My DAB has been breaking up recently and the radio automatically drops to FM. This is a bit annoying though die to the slight time difference.
Grubbing about on a Facebook Group someone asked if I had anything plugged into my Cigar Lighter Socket - I have - a Dashcam. I unplugged it and the problem went away.
It seems the 12v to 5v ciruit causes interference. I found a couple of YouTube videos that seem to confirm it.
Now I need a solution!
My dashcam is 'hard wired' to the fuse box to avoid the socket. It was fitted by Halfords.
Not all 12 V to 5 V USB convertors are created equal. Try a different one...
"Dave Liquorice" snipped-for-privacy@howhill.com wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news.individual.net:
I have tried plugging the DashCam into the cars own (5v) USB Ports and I get the break up of DAB again. Perhaps it is the cable that is radiating something
Where is the dashcam in relation to the car's DAB aerial?
Try a USB cable with a ferrite on it:
THeo
To help with the elimination process try running the dashcam from a USB backup battery.
Cheap chinese rubbish again. People on here have sneered at me about worrying about these voltage converters, saying who uses radios these days, well... My suggestion is a ferrit ring on the two sides of the circuit, but if its built into one of the units it depends where its getting into the system, if its through the electrics, than a choke and capacitor might sort it, but if its radiating from the power cable to the dab aerial then apart from the ferrite bead idea, I'm at a loss, You don't get such problems with the less efficient series regulators as they are analogue. Of course it could be some interference from the camera electronics, but that is less likely. Brian
That does not mean its fixed, you might just have a cleaner voltage regulator than the one mentioned.
I have one of those little ones deriving plus and minus five from a 9v psu wall wart and it kills almost anything from receiving within about five foot. Heap of junk. Brian
Well in that case it has to be the camera itself then. Maybe it has also got some kind of inverter in it as well.
Try the ferrite bead idea, also move the camera about and its lead, perhaps the dab aerial is close to where its living at the moment. Brian
Well I suppose it isolates the camera from the car but there is still a DC-DC convertor in the "USB battery". Doesn't really help in tracking down the source of the problem as you've changed more than one thing.
Replace it with an (inefficient) linear regulator, such as some variant of a 7805, with a heatsink, instead of the (efficient, but noisy) switched mode supply that you have?
SteveW
You can buy better converters too.
The ones for RC model planes are - surprise surprise - specced for low RF interference.
But it does mean taking the dashcam apart
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