I found an antenna!

[Toasty's Dad]

So, radio reception has been (much) less than stellar in our 2004 16' CCD. It improves slightly when the Winegard TV antenna is raised, so I always assumed that the radio was hooked to the Windgard via a splitter for FM, as commonly found on house TV antennas.

This weekend, I'm on the roof for our very first waxing (we bought Toasty new in Novemeber 2005!). And what do I see? This little 1-foot rubber whip antenna, lying flat against the roof. Go down, tune in on a distant station with poor reception, crank it up, go back on the roof, prop up the antenna, and POOF! it comes in clear as a bell.

Tighten up the hex screw, and the antenna stands on its own. It's no taller than the AC unit, and flexible too, so no clearance worries.

Just an FYI for anybody else who may not know this antenna exists. Just good old low-tech FM, but sure beats a blank!

jon

[Killo1]

Good post. More times than not it's the most simpilist of things when something is not working correctly.

[bhayden]

Anybody have experience getting Wireless internet inside the trailer. I'm afraid the aluminum skin and bug screens on the windows make for a darned good RF shield. Our trailer came with the stock radio antena and TV antena. Someone added a CB antena at the front. I'm hoping frequences are close enough that one of these can be used as an external antena for a wireless ethernet connection.

[dwightdi]

I do not think the frequencies match. It may be of some marginal improvement. If you have the nylon screens on the trailer, they do not block WiFi frequencies. There is a remote antenna at Radio Shack that (when placed next to the window) will be of more use for WIFI work.

[loudruff]

You might want to check out the work that Rich Luhr of Airstream Life is doing on his trailer to make wi-fi work very well inside their AS. They are traveling full time and their blog is very interesting. He has the details on all of that and you can contact him directly from there to find out about how he does it. Here is the link: http://tour.airstreamlife.com/weblog/

[Buzzy4]

We spent 6 nights in an RV park that had Wi-Fi and had great reception inside the trailer even with the door closed.

Ed

[LRPorter]

I am not having luck with wi fi inside unless i hang a usb antenna outside the trailer. I am having even less luck with our TMobile cells. T mobile has been helping since we notified them. It seems you need to turn the cells off when you travel to a new location.

My wife and I have been on the road for two weeks in our 1976 Argosy. It has functioned flawlessly - except for the tv, wifi and cell phone reception.

Is there an antenna that will allow you to get better tv, wifi and cell phone reception. We really are struggling with the antenna issues!

[Airstream25]

Originally Posted by lynn porter

I am not having luck with wi fi inside unless i hang a usb antenna outside the trailer. I am having even less luck with our TMobile cells. T mobile has been helping since we notified them. It seems you need to turn the cells off when you travel to a new location.

My wife and I have been on the road for two weeks in our 1976 Argosy. It has functioned flawlessly - except for the tv, wifi and cell phone reception.

Is there an antenna that will allow you to get better tv, wifi and cell phone reception. We really are struggling with the antenna issues!

For cell phone reception, I had a cellular service center install an external cell antenna on the roof and run the lead inside so I can attach it to my phone.
By the way, Verizon has a broader service foot print than T mobile. Check out the maps on their web sites.

For WiFi reception, I have an external WiFi receiver that plugs into my Laptop USB port. Mine is a Belden brand, but I expect there are others. I position the external WiFi receiver at the window and the lead is long enough to reach the laptop on the table.

For TV reception in remote areas, I use my DirecTV dish.