DAB Aerial / Antenna Options?

[MaccaTVR]

Hi guys,

So basically I have upgraded my cars stereo to one that can receive DAB.

Can anyone tell me - Is it possible in anyway to use the existing aerial, and if not, why?

I cant seem to find a definitive answer - almost everywhere I look I come across buying a new aerial that sticks to the windscreen - which I'd rather not.

When TV's made the switch over from analogue to digital, we all didn't go around buying new aerials for the roof. As long as the TV was digital ready it was fine, so why would a DAB radio be any different? Or am I just being a complete idiot.

Can anyone tell me what my options are?

Thanks

Click to read more...

 

[02WS6]

I'm in the US so take this with a grain of salt.

Looks like DAB is the AUS/EU version of HD Radio. The answer really depends on a couple of things.

1. Does the radio you have accept the standard antenna/aerial connection your car came with?
2. Does the length/configuration of your car's current antenna allow it to pickup 210-230Mhz frequencies?

Issue 1 is pretty easy to figure out, can you connect your aerial to your stereo with the current connections and does it allow you to listen to DAB stations?

Issue 2 starts getting way more technical but I would assume that most vehicle antenna should be able to pickup 210-230Mhz frequencies even if the antenna isn't ideal (built) for them. Home antennas are different because they're usually larger, so they can pickup a much wider range of frequencies. Car's on the other hand, tend to have much smaller antennas which can lead to reception issues.

My first thought is to look for or pickup a DAB adapter and see if you can hear anything in the DAB frequency ranges. If that doesn't work then pick up a DAB antenna to see if it gets better.

AUS Ebay Link

amazon.com.au had nothing really for DAB but the UK has a ton of options, unsure if its difficult for you to source to AUS:

UK Amazon Link

 

[MaccaTVR]

Thanks for the reply.

At the moment I cant connect my new radio to the antenna - The back of my new radio has a fakra connector and the cars current wiring has a standard aerial plug so will need to pick up an adaptor first then test it.

The back of the radio has 3 fakra connectors so I'm not even sure which one is which!

Will look for an adaptor and try step one and see what happens.

Thanks