Installing Satellite radio antenna

[LI-Camper]

My 2016 Jayco Greyhawk 29 MV has a Jensen radio that is SiriusXM ready. I have purchased the kit to activate the radio which includes a module and an antenna. I need to install the antenna without putting a hole in the fiberglass roof. Any ideas or experience would be appreciated.

[LI-Camper]

Hi All, I'm the OP. I used a highly skilled installer to get my SiriusXM Ready Jansen radio to work. He had to take the whole dashboard apart to get the radio out. The SiriusXM module plugs into the radio and the antenna plugs into the module. Both come in a kit from Amazon (SXV300) for about $37. The installer put the antenna on the cab roof (attached by its magnetic base) beneath the cab over. He ran the antenna wire to the gasket that holds the windshield in. No holes were drilled into the roof. The antenna worked well on a trip to PA and back to Long Island. After seeing what is involved in getting the radio out of the dash, I would recommend a experienced installer to handle the job. The steering wheel column has to drop down to remove part of the dash!

[DaCrema]

I placed my XM antenna in the vent for the cabover. I just set it above the screen and used a metal washer stuck to the magnet on the underside (or inside). It does not move around. The antenna cable is so thin it can easily be hidden.
Our RV has an aluminum roof.

[klutchdust]

Funny this topic came up because I am having issues. i had a new Kenwood stereo put in, i removed enough of the trim panels so the installer could put the antenna in the nose

of my Itasca cambria. The nose cone on my unit is for tv and stereo, no bed. So my trip to Sonoma Raceway from Orange this weekend was ****py for satellite radio. Dropped

reception frequently AND it sounded like a turntable skipping on a record. I tried different stations when the signal dropped and sometimes they worked. I called home and had

my signal renewed from home computer trying to eliminate all possibilities. I hope when I remove the tv for access i find the antenna came loose from where it was mounted.

I have heard that the satellite service isn't as good out in the desert as it once was but not sure. Ill let you know what i find.

[LI-Camper]

toymaker10, Thanks for the info. I didn't think the dashboard would work because there is too much metal, etc. blocking the antenna. I read somewhere that after attaching the antenna and module to the radio it is a good idea to duct tape the antenna to the radio body so it can't disconnect due to road shock.

[LI-Camper]

Tim, again thanks for the info. Cool graphic showing satellite paths. The radio is SiriusXM ready so I don't know which satellites will be used.

[Healeyman]

Here is the global path of the SIRIUS satellites. At any given time, 1 sat is north of the equator, 1 is south of the equator. Depending where you are, you "may" get better reception while driving south than north, but in over 10 years, I have not seen any difference in signal strength.

https://www.google.com/search?q=sirius+satellites&biw=1173&bih=497&tbm=isch&imgil=ygzM8WQmLjhN4M%253...

Be aware that the paths of XM satellites are difference.

Tim

[toymaker10]

I have the Jensen radio combo with the antenna inside the windshield lower left corner. I've had problems with this setup. Last month going to Richmond from central Fl lost connection on 95 In N Carolina,I assume do to rough road I lost Sirius radio service, every other feature of the radio GPS worked. It said check antenna, dealer said antenna wire disconnected. This month heading south on Fl. tpke lost service halfway down and returned service halfway back up. Booklet says antenna should be placed outside with no obstructions, so I believe the factory in the widshield installation might not be the best location

[LI-Camper]

Thanks, Tim. I didn't know about having the magnet side always facing down. I'll try various locations inside. The cabover probably has some sort of metal structure so I will move the antenna around so it's not directly beneath a metal rib. I'll post back my results.

[Healeyman]

Don't drill anything. Antenna installation is not that hard.

Because the Sirius/XM satellite broadcasts in the same frequency band as Wi-Fi, the rules for antenna placement and signal reception are pretty much the same. You don't put your Wi-Fi antenna outside on the roof.

When they say that the antenna needs a clear view of the sky, they mean at RADIO frequencies (no metal in the way), not optical light frequencies.

IF you have a fiberglass or rubber roof, you probably do not need to put the antenna outside and/or on the roof.

In our previous Class C, the antenna lived under the air bed in the cabover. In our newer Class C, the antenna lives flat on the dash, near the windshield and between the windshield wipers. ALWAYS have the magnetic side of the antenna down.

Try several easy locations INSIDE before going for the hard locations OUTSIDE.

Good luck with getting up and running. Feel free to PM me if you want more specifics. I am an EE and a Ham operator.

Tim

[Hank85713]

I put my mag sirius antenna up on the roof next to the escape hatch. Tried it last year on the hood but the overhang would block signal sometimes. Used it this year no issues. Ran wire down outside to enter thru door opening and under the trim to the top of dash and under dash cover. Another way is to run thru the escape hatch, just do from rear and then blend the wire in under some trim pieces or................

I used double stick tape to hold it down. works so far.

[LI-Camper]

Thanks for all the suggestions, darsben, pigman1, YC 1, and RoyB!! I'll consider all of them. I have an installer coming over this week to help me take the radio out of the dash. I tried but couldn't figure it out. I'll tell the installer about your ideas and see what he says. I'll post back the eventual solution.

[RoyB]

This is what I did mounting antennas on the side of my 5th wheel up near the roof edge using the trucker mirror mount hardware. This is NOT the Sirius antenna but rather a Ham Radio 2M/440 antenna. As long as you can get the Sirius/XM antenna extending above the roof line it should do ok...

As you can see the mounting groves really worked out for me to guide the RG cable away from the main body and also to cover the small hole drilled into the side of the roof area. This area was picked as there was a ceiling cabinet on the other side of the trailer wall where the RG cable ended up at. Then it was easy for me to route to the radios's inside the trailer.

After the RG cable was routed into the trailer than I filled the groove area on the outside mount plate with RTV sealent.

The 8 mounting screws you see in the photo are just self tapping type metal screws only to the outside wall area.



Hope this might give some ideas in your installation if you decide to go for the TRUCK MOUNT SIRIUS/XM ANTENNA shown here..

The second photo might be better for doing this which is available from AMAZON...



ADDED NOTE: Just remembered I saw a SIRIUS/XM round antenna mounted on top of the FRIDGE FLAT PLASTIC VENT section on the roof of a trailer once - That would be another easy mount location... Sorry couldn't find a photo on google showing this.

Roy Ken

[YC_1]

Plug the antenna in and fire it up. Then hold the antenna as far up as the coax will allow. The goal here is to get it above any metal obstacles. If you find it works well up along the inside just use some velcro to temporarily locate it. Then give it a test for some time.

If your rv has a metal roof then this will not work well. The radio signals will pass through a fiberglass roof. In some cases mounting it in the corner of the windshield will work well.

Just don't get hung up on the idea it must be outside on the roof. Remember, the little antenna is already surrounded in fiberglass or plastic so another layer to the outside world won't change things.

[pigman1]

If the antenna you bought was one of the flat hockey puck type antenna, it can be glued down with silicon caulk. The antenna wire can be run to the roof the easiest way and the puck just glued down. We put one on our Bus about 46,000 miles ago and have had no problems with it.