Upgrading DAB radio reception

[Ricky Shaw]

Is there any way of upgrading the aerial to improve DAB signal?
Has anybody tried improving the signal?

Thanks

[finny]

ive got an amplified dab aerial from Halfords on my kenwood dab and the reception is great, my boss has non amplified and his reception is rubbish and has switched to fm, both stick to inside of windscreen versions, my van dab and work dab Makita sound quality is much better than fm in my area

[Ricky Shaw]

Yeh I want to use DAB as there isnt many FM stations in my area. It just cuts out quite a bit.
I'm driving a partner van with dab from factory so I don't know how I'd amplify the dab aerial that's on the roof.

[tezzerh]

This is what I posted about my DAB radio earlier this year....

"I had a DAB radio fitted when I got the car. It has never worked properly. I could hear next to nothing on FM or AM which meant no radio at all when abroad, and took it back to them a couple of times. They told me if you had a DAB fitted, you could not receive FM on the radio as well. Rubbish, I thought, so I went to car radio experts who told me the DAB unit was faulty. Back to the dealer. Usual 'you'll have to bring it in again for a master technician to look at it.' Hmmmm.... I suspected they would never get it working properly. Finally, I thought 'Sod it.' I asked the car radio shop to fit a new one for me. They said the DAB Citroen had fitted was pretty basic. The new one cost £170 fitted and works like a dream. I can get FM and AM too!!!!! The control is far easier to operate. I've written off the £170. The original DAB was part of the deal from Citroen. Pity I've been five months without a proper radio. Next time I get a new car, I'll go straight to the car radio experts."

My point is, it took car radio specialists to sort it out, and there is excellent reception with the aerial on the window. I don't know about upgrading it, but it would be worth having a word with a car radio specialist. They warned me that DAB reception could be patchy, but I've not found that at all, but I do live in the city. I take Doofer's point (above), too.

[Tree]

Mine has been back to citroen this week as the DAB has been utterly Sh*t recently.

They've pulled the unit, tested all the connections and upgraded the software - still rubbish on the A3 in the mornings.

However, once I had taken my dashcam down and put it somewhere else on the windscreen, it has fixed the problem. Whoops!

[TonyM]

Mine has been back to citroen this week as the DAB has been utterly Sh*t recently.

They've pulled the unit, tested all the connections and upgraded the software - still rubbish on the A3 in the mornings.

However, once I had taken my dashcam down and put it somewhere else on the windscreen, it has fixed the problem. Whoops!

I brought one of these  for my 07 M59 Berlingo ,fitted it to the rear of the roof (as they recommend & where most modern cars now have their aerials fitted) & far more stations appeared on the display the signal didn't dropout everytime I drove under power cables anymore  .

[Tree]

Tony, the facelift vans with the touchscreen and built in DAB already have an amplified aerial. My problem was simply an EMF issue caused by the dashcam. Once I moved it away from the aerial the DAB works fine now.


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[Tree]

I think you've answered your own question there Doofer! My wife bought it for me from Argos so it technically should have been in accordance with the CE stamp but it clearly has an EMF issue!

[Multispacer]

I think you've answered your own question there Doofer! My wife bought it for me from Argos so it technically should have been in accordance with the CE stamp but it clearly has an EMF issue!

Have you tried ferrite clip on cores on the power cable of the dash cam? I had a similar "noise" problem on mine but used some clip on ferrite cores and it seems to have virtually reduced to problem to nothing. I clipped one at each end of the cable. Make sure you get ones that are as close to the diameter of your power cable as possible so they clamp on tight when clipped shut.

Mine were similar to these: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TDK-ZCAT1325-0...SwGtRXz9uw

There are many different ones on the market though. Just means my camera has gone back to being in the centre of the windscreen.

[Multispacer]

I think you've answered your own question there Doofer! My wife bought it for me from Argos so it technically should have been in accordance with the CE stamp but it clearly has an EMF issue!

Have you tried ferrite clip on cores on the power cable of the dash cam? I had a similar "noise" problem on mine but used some clip on ferrite cores and it seems to have virtually reduced to problem to nothing. I clipped one at each end of the cable. Make sure you get ones that are as close to the diameter of your power cable as possible so they clamp on tight when clipped shut.

Mine were similar to these: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TDK-ZCAT1325-0...SwGtRXz9uw

There are many different ones on the market though. Just means my camera has gone back to being in the centre of the windscreen.