DAB Ariel is a bit rubbish.
Discussion
Bought a Kenwood DAB head unit a few months back, on the whole it's pretty good, although I only usually listen to Radio 2.
When I fitted it, I just plugged in the windscreen DAB ariel and stuck it to the screen, but I have always felt limited in terms of the stations I can pick up, many of the station that appear in the list, do not actually work.
Is there a specific location where the ariel should be mounted?
When I fitted it, I just plugged in the windscreen DAB ariel and stuck it to the screen, but I have always felt limited in terms of the stations I can pick up, many of the station that appear in the list, do not actually work.
Is there a specific location where the ariel should be mounted?
Trevatanus said:
Bought a Kenwood DAB head unit a few months back, on the whole it's pretty good, although I only usually listen to Radio 2.
When I fitted it, I just plugged in the windscreen DAB ariel and stuck it to the screen, but I have always felt limited in terms of the stations I can pick up, many of the station that appear in the list, do not actually work.
Is there a specific location where the ariel should be mounted?
I think if you followed the mounting instructions, that’s as good as it gets.When I fitted it, I just plugged in the windscreen DAB ariel and stuck it to the screen, but I have always felt limited in terms of the stations I can pick up, many of the station that appear in the list, do not actually work.
Is there a specific location where the ariel should be mounted?
If you don’t have an amplified fm aerial , you can buy a fm dab splitter that uses the original aerial and it amplifies both signals , no need for stick on aerial.
If you are having problems with your DAB in a known good DAB area of the country, then it sound like the fault is with the aerial. I have done three DAB retro fits to my recent cars (2x BMW with oem DAB module and one Pioneer aftermarket head unit) all using powered stick on window aerials and I’ve seen as good reception as my Volvo with factory fitted DAB.
Was the DAB aerial a powered version?
If so, did you connect it up correctly, in terms of earthing the foil trip to bare metal around the window?
Did you hook up a +12v supply to the power lead or turn on antenna power on the head unit’s menus?
With reference to s point above, the ordinary factory fitted FM aerial is unlikely to work to provide a DAB signal in most modern cars (e.g. via a splitter) as they usually have some sort of amplifier or frequency splitter device in the system that aren’t setup for DaB signal frequencies.
Chris
Was the DAB aerial a powered version?
If so, did you connect it up correctly, in terms of earthing the foil trip to bare metal around the window?
Did you hook up a +12v supply to the power lead or turn on antenna power on the head unit’s menus?
With reference to s point above, the ordinary factory fitted FM aerial is unlikely to work to provide a DAB signal in most modern cars (e.g. via a splitter) as they usually have some sort of amplifier or frequency splitter device in the system that aren’t setup for DaB signal frequencies.
Chris
David Beer said:
I think if you followed the mounting instructions, that’s as good as it gets.
If you don’t have an amplified fm aerial , you can buy a fm dab splitter that uses the original aerial and it amplifies both signals , no need for stick on aerial.
I got one of these (£12 off Amazon) when I fitted a Sony head unit to the OHs "new" SLK a couple of weeks ago, and it seems to work very well indeed (the car has a "proper" aerial too, which I assume must help.If you don’t have an amplified fm aerial , you can buy a fm dab splitter that uses the original aerial and it amplifies both signals , no need for stick on aerial.
I was trying to make everything look unobtrusive and as "factory fit" as possible so didn't want some awful stick on antenna.
Remove any USB 12v adaptors, car chargers, Dashcam power sources etc from the car (incl the rear and the boot) and see if it improves.
12v to USB power adaptors are known for lacking RF shielding and is only multiplied when you connect an aerial to them (the USB lead)
If that does improve coverage, plug one back in at a time and see which ones are causing the issue.
Google USB RF Interference.
12v to USB power adaptors are known for lacking RF shielding and is only multiplied when you connect an aerial to them (the USB lead)
If that does improve coverage, plug one back in at a time and see which ones are causing the issue.
Google USB RF Interference.
We have a magnetic roof mounted DAB antenna on each of the cars for the Sonichi DAB adaptors. They are not particularly noticeable and I wouldn't care if they were.
They work extremely well. The DAB works even in sparsely populated parts of Wales. I can't remember the last time that the signal was lost.
They work extremely well. The DAB works even in sparsely populated parts of Wales. I can't remember the last time that the signal was lost.
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