Hi All

 

IS it my imagination, or is the strength of DAB signal around the country dropping?

 

I currently run a Focus with DAB and listen to it whilst around and about. Most of my long journeys are from my home in Lincoln south to the London area.

 

It used to be the case that I could do the whole journey with only the odd drop out for a few seconds at a time, but I'm now finding that there are large sections of the M11 and M25 and now the M20 where I have no signal at all.

 

Has something been done with the transmitters turning the power down or something?

 

It's all very frustrating, but I'm also hoping that my new Superb with DAB when it arrives has a better reception.

4G is impacting it. Mostly Vodafone and O2 4G bands AIU

I'm on O2 with a 4G phone, and will often stream Spotify through bluetooth.

The main problem is that where DAB signal is poor, so is phone reception meaning not a good enough reception for streaming.

Grrr

I find a lot of lorries block out DAB reception. I assume they are broadcasting something that interferes with the signal. Also is there any chance that your aerial is starting to fail? A common problem is that the rubber gasket between the aerial base and the roof has perished and has cracks in it allowing water to get in and cause corrosion.

Haven't some DAB stations moved to different a frequency.

 

Try re-programing the station.

Haven't some DAB stations moved to different a frequency.

Try re-programing the station.

Yup to avoid the 4G interference.

However they've nearly all moved now & the old stations switched off

I use a personal DAB radio plugged into the Aux input in the jumbo box with the cable acting as the aerial and it works a treat but like CoolC I've noticed the signal is breaking up more and for longer in certain areas on my journey in and out of work...

Fitted a new OEM DAB aerial in the Yeti this week and I've had no drop outs at all since fitting it. The stick on one in the car is really poor though, can hardly justify having a DAB radio in there at all.

Particularly when the sun was strong mid-week, the signal strength bar graph on my Roberts DAB ( Mains radio with telescopic aerial, located at ground level) went below minima for most of Wednesday - I checked the usual "Engineers-at-work" sites and nothing was showing for the main Crystal Palace transmitter, but a large number of the repeater transmitters London wide were showing power down and on-going work.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if that wasn't 4 G related.

 

Occasionally round here during the day (!), I'm getting the computer totally lock-up with a load buzzing sound from the speakers and station lock and audio suddenly being lost on terrestrial Freeview - presume that's some of the better-heeled cabbies and delivery drivers using their 4 G mobiles.

Though, that said, it could be the microwave landing signal from RAF Northolt which has been more heavily used over the last week.

 

I have also noticed that my Playbook has lost its GPS facility recently and that when it does report a position its anything up to 1/2 a mile out - there have been an extraordinary number of Military Exercises this year involving GPS jamming and of course, this may be an issue for those with non-relevant religious excuses for making pilgrammges to Norfolk.

 

Frightening really, if one considers the level of microwave radiation in the vicinity of the cranial cavity necessary to stall microprocessor  activity at a minimum of 25 foot distance. Genetic mutation here we all come !

 

 

Nick

Interestingly, Classic FM, comes over as much stronger/louder than the BBC DAB signal (No bubbling mud interference) and yet, the signal strength  and error rate bar graphs displayed on my radio show that the Classic FM signal has a weaker signal and a  one third higher error data rate.

 

Further, and weirdly, the portable on the ground floor, which has a telescopic aerial, has a worse signal than the clock radio in the first floor bedroom - same side of building, but the CR has a "Dangly" trailing wire aerial.

 

What's the betting that this poor reception is driven by economies at the BBC  or, more appropriately, at their privatised transmission agent - Castle Transmission Services.

 

Nick

 

 

 

 

Its not just DAB, DTV is also suffering from 3/4G bands that have been allowed into the frequency range; I have just had to invest in an aerial amp with 3/4G filtering as the phone signals are swamping the TV transmitter.

 

Some bright spark put all the broadcast antenna on the same tower.

 

I am hoping to fit it over the weekend, I'll tell you how it goes.