anybody seen the pure highway dab radio for your car,sold by amazon.looks good.a cheeper way to get dab for your car.

mike

anybody seen the pure highway dab radio for your car,sold by amazon.looks good.a cheeper way to get dab for your car.

mike

Hi mike, I thought the Bolero & Columbus came with DaB..................but they call it TIM (Traffic Information Management) or have I got that wrong??

anybody seen the pure highway dab radio for your car,sold by amazon.looks good.a cheeper way to get dab for your car.

mike

We had one in my wife's Beetle - if you can cope with the wiring (screen aerial and power) and mounting it (I was looking at a custom Brodit mount and using a neodymium magnet off eBay to copy the Highway's suction mount attachment - but never got round to it) then they do work well subject to the limitations of DAB coverage.

Mark

I have one in my Octavia as it is the only way to get DAB radio in my car (without ripping out the Radio/CD player).

The trouble is that as supplied by Amazon it uses an aerial stuck inside the windscreen which is not as sensitive as my home DAB radios. You can get external aerials for it but that adds more costs and complexity. It also monopolises the 12 volt supply socket preventing me from using it as well as my TomTom. (You can overcome that problem by adding a fixed wiring linkage or a double 12 volt socket - as long as the total current is within limits!)

It also has to stick on the windscreen, making it rather obvious to thieves unless you remove it when you leave the car.

So yes it kind of works, but it's nowhere near as good as a proper DAB tuner as supplied by VW, SEAT, Ford, Vauxhall et al.

Chris

Hi mike, I thought the Bolero & Columbus came with DaB..................but they call it TIM (Traffic Information Management) or have I got that wrong??

I think you're thinking of the RDS traffic message system that piggybacks on the FM stations!

Chris

I agree with CJJE. I have one fitted to my Roomster Scout. The reception with the stickon aerial is very variable and to fit the external aerial would be a pain.

I also had to have my windscreen replaced and had to buy a replacement stickon aerial!

Fred

've had a dab radio in my lorry at work for I would think around 5 years and wouldn't want to be without now.The first radio was a Goodman's with ribbon screen aerial,absolute rubbish reception.I then bought a JVC with a roof mount and that has been great.I listen to BBC 5live,BBC radio 7,the arrow,planet rock among others.In some areas where reception is weak it will where possible change to FM then back to dab.

Dab radio should be standard in all new cars or at least be on the options list.

If DAB is standard fit that's fine, if it's on the options list that is also fine as the choice is there. Not to offer it at all when it is standard fit on the likes of the Golf etc. is being left behind. Having it is future proofing. If you were in the market for a new TV, most would probably go for a 3D set even if they were not really that bothered. Whether 3D will ever take off is debatable but at least the choice is there to potentially future proof. If you buy a new car now and sell it in say 5 years or so, not having DAB could possibly be a major point. Personally on a new car, I'd rather have it as standard fit or at least a £200ish option.

I presumed that some of the slow take up in offering DAB was due to it possibly having numbered days now. Arent most of the other European countries pushing DAB + which is far superior in terms of quality (and isnt backwards compatible to the current hardware)?

I presumed that some of the slow take up in offering DAB was due to it possibly having numbered days now. Arent most of the other European countries pushing DAB + which is far superior in terms of quality (and isnt backwards compatible to the current hardware)?

The car DAB tuners that wil soon be required under EU legislation will be dual standard so they can be used across Europe. (Unfortunately we have sold too many DAB radios for home use for the UK to now swap over to the DAB+ standard.)

Presumably Skoda are holding back so they can sell Skoda car owners new car radios in a few years time??

Chris

On Saturday afternoon I was at home playing on the Wii with my kids. At the same time I had my DAB radio, with a perfect signal, listening to the England rugby match on 5Live Extra. At half time I turned to 5Live for regular football commentary and at one point checked out Talksport for their commentary match. I can't get Talksport clearly a lot of the time in the North East, 5Live extra is a DAB only channel and 5live is okayish in the car, don't attempt to cross country with it though, but cannot touch a DAB or internet signal in terms of clarity.

I doubt any system would be perfect but DAB is a step forward over AM and for those sports fans, like me, out there would love the option of DAB. A little like digital tv it IS going to happen but when is the issue. For those who love the crackle of AM please feel free to ignore the options box but for those that want it please let us choose.

(incidentally I don't see the Pure system as a great option as it is more junk, semi permanent, on the dashboard saying "steal me" to any local thief)

I think these DAB threads are becoming too polarised.

I've nothing against the DAB (or DAB+) systems - indeed I'm sure they offer some useful expansion of the radio choice (with the important caveat that this is only relevant where you can get adequate DAB reception and not to the UK in general) and are to be welcomed for that reason. And yes, I agree, it does seem apparently inexplicable for Skoda not to offer DAB as an option for anyone who would like to go down that road to audio reception. (But - I'm sure I don't need to remind anyone - DAB is scarcely unique in this respect. What about MDI, which I personally would value far more than DAB, or - this week's hot potato - electrically folding mirrors.)

But the one single DAB aspect where I'm not going to agree is the idea that there is going to be an enforced move of stations from FM (or from AM, on a different scenario) to DAB in the next 4-5 years and that this in itself is sufficient justification for DAB radios to be fitted as standard in all new cars now.

I'm well aware of various mooted plans for DAB to take over and one set of economic arguments for this to happen. But I'd suggest that there is a lot of political water to flow under the bridge before this happens in practice, plus various counter-arguments. And, given how poor DAB reception currently is in large parts of the country, I just cannot see it happening by eg the 2014/15 timescale. Yes, 2020, maybe, but by then there will be other - probably more attractive (eg 4G) - options.

Prodata - I would agree completely with your end comments there. I also do not see the switch over being made by 2015, in particular as this would be around election time and little issues like this can affect marginal seats, laugh but there are obsessives about Radio 4 and the Archers who get very carried away. With Digital tv Freeview boxes were a very simple method of updating your tv and there was more of a will for change. The same is not true for radios, car radios in particular. I think that dab car radios will need to be standard for a minimum of 3 years before the govt could even think about a changeover and if they are not even an option now then that is not likely to happen for a while yet.

I think the point of this and the other thread going on now is that it makes sense for DAB radios to be an option for people and for that option not to be there yet is poor from Skoda.

I'm with Prodata on this one.

I have a DAB radio at work because the equipment there affects the FM signal, however reception is still poor.

At home it would be a complete waste of money. Eveb the BBC Engineers say they will have a problem over huge aareas of Wales without a massive increase in transmitters and therefore expenditure.

If I lived in the coastal area of South or North Wales perhaps I might be interested, but since I can't even get my National BBC station on either FM or AM where I live I really am not worried about DAB.

And don't start me on our lack of choice for TV receprtion!!!! :wonder:

ADD:

CJJE can you please link me to the legislation from the EU that says DAB receivers must be fitted and must be dual-system?

Edited 22 November, 201015 yr by Llanigraham

Hmmm...

Can't find the EU document I believe I've read in the past about the Digital Changeover, but...

1) The French government will require all new cars to have a digital radio receiver by September 2013 (see http://www.worlddab.org/news/document/761/French_Digital_Radio_Migration_Plans_Announced.pdf)

2) The European Broadcasting Union is pushing hard for all European members to go for Digital Changeover (see http://www.worlddab.org/news/document/1263/EBU_backs_digital_radio_switch_over.pdf)

3) In Germany: "Telecommunications Act pushes digital radio (11-10-2010)

To drive the digitalization of radio, is - as in France - given that new radio receivers have to be equipped from the year 2015 (or in vehicles starting in 2016) with digital receiver units (see § 48 paragraph 4). The referral of the Cabinet will still be sought this year. The implementation of the underlying European policy must be made at the end of May 2011.

4) The European common standard for digital radio has been published (see http://www.worlddab.org/news/document/1206/Europe_on_Track_for_Mass_Market_Digital_Radio_in_Cars.pdf)

5) The SMMT have confirmed that all new cars will have digital radios fitted as standard by 2013 (see http://www.techradar.com/news/audio/hi-fi-radio/radio-industry-sets-2015-digital-switchover-date-901861)

So Skoda are still dragging their feet when the technology exists and is being offered elsewhere in VAG.

Chris

Might be the cr@p system at work, but none of those links work.

Picked from another thread, but there was a programme on R4 earlier yesterday with some Government bod on and it was suggested that the 2015 date has slid to 2020 and possibly later!!

Then see this advice from CAR magazine:

DAB radio in cars and the digital switchover

By Tim Pollard

Motoring Issues

22 November 2010 10:44

Britain's motorists face a £1 billion+ bill to fix their car radios so they work after the digital switchover, a CAR Magazine investigation reveals.

The Government plans to switch off the FM signal and move the UK's broadcasting industry to DAB digital radios - mirroring the switchover from analogue to digital televisions.

The official target for the digital radio switchover is 2015, but many commentators predict that date will slip as there is a great deal of work to be done before Britain is ready. The Government has pledged it will not flick the switch until the DAB broadcasting network at least equals the reach of the existing FM infrastructure.

The DAB radio swithcover: what it means to motorists

Very few cars have digital radios today; on most vehicles, you'll have to spend around £250 upgrading to a DAB car radio from the options list. Yet the take-up is very low: just 4.1% of car radio listening is done on DAB in Britain today, compared to 31% of us tuning in digitally at home.

That means there will be an enormous number of 'legacy' vehicles on the roads without DAB radio - effectively left in silence after the proposed 2015 switchover. Some cars with upmarket sat-nav systems face further problems, as the use of radio signals for traffic updates will affect old units using the FM frequency.

CAR Magazine can reveal that 20m-25m cars will be left in radio silence, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders' digital radio taskforce.

Lee Harris, who chairs the in-car sub-committee of the SMMT's radio group, said: 'The effect of switchover will be most felt on the legacy vehicles. If we assume a switchover of 2015 or a year or two either side, and a 15-year lifecycle of a typical car, there will be 20 million to 25 million vehicles on the road whose radios won't work.'

So what do I do if my car has no DAB radio?

You'll have two choices, according to Harris, who's helping draw up the national guidelines on how motorists and the industry will cope with the digital radio switchover.

Most modern cars have the radio built into the dashboard, unlike the old DIN-slot radios of yore that could be easily switched. That means you'll either have to use a cheap clip-on digital radio mounted on your dashboard, running from the cigar lighter and connecting to the existing stereo through an auxiliary jack or Bluetooth - or a more expensive integrated system.

The cheapest systems, like today's third-party Pure Highway tuners pictured above, will cost as little as £40. But a fully integrated system, with the digital radio built in the dash and operating with the steering wheel controls and dashboard read-outs, will cost 'from £100 as a starting point with upwards of 30 minutes of installation,' according to Harris.

With up to 25 million cars affected and the minimum repair cost of £40, UK motorists face a bill of at least £1 billion to prepare their cars for the digital radio era. Assuming that many motorists will want an integrated solution, that bill is likely in reality to spiral to several times that.

CAR's advice to motorists how to prepare your car for digital radio

If you're buying a new or secondhand car any time soon, make sure you spec DAB. It's only around £250 today as an option on a new car, but the industry will install it as standard from 2013.

Harris told CAR that he expects a rapid take-up of DAB over the next year, with 70-80% of new UK cars likely to offer digital radio as standard equipment from September 2011. Don't be caught in a car without DAB, as its value could be affected and you'll be left facing an expensive upgrade and a weaker residual value when you come to sell.

It seems likely that the Government's 2015 target date may well slip. But the switchover is inevitable, so make sure you prepare your car as soon as practical.

Chris

We have had a problem today with our TV repeater mast, so as usual I phoned the BBC Engineers in Cardiff. This has been so common that they recognise my name and address!! After reporting the repeater fault I mentioned DAB in our area and the engineer said that to get DAB reception in most, if not all, the valleys in Mid Wales it is going to potentially require a repeater for each valley!!!

It appears that the radio wave is very directional, and without being at a very high power, doesn't carry well, especially downwards, ie to the floor of the valley. It also "shadows" easily, so repeater position is critical. When I mentioned 2015 he laughed and said "yeah, right!!"

A brief snapshot of where DAB currently is:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/12/08/dab_traffic_info_fail/

If only they would put Radio 5 and Test Match Special onto FM I would not care about DAB. They are the only reasons I would want DAB in the car as the FM network otherwise gives pretty good reception and doesn't need upgrading.