Poor Radio Signal?

[Stu999]

I am having problems with a poor radio reception. I have checked the aerial is screwed on tight, which it is. I am at loss as to what else to try?

I managed to peel the roof lining back and get a look at the bottom of the aerial and everything seems ok there.

As an experiment I disconnected the coax cable from the aerial at the plug which is about 10 inches back from the aerial base and just stuck in a bit of coax cable I had lying about. This worked great and the signal picked up.

I don't have any of these types of connectors or else I had considered just plugging the coax in and doing away with the aerial but the cable would possibly rattle just lying in the roof space. So any ideas what's up or what I can do to fix it?

06 Octavia Vrs II

Thanks

[flynntech]

I had this problem and it needs a new base. The internal amplifier is not working correctly.

[moley]

Which HU do you have? on the Stream unit you can hold the menu button for 10 seconds to reveal the signal strength indications. look for the ANT on /off, if it is ANT off then it will be the amplifier unit in the base of the aerial that is faulty. There are a few threads on this subject if you do a search. On an 06 plate you should still be in warranty, so take to the dealer for a new aerial.

[Banana-Man]

I had this problem with my Mk1 RS - and it came up on a scan of the ecu strangely enough when I was scanning for something else.

Said poor radio signal

[sms]

i checked mine yesterday when i was waiting for sinister, noticed the aerial amp thing was on and a few weeks ago it was off? also noticed didnt matter how strong the signal was it always said q:poor in the bottom left.

[Stu999]

Thanks guys. I just been out and held the menu button on.

I have the following readings, can anyone tell me what they mean.

ANT is ON

Q: MONO

MP: 9

NK: 2

RDS: 4

The signal is still very poor and only showing 2 bars on the scale.

[moley]

The MOMO should be STEREO in fm. Try tuning into a station with a good signal ie radio 4 and see what signal strength you get. When the signal quality improves the mono should change to stereo. The amplifer is working, so the signal should be better than 2 bars.

[Penguin]

Even if ant is on it dosn't mean the aerial is working properly. Had one replaced on my car at 6 months old - AM reception was the giveaway. R4 Lw (198) was very crackly - engine interference + FM was down on signal strength when i actually held menu to

meter strength. New aerial cured it.

[Toneboy]

If you do a search on here you will find this is a well known problem not just on the Skoda vehicles, but across the VAG range.

Moisture gets into the aerial base and corrodes the electronics in the base.

Fitting a new aerial will solve your problem.

By the way Skoda UK will deny this fault actually happens, but then they deny a lot of things.

[GAFF]

but then they deny a lot of things.

At least least there consistent with one thing

[Penguin]

If you do a search on here you will find this is a well known problem not just on the Skoda vehicles, but across the VAG range.

Moisture gets into the aerial base and corrodes the electronics in the base.

Fitting a new aerial will solve your problem.

By the way Skoda UK will deny this fault actually happens, but then they deny a lot of things.

They replaced mine with no quibs. under warranty. (though mechanic said he thought they had "fixed that problem")

[Toneboy]

Then you were lucky or my letters to them telling what I thought of their abilities has paid dividends for you and others. If you go to the Canadian VAG forums you will see the battle they had to get VAG to accept this aerial problem existed and you will also find many such references across Europe.

When you have a VAG service wally tell you that the UK Long Wave transmitter is a low power transmitter then you know you are either dealing with an idiot or some one who is lying thru their teeth.

[norb72]

Had this with mine. The aerial was checked and found OK. New radio fitted.

[Kaj]

Antenna amplifier base was the problem with mine. Couldn't get Talksport which was a real bummer!!

Dealer had to order the part in and didn't allude to be a common problem?

After reading common faults on here I told them what the culprit was likely to be. Maybe we should offer a direct link!

[Penguin]

Then you were lucky or my letters to them telling what I thought of their abilities has paid dividends for you and others. If you go to the Canadian VAG forums you will see the battle they had to get VAG to accept this aerial problem existed and you will also find many such references across Europe.

When you have a VAG service wally tell you that the UK Long Wave transmitter is a low power transmitter then you know you are either dealing with an idiot or some one who is lying thru their teeth.

Yes - I would have assured him a 500KW (~700 BHP radio transmitter!) is not low powered ... even at 150miles it should be LOUD & crackle free. I could receive it(albeit rather noisily ) in Western Poland in daylight hours on the radio in the Honda I previously had. On this radio it even gets noisy between buildings & under telephone lines around Norfolk! - strangely the MW is excellent. (Germans have given up with LW I think VW Golf I looked at didn't don't even have LW as far as I could determine on a quick test drive)

Edited 18 December, 2008 by Penguin

[vRS Ian]

I hadn't bothered when my radio reception deterioted..... Next service - new aerial please!

[Karlos69]

I picked up my vRS the other day and though it was just my imagination that the radio reception was a touch on the poor side. I'll check that menu thingy later and see what it says.

[sms]

mine seems to have been better thinking about it since the service in the summer, the ant seems to be on these days which wasnt before.

[Stu999]

Ok guys had the car into the dealers. They said they have updated the radio and thats it fixed..... erm no it isn't, so will book it back in on Monday!

[moley]

When I complained about the poor reception on mine the dealer changed the aerial lead and then the HU and it made no difference. I then found out about the VAG aerial amplifier problem, so I told the dealer and he said Ok we will try that (I don't think he was convinced). They fitted the new aerial and the problem was fixed.

[Toneboy]

You do wonder where some of these Skoda dealer service departments have been as this radio reception problem goes back years.

It also baffles me that Skoda have not acknowledged this problem because with dealers changing radios, aerial leads etc it must be costing considerable sums of warranty money and to replace the aerial must be a lot cheaper.

The other problem I had on my Elegance Station Wagon was tailgate strut failure when they would no longer hold the tailgate up, it bloody hurts when you hit your head on the tailgate. They failed in the third year and were replaced under warranty because no one could reject the claim when the watched the tailgate slowly fall down before their eyes.

[rurwin]

500KW (~700 BHP radio transmitter!)

You know you're on a petrol-head forum when you see a radio transmitter rated in brake-horsepower.

[Fred_Bristol]

Silly? question to start 2009:

I have poor reception.

Menu shows ANT OFF.

Pressing the adjacent button does nothing.

How do I turn ANT to ON?

[moley]

You can't turn the ANT on. the menu shows you that the ANT is off, so the fault is most likely to be the faulty aerial base. Look at a similar thread on Fabia 1 forum, someone repaired their aerial. The amplifier in the aerial base is power by 12 volts being passes through the coax cable.

[gadgetman]

Silly? question to start 2009:

I have poor reception.

Menu shows ANT OFF.

Pressing the adjacent button does nothing.

How do I turn ANT to ON?

By getting your aerial base replaced by the dealer.