Another Stereo Option

[LeonW]

The Led bulbs are the factory supplied warm white bulbs, except for the ones in the reading lamps which I replaced to get a warmer color. We have tried with the converter turned off and the problem is definitely the LED lights, probably because the antenna goes right over the reading lights, and the radio is right above the light over the kitchen sink. I could replace the lights with incandescent bulbs, but I think an external antenna would be better. Probably less of a problem in a 21 because there aren't any lights where I am going to place the radio.

[skiman]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

I went wireless in my new unit, both the radio/iphone/ipod and tv play thru blue tooth speakers, in or out.

Jim,

Have you tried the wireless with the TV yet? Online I have seen people complain about the sound lagging the video with Bluetooth streaming.

[JaneM.]

Originally Posted by skiman

Jim,

Have you tried the wireless with the TV yet? Online I have seen people complain about the sound lagging the video with Bluetooth streaming.

I've tried the wireless with a movie on my ipad and it was fine - no lag whatsoever, but I can't speak about a TV.

[cpaharley2008]

It worked fine on the tv, but I have not tried it yet with the dvd player.

[Bobbito]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

I use a bluetooth receiver that is about 1.5"x1.5"10.5", paired with my phone. I love being able to select something to play from where I sit, and even let others choose too. I have about 10,000 songs on my phone, so anybody will find something they like.

What I like about the receiver, is that I can hook it to any stereo with and input jack. I mostly use my jobsite radio, but also can use the stereo in the trailer, my stereo at home, the one in the vehicle, at a friends house, and so on. The only thing I don't like is the range is not so great, but the convenience is fantastic.

I most definitely would not put a stereo any other trailer I get.

If we didn't need good radio reception, I would go with your simpler solution.

But, we mainly boon dock while fishing in the high country north of Vancouver, BC and prefer to listen to the weather/news in the comfort of our trailer rather than running to the truck in a downpour. Whatever radio we use, portable or installed, we need decent FM reception (AM okay too) and input for Bluetooth so we can play music from our iPhone or iPad if we do longer trips again, like to Utah. I was thinking that speakers hardwired to a car stereo with Bluetooth would work best, but I'm not sure.

After time spent perusing the forum, I wonder if I could get advice on these stereo/bluetooth/antennas issues?

1) AM/FM antennas. Is the dialogue on XM antennas applicable to FM antennas and reception.
2) Getting weather reports is important to planning our day, so FM reception is important for that reason, plus we do listen to the news every few days.
3) I read in an earlier blog that Reace hid an antenna someone provided in the wall of a trailer. Would that both FM and AM antennas?
4) If we get the trailer prewired for stereo, does that include both antennas?
5) Is there better reception with an antenna sticking out the top of the trailer rather than in the wall of the trailer? We have ordered the added aluminum insulation and worry that it might reduce reception.
6) Would it be best to install a car stereo with Bluetooth or are there better alternatives? I don’t want to cut anything out or waste cupboard space, so I’m thinking it would be best slung beneath one of the cabinets by the dinette. That way we could replace it with a smaller unit in the future if we wanted to replace it. Would a Poly Planar marine radio mount fit a DIN car stereo without modification? Also I never saw a response to Charlie's question about whether the ETI installation of a DIN-1 radio included an enclosure?

Thanks,

Bob K

[KarenH]

Originally Posted by Bobbito

I read in an earlier blog that Reace hid an antenna someone provided in the wall of a trailer. Would that both FM and AM antennas? Also I never saw a response to Charlie's question about whether the ETI installation of a DIN-1 radio included an enclosure?

I believe my FM antenna is in the unit itself while the AM antenna is separately installed inside the cabinet somewhere. Here is a pic of my installation of a double DIN unit. ETI built a "frame" around it...

[Bobbito]

Thanks for the pics, Karen. I like the idea of the mounted speakers, but am thinking of slinging the radio below in an enclosure to save cupboard space. OR do we really need the space?? Another benefit of having it in an enclosure below is that as technology changed I could more easily replace the unit with a newer one.

Bob

[Chapitre]

I ordered a Jensen FM/Bluetooth radio only & marine antenna had it shipped to ETI & they installed both of them during the build. The antenna is on the roof. It seems to have good reception. Jim (cpaharley) I believe has the same Radio.
It can be heard through a Bluetooth speaker.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Bobbito

1) AM/FM antennas. Is the dialogue on XM antennas applicable to FM antennas and reception.

Generally no. The XM and Sirius satellite radio systems work in frequency band over ten times higher than FM radio (and AM is a hundred times lower frequency than FM). The design of the antenna is specific to the frequency (so an XM antenna is small compared to an FM radio). Also, satellite signals are generally coming from above, while the direction to AM and FM stations on land is roughly horizontal, so again the antenna designs are different. The effect of a very thin foil layer (such as in the insulation) could be different as well.

[Ian G]

On our 19' build I had ETI install the standard Jensen unit, might not be the best but since it is a single DIN mount which is a standard size, replacements are easy to find and will fit. For speakers I didn't want the surface mount speakers so we had speaker drops installed in each corner (4), I have small satellite speakers to install under the upper cabinets. We also had a speaker drop and 12V power installed under the bed for the subwoofer.

[Bobbito]

Originally Posted by Chapitre

I ordered a Jensen FM/Bluetooth radio only & marine antenna had it shipped to ETI & they installed both of them during the build. The antenna is on the roof. It seems to have good reception. Jim (cpaharley) I believe has the same Radio.
It can be heard through a Bluetooth speaker.

I looked at the Jensen website and their DIN-1 AM/FM radio with Bluetooth states it is only for the US. Is this a mistake. I was sure that both AM and FM radio are the same in North America.

Here is a link to the Jensen unit:
JENSEN AM/FM Bluetooth Stereo

Another question about the Jensen installation. Was it in the cupboard? Also, what model of marine antenna did you buy? Does it fold down if you want to put a cover over the Escape?

Thanks,

Bob

[tractors1]

Originally Posted by Bobbito

Would a Poly Planar marine radio mount fit a DIN car stereo without modification? Also I never saw a response to Charlie's question about whether the ETI installation of a DIN-1 radio included an enclosure?

Thanks,

Bob K

ETI did install their own enclosure for my DIN-1 stereo; it is similar to the one from West Marine. They also installed their own external antenna, which is about a 6 inch rubber flexy model that works fine. They also ran the wire for our XM antenna (a small flat disk) up out the reefer vent and affixed it on top. I had them angle the stereo in our 21 so the remote could be used both through the outside door and our bed in front. Also had them mount the TV antenna connection under the overhead cabinet so the wires would be behind the TV.

[padlin]

Originally Posted by Bobbito

4) If we get the trailer prewired for stereo, does that include both antennas?

I have the prewire, I don't see an antenna cable at all. Have yet to do anything with it, use my Ipod and bluetooth speaker so far.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Bobbito

I looked at the Jensen website and their DIN-1 AM/FM radio with Bluetooth states it is only for the US. Is this a mistake. I was sure that both AM and FM radio are the same in North America.

Yes (and it is the same in Mexico and at least some of the Caribbean) but not everyone in the U.S. seems to be aware that there is another country on the continent!

The detailed specs (thanks for the link ) include:

Selectable AM/FM Frequency Spacing US/European: USA Only

It appears that in this spec "US" means North America (where we have stations at odd multiples of 0.1 MHz, so... 88.1 88.3 88.5... and not 88.2 88.4 88.6); "European" would allow tuning to the even multiples. The receiver needs to be set up for one channel set or the other, and Jensen apparently sells this one only for the North American channels.

[Bobbito]

I appreciate the advice and pictures from people.

We will get our Escape 21 prewired for stereo and have Reace install the same Jensen unit that Chapitre and cpaharley have. And based on Charlie Y's photo I believe we will just go with the same enclosure. Thanks Brian for confirming that "US" means North America. I had never seen such a statement in a product specification and just had to be sure on this.

Does anyone have any knowledge of whether most trailer top antenna are pretty much equal? If it made a big difference I would opt for a better unit. Is a marine antenna better? When we are in the mountains fly fishing, I rely on the weather reports to make plans. If there isn't a big difference we will opt for the rubber flex model.

Bob K

[gbaglo]

I'm trying to figure out where you are fishing that you have FM reception and that the weather matters that much.
I like to camp at Harmon, Kane Lakes near Merritt and I don't get AM or FM at camp. I can get cell reception at certain locations near my site. I also get Sirius/XM, but they don't do weather to my knowledge.
If I look up Environment Canada weather for Rock Creek, I get a report from Osoyoos weather station, which is an hour away.
I just open the door to the trailer and look around, and go back to bed.

[Chapitre]

Originally Posted by Bobbito

I appreciate the advice and pictures from people.

We will get our Escape 21 prewired for stereo and have Reace install the same Jensen unit that Chapitre and cpaharley have. And based on Charlie Y's photo I believe we will just go with the same enclosure. Thanks Brian for confirming that "US" means North America. I had never seen such a statement in a product specification and just had to be sure on this.

Does anyone have any knowledge of whether most trailer top antenna are pretty much equal? If it made a big difference I would opt for a better unit. Is a marine antenna better? When we are in the mountains fly fishing, I rely on the weather reports to make plans. If there isn't a big difference we will opt for the rubber flex model.

Bob K

These are the two items that I bought:

-Jensen Water Proof 14" Antenna for JHD910

-Jensen Weatherproof JHD910BT Bluetooth Radio

[tractors1]

Originally Posted by Bobbito

I appreciate the advice and pictures from people.

We will get our Escape 21 prewired for stereo and have Reace install the same Jensen unit that Chapitre and cpaharley have. And based on Charlie Y's photo I believe we will just go with the same enclosure. Thanks Brian for confirming that "US" means North America. I had never seen such a statement in a product specification and just had to be sure on this.

Does anyone have any knowledge of whether most trailer top antenna are pretty much equal? If it made a big difference I would opt for a better unit. Is a marine antenna better? When we are in the mountains fly fishing, I rely on the weather reports to make plans. If there isn't a big difference we will opt for the rubber flex model.

Bob K

The ETI rubber flex is about 6 inches tall and seems to work fine. It's mounted in a spot near the radio which makes it easy to change if damaged; also has a screw-on mast which you could replace with a longer mast if you wished without having to remove the whole thing.

[Dave Walter]

Originally Posted by Bobbito

...We will get our Escape 21 prewired for stereo and have Reace install the same Jensen unit that Chapitre and cpaharley have. And based on Charlie Y's photo I believe we will just go with the same enclosure....

If you are thinking of getting the Jensen JHD910BT radio, it cannot use an enclosure similar to the one shown by Charlie Y in his photo (below). I also have the JHD910BT radio and it looks like this:

My JHD910BT radio is mounted flush with the face of the overhead cabinets. The radio is quite small and protrudes only a small amount in front of the cabinets. Reace supplied and installed an antenna that is built into the walls of the trailer.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

I also get Sirius/XM, but they don't do weather to my knowledge.

Sirius/XM has a weather service - XM WX Weather - but it is a serious system for people that are willing to pay $100/month... and are in the U.S. It's much like SiriusXM Traffic - a data service for compatible equipment, not just an audio channel. WX is also much more expensive than Traffic.

I can understand if SiriusXM doesn't have an audio channel of weather (I don't see one), since it would require a bunch of channels to broadcast locally-appropriate content, or (like the Weather Network on TV) it would be very tedious to listen through the reports for everywhere else before the report for your location came on.

You could just listen to the news; for instance, channel 172

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