Got a new XLT Reg Cab w/ 2.7 about a month ago. Noticed that the radio is weak on picking up our fav station which our old car picked up great. The station is only about 50 to 60 miles away as the crow flies. Any ideas to fix this or am I stuck without my fav station?

 

AM or FM?

 

Fm.

 

I've been having issues too. Fm stations about 30 miles away. I have a Ford oem radio. I think it's because my cellphone and all the stuff plugged into to the 23 volt DC cigarette lighter outlet. I've changed radios antenna, and coax. Do you have phone or stuff plugged into outlet??

 

Occasionally I have stuff plugged in but don't see correlation. I need to research some more. I am getting a better appreciation for country music though.

 

Stock radio? I listen to various music including country. I'm have reception issues too.
changed radio, coax and antenna.

 

I think all the stuff plugged into power outlet and or cellphone is causing interference. Do you have a stock Ford radio, too?

 

Stock radio with small screen. Rarely plug anything in other than to charge phone. Many times don't even have phone with me. Looked at antenna connection under hood and looks solid but overly complicated. Getting behind radio to look there looks like no fun at all. Might have to contact dealer and see what they say.

 

I replaced the coax, only does it when phone sharper is plugged in.

 

I know this is an older thread but cheap usb phone chargers give off lots of wideband noise in the vhf range. They really caused issues on 2 meter FM amateur band for me. I only use Ankor brand USB chargers now.

 

x2 on the Ankor products.

 

XM Sirius 59, ******* Roadhouse.

Seriously, do they not make FM boosters anymore?

I used to have a '73 Mustang with factory Ford AM/FM, I lived in Lynchburg, Va.back in early '70s and listened to WTQR 104.1 in Winston Salem, N.C.(Q104.1) all the time, only car I had that would do that barefoot. Would keep the orange Stereo light lit signal was so good.
My '67 Chevelle with OEM Delco AM/FM would just get static, but a FM booster cured that.

 

I was having issues on my Santa Fe that was replaced by my 17 F-150. I was going to keep it and updated to a high end Sony Bluetooth headunit. The reception was not what I expected so I borrowed a friends headunit, same thing. Tried multiple antennas, no improvement. Got a chance to talk to a guy who had been in the custom stereo business since the 80s and he told me to quit wasting my time. He is absolutely convinced that there are just to many people broadcasting and the signal overlap has gotten to the point that clear reception is an issue. I notice it in my shop stereo also. Some days my favorite stations are clear and other days they are not. I guess I will believe the old guy.

 

Knowing as much as I do about radios and antennas (HAM operator, I build radios and make antennas, along with dealing with WiFi at work), some of it has to with the signal overlap (whereby the FCC will assign a radius of signal coverage for a particular station; which is controlled by power and by the design of the antenna), along with environmental variables (tropospheric ducting, building designs, etc), which also includes nearby interference.

Unfortunately, the interference is caused by non-EMI suppressed products that aren't regulated and tested, as to what was discussed earlier in this thread.

Another problem is new/renovated buildings to meet LEED requirements. A lot of new buildings have coated windows and the way the architecture is set up, it allows for buildings to literally reflect the RF. In one of my newly renovated buildings at my work, I am looking into fixing our cellular issue by getting a solution to boost cell phone signals for all carriers. Unfortunately, it is expensive. We never had the problem until we had new glazing and fixtures put in.

 

I was a project manager and did a lot of EHR upgrades to hospitals for Dignity Health. It involved all new communications infrastructure. We had the same problems with cellular service in the heart of the hospitals and in the sub levels where many important services for the hospitals are located. Prior to that I've also done cellular for AT&T and Nortel. The cellular companies have the ability to set you up with nodes that will use Internet connection to transmit and receive cellular calls via internet or you could set up phones for WIFI calling with existing WIFI network. Depending on traffic, a few more Wireless units may need to be hung to handle the additional load on network. Just trying to throw some idea's your way. hope it helps