DAB Ariels

[mdk1]

After some info please,

Thinking of upgrading to DAB,

What would you guys recommend on the Ariel front, now I'm not technically minded and have seen stick on internal ones, how good are these?

Is it worth looking at any other sort? And what's involved in trying to fit them.

Thanks in advance.

[greenstripe]

It depends what way you were thinking of adding DAB - are you changing the head unit or getting an add-on box?

 

A quality roof mounted aerial will give the best results. The stick on internal ones are reasonable, but the fitting instructions MUST be followed correctly for best results with regards to placement and fitting, I think a lot of people deviate because either they don't understand the instructions or they've done it for appearance reasons as they don't look the best, however for the price you can fit one and if it doesn't cut it you can upgrade to a roof mounted aerial at a later stage.

 

Fitting a roof mounted aerial is obviously a more involved job as you'll need to partially remove the headlining to replace the current aerial and run cables.

[adamal]

Double post sorry.

[adamal]

Just received my roof mounted jobby, cost just over £50 on eBay for an apparently genuine part with DAB, AM/FM, GSM (for phone) and GPS (for sat nav) connectors. It was item number 271685146748. Sent very promptly and seems reasonable for what it is. Yet to fit it though as still waiting for my cables to arrive.

[mdk1]

Adamal, please keep me updated on what else you have bought ie cables and how easy it is to fit.

[adamal]

I ordered these but be a little while before they come from China..

http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/330843979035

http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/330651503750

The AM/FM and GPS leads I already have to the existing roof antenna should be good to reuse.

Kbphoto has a universal extension lead for sale in the classifieds if you don't want to wait and only need a DAB lead...

Adam

[Garnett]

Hi

 

I've done a DAB installation in my 2011 Octavia. The ones that you stick in the glass are a waste of money. I tried a £20 which was awful. I then had a powered £50 top of the range, professionally fitted, but still really annoying. In the end I upgraded to the real thing.

 

The parts I used were:

 

Aerial base 6R0 035 501 D 

Aerial mast 6R0035849A (thread size is different from normal one)

 

Since doing this a year ago, the GPS part of the antenna completely failed. The DAB still works fine. I am told that it is a known weakness with this antenna so fitted a £6 eBay GPS Antenna under the dash which works fine.

 

Good Luck

 

Garnett

[lowedb]

I've bought the same as Adamal, but am also yet to fit it since the weather is horrible. I never had any success with screen ones, even when fitted properly, and on another car got a through glass one that has a proper rod outside the car. That works well. You can see them at dabonwheels website.

[adamal]

A little advise needed please:

 

I bought an aerial base and mast (6R0 035 501 D) for my DAB setup (see http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271685146748).  It works fine as a DAB and phone mast but when I have tried to fit it properly, I have hit a problem with integrating it into the existing loom.

 

Basically the old aerial has a GPS connection and two radio connections, but the new aerial has just two FAKRA connections, one for GPS and one for AM/FM.

 

I can see which of the old connections is the GPS and apart from changing the connector housing (from the old aerial presumably?) that bit should be easy. However, the FM radio connections confuse me.  I was expecting just one connection as per the FAKRA connection on the aerial base (I thought the second on the back of the Columbus would be linked to the aerial I have "painted" on the rear side window).  So my first question is why have I got two FM radio connections if I have got the rear side window aerial?  It is also not clear if to me if I can exchange the housing for these two connections (is it SMB or RAKU perhaps), to the new aerial instead of the FAKRA connector, so can anyone advise looking at the attached photo please?

 

Thanks in advance

Adam

[adamal]

Turns out what I thought was a second FM aerial was in fact something to do with the old cell phone preparation (pre cursor to BT) that was fitted but never used in my car.

[GeoffH]

I fitted an Autodab add-on unit with a stick on aerial and have to say it wasn't good. It kept dropping the signal in the middle of something I really wanted to hear. The result was I used it so little I didn get used to how the Autodab worked.

My advice is buy a proper DAB radio with a proper aerial.

[adamal]

That's what I have done. Just a bit fiddly to fit the aerial, getting there but now needing a couple more adaptors...

[adamal]

I promised to update this thread with progress and today I laid the extra DAB and GSM cables today ready to finally fit the aerial next weekend (when I get some adaptors which are only needed in my case as the pre FL Octavia uses some non-FAKRA cables connectors at the aerial end).  Newer models are FAKRA throughout I believe.

 

I managed to do it without dropping the headlining, going up the A pillar from the head unit and BT module and above the side airbag.

 

To do this:

• I prised off the top trim at the back of the cabin (stiff with about 4-6 push in clips) and pulled the headlining down a little (without much force) to create a big enough gap to push an old piece of 20mm stiff plastic tubing down the side of the car above the airbag brackets.  The intention was to use it as a guide for some stiff wire.  There were a few nervous moments as I eased it down (due to the presence of the airbag) but I was pretty sure it was running above it and it easily got most of the way to the front before it hit what I realised was the point at which the car started curving back down to the A pillar. 
• I then took off the A pillar trim, undid the screws holding the sun visor and front grab handle and eased back the headlining in that corner to have look - it moves quite a lot without crinkling too much so there is reasonable access.
• I could see the end of the pipe, too far to reach and definitely not going any further, but I realised I could fashion a hook and use it to retrieve the end of the wire my Dad pushed through the pipe.  It needed his help to-ing and fro-ing on the wire so that I could hook it, and eventually that worked, and I could pull it down enough to get my fingers on it (not the easiest with a cumbersome torch in hand too, a good head torch would have been easier).
• Once the wire was all the way through, I held it firm while my Dad withdrew the plastic pipe and then we were left with the wire running along the length of the headlining above the airbag.  I taped most of the length of the two cables (DAB and GSM) together with felt tape, and being careful to keep the two FAKRA connectors in a straight line (rather than adjacent and bulky) I then taped them together and also twisted and taped the end of the wire firmly to the end with the connectors.
• My Dad then pulled the wire back through, with me carefully directing the connectors up over the airbag brackets at the front of the car, and with a little care and a little to-ing and fro-ing between my Dad and I on the wires to get it past a few minor snags, out it came at the other end.  I made sure all the wires were properly cable tied at the front end away from the airbag, replaced all the trim etc and I was done.

Hope that is helpful to others.  I will update when I fit the actual aerial next weekend when the parts arrive.

Adam

[KBPhoto]

Excellent write up Adam, but might have been easier to remove the headlining and run the cables above the airbags...

[adamal]

It occurred to me but it only took about an hour or so and I wasn't confident of not creasing it...

 

Defo a two man job either way though.

[KBPhoto]

Dropping the headlining is pretty easy.

 

Getting it out of the vehicle takes a lot more care as the boot opening is narrower than the headlining by quite a bit...

[adamal]

Fair point hadn't thought of that (!!), not that I would have needed to in this case.