AM Radio Reception

[jimmyjamesIII]

Hi everyone. I’ve looked through the forum and can’t seem to find a thread that really addresses the issue I’m having. Apologies if I’ve missed it somewhere. I’m having AM reception issues in my 2017 Tradesman. Stock radio. FM reception is great, but I’ve never had good AM reception. Like almost non existent. I tried swapping antennas (granted it was just an Amazon cheapo), but the AM is almost all static no matter the channel. Any thoughts or advise would be really appreciate. Thanks!

 

[SitKneelBend]

Hi everyone. I’ve looked through the forum and can’t seem to find a thread that really addresses the issue I’m having. Apologies if I’ve missed it somewhere. I’m having AM reception issues in my 2017 Tradesman. Stock radio. FM reception is great, but I’ve never had good AM reception. Like almost non existent. I tried swapping antennas (granted it was just an Amazon cheapo), but the AM is almost all static no matter the channel. Any thoughts or advise would be really appreciate. Thanks!

AM reception has never been great on the 4th Gens, but one thing that will completely make it static is LED headlights or fog lights that put off EMI. I had a set of fog lights that would kill radio reception when on. Do you have LEDs anywhere?

 

[jimmyjamesIII]

Thanks for the idea, but no LEDs. All stock lighting and no fog lights.

 

[SitKneelBend]

Thanks for the idea, but no LEDs. All stock lighting and no fog lights.

Does reception change with the engine off vs running?

 

[Bigskyroadglide]

How many AM stations still around? I know I have one in my home town, population 1200, but when you're out of site of the station you lose reception.

Can't be a lot, or am I delusional....

 

[NUKE IT]

Hi everyone. I’ve looked through the forum and can’t seem to find a thread that really addresses the issue I’m having. Apologies if I’ve missed it somewhere. I’m having AM reception issues in my 2017 Tradesman. Stock radio. FM reception is great, but I’ve never had good AM reception. Like almost non existent. I tried swapping antennas (granted it was just an Amazon cheapo), but the AM is almost all static no matter the channel. Any thoughts or advise would be really appreciate. Thanks!

i shouldn't do this.
i have been a service mgr of a large dealer for a 1000 years.
company in up state n.y. for many many years repairs oem radios. they will fix your radio and return it not a crap exchange. after the radio gets to the company the technician will call you / the person that's going to fix YOUR radio and tell you the issues. they have a flat charge of around $ 200.00 to $ 250.00 dollars to repair and ship it back with a great warranty. this is it. unitedradio.com or 800.448.0944 myself and george washington have been using them B.C. good luck they do great work and make sure you pack-it well they will during return.

 

[Wild one]

I've had (2) 4th Gen Rams / 2 Challengers / one 200 and one 300 in the last dozen years,and not one of them had decent AM reception

 

[jimmyjamesIII]

Does reception change with the engine off vs running?

No, there doesn’t seem to be a difference between running or off.

 

[jimmyjamesIII]

I've had (2) 4th Gen Rams / 2 Challengers / one 200 and one 300 in the last dozen years,and not one of them had decent AM reception

I wonder what the deal is. If it’s with the radios they use , antennas, or both.

 

[jimmyjamesIII]

i shouldn't do this.
i have been a service mgr of a large dealer for a 1000 years.
company in up state n.y. for many many years repairs oem radios. they will fix your radio and return it not a crap exchange. after the radio gets to the company the technician will call you / the person that's going to fix YOUR radio and tell you the issues. they have a flat charge of around $ 200.00 to $ 250.00 dollars to repair and ship it back with a great warranty. this is it. unitedradio.com or 800.448.0944 myself and george washington have been using them B.C. good luck they do great work and make sure you pack-it well they will during return.

Thanks. I’m hoping it doesn’t come to that. I’d probably just deal with it vs going to shipping it off.

 

[jimmyjamesIII]

How many AM stations still around? I know I have one in my home town, population 1200, but when you're out of site of the station you lose reception.

Can't be a lot, or am I delusional....

There’s actually several in the metro here.

 

[SitKneelBend]

There’s actually several in the metro here.

Honestly, I don't think you'll get any benefit from shipping the radio out. I have had more than 10 radios in my truck over the years and they all have poor AM reception.

With the engine on or off not changing anything, you can pretty much rule out EMI. As for why the poor reception, it may be the use of connectors to join the antenna from mounting location to the radio. It's not one solid link and there is at least one junction in there.

A remedy might be a longer antenna (best bet). I've tried ferrite cores with no perceivable change. You could also try to eliminate the junction (which I imagine was only in place for ease of manufacturing) but I don't know if it would have much impact.

 

[RamDiver]

With the engine on or off not changing anything, you can pretty much rule out EMI.

Or, that rules out EMI from his truck, at the least.

AM modulation is very sensitive to numerous sources of EMI. City street lights, a local laundromat, and almost any source of repetitively starting inductive loads.

A remedy might be a longer antenna (best bet).

This suggestion is always a great idea, within practical limitations.

The big questions are, is the radio itself built with enough shielding from the many outside sources of EMI that AM transmission/reception is sensitive to and, is the DC power feeding the radio clear of any AM components?

If you hear a steady raspy buzz on several AM stations, chances are that the radio has been constructed to not provide sufficient shielding for AM use. Or, the DC power is loaded with EMI and side-loading into the radio.

Chances are good that the power is clean if the noise is present with the truck on or off but, you can't make assumptions while analyzing a fault. Prove the DC is clean.

The DC power can be cleaned up but the radio shielding would likely involve a full replacement. Start with the DC power.

See if you can locate an oscilloscope and test the radio power feed. If you have any AM modulation on the DC rail, you're dead in the water until you clean that up.

I remember clearing up ignition noise on CB radios using chokes inline with the power supply.
When we were young, we just installed a choke or two and listened for improvement. They were dirt cheap in the '70s, I have no idea the cost in today's world.

.

 

[jimmyjamesIII]

Honestly, I don't think you'll get any benefit from shipping the radio out. I have had more than 10 radios in my truck over the years and they all have poor AM reception.

With the engine on or off not changing anything, you can pretty much rule out EMI. As for why the poor reception, it may be the use of connectors to join the antenna from mounting location to the radio. It's not one solid link and there is at least one junction in there.

A remedy might be a longer antenna (best bet). I've tried ferrite cores with no perceivable change. You could also try to eliminate the junction (which I imagine was only in place for ease of manufacturing) but I don't know if it would have much impact.

Appreciate the ideas. I may just have to deal with it for now. Was hoping there was an easy "just do this dummy..." lol.

 

[jimmyjamesIII]

Or, that rules out EMI from his truck, at the least.

AM modulation is very sensitive to numerous sources of EMI. City street lights, a local laundromat, and almost any source of repetitively starting inductive loads.




This suggestion is always a great idea, within practical limitations.

The big questions are, is the radio itself built with enough shielding from the many outside sources of EMI that AM transmission/reception is sensitive to and, is the DC power feeding the radio clear of any AM components?

If you hear a steady raspy buzz on several AM stations, chances are that the radio has been constructed to not provide sufficient shielding for AM use. Or, the DC power is loaded with EMI and side-loading into the radio.

Chances are good that the power is clean if the noise is present with the truck on or off but, you can't make assumptions while analyzing a fault. Prove the DC is clean.

The DC power can be cleaned up but the radio shielding would likely involve a full replacement. Start with the DC power.

See if you can locate an oscilloscope and test the radio power feed. If you have any AM modulation on the DC rail, you're dead in the water until you clean that up.

I remember clearing up ignition noise on CB radios using chokes inline with the power supply.
When we were young, we just installed a choke or two and listened for improvement. They were dirt cheap in the '70s, I have no idea the cost in today's world.

.

Great info; I appreciate it. I assume its just cheap/poorly made radios in this buy-throw away-buy again era we live in, right?

 

[Wild one]

Appreciate the ideas. I may just have to deal with it for now. Was hoping there was an easy "just do this dummy..." lol.

If it has static with the truck off,that pretty well rules out the truck causing the static.
Google your local AM stations and see how much power their transmitting with,i kind of wonder if it could be the radio stations themselves

 

[Marshall]

I have great AM on mine, and the last couple I had, Saskatoon, Regina stations and a couple out of Montana if conditions are good, those stations are all 200 to 400+miles away, mind you some of the programming sucks, ie post 1960
Being out in the open country is a big help, Mind you west of here 100 miles is a dead area.
I think Regina CK and moose Jaw are running 50,000 watts , so they get out there.

Make sure you have a good clean ground on the radio and on the base of the antenna/ fender and the coax cable is in good shape.
A good antenna should work fine just laying on the dash on local radio, as long as the mast is not hitting metal.
the shield wire is just to shield from stray noise from alternator and spark, so if motor is off , don't really matter as long as its not shorted.
a coat hanger will work just fine, as long as its not grounded out.

If the FM is fine, then the antenna is likely OK. Check radio case to ground with a jumper wire and see if anything changes.
I have not had much experience with this newer stuff, as far as the cck boards go and touch screens.

 

[Marshall]

BTW the current one is the 8" with nav and touch screen, etc, the others where just the standard CD/ am fm .
Thou come to think about it 2010 Laramie had a hard drive and DVD on it.

 

[SitKneelBend]

Appreciate the ideas. I may just have to deal with it for now. Was hoping there was an easy "just do this dummy..." lol.

One thing you can do is try improving the factory ground points. It might not work but it's never wasted effort and it's simple enough.

 

[GTyankee]

Break out a Transistor radio or BOOM BOX, extend the antenna Try tuning in an AM Station
Does the 2017 Ram have a separate AM/FM antenna, or just a Shark Fin antenna ?

I used to tune AM/FM radios in , back in the days before satellite radio , now radios have changed so much