me about poor AM reception, I noticed their antennae were mounted just like mine. As the screws go into the fiberglas, they create a little "volcano" in the fiberglas. This then prevents the rubber backing gasket from sealing properly and water eventually gets into the antenna housing and destroys the electronics through corrosion of the printed circuit board. My fix was a trip to The Source (formerly Radio Shack) and I bought a plain old fashioned, spring based AM antenna. Cost me $24.00 Canadian (about $1.25 US these days! ). Lordco in Canada, UAP/NAPA and almost any Radio installer shop will have the same antenna. I mounted it on a piece of 1/8th aluminum plate 3" x 6". I had to bore out the cable entry hole in the fiberglas to about 1.25" to get the antenna mount through the wall. I used the original screw holes but drilled them out to 3/16" and used plastic wall anchors in them. I pushed the cable through the hole in the wall and then filled the gap with silicone exterior caulking. I ran a bead of caulk around the back of the aluminum sheet on the inner side, just before the edge then mounted the plate with two #10 stainless steel screws. I plugged the antenna into the socket where the old one was connected and ran a ground wire from the antenna mount to the ground connection behind my Genesis GT3.0 stereo system. All together, the fix cost me about an hour and $28.00. It has worked perfectly now for 4 years and about 40,000 kilometres. It's cheap and easy and has worked on 3 other big plastic holiday boxes belonging to friends and acquaintances.
Good luck.

[Jay2504]

I would love to see pictures of this and the old antenna also please. Jay

[cheapskate]

Just for JAY2504,
Went out into typical BC "Partly Cloudy" day and took these. So far today it's about 1/2" of partly cloudy! Two pics of good antenna. Dyslexic moment though, plate is 2.5" x 8" x 1/8". Next ones are the dud antenna. Managed to clean it up and get this one working again but....I dunno. Red wire is +12 volts dc supply. Black cable end is a standard automotive antenna plug.

[beavertrap]

I have not read through all comments. On my Drive radio, when the battery is disconnected then reconnected, The radio will default to European tuning. you need to select the US tuning before it will work as there is no manual tuning.
Hope this helps

[pacin]

am is going the way trex did. I bought a new stereo system for in the kitchen under the cabinets, hooked it up and the sob did not have am on it. just fm and cd player

[upflying]

Originally Posted by pacin

am is going the way trex did. I bought a new stereo system for in the kitchen under the cabinets, hooked it up and the sob did not have am on it. just fm and cd player

I hope AM radio doesn't disappear, it's the only presets I have in my tow vehicle.
I like the springloaded antenna example in the photos above, another project for me to do.

[jk510]

I had to replace my radio in the motorhome a couple of years ago. I was very diligent to find one with a front aux input and CD player ( not as easy as you'd think ). After I installed it I tried to find the AM button only to discover there was none!

[Scrapper]

Originally Posted by cheapskate

Just for JAY2504,
Went out into typical BC "Partly Cloudy" day and took these. So far today it's about 1/2" of partly cloudy! Two pics of good antenna. Dyslexic moment though, plate is 2.5" x 8" x 1/8". Next ones are the dud antenna. Managed to clean it up and get this one working again but....I dunno. Red wire is +12 volts dc supply. Black cable end is a standard automotive antenna plug.

I have that same antenna and the radio reception is very poor. I got only one station and sometimes that dropped out. How did you get it off the fiberglass wall? I took the 2 screws out and can only get the antenna base about 1/16" from the wall. Since I was having trouble with my tv reception at the time and had to replace the Winegard booster circuit board i connected the radio into it so the reception comes from the Winegard Sensor antenna. I get good reception now but I need the tv booster turned on for great reception. I'm 37 miles north of Madison, WI. Now with the booster turned on I get radio reception from Janesville (93 mi) and Green Bay (98 mi).