DAB radio reception "A Class"

[jenkothewanderer]

Just thought I would share my experience on improving my Dab radio reception.

I own an "A Class" motorhome and because of the lack of a metallic ground earth the radio reception left a lot to be desired with frequent loss of signal when travelling. The aerial fitted came with the radio which was an internal glass mounted aerial.

After scrolling the internet I came across the Dabonwheels website which gave a comprehensive list of suitable Dab aerials for different applications and their reception ratings. They stated that my existing aerial was only rated 2/3 star and would suffer frequent signal loss which described my situation exactly.

As I did not want to go for a roof mounted aerial I tried their external glass mounted aerial Kinetic DEGA-T4002 telescopic DAB car aerial.

I mounted this aerial at the top centre of the large "A Class" windscreen with the aerial fully extended in the near vertical position. They rated this aerial as 5 star.

On my last recent trip of 120 miles the radio reception was first class with no loss of signal and the number of stations tuned in was amazing. I can certainly recommend the aerial.

Hope this helps .

[wiff2110]

I have had halfords fit a Kenwood DAB radio in our motorhome and they also fitted a windscreen aerial, I also have more "no signal" messages than ever, unable to listen to the radio whilst driving. Kenwood technical have suggested it's the camera causing the loss of signal, nextbase have sent me a filter to wrap around the feed cable which I have now done and moved the camera and cable to the drivers side of the windscreen. I have yet to drive the motorhome to see if there is an improvement.

But on reading your experience I am really interested to know more about this aerial as like yourself I don't wish to drill holes in the wing or anywhere else to fit an aerial. I read that it is externally windscreen mounted so how have you managed to get the cable into the motorhome in order to fit it into the radio?

[jenkothewanderer]

Hi wiff2110 if you take a look a look at the dabonwheels website it gives you the fitting instructions

 

http://www.dabonwheels.co.uk/Kinetic_DEGA-T4002_telescopic_glass_mount_DAB_car_aerial.html

 

But basically the aerial comes in two parts.

1. the external aerial which has the screw in antenna is attached to the outside of the screen with the supplied 3M tape and to prevent any water ingress getting to the tape they supply a small tube of silicon to spread around the fixture,

2. the second part of the aerial which is approx 45mm square is then lined up to the outside position but fitted to the inside of the screen again with 3M tape.

The internal part of the aerial is where the cable is screwed into and is supplied to the radio via the most appropriate route. I ordered my aerial with 5 metre cable and ran it under the window trim and under the dashboard. The cable is low loss and is small in diameter and easily hidden.

The signal received by the aerial is transmitted through the glass to the radio.

I too have a rear camera fitted but this was not causing loss of signal.

I was amazed at the difference this aerial made and was quite sceptical, but as dabonwheels offered a 45 day money back guarantee it was a no brainer.

Hope this helps.

Ps Just make sure if you fit one it clears the windscreen wiper track. For best results the aerial needs to be as near vertical as possible and as high as possible.