My old Volvo has that type of built in radio that you wouldn't want to disturb. But there's no DAB, no bluetooth, no USB socket. Has anyone had experience of a DAB adaptor that includes these facilities? It would have to be one with RF out.
Bill
There used to be a DAB add on that would recieve the DAB signal and remodulate onto a spare FM frequency, you then tuned the existing radio to the FM frequency used by teh DAB adapter.
FX... tap tap into google.....
Tada!
P.S. a Which guide:
I wouldn't bother just removed mine.....If you love radio don't go DAB ....
Typical Which bollocks: "With digital radio you also benefit from higher audio quality"
Bill
That's not helpful. What I want is comments from people who have actually used DAB adaptors. I have DAB in two other vehicles so I know what it's capable of, and I know that I want it in the Volvo. But if you can tell me how I can hear Times Radio, GB Radio, etc on FM I'd be very interested.
Bill
I’ve not tried a DAB adaptor with RF out but my eldest bought one for her iPod when she passed her driving test to use when she borrowed my wife’s car. It worked, after a fashion. I’ve since ‘inherited’ it and use it to between a Freesat Box and a portable radio while we are traveling in Europe in the motorhome so we can have Radio 4 etc outside. The audio quality isn’t great. Certainly not enough to do DAB justice - I’m a fan of DAB.
Have you checked if the radio has any inputs on the back, even one for a CD multi changer? I had a Honda CRV which only had a port for a CD multichanger. (No Bluetooth or Aux input). There was a button - I think by the normal CD button- which selected it, if it was fitted. There was a multi-way socket on the rear it plugged into.
I found a company which sold an adaptor which plugged into this socket and had two phono sockets. Once fitted, if you selected the CD-multi button, you got whatever was fed into the phono sockets. I added fed them from a Bluetooth adaptor. It was basic ‘one way’ audio in - not hands free phone or control of the source etc by the radio but the quality was fine.
Sorry, I don’t recall the make - I bought it around 2007/8 but while at the time the company seemed almost unique, I noticed others soon followed for other cars - exploiting the various option ports which weren’t used.
I've tried several RF modulators for MP3 players and they were all s**te. I think the allowable RF power is too little, and I imagine the same standard would apply to a DAB radio with FM output.
Having said that, my aerial is on the roof at the back - if you have line-of-sight through the windscreen it may be ok.
I did wonder about that. Thanks.
Bill
Knowing Bill's extensive experience, skills and knowledge, he could replace the quarter wave wave dipole with a FM Yagi pointed to the DAB adapter within the car's interior!
:-D
I think there are some which have a ‘tap in’ box which goes in line with the antenna. They are probably better.
The one I have used the power lead but I added a wire antenna which helped a bit but it is still naff in terms of coupling via radiation.
I found with a very expensive aftermarket DAB radio that the standard wing mount aerial - for AM and FM - simply didn't perform well when used with a convertor to fit the DAB aerial socket only. The head unit did come with a screen mounted DAB aerial, but that wasn't good enough either.
just trying to help...sorry
There is another way of getting radio stations but it does rely on having half decent 4g mobile phone signal when out and about in the car.
TuneIn radio or RadioPlayer on a smartphone plugged into one of those FM transmitters you could get for adapting iPods ton car FM radios....
tap taps into Google.... aha!
You cold do similar with an Apple iPhone or iPad or Smartphone with
3.5mm audio jack output.if your device doesn't have the socket, there is a bluetooth to FM transmitter I believe.... taps into google....
S.
Ha!
Bill
I think I have agreed with Jim once or twice in the past 15 or so years but he's right here.
Now I need to go and shower in bleach.
you do you durty bastard....remember and wash those stinking man chebs.....
Yes you also benefit from lots of low bit rate stations you would not want to listen to on a desert island. Brian
Retain FM if you are going DAB, I have to say that the cars I've been in seem to get better DAB coverage than FM, but as for quality, well, there does seem to be an underlying gritty sound to DAB in recent times. When I took part in the original trials Radio 3 and concerts on Radio 2 sounded on DAB and somewhat compressed on FM, Now, however, the bit rate has to be lower and the same limiters on Radio 2 FM seem to be on The Dab output. Its that little niggle that there is some kind of watermark buzz. If you ever used Minidisc you can hear much the same on the medium play mode.If you subtract the channels from each other there is a kind of gritty phase wobble between the channels. Brian
What about doing it via an amazon device via the mobile network or the phone? I suppose the limitation then is getting it back to the radio without major hardware surgery in the radio. I'm also not sure if bluetooth will be a lot of good, and the playing of content from ram sticks is going to get difficult as USB A sticks get phased out.
I cannot comment about the car part, but one of the best sounding DABs I've heard is the humble little Roberts DAB/FM mains bat portable and the ear socket is stereo. Brian
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