Dab Vehicle Radio's.

[Rayjsj]

I have just bought a new 2011 Toyota car which to my suprise only has a standard FM/AM radio fitted, and is 'Built into' the dashboard. When is the changeover supposed to happen ? (I heard 2013 ?) which only leaves 2 years before the radio is obsolete !!! There appears to be very little information about this 'Changeover' unlike the gradual change to Digital television. Are there to be 'add-on' attachments to convert the 'already fitted' radio's to work ? In my 'cars' situation no 'new' Standard aftermarket radio will fit anyway, so NO traffic information and a quiet car journey except for Cd's ??

This appears to be another 'CON' by 'the powers that be' to sell off 'Bandwidth' for other purposes (g6/g7 phones etc.,) at the cost of nationwide FM radio (which I think works perfectly well already).

Now, My Motorhome has the 'Standard' 2005 Peugeot fit radio, with the dreaded 20min (right at the 'Important bit' ) shutoff, are 'Digital Ready' vehicle radio's available now ? do they also receive FM ? If so, I might be tempted to buy one. OR is DAB radio just a scare tactic to sell more radio's ?? 8-) Ray

 

Oh ! and please don't tell me how much better Dab is than FM, The one I bought my wife as her 'Ironing entertainment' , has never received a 'listenable' signal in 3 years. No matter where it was placed in the house. And Digital TV 'blocks' and 'drops out' the 'Sound/vision sychronization is terrible. Bring back Analogue. (west wales). >:-(

[Rayjsj]

After 'Googling' Digital radio Switchover, it seems there is nothing to worry about, evidently the FM switch-off is unlikely to happen much before 2025 (if at all) at the present rate of Dab radio 'take-up'. Which is decreasing year on year since 2008, rather than increasing. Good.

[chasson10]

Hi just to say we are looking into radios for our motorhome and are in the same position as what to do. We have DAB at home and it is great, we really like listening to all the old radio 4 programmes, sad isnit! We too have not been able to find many DAB radios for vehicles.

[Brian Kirby]

All I have heard to date regarding DAB in cars, is that it is relatively unsatisfactory.  Also, that it is almost useless outside UK, due to very few broadcasters.  That is not to say it is no good when sited, and so static, just not as good as FM when driving, and so moving.  If you can get DAB/FM sets, providing the DAB bit works properly when static, I guess they would be a fair bet, but otherwise, for vehicles, I think FM probably has it, at least for the present.

[Robinhood]

Brian Kirby - 2011-05-01 11:28 AM

 

All I have heard to date regarding DAB in cars, is that it is relatively unsatisfactory.  Also, that it is almost useless outside UK, due to very few broadcasters.  That is not to say it is no good when sited, and so static, just not as good as FM when driving, and so moving.  If you can get DAB/FM sets, providing the DAB bit works properly when static, I guess they would be a fair bet, but otherwise, for vehicles, I think FM probably has it, at least for the present.

 

Can't say that, from experience, I agree with this, Brian.

 

I have a (Ford) DAB radio in my car which gives excellent service (and is generally left on the DAB setting as it is easier to get a large number of stations, including most of those also available on FM).

 

I also fitted a (JVC) DAB radio to my previous 'van, and this also gave excellent service (though the Rapido had a roof aerial that I'm pretty sure was already DAB compatible, and I used a powered splitter to use it for both FM and DAB).

 

Certainly not a lot of stations available abroad (and in any case the system now being touted widely in Europe is different, and supposedly technically superior to the UK one, but it is possible to get car radios which work on both).

 

I'm not sure that it is possible (as yet) to buy a DAB car radio that doesn't also have FM capability, but there are some DAB "dead spots", so I most certainly wouldn't.

 

The subject was discussed previously on:

 

http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=21848&posts=29

[Dave Newell]

My personal experience is exactly as Brian describes it, FM for travelling and DAB (if available) for when sited. I fitted an expensive JVC FM radio/DAB radio/CD unit into my last motorhome and while driving it was a right royal pain in the butt!!

 

When in a strong DAB area it was fine but as soon as you got close to the edge of that area it would drop down to FM for the same station if available. We generally listen to Radio 2 and because DAB radio has aprox 2.5 seconds delay over FM what happend is this:

 

DAB reception good, everything fine.

DAB reception medium, radio switches between DAB and FM quite often. Result is that switching from DAB to FM you lose 2.5 seconds of transmission while switching from FM to DAB you get a 2.5 second "dead air" pause then it catches up.

 

My expensive DAB/FM/CD/MP3 head unit now works brilliantly................................................as a workshop radio!

 

In our present camper I have fitted a cheap FM/AM/CD/MP3/bluetooth(hands free phone function)/USB/Aux Input heads unit from Aldi and it works really well :-)

 

D.

[Robinhood]

Dave Newell - 2011-05-02 5:12 PM

 

When in a strong DAB area it was fine but as soon as you got close to the edge of that area it would drop down to FM for the same station if available. We generally listen to Radio 2 and because DAB radio has aprox 2.5 seconds delay over FM what happend is this:

 

DAB reception good, everything fine.

DAB reception medium, radio switches between DAB and FM quite often. Result is that switching from DAB to FM you lose 2.5 seconds of transmission while switching from FM to DAB you get a 2.5 second "dead air" pause then it catches up.

 

D.

 

Got that occasionally on my JVC unit - found it was better to switch the function off as it was pretty annoying >:-)

 

What aerial were you using Dave? All recommendations I've seen are not to rely on an existing FM aerial, or the (generally supplied) windscreen ones, but to use a DAB specific one.

 

The (factory installed) Ford unit I have in the car is more or less undefeatable for signal - the last 'van (Rapido) had what appeared to be a Hirschmann DAB compatible aerial on the roof, and I used an amplified splitter to feed both FM and DAB aerial connectors from it with great success. (testing with the supplied windscreen aerial was less than satisfactory).

 

All things equal, I'd have a DAB radio any day (Radio 5 and Planet Rock :-D )

[fjmike]

A little while ago I was treated to a Pure Highway which is a digital radio add on and have to agree with Brian and Dave on reception. Brilliant when stationary but a right pain in the butt when traveling. The Highway will cut the signal when weak instead of receiving the burbling that you normally get when receiving a weak signal, resulting in a very interrupted programs. So now its just used when we are stationary.

[CaptainKool]

One of the main problems with DAB is that the UK has gone for the original DAB standard. There is a newer, better version called DAB+, used by some other countries. Older UK DAB radios are not compatible with, nor upgradeable to, the newer DAB+ system. If you have a UK DAB tradio, you will probably not get much joy if you try to tune in to a French DAB station. Google 'DAB compatibility' for all the details!

[Keith T]

Was reading a news item in the Daily Telegraph, which indicated that 2015 was the projected date to turn off Anaolgue Radio.....I think I have seen some indications of this having to be extended, and the news item was saying that WHICH magazine thinks 2015 is impossible.

I do have a FM.DAB Sony Radio at home, using an indoor aerial, and mostly this gives a good enough signal, though at times does sound as though it's under water!! There are a good number of stations available, though, but as far as the motorhome is concerned, we are lucky to have the old LW on the radio, and have just come back from 3 weeks in France, having had excellent reception at alol times, down as far as the Vendee.

 

We travel to the south of France regularly, and a few years ago could get BBC World service on our little portable SW Radio, but this service either has disappeared, altogether, or the signal or transmissions reduced,and last year we had great difficulty in finding anything in English on any SW Bands.

 

I dont think its a matter of improvement with all this technology, just a way of forcing people to buy more consumer items. In fact whilst the quality of the picture with Digital TV is certainly better, the loss of signal is much more apparant on Freeview, and the sound/picture syncronisation is very poor for much of the time.

[ips]

Like robinhood I have DAB in my ford kuga and leave it on DAB (usually radio 4) all the time and find it too be very reliable and I travel extensivelly around the north of england including wales. Would like one for the van but cant even get a decent fm signal I think the front wing mounted ariel is too short. Any ideas as to a replacement screw in antennae or other advice to improve it ?