stereos

[thudd3r]

so everyone likes to have music while camping.  seeing as campers use dc power and most of the components are car audio components...upgrading is easy.

our vrv came with a basic dual receiver and four of the worst sounding 5.25 speakers in the ceiling that i have ever heard. the receiver was ok, and had a 3.5mm port and a usb port, but the usb was for charging only.  

first came the stereo.  replaced the dual cd player with a pioneer digital media receiver.  doesnt have a cd player (not that i can remember the last time i used a cd), but does have inputs for bluetooth, a 3.5mm jack (rear), and a full function usb jack (rear)






enjoy!

[david]

We have a somewhat more pedestrian approach to music while camping. First I have long since given up on the installed radio. It may or may not have crappy speakers. I can't get the damn thing to work well enough to know.

But in any case, I bought a $20-30 12V stereo amplifier on Amazon. I hook that up to the power outlet as well as my iPhone. Then I feed the iPhone's Pandora output to the amplifier and then to a couple of Radio Shack (remember them) bookshelf speakers. Works great for ambiance music. But you do need a cell connection.

David

[gdgrimm]

Our trailer came with a Jensen system.  I think it sounds quite nice.  Bluetooth pair to the cell phone and/or computer, and Pandora the Classic Rock or Post Punk channels.  Good for us.

And sitting outside, underneath the awning, with the outdoor speakers on each side of you, reminded me what stereo originally meant.

That's a great mod thudd3r.  Polk has always been one of my favorite speaker companies.

[maryvanilla]

I have the Jensen system described by gdgrimm and was frustrated by the poor radio reception this last weekend. I took the cabinet panel off to check the antenna connection and noticed the coaxial cable ran forward to the TV... Assuming shared antenna with digital TV antenna. I turned the TV antenna signal boost off switch off and the radio stations worked perfectly. The speakers aren't great, but I think great speakers would get me visit from the campground host anyway... :-)

[charliem]

[quote source="/post/12087/thread" timestamp="1433825476" author="@boondockler"]I.. Assuming shared antenna with digital TV antenna. I turned the TV antenna signal boost [font color="0c0103"]off[/font] switch [font color="f70945"]off[/font] and the radio stations worked perfectly.
[/quote][font size="3"]Did you mean ON instead of OFF? The rooftop antenna is shared between the TV and the FM radio. The amplifier needs to be on (green light on) to pass signal to the TV or FM radio. When the amp is OFF (light off) the input is switched to the cable TV connector on the outside of the CL (if it's wired correctly). The AM side of the radio does not use the rooftop antenna and requires a separate external antenna to operate.[/font]

[gdgrimm]

WOW!!  Thank you both (boondockler and charliem)!  I might now be able to receive more than one FM station!

Didn't know that the green light and button near the interior coax hook-up would have any impact on the FM reception.

[thudd3r]

[quote source="/post/12087/thread" timestamp="1433825476" author="@boondockler"]I have the Jensen system described by gdgrimm and was frustrated by the poor radio reception this last weekend. I took the cabinet panel off to check the antenna connection and noticed the coaxial cable ran forward to the TV... Assuming shared antenna with digital TV antenna. I turned the TV antenna signal boost off switch off and the radio stations worked perfectly. The speakers aren't great, but I think great speakers would get me visit from the campground host anyway... :-)[/quote]another plus for boondocking...the bass might piss off the bears though

[maryvanilla]

With the boost OFF i get FM radio reception. With boost ON i only get static on FM radio. However, the TV only picks up signal with boost ON as you'd expect. Standard or "custom" wiring from the factory I'm not sure.

[charliem]

With the boost OFF i get FM radio reception. With boost ON i only get static on FM radio. However, the TV only picks up signal with boost ON as you'd expect. Standard or "custom" wiring from the factory I'm not sure.

[font size="3"]Sounds like you got a custom miswire. I checked mine again and it works as I described: FM and TV require the amp (booster) to be on when using the rooftop antenna. On the back of the TV booster unit there are three heavy black cables. They are coax cables and are: roof antenna, FM radio, and cable TV input connector on the side of the trailer. [/font][font size="3"]I think the FM radio and cable input cables are probably reversed. [/font][font size="3"]The fact that the TV works as expected tells me the connection to the roof antenna is correct.
[/font][font size="3"]
I can't get to mine right now, but if you pull the little booster panel out (two screws as I recall) you might be able to find some markings on the amplifier. If you can find some manufacturer/brand markings you may be able to find info on the Web. The three cables on mine are marked by some red tape, but I have no clue as to their meaning. If you can somehow identify the cable going to the rooftop antenna you could try reversing the other two. You can't hurt anything. If you have an ohmmeter and some wire you could try to identify the cables by checking for continuity to the FM radio antenna connector and the outside cable TV input. That would add some certainty to the mess.

If you run into a dead end come back and maybe I can think of something else.
[/font]

[ammobob]

[quote source="/post/12159/thread" timestamp="1434028301" author="@charliem"]

With the boost OFF i get FM radio reception. With boost ON i only get static on FM radio. However, the TV only picks up signal with boost ON as you'd expect. Standard or "custom" wiring from the factory I'm not sure.

[font size="3"]Sounds like you got a custom miswire. I checked mine again and it works as I described: FM and TV require the amp (booster) to be on when using the rooftop antenna. On the back of the TV booster unit there are three heavy black cables. They are coax cables and are: roof antenna, FM radio, and cable TV input connector on the side of the trailer. [/font][font size="3"]I think the FM radio and cable input cables are probably reversed. [/font][font size="3"]The fact that the TV works as expected tells me the connection to the roof antenna is correct.
[/font][font size="3"]
I can't get to mine right now, but if you pull the little booster panel out (two screws as I recall) you might be able to find some markings on the amplifier. If you can find some manufacturer/brand markings you may be able to find info on the Web. The three cables on mine are marked by some red tape, but I have no clue as to their meaning. If you can somehow identify the cable going to the rooftop antenna you could try reversing the other two. You can't hurt anything. If you have an ohmmeter and some wire you could try to identify the cables by checking for continuity to the FM radio antenna connector and the outside cable TV input. That would add some certainty to the mess.

If you run into a dead end come back and maybe I can think of something else.
[/font][/quote]I think FastEddieB has a similar problem with those connections being reversed in another post.

[charliem]

[font size="3"]Boondocker,

The antenna is a Winegard RS-3000. Here's a link to their site.

[a href="http://www.winegard.com/support?support=RoadStar_RS-3000"]http://www.winegard.com/support?support=RoadStar_RS-3000[/a]

Download the .pdf file. It has info on how to identify the connections on the power supply (booster) unit. The FM radio should be connected to the set 2 port.
[/font]

[jerrybeaird]

Thanks Charliem......I wanted to have this manual also and you saved me the hassle of finding it!

[maryvanilla]

[font size="3"]Boondocker,

The antenna is a Winegard RS-3000. Here's a link to their site.

[a href="http://www.winegard.com/support?support=RoadStar_RS-3000"]http://www.winegard.com/support?support=RoadStar_RS-3000[/a]

Download the .pdf file. It has info on how to identify the connections on the power supply (booster) unit. The FM radio should be connected to the set 2 port.
[/font]

Thanks for the explaination and equipment info! I'll be taking a look at my wiring this weekend and report back on what I find!

[swbc150]

Mine works correctly.
Out in the Driveway no need for the Booster, out Camping no TV but the FM signals were nice and clear with the Booster "On".

My Speakers are being replaced as well, I only have 2 to deal with and are located in the overhead storage which makes the switch out easy.
I tried my different Dual Receiver but couldn't get the MP3 player to work, so I went back to the stock unit. FM/CD is all I need.
My TV plays the MP3 anyway.