Just come back from my local B&Q by Wandsworth Bridge, and notice they have DAB aerials in their 'one pound' section.
It's an external mount folded dipole type with F-type connector on the aerial. Complete with wall mounting and 10m cable.
Not the highest quality I'm sure but maybe the best value anywhere?
Do they have splitters to let them share the TV and FM downlead? I actually get plenty enough DAB signal off the TV aerial to keep my radio happy, but I might be tempted if I didn't have to install yet another cable from the roof.
d
Not supplied with the kit - but they do stock both F-type or Belling Lee combiners/splitters for indoor use IIRC.
You have reminded me that I still have a band III eight element aerial in the garage. Designed for Croydon ch 9 use. I'll have to have a play with that sometime.
Graham
That should do nicely. I know DAB is supposed to use mulitpath signals actively, but I did some simulations ages ago, and you still get much better performance by choosing the nearest transmitter and aiming a directional antenna at it.
d
Ta, I'll pop along to my nearest and see what they have. That'll be a project for when it is a bit warmer.
d
Can't guarantee all branches have them - or at that price, of course.
In article , Dave Plowman (News) scribeth thus
Quite in keeping with what is UK DAB;!....
Nothing if not predictable. ;-)
I'm off to B&Q to see if my local one has any. I got a good deal last year on the MegaBoost TV aerial with preamp and PSU. £10 clearance and nearly £50 in Argos. They're made by Philips. The folded dipole is OK for loft mounted use and probably outdoors too. Screwfix sell "quadplexers" for VHF/BAD/TV/SAT and suitable preamps that are remotely powered. You could have VHF/DAB/TV aerials on the same mast.
No problem - got it.
dIn article , Dave Plowman (News) scribeth thus
Indeed;)...
As an aside. I've always used my vertical Band II (aka FM band) dipole for DAB, it works very well, pulling in distant muxes from miles away. I lashed up a properly cut dipole for DAB (225 MHz), and stuck it nearby. It was no better (or worse) than the Band II.
Of course the Band II dipole is half wave within its band, but full wave(ish) in the DAB band.
I split the feed passively between my FM tuner in the living room, and DAB 'Midi' system in the kitchen.
As an aside. I've always used my vertical Band II (aka FM band) dipole for DAB, it works very well, pulling in distant muxes from miles away. I lashed up a properly cut dipole for DAB (225 MHz), and stuck it nearby. It was no better (or worse) than the Band II.
Of course the Band II dipole is half wave within its band, but full wave(ish) in the DAB band.
I split the feed passively between my FM tuner in the living room, and DAB 'Midi' system in the kitchen.
I've just bought an internet radio in Comet for £39, less than you might spend on an aerial for a DAB radio, and it doesn't need an aerial at all! Well, not an external one at any rate. Presumably it has something built in that enables it to pick up my wireless network anywhere in the house. I can either use it as a little standalone bedside radio with its own loudspeaker, or listen in stereo on headphones, or plug it into the hi-fi. Sound quality is variable, but the best stations are a lot better than DAB, and there are *thousands* of them!
Disappointingly, but perhaps not surprisingly, the British stations tend to be among the worst for sound quality and reliability of connection, while the best ones I've discovered (so far) are all foreign.
Rod.
Maplin have an "external DAB active aerial" for sale at the moment for £30. It looked neat and claimed 23dB gain so it would have been appropriate for my location where a 7dB gain array provides good reception.
The sales assistant said to me "You know this doesn't qualify for our 14 day money back warranty?"
"Oh, why is that?"
"Well, basically they don't work."
I know that theory - but had no success with it. My 4 element band III works fine for FM when horizontal but is dreadful on DAB - and I'm in a strong signal area. Swing it vertical and the DAB is fine - but FM noisy. It's feeding a DA which feeds four tuners. The aerial is easy to get at as it's accessible from my roof terrace and has clear line of sight to the CP and Croydon transmitters - both of which are close to the same 'line'. Removing the DA and plugging in the aerial direct makes no difference.
Yes. Yet in my case a simple omni DAB aerial diplexed into the horizontal FM one works fine - although I'd love to know why the vertical aerial doesn't for FM.
I have a second FM aerial mounted at the top of the house - horizontal - which feeds just the one combined FM and DAB tuner. That works well on both.
Heh heh. That's what I quite like about Maplin - they do have some characters working for them. Even some pretty knowledgeable ones - although you can't guarantee it.
I must admit to paying out serious money for an active DAB aerial for the car - which transformed the reception. It's now much better than FM around London.
The elements will be quite a bit too long. DAB equates to channel 12 more or less.
Bill
In a normal reception area we always use a vertical FM dipole only for radio, adding it to the system via a 80 to 250MHz filter. There's no problem with DAB signal strength because the aerial is up on the roof as opposed to in someone's house (which DAB is designed for) and because the limiting factor is almost always co-channel signals. If DAB reception is poor (which normally means the location is officially unserved) we use one of the European BIII aerial meant for TV. This is because UK DAB aerials cover channels 5 up and so they are wideband, and have gain of sweet f*ck all.
Bill
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