2 Radios in the Motorhome????

[Captain Yoghurtpot]

I have, what I belive to be, an unusual set up in my 2000/2001 Fiat ducato coachbuilt Ci motorhome.
We have 2 radio/ cd players fitted.
One is in the cab and wired to the ignition on only and linked to the front dash speakers, and has an amplified powered internal screen mounted aerial. Its a sony model And not originaly a factory fit.
Reception when running is poor if non existant as always trying to search for stations and station storage is impossible as each time the ignition is switched off the storage fails to store any pre-sets.
In the Hab area, we have another radio/cd but this is only wired to the leisure battery and seperate speakers in the lounge.
It too has a window mounted amplified and powered aerial and works when the 12v circuitry is supplied and as it is used only when stationary, reception is variable.
Does anyone else have 2 radios fitted and would I be better with just one, in the cab, possibly wired to the rear speakers in the hab area, with an external wing mounted standard aerial and running off the cab battery directly so that station storage can be held?
I really dont know why the previous owner fitted a second radio and wired it to to the leisure battery side as it seems like overkill for what should be a simple set up from the cab battery.
Anyone got any ideas / suggestions?
I personally am thinking of going down the cab only route with wired to the rear speakers with direct feed from the cab and a simple external non-powered aerial On the wing , and get rid of the second unit and its aerial arrangement.
Not sure what to do for the best, and easiest.

 

[Wabs]

I’d be looking at changing your unit, and having a decent aerial,,unusual for a cab radio to be that bad,as for the other one,,sounds like a caravan fitment

 

[Wabs]

Sorry jumped ahead of myself,,I think your thought are the correct ones

 

[Wabs]

Plus, I think it is wired wrong,,the cab radio should be able to be used without ignition on,,

 

[Captain Yoghurtpot]

I’d be looking at changing your unit, and having a decent aerial,,unusual for a cab radio to be that bad,as for the other one,,sounds like a caravan fitment

I think you are right on the caravan fitment in the rear hab area, type of arrangement and that was one of my initial thoughts.
If I can get to the rear of the cab radio I would love to get rid of the amplified aerial and go to a standard aerial and just co-axial fitting, then wire the two rear speakers in the hab area as if two rear speakers in a car.
Makes more sense.

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[Captain Yoghurtpot]

And wire direct to the cab battery.

 

[Wabs]

Exactly, there must be a connection for the speakers and unit somewhere behind the dash,,if it’s an aftermarket unit, you can guarantee the person who installed it has not a clue,,,all the gear is there it’s just sorting the correct wiring,,patience and time

 

[Mixyblob]

I removed the complete radio and speakers from our van. It was a cheap n nasty bit of kit and it drew over an amp just for the memory save.
We use a Bose bluetooth speaker (anywhere inside or out of the van) connected to our phones. As we have a virtually unlimited data package we can listen to virtually any radio station throughout the world as well as Spotify and my whole music collection, stored on a SD card on my phone.
Works well for us and its a lot more versatile.

 

[Richard n Ann]

We just use the factory fitted cab radio with the 2 door speakers, the Votronic duo keeps the cab battery charged up and the 2 speakers sound great

 

[bridgedino]

We have a ‘traditional’ style DAB/FM radio that runs on AA batteries for using when parked up. Sometimes the simple option works the best

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[Captain Yoghurtpot]

We just use the factory fitted cab radio with the 2 door speakers, the Votronic duo keeps the cab battery charged up and the 2 speakers sound great

Yes Richard n Ann, am thinking about this way to go also.
Am wondering that as the age if the van is over 20 years old, a votronic type device was not available years ago so in order to be able to listen to the radio without risk of flattening the cab battery, a second system was fitted to the leisure battery side as when on site and on hook up, at least that side would not run the risk of flattening as wired through the on board charger.
If had been me I would have just took a portable battery radio!

 

[The Wino]

I think for me it would depend what the MH would look like when the rear radio is removed and how easy it is to run rear speakers. We only have a radio and speakers in the cab and manage with that. I have thought about a rechargeable Bluetooth speaker but never got around to it

 

[63720]

I think it's a great idea having 2 radios fitted and wired. For short stops we use the cab radio after that we use a portable dab or Bluetooth speaker from my phone which is always a faff.

Plus, I think it is wired wrong,,the cab radio should be able to be used without ignition on,,

Err not in my experience. Some, or many, cab radios have a preset time set after which they turn off to save the starter battery, or ours has an override switch.

 

[The Wino]

I think it's a great idea having 2 radios fitted and wired. For short stops we use the cab radio after that we use a portable dab or Bluetooth speaker from my phone which is always a faff.

Err not in my experience. Some, or many, cab radios have a preset time set after which they turn off to save the starter battery, or ours has an override switch.

I think the radio override is exactly what the op means theres obviously a permanent live if you had one that works or the time switch on the radio wouldn't work. It must be annoying to constantly lose the presets which does sound like the radio power comes on with the ignition which can't be right it was probably just the easiest connection or maybe the previous owner got the wrong one and couldn't be bothered to alter it.

 

[Captain Yoghurtpot]

Exactly, there must be a connection for the speakers and unit somewhere behind the dash,,if it’s an aftermarket unit, you can guarantee the person who installed it has not a clue,,,all the gear is there it’s just sorting the correct wiring,,patience and time

If I knew how to get behind the dash to the radio fitting I would have a good technical go and start again with a basic simple cd radio and a non powered aerial.
Used to work this way for years!
Looks like i’ve got a project

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[The Wino]

If I knew how to get behind the dash to the radio fitting I would have a good technical go and start again with a basic simple cd radio and a non powered aerial.
Used to work this way for years!
Looks like i’ve got a project

Doesn't the radio just pull out if you put some keys in?. They're usually in a cradle. If the key to remove it is missing some fine screwdrivers in the holes usually work.

 

[Captain Yoghurtpot]

Doesn't the radio just pull out if you put some keys in?. They're usually in a cradle. If the key to remove it is missing some fine screwdrivers in the holes usually work.

I believe you are right. As its our first Motorhome and all I have done is make sure it is always safe, dry, clean and well serviced in the past 3 years.
Have used professional services for mechanical and Hab safety checks and used all equipment as fitted as is , and its been ok.
But as I start to understand things better and look at improving things , or look at better modifications or badly arranged ones already fitted as after market fittings, I am now getting a bit more confident at changing things to suit our needs better.
But definitely NOT anything on the gas or 240v side.
That I will leave to the experts!
I think a radio could be within my limitations, well I certainly hope so.

 

[The Wino]

I believe you are right. As its our first Motorhome and all I have done is make sure it is always safe, dry, clean and well serviced in the past 3 years.
Have used professional services for mechanical and Hab safety checks and used all equipment as fitted as is , and its been ok.
But as I start to understand things better and look at improving things , or look at better modifications or badly arranged ones already fitted as after market fittings, I am now getting a bit more confident at changing things to suit our needs better.
But definitely NOT anything on the gas or 240v side.
That I will leave to the experts!
I think a radio could be within my limitations, well I certainly hope so.

If you run a permanent live from the battery make sure it's fused!! I suspect when you get the radio out there will be one already there and they've just connected the wrong one or did so on purpose to stop battery drain in the winter.

 

[The Coops]

Ours is wired through the leisure battery so if forgotten about or want to listen without going through the ignition system we don't draw off the starter battery as factory fitted. As others have mentioned the first starting point would be the ariel

 

[ericroy]

When we built our MH we deliberately put in a second radio with DAB and four speakers to use when not driving. This has better sound quality, support for more input types and does not deplete the van starter battery when in use. Also, it has a roof-mounted powered aerial to help with reception in fringe areas.

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[Gellyneck]

If the key to remove it is missing some fine screwdrivers in the holes usually work.

Always found a thin table knife is better if you're missing the appropriate removal tools.

 

[The Wino]

Always found a thin table knife is better if you're missing the appropriate removal tools.

I was thinking of the ones that have 4 small holes at the side of the radio. But there are lots of u tube videos with thin knives too

 

[chaser]

I removed the complete radio and speakers from our van. It was a cheap n nasty bit of kit and it drew over an amp just for the memory save.
We use a Bose bluetooth speaker (anywhere inside or out of the van) connected to our phones. As we have a virtually unlimited data package we can listen to virtually any radio station throughout the world as well as Spotify and my whole music collection, stored on a SD card on my phone.
Works well for us and its a lot more versatile.

Same here don't useually listen to anything but gold radio ,on line, works everywhere.
We use a Bluetooth thing that came from poundstretcher,think it was £12 perfectly adequate for what we use it for.

 

[Lenny HB]

If your cab radio is loosing pre sets its been wired wrong there are two supply feed one is for the memory and should be wired to a perminant power source.

Ours didn't come with a cab unit I fitted one myself and wired it to the leisure batteries. Already 6 speakers in the van as standard and a whip aerial on the roof that does DAB, FM & TV it works well.

JVC do an excellent external screen fitting whip aerial that works really well.

 

[Richard n Ann]

Just bear in mind it might have been wired that way to stop it flattening the starter battery.

We also use an FM transmitter Bluetooth gadget in a cigar socket, they are great for Internet radio, phone calls, sat nav and phone library music, all coming through stereo.
The TV is Bluetooth too so even that could

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[sonar]

We have a cab radio works when the ignition is on only.

thought about another radio in the hab area . Like we had in a caravan .
looked for a while to decide what was the better for. Cd or usb.
got stopped in my tracks because eeerrrr in doors said just download the radio app for the iPad and it’s sorted..

so that what I have done . Now it’s a portable as well . Yes we have a SIM card slot in the iPad and all is well.

 

[pjay]

Ours came with 2 radios as standard fit from new (East Neuk Fifer M), the original Citroen built in dashboard one and a Kenwood radio/cd/usb in a small cupboard in the habitation area wired to the leisure battery and uses the status aerial for its signal. The TV is also wired through the aux on the radio with sound via the 2 x radio speakers, much better than the tinny sound from the tv speaker.

Pete

 

[Captain Yoghurtpot]

Thanks for all the comments folks and opinions which I have found most helpful.
Have started to remove the rear cd radio, which I now have found is actually faulty, and the speakers, and will just go with the cab cd/radio when rolling and its dash speakers, and have purchased a rechargeable/ mains dab/fm bluetooth portable radio for when we stop.
Now fitting an extra 12v cigarette socket to the now spare rear live feed and a digital led voltage readout to show the state of the leisure battery , after making a blanking plate to cover the area where the radio was.
Then just got to sort the cab aerial!
Getting busy

 

[Barti Ddu]

If you run a permanent live from the battery make sure it's fused!! I suspect when you get the radio out there will be one already there and they've just connected the wrong one or did so on purpose to stop battery drain in the winter.

I've recently fitted a 2 way switch inside the top glovebox in my Ducato PVC so that I can have the aftermarket Double DIN Sony head unit that I installed powered by either permenant live or ignition-switched live (both from the cab battery), or disconnected completely.

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Means that we can now use the cab hifi when parked up without the ignition on. I also fitted a CBE CSB2 Battery Master style device to ensure the cab battery keeps charged from the solar, and the radio doesn't run the battery down.