Well, the next challenge I have on Project Shed is to install a new aerial.

Is there a recommended one to buy? I'm looking to get a DAB stereo (or whatever is going to replace DAB) possibly early next year, so getting an aerial now that will do digital would be great.

I'm assuming I need to remove the headlining to fit the stereo and run the cabling. Is that easy to do? I did a search and couldn't see any guides anywhere, so I'm a bit stuck.

I was hoping to just fit a new aerial and wire it into an existing cable, but I can't see any aerial type cables in the back of the stereo bay, so I'm assuming the police took it out when they fitted their own aerials.

As ever any advice much appreciated!

cant realy help but the orginal aerial is powered so bear that in mind, takes its power from headunit. Dont know if you knew that or how that affects your plans.

You can use the existing aerial but you'll need one of the cables they sell in Halfords for about £15:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_221889_langId_-1_categoryId_165626

If your double DIN stereo you were showing me is the same as mine there should be a power supply wire at the back for a powered aerial, just wire that up to the Halfords jobbie which goes between the connector on the back of the H/U and the existing aerial cable.

Don't know whether the existing aerial is suitable for DAB though, in which case you would have to replace it, remove the roof lining etc.

Tutorial here for aerial replacement. DAB radios need DAB specific aerials as far as I'm aware.

Edited 1 July, 201016 yr by vRS G60

Thanks for that tutorial link - I can't see the pictures where I am right now, but I'll check them out when I get home.

The main issue is that I don't have an aerial at all. Where the aerial is there's just a rubber covering, so I'm basically starting from scratch. It looks like the power cable from the stereo has been cut (right next to the plug, grrr) - anyone know how to extract the wire from the plug and put a new one into an iso connector?

Can I buy a new aerial that doesn't need to be powered that will work as well?

Right., I've pulled off the back of the headlining, and the good news is there appears to be aerial cables there (2 to be precise). Do they look like aerial cables?

Photos:

The question now is - where do they come out? I've tracked them along the driver's side of the vehicle, and along to the driver's door, but I can't see where they go when they get to the dash. I've felt behind the stereo hole and can't find them there. Any ideas?

Edited 3 July, 201016 yr by Tibbs

Right., I've pulled off the back of the headlining, and the good news is there appears to be aerial cables there (2 to be precise). Do they look like aerial cables?

Photos:

The question now is - where do they come out? I've tracked them along the driver's side of the vehicle, and along to the driver's door, but I can't see where they go when they get to the dash. I've felt behind the stereo hole and can't find them there. Any ideas?

The skinny connector is a mobile phone aerial connector, I'm guessing at some stage someone had a car kit with a proper hole through roof aerial fitted and left the cable there

could the skinny one be if a GPS aerial base was fitted (and then removed)?

The standard octy aerial base has an amplifier in it. This amplifier is powered by the factory fit head unit "injecting" power into the aerial cable. If the HU is changed, then a separate power injector needs to be used/fitted behind the head unit (generally it is powered from the blue (power for aerial) cable, and has the dimensions (iirc) of about half a cigar.

Edited 4 July, 201015 yr by mbames

If it helps, the small one was screwed into this:

Does that mean the big cable is for the Radio?

Try dropping the trim out from under the steering wheel and see if the other end of them is behind there

Try dropping the trim out from under the steering wheel and see if the other end of them is behind there

Hmm - where are the screws for that?

The bit above the pedals is like a foam and plastic plate, it's held to the plastic trim just above it with some torx screws and locknuts, also the OBDII port slots into it (although it's hanging out on yours I think). If you can get that plate off I reckon the cabels will be behind there somewhere if you can't see them in the hole where the stereo used to be.