Dab radio reception, anyone tried this type aerial?

[StitchesnFluff]

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Has anyone tried this type of aerial?
Have reception problems on Hymer exsis i578 dab radio after fit.
Tried stick on but no metal to earth to, now have a magnet one propped in windscreen/dash but that drops out when driving.

I wondered if then above might be a solution and thought I'd ask around before buying!
Thank you

 

[StitchesnFluff]

We would stick this on the nears side passenger screen

 

[Jim]

I'd love a Dab radio in the van, if you buy it let us know how you get on

 

[Forestboy]

Just fitted a DAB radio in our van which came with the stick on aerial took ages to fit as nowhere to earth. Bloody useless loses the signal all the time okay when parked useless when driving. Great for playing our own tunes on though which was the real reason for getting it as we still had the original 12 year old unit.
Got a DAB Sony in my car as well that's not much better.

 

[DP+JAY]

DAB radio is rubbish on the move.
It drives Jay mad as it constantly repeats itself or misses bits as it jumps/locks onto a new "cell".
Great when stationary but a pain on the move, usually end up switching to FM to avoid the "jumping".

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[Richard Birkett]

I have to agree with the previous replys. I've had DAB in the euramobil for nearly 6 years and it's useless!
At first I thought it was because it's new but it's never improved and it's worse than the old AM of my youth.
I turned off auto DAB a couple of years ago and apart from intermitent tests, it's stayed off.
Also it doesn't work in Europe as they have a different system to us so it's a typical modern day improvement, it's more expensive than before but not as good! a bit like CD & vinyl, Digital & film.....

 

[ivorantony]

I have tried three stick on aerials and all of them were useless,
Last year I decided to bite the bullet and sort it out for good,
I purchased a Kinetic DR-6004 roof aerial with extra leads for DAB and AM/FM and fitted to the roof of my A class,
What is most important if like mine it has a composite roof is to make up a good ground plane, I used copper tape radiating out from beneath the aerial inside the wardrobe with one terminating at a good earthing point on the chassis,
A lot of work but a revelation in reception in comparison to the stick on type,
I usually listen to Radio 2/3/4 LBC/smooth/heart and can usually get them anywhere in England with a drop off in Scotland,
With the previous aerial I couldn't get LBC outside London but now it fine up to the borders and as far west as Worcester, so far!
I am delighted with the DAB reception with more channels coming on line weekly with improved signal strength,

 

[DP+JAY]

I have tried three stick on aerials and all of them were useless,
Last year I decided to bite the bullet and sort it out for good,
I purchased a Kinetic DR-6004 roof aerial with extra leads for DAB and AM/FM and fitted to the roof of my A class,
What is most important if like mine it has a composite roof is to make up a good ground plane, I used copper tape radiating out from beneath the aerial inside the wardrobe with one terminating at a good earthing point on the chassis,
A lot of work but a revelation in reception in comparison to the stick on type,
I usually listen to Radio 2/3/4 LBC/smooth/heart and can usually get them anywhere in England with a drop off in Scotland,
With the previous aerial I couldn't get LBC outside London but now it fine up to the borders and as far west as Worcester, so far!
I am delighted with the DAB reception with more channels coming on line weekly with improved signal strength,

But has it cured the repetition/jumping problem when on the move please? Reception, as such, is not our problem.

 

[ivorantony]

I don't have that problem with the new aerial, and I could barely receive anything with the old one, they are still improving the reception area around the UK so can only assume that your problem
Is directly related to your aerial performance or lack of it,
In answer to unable to use in Europe
I have fitted a Sony CDX- DAB700U radio that works fine in Europe
Just back from three weeks in Germany and had more stations then you could shake a stick at, but obviously in German so I mostly used my IPod connected through the USB in to give us about 4 days of solid music,
Also I use the AUX in to give great stereo sound for the avtex TV in the evening with remote control from the bed,

 

[tonyidle]

A simple(ish) solution to DAB or FM reception is to fit an aerial to the edge of a solar panel. The lead can follow the panel wiring into the van and the panel provides a very good ground-plane. As ivorantony said reception of FM and/or DAB is transformed.

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[Electraglide]

I connected our JVC dab to the status aerial, works a treat

 

[Zains Pops]

I have DAB radio in the car, it was factory fitted when the car was built, the radio is superb, reception flawless nationwide, so I guess the problems being experienced by others are as suggested ariel based, rather than anything wrong with the UK DAB system.

 

[DP+JAY]

I don't have a problem with reception.
As I understand it the DAB system works on "cells" much system like mobile phones. Once tuned to a station it will follow that station and switch to another"cell" when the signal gets weaker as you travel.
Our problem is that it constantly repeats itself or misses bits out as it "switches" from "cell to cell".
I am trying to find out if anyone else has this? If not is it peculiar to our radio.
Does the improved aerial/ground plane improve or cure it?

 

[Bellini]

I have a new Alpine DAB unit in Udo and, at first, experienced awful reception. This was completely at odds with my previous in-car DAB reception experience.

So I took Udo back to the installer and it ended up being a simple remedy as the head unit needed to be told that a powered DAB stick-on aerial had been fitted. In short, no power from the head unit meant no reception.

A few button pushes later and crystal clear reception that's remained across the UK on our travels this year.

I stress, my aerial is a powered windscreen stick-on type. Works brilliantly.

 

[Forestboy]

Mines the same so is the factory fitted Sony one in my car. Both work perfectly when parked but are frustrating when travelling have a couple of friends with factory fitted DAB units and all have the same problem.

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[Forestboy]

I have a new Alpine DAB unit in Udo and, at first, experienced awful reception. This was completely at odds with my previous in-car DAB reception experience.

So I took Udo back to the installer and it ended up being a simple remedy as the head unit needed to be told that a powered DAB stick-on aerial had been fitted. In short, no power from the head unit meant no reception.

A few button pushes later and crystal clear reception that's remained across the UK on our travels this year.

I stress, my aerial is a powered windscreen stick-on type. Works brilliantly.

Dont suppose you know what they actually did because my stick on is powered and earthed but useless having said that my cars not a lot better.

 

[Bellini]

It was in the setup menu for the head unit somewhere.

To be fair, the Alpine printed instructions weren't good, so we went online to find a better set and that's where we found the additional menu functions from.

 

[DP+JAY]

Thanks, OK so it's not just ours then. Probably no cure but I would have thought they could syncronise the broadcasts from the different masts to stop the jumping.

 

[Forestboy]

It was in the setup menu for the head unit somewhere.

To be fair, the Alpine printed instructions weren't good, so we went online to find a better set and that's where we found the additional menu functions from.

Thanks I'll get the book out and have a look can't make it any worse.

 

[Ed Excel]

All DAB radio is transmitted with vertical polarisation. Receiving aerials must be vertical for best performance. With DAB there should be no deterioration in sound quality, it either works or it doesn't. With some DAB/FM radios the sound drop out and content repeat is caused by a change from DAB to FM, because one is broadcast slightly behind the other in time, whenever the DAB signal is lost. It's something we may have to endure until FM ends.

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[tonyidle]

All DAB radio is transmitted with vertical polarisation. Receiving aerials must be vertical for best performance. With DAB there should be no deterioration in sound quality, it either works or it doesn't. With some DAB/FM radios the sound drop out and content repeat is caused by a change from DAB to FM, because one is broadcast slightly behind the other in time, whenever the DAB signal is lost. It's something we may have to endure until FM ends.

.............. or switch off the option for auto FM. Ours did that before I sorted the DAB aerial but on every occasion if DAB was weak & it switched to FM the FM was weak & noisy.

 

[eddie]

We fit loads and we use it as well. I love it as I hate the way FM fades out.

My new car has it as standard and that works amazingly well as well!

 

[DP+JAY]

All DAB radio is transmitted with vertical polarisation. Receiving aerials must be vertical for best performance. With DAB there should be no deterioration in sound quality, it either works or it doesn't. With some DAB/FM radios the sound drop out and content repeat is caused by a change from DAB to FM, because one is broadcast slightly behind the other in time, whenever the DAB signal is lost. It's something we may have to endure until FM ends.

Even with FM switched off it still repeats/misses bits out as it switches from cell to cell.
The transmitters only have a very short range & DAB radio's are designed to alwys look for the strongest signal so on the move they frequently switch to a stronger signal which is out of sync. If you look at the map of tranmitters, there are dozens of them.
http://www.ukdigitalradio.com/coverage/currenttransmitters/details.asp?id=3
We find it great when parked but the repetition is a pain on the move.

 

[Ed Excel]

.............. or switch off the option for auto FM. Ours did that before I sorted the DAB aerial but on every occasion if DAB was weak & it switched to FM the FM was weak & noisy.

That's a solution if it's an option on your receiver.