Discussion
Nope, but I'm planning on having the Alpine http://www.alpine.co.uk/p/Products/dab3842/ezi-dab fitted soon.
Not because of reception, but also the ipod functionality.
I've just bought a 2014MY Volvo as a daily grind. It has DAB, works well 70% of the time. DAB is a bit Iffy. Don't expect it to be the saviour of all FM woes.
Not because of reception, but also the ipod functionality.
I've just bought a 2014MY Volvo as a daily grind. It has DAB, works well 70% of the time. DAB is a bit Iffy. Don't expect it to be the saviour of all FM woes.
AMDBSNick said:
Speak to James from Trackaphone/Paralight 
By some weird coincidence I just looked at DAB in the vantage yesterday and James has posted previoulsy a solution he can do for AM. Seem to be a few options in the general accessory or after fit market, some more suitable than others.
My sons BmW has DAB fitted and I have to say it is underwhelming, with frequent cut outs. I may forgo it altogether and just listen to recorded music or the engine.
Sorry I've stuck to the thread topic ( hangs his head in shame!)
This may be a stupid question but how do I know if I have a DAB radio or not? The reception in places is not good...crackles and fading and distortion. I thought with DAB the signal would drop completely. There was a label stuck inside the car when I got it suggesting that it had DAB....
J12MOC said:
This may be a stupid question but how do I know if I have a DAB radio or not? The reception in places is not good...crackles and fading and distortion. I thought with DAB the signal would drop completely. There was a label stuck inside the car when I got it suggesting that it had DAB....
]
Wouldn't it have a separate source selector, either a switch or button saying DAB in the same way to select between FM and AM for example?]
All I can say is from using my sons, there is a DAB option in the menu on the iDrive. I imagine the AM version will be a button? Nothing in the manual?
Right then, this is what I have developed/discovered so far....
As previous posters have eluded to, DAB is not able to be received everywhere. The website
http://www.ukdigitalradio.com/coverage/postcodesea... does give clarification of whether DAB is available in your area. However as you drive around signal does fluctuate and it will drop out. Some radios and cars are better than others. In testing of a number of antennas, the stick on the glass ones that seem to come with most aftermarket DAB radios as standard are bog awful, sorry technical term...
I have found a good, read not cheap, hideaway tuner, that I have successfully adapted to work with the steering wheel controls that are normally used for the phone function. However there is a caveat. If you have the new Garmin Nav then I fit a small rocker switch to enable switching between DAB control and normal car control. This is done because the SWC controls allow you to zoom the NAV map, and scroll through the phone book. If you have no SWC then I supply a small remote control.
The tuner is connected in line with one of the 2 FM antenna feeds the car uses. It then sends a modulated signal to the original radio on the carrier 87.7, this is adjustable though. It also sends data on the RDS channel to give DAB channel info (with scrolling data) on the normal radio display.
For the antenna, it depends on the car. 08MY on have the radio tuner built into the Media pack/6 disc changer in the dash with the antennas built into the front screen. I use one of these antenna feeds into a splitter box which separates the AM/FM and higher frequency DAB signal, I try both to get best reception. This DAB signal then feeds into the DAB tuner. In London I can receive approx 69 channels, in more rural areas I may only get 40, but these may not be properly accessible. The BBC stations tend to be that much stronger, 5 live, 6 music etc. The more exclusive stations, Christian, Gaydio etc are more hit and miss. The postcode checker will give more guidance.
The older cars, with the tuner pack in the wheel arch, are a tad more difficult. Mind you, the early V8's with the sportsflex on the back of the roof are spanking for DAB reception! With earlier DB9's, both Coupe and Volante I have to fit a separate antenna. I use a powered device which is covertly fitted to the car. The result is a covert and useable solution. But as I say, it will not work everywhere, but I make damn sure it works to the best of its ability before I leave the site.
The reference to the Alpine unit, Mr DTW. I note that it uses a wire free FM transmitter to connect to the radio. Depending where you are in the country, it can be affected by bleed from external radio channels or powerful transmissions close by (Taxi's mainly, now the Police etc have gone to Airwave). My device is also a FM transmitter device, but it is wired direct to antenna feeds rather than a wireless signal. Alpine stuff is good, but I wanted something hideaway rather than a remote display. I'm just awkward.......
The DAB box tunes automatically, alphabetically, when the unit is set up, you can re-scan easily at any point with 3 presses of the answer button on the SWC. by pressing the seek up button it will simply go the next DAB station. You can also preset 20 favourites as well. To tune to these, simply press and hold the seek up (or down) button, and the voice prompt will say 'next favourite channel' rather than 'next channel'. At any point the DAB tuner can be switched off and you can revert to FM should the digital signal leave a bit to be desired.
Finally......
I feel the need to go off on a bit of a tangent.
Stow on the Wold, where the wind blows cold. Take Stow from the Wold and wind from the cold and spell it without an 'S' ???
Tootle Pip.
James
As previous posters have eluded to, DAB is not able to be received everywhere. The website
http://www.ukdigitalradio.com/coverage/postcodesea... does give clarification of whether DAB is available in your area. However as you drive around signal does fluctuate and it will drop out. Some radios and cars are better than others. In testing of a number of antennas, the stick on the glass ones that seem to come with most aftermarket DAB radios as standard are bog awful, sorry technical term...
I have found a good, read not cheap, hideaway tuner, that I have successfully adapted to work with the steering wheel controls that are normally used for the phone function. However there is a caveat. If you have the new Garmin Nav then I fit a small rocker switch to enable switching between DAB control and normal car control. This is done because the SWC controls allow you to zoom the NAV map, and scroll through the phone book. If you have no SWC then I supply a small remote control.
The tuner is connected in line with one of the 2 FM antenna feeds the car uses. It then sends a modulated signal to the original radio on the carrier 87.7, this is adjustable though. It also sends data on the RDS channel to give DAB channel info (with scrolling data) on the normal radio display.
For the antenna, it depends on the car. 08MY on have the radio tuner built into the Media pack/6 disc changer in the dash with the antennas built into the front screen. I use one of these antenna feeds into a splitter box which separates the AM/FM and higher frequency DAB signal, I try both to get best reception. This DAB signal then feeds into the DAB tuner. In London I can receive approx 69 channels, in more rural areas I may only get 40, but these may not be properly accessible. The BBC stations tend to be that much stronger, 5 live, 6 music etc. The more exclusive stations, Christian, Gaydio etc are more hit and miss. The postcode checker will give more guidance.
The older cars, with the tuner pack in the wheel arch, are a tad more difficult. Mind you, the early V8's with the sportsflex on the back of the roof are spanking for DAB reception! With earlier DB9's, both Coupe and Volante I have to fit a separate antenna. I use a powered device which is covertly fitted to the car. The result is a covert and useable solution. But as I say, it will not work everywhere, but I make damn sure it works to the best of its ability before I leave the site.
The reference to the Alpine unit, Mr DTW. I note that it uses a wire free FM transmitter to connect to the radio. Depending where you are in the country, it can be affected by bleed from external radio channels or powerful transmissions close by (Taxi's mainly, now the Police etc have gone to Airwave). My device is also a FM transmitter device, but it is wired direct to antenna feeds rather than a wireless signal. Alpine stuff is good, but I wanted something hideaway rather than a remote display. I'm just awkward.......
The DAB box tunes automatically, alphabetically, when the unit is set up, you can re-scan easily at any point with 3 presses of the answer button on the SWC. by pressing the seek up button it will simply go the next DAB station. You can also preset 20 favourites as well. To tune to these, simply press and hold the seek up (or down) button, and the voice prompt will say 'next favourite channel' rather than 'next channel'. At any point the DAB tuner can be switched off and you can revert to FM should the digital signal leave a bit to be desired.
Finally......
I feel the need to go off on a bit of a tangent.
Stow on the Wold, where the wind blows cold. Take Stow from the Wold and wind from the cold and spell it without an 'S' ???
Tootle Pip.
James
[quote=J12MOC]This may be a stupid question but how do I know if I have a DAB radio or not? The reception in places is not good...crackles and fading and distortion. I thought with DAB the signal would drop completely. There was a label stuck inside the car when I got it suggesting that it had DAB....
I've heard that DAB will not be fitted as standard until 2014.5 Model Year. Whether there will be a retrofit option from AM..........
I've heard that DAB will not be fitted as standard until 2014.5 Model Year. Whether there will be a retrofit option from AM..........
Gassing Station | Aston Martin | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff