DAB reception issues

[snafu]

Hi all

 

My 2014 84k Yeti has suddenly got very poor DAB reception. Instead of being able to listen to BBC or Planet Rock on DAB with a consistently good signal I now get very patchy reception which drops out to FM - or nothing - most of the time. I'd left the car for a week while we went away and it did rain a lot. And pigeons did their best to change the paint colour too. On my return DAB had taken a turn for the worse.

 

I cover the same 40 miles to work each day and therefore am aware of any blank DAB spots. There's only one, which is passing Membury services on the M4 for some reason. However now it's all blank except for a few times when DAB cuts back in.

 

I'm assuming it will be the aerial, which I am wondering about trying to replace if I can source a new one. If anyone has any ideas on whether it is likely to be the aerial and how to replace it that would be very helpful. And also where I can get one at a reasonable price!

 

Many thanks

John

[Urrell]

DAB reception also uses the vertical tracks in the rear screen, have they been damaged?

[greenstripe]

You haven't plugged anything in to the cigarette lighter power output (phone charger/dash cam etc) ? A lot of adapters cause major interference for DAB

[snafu]

Hi,

 

Thanks for your responses. Urrell I don't think there is any damage to the rear screen, though I will check, but greenstripe has possibly solved this. I've been using a new 3 port USB socket to power my phone and camera, so I will rush out now and see if removing it fixes the issue. I really hope it's that simple!

 

Cheers

John

[pinkpanther]

Just to re-iterate Greenstripe's advice - I have 2 USB chargers (Anker) in my Yeti in continous use and have never had an issue with interference / poor DAB reception. I then bought a 12V DC battery charger (exPro) for my camera and found this completely obliterates DAB reception.

[snafu]

Looks like the culprit was the cheap USB 3-way socket, I will test properly tomorrow on my route to work but I enjoyed DAB all the way on a 10 mile drive last night.

 

This was invaluable advice, thank you all so much! It's not the first time info on this forum has saved me time and money :-)

 

 

[S00perb]

56 minutes ago, snafu said:

Looks like the culprit was the cheap USB 3-way socket, I will test properly tomorrow on my route to work but I enjoyed DAB all the way on a 10 mile drive last night.

 

This was invaluable advice, thank you all so much! It's not the first time info on this forum has saved me time and money :-)

 

 

Not only can the cheap ones cause interference, but I have had fuses blow with 2 cheap ones. Stick to high end ones now

[g6zru]

There is a known fault with the roof aerials fitted to VAG cars. I had to have mine replaced on two of my Yeti's and the one on my wife's Seat Mii. Apparently water gets into what they call the base and sometimes the "mast". Both were replaced under warantee and the technician said it was known, particularly if the vehicle is left for some time in damp conditions. It much prefers fresh air!

DAB should be fairly immune to local interference providing the signal is good, unlike AM and FM, DAB is either good or non existent although it can suffer from "bubbling mud" under certain propagation conditions. 

 

Fred 

Edited 26 September, 2017 by g6zru