Cheap in car DAB head units?
Discussion
I'm looking to move on from this:
and notice that Halfords have DAB head units now starting at £80 (Sonichi, with more known brands starting at £100) - anyone used any of these? Is it a ball ache installing a 2nd aerial etc? (the portable DAB shown above works fine in-car with it's aerial extended)
and notice that Halfords have DAB head units now starting at £80 (Sonichi, with more known brands starting at £100) - anyone used any of these? Is it a ball ache installing a 2nd aerial etc? (the portable DAB shown above works fine in-car with it's aerial extended)
I fitted an Alpine Ezi DAB into my girlfriends Fiat 500 and used the supplied screen mount aerial, which is fine, the reception is as good as the OEM systems I have tried. It was simple to run the cable up the A pillar and is pretty discrete. I'm not a massive fan of the bigger aerials you an get for DAB, I understand the reception is better, but they look ugly.
FWIW the Alpine aerial is meant to be better than the standard Pure aerial even thought the units are the same.
FWIW the Alpine aerial is meant to be better than the standard Pure aerial even thought the units are the same.
bought stuff from here http://www.dabonwheels.co.uk/ IF you have an old fashioned steel arial you can get decent reception with thier converters, I am running one of these in my mx and get really good reception http://www.dabonwheels.co.uk/FM-AM_to_FM-AM-DAB_ae...
The Sonichi ones are fine. I've got one in the van. It's been in a couple of years, but I think the nearest equivalent is the SB50. It's got hands-free, with a separate microphone, and will stream music from your phone. As I say, it's in a van, so routing the cables wasn't too much of a problem. The supplied aerial needs to be as close to upright as you can get it.
Highly recommended. Looks gash, though.
Highly recommended. Looks gash, though.
Glass mount aerials are hopeless in fringe areas. It's worth doing it properly. The aerial also has to be vertical... as digital transmission for Radio is only transmitted vertically. These two things will probably give you 4 times the reception.
As for units... you get what you pay for. The only unit I would buy is the new pure one. Failing that, the dabonwheels website is excellent.
As for units... you get what you pay for. The only unit I would buy is the new pure one. Failing that, the dabonwheels website is excellent.
radiodanno said:
Glass mount aerials are hopeless in fringe areas. It's worth doing it properly. The aerial also has to be vertical... as digital transmission for Radio is only transmitted vertically. These two things will probably give you 4 times the reception.
As for units... you get what you pay for. The only unit I would buy is the new pure one. Failing that, the dabonwheels website is excellent.
Isn't the Pure unit another one that adds DAB to an existing head unit, which I don't have? (and if not, how much is it?)As for units... you get what you pay for. The only unit I would buy is the new pure one. Failing that, the dabonwheels website is excellent.
Toaster Pilot said:
Tempted by the £79 sonichi sb40 which comes with a magnetic roof aerial. I guess i would need to drill a hole in the roof for the wire?? Not fussed about doing so cause its a shed mind
You don't need to drill a hole with the magnetic aerials - just run the cable through the door window seal. Not pretty but effective. If you want to drill a hole you can get a roof mounted bee sting aerial, and that will give you the best reception of all.Sorry mate, didn't spot the Double Din part.
The rule with FM radios was: The cheaper the unit - the less sensitive the tuner would be. So you'd end up with a bad signal. That isn't the case with DAB, the key really is the aerial. (I can bore you to tears with why - but unless you're interested - it's dull).
If it's a shed then I'd drill and fit a proper aerial. There is no comparison. Trailing wires trough windows to a magmount will make you look like a moonlight cab driver. However, it's still a better solution than a glass mount (which gives you no ground plane).
The only thing about cheaper head units is they CAN be a s
t to navigate through the radio stations, often listing them geographically rather than alphabetically (ie logically!). There are other quirks, but if you can live with them then you're £80 better off.
The rule with FM radios was: The cheaper the unit - the less sensitive the tuner would be. So you'd end up with a bad signal. That isn't the case with DAB, the key really is the aerial. (I can bore you to tears with why - but unless you're interested - it's dull).
If it's a shed then I'd drill and fit a proper aerial. There is no comparison. Trailing wires trough windows to a magmount will make you look like a moonlight cab driver. However, it's still a better solution than a glass mount (which gives you no ground plane).
The only thing about cheaper head units is they CAN be a s
t to navigate through the radio stations, often listing them geographically rather than alphabetically (ie logically!). There are other quirks, but if you can live with them then you're £80 better off.Toaster Pilot said:
Not sure the cost will work out if I need to buy an aerial too - I might just build a power adaptor for this portable radio since the only thing holding it back at the moment is the need to put 4xAA in it every few days 
PS: this is the most 'shed' solution.Get a fag lighter adaptor that's kicking out 6v - cut the end off - solder the relevant wires to relevant terminals on the radio and you're off. (Check it works before soldering by twisting and holding the wires)
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