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Recykaler
Member
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# Posted: 7 Jul 2016 21:14
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Newbie here.......thanks in advance.
I enjoy my cabin in the Western mountains of Maine. We have a 12 volt solar/battery system in place. We get several FM stations in our truck but only one station with good reception on our portable radio. I have tried 5 different radios with the same result. I purchased a Pioneer car radio and antenna. Same results one good station. I tried an amplified antenna...no better. My next attempt was a brand new old stock Radio Shack dedicated FM roof antenna. Now my problem is that no instructions came with it. Radio Shack can not help me. The 20 something clerks had no idea what I was talking about. What I need to know is how to go from the antenna jack on the radio to the roof antenna.....Thanks
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CabinBuilder
Admin
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# Posted: 7 Jul 2016 23:11 - Edited by: CabinBuilder
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Sometimes a simple solution works best:
Run a long thin insulated (cheap) wire from antenna jack on the radio (strip wire insulation at the jack) to a tree branch or roof. The higher the better. Play with wire location, angle etc for better reception and suitability. The longer wire works better, 20-40 ft is plenty.
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bobrok
Member
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# Posted: 8 Jul 2016 10:19
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What type of output connection on the antenna?
What type of input connection on your radio?
If you answer these 2 questions we can help.
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Eddy G
Member
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# Posted: 8 Jul 2016 10:25
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Radio and Cell reception at our cabin (Western NH) is HORRIBLE to non existent....I picked up a C Crane radio and that thing can pick up a signal anywhere......Not cheep but worth it to me..
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RichInTheUSA
Member
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# Posted: 8 Jul 2016 11:49
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What? Radio Shack can't help you? Oh... I forgot, their sales people are only trained to get you into the battery club. ;) haha
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SE Ohio
Member
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# Posted: 8 Jul 2016 16:30 - Edited by: SE Ohio
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Pictures of both stereo connection area and antenna connections would be helpful.
My RV stereo came with two screw terminals, and I was able to hook up wires from rabbit ear antenna, one wire per terminal. T'was easy. Will also work with VHF TV/FM antenna. I hope this is what you have. You can get an adapter to go between antenna coaxial cable and the two screws on back of the unit. https://www.radioshack.com/products/radioshack-matching-transformer?variant=179647340 21
Being a car stereo, it might have the simple plug in connection on the back for a whip/monopole antenna? These are "resonant" antennas, and depend on a matched antenna length for best performance. Might be an antenna adjustment on the stereo to compensate/optimize for antenna? I don't know if you can hook up a FM/TV dipole antenna with good results. You might try the car monopole/whip antenna with an extension cable? http://www.bestbuy.com/site/metra-universal-antenna-extension-cable-black/9436906.p?i d=1218104800738&skuId=9436906&ref=212&loc=1&ksid=e3e20d8a-8a2c-4ad0-a70c-448a1f23b6e2 &ksprof_id=3&ksaffcode=pg58632&ksdevice=c&gclid=Cj0KEQjwnv27BRCmuZqMg_Ddmt0BEiQAgeY1l 3UbpRZJKqnJTKRXnoddE708uMb8LvUSZBY3uQ82XOwaAtMA8P8HAQ
Either antenna works best placed outdoors up high, above roof line and even above the trees if you can get up there. You'll need shielded cable. Grounding is a good idea to prevent static buildup/damage.
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Steve_S
Member
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# Posted: 8 Jul 2016 16:38
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One simple and unmentioned point, if your going to install an antenna, wire or mast... consider lightning potentials and prevention / isolation. Would not want to see that spiffy new antenna lead to the burning down of your cabin.
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RiverCabin
Member
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# Posted: 11 Jul 2016 09:51 - Edited by: RiverCabin
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Quoting: Eddy G I picked up a C Crane radio and that thing can pick up a signal anywhere......Not cheep but worth it to me..
Eddy hit the nail on the head, your problem is probably as much the radio as it is the antenna.
Everyone agrees that car radios get great reception however, its not so much the radio as it is the car. See this article, http://www.ccrane.com/Car-Radio-Reception-Article-1-of-2
C. Crane makes a great line of radios, albeit expensive. The CC Radio 2E is their flagship model but if you wanted to safe about a hundred buck, I'd recommend the CC Radio EP. I use one and I love it. It is much more a "traditional" radio with old style manual tuning but if you can get by without the fancy digital tuning it's great. It also has a coax hook up for FM and a pinch line hookup for external AM antennas. In addition, it has has a line in jack that I use to play music from my phone. While not stereo, It has a great sound and will easily fill my cabin or yard.
I would hope that it would help your situation but you may just have to come to grips that given your location, reception is always going to be poor. FM broadcasters typically aim to have 50 mile of transmission range and anything else they get is just gravy. AM offers much more as to range especially at night. In the evening I typically listen to AM on my CCrane EP and often from southern Missouri I listen to stations from Chicago, Pittsburg, and other eastern locations. Given that AM signals "skip" on the ionosphere at night, listening to stations up to 1000 miles away is achievable.
Hope this didn't come off as an ad for C. Crane, but they honestly do have a pretty good product.
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bobrok
Member
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# Posted: 11 Jul 2016 16:04
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^ 2nd this.
The quality of the tuner in most off the shelf radios sucks.
We went thru a few radios before we tried a CCrane EP and couldn't believe the improvement in reception. Then I tried a signal splitter from my VHF tv antenna to the radio input and began picking up stuff that we never were able to. Problem is the tv antenna is directional and I decided it was too much trouble to rotate the antenna all the time.
Still happy with the CCrane using the built in rod.
In addition I've acquired a Grundig Satellit 750 with digital tuning and I'm thrilled.
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Nate R
Member
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# Posted: 12 Jul 2016 10:54
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I'm using the CCrane 2E. Would be nice if it had external FM antenna terminals for inside my metal trailer, but it does VERY well at picking up stations with just the built-in rod. Good sound quality, batteries last a long while, good reception, Weather radio alert, and the auxillary input have all be great.
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Recykaler
Member
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# Posted: 14 Jul 2016 16:32
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Thank you for all the info.......I do not get up there as often I'd like to will keep you posted......
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