Poor radio reception in Worcester and the shire

[100SRV]

As per title really - both cars I've owned so can't be blamed on aerial position or whatever.

I can get tin-pot local radio but reception for BBC R4 and R2 is really patchy.
I fitted an aerial with powered amplifier but no discernable improvement in reception.
Quite puzzling because Worcestershire isn't exactly moutainous.

Has anyone else noticed this?

[FiF]

Not really no. I'm assuming this is FM reception, DAB is certainly dodgy, for example I lose test match special everyday, at least when it's on, on the A449 near Ombersley, yet the area is flattish and the road a bit elevated. Phone reception is dodgy there too. Centre of Worcester can be tricky, particularly near Foregate station and the courts, but FM is fine.

[100SRV]

HiFiF
Yes, it is FM reception.
The radio is in a Defender 110.
Thinking cap on.

[FiF]

Hi there, unfortunately won't be driving for some time, so no ability to do experiments, laid up in plaster with a shattered knee at the moment.

Another thought I had was that sometimes FM is slow to switch onto the correct frequency so maybe it's a weak signal? Looked up some area coverage maps and I found that poor spot near Ombersley, but that map was for BBC H&W coverage, don't know if that says anything about R4 etc.

For me R2 and R4 comes from Sutton Coldfield according to the Radio and Television Investigation service. It refuses to find my postcode for some reason, nr edge Hartlebury Common, so put a Worcester postcode in and it says weak signal and there have been recent problems on this platform.

The first link below is a national coverage map for England South West, Worcester area just scrapes in at the top. Seems to be a lot of blue around which suspect means an iffy signal.

No more helpful ideas, sorry.

England South West national coverage
postcode checker
ofcom mca maps

PS. Clicked on your profile and it got me looking at Tomcats. Git! Where did that couple of hours go, still suppose not doing anything else.

PPS. Forgot to mention my car radio is mainly in FL2, or Fabia.

[madmover]

I've given up with phone and radio signal where I live. Both used to be OK. Now, every phonecall is scrambled or drops out, and Radio 4 can be crap depending on the weather

[blueg33]

R4 as you approach Evesham on the A46 from the Strafford direction gets really bad until you have gone around the bypass and are heading towards Tewkesbury. Very annoying, I haven't found a fix

[weeboot]

@BlueG33
That's probably down to the old radio arrays @ Wood Norton.

@100SRV
Mine is exactly the same in Worcester, I've moved back to central Worcester and I don't bother with the radio outside the house!

[100SRV]

Thank you for the replies...glad I am not the only one.

First step is to get some EMI suppression on the 110, the heater blower, wiper motors and washer are all big contributors and can be heard on the radio. When I get chance I will be fitting:

Chokes onto radio ignition and battery live supply
RC filters on each wiper speed as high-pass filters to "earth"
Checking the earth path from antenna to radio

I can't recall my Citroen Ax having such bad radio reception but my Focus wasn't brilliant.

100SRV

[blueg33]

I thought the fix was to move house.

[100SRV]

Root cause found eventually when I was tidying up the radio wiring - the ground from the wing-mounted aerial was very poor so I cleaned up the ground plane and fitted a link lead to a return stud on the bulkhead. All connections smeared with petroleum jelly after tightening and now the radio reception is excellent.