Digital Radio

[Ray4*]

New on here.
I've got a Swift Challenger 530 (2022) and it has an FM/AM radio fitted with a USB port.
Any advice on fitting a DAB radio?
Will the existing aerial connection for FM suffice, or would it require a separate DAB aerial?
Thanks in advance.

 

[RogerL]

Will the existing aerial connection for FM suffice

No - https://www.wimo.com/en/faq/post/can-you-receive-dab-with-an-fm-antenna

 

[Jcloughie]

We had a supposedly good pioneer radio in our van. Awful thing. Smart phone with a Bluetooth speaker was far better.

But a single din dab radio should be a direct swap with your current car radio.

John

 

[Beachball]

Hi Ray4 Welcome to the forum sorry i cannot help but some other ones will give you the advice what you need enjoy

 

[Woodentop]

First question to the OP: what type of aerial and aerial amp do you have? If it is like my Bailey it will be a Status 570 aerial and a VP3 aerial amp. If so then you are well over half way there. Earlier Status aerials would only cover 88-108MHz for FM radio, and 470-860MHz* for TV, but not the 170-240MHz for DAB in what is known as Band 3. (*Due to the sell-off of bands 4 and 5 for 5G and 4G mobile phone use respectively the upper limit of the aerial reception range will be 706MHz or 790MHz depending on the age of the aerial.)

Per the radio, you may have difficulty finding a car radio (usually with CD player) as many car manufacturers have moved over to the so-called 'Infotainment' units that are basically a computer that is part of the vehicle management system with an embedded FM/DAB radio. Halfords sell a Sony MEX-N7300DB which seems to have everything - DAB/FM/MW/LW, Bluetooth, USB, CD, even voice control but you will need to do a bit extra to fit it.

For a start It needs two aerial feeds, one for LW/MW/FM and a separate one for DAB. The easiest solution if you want to hear everything is to fit a Vision Plus LW/MW/FM telescopic aerial. VP no longer list them on their web site but you will find many dealer shops still have them in stock. If you go down that route then all you need for DAB is a feed from the aerial amp. However remember that many AM systems are dying out - the most important being (R4) LW on 198KHz from Droitwich which formally closes at the end of June this year after over 90 years service so AM may be worth giving a miss.

If all you want/need is FM and DAB, then the Status 570/VP3 or VP5 will suffice, but here you will need a splitter. VP do a suitable device with the correct connectors - all you will need is a length of cable to get from the aerial amp to near the radio with F-type plugs on both ends which you can make up yourself - parts from Toolstation or Screwfix..

Just beware of one thing. TV in the UK is both horizontally and vertically polarised on a per-site basis, so your receiving TV/radio aerial has to match same. ALL DAB transmissions are vertical and are not necessarily transmitted from the same site as TV. If your TV signal is vertical then DAB will work (usually) quite well as the DAB part of the aerial works as omni-directional in those circumstances, but if the TV signal you are using is horizontal you may find DAB difficult to use (the 'bubbling mud syndrome') if the signal is poor.

Finally, I have just seen that some Swift and Lunar caravans are only fitted with a TV feed - the aerial and associated amp do not pass FM or DAB signals. If that is the kit your van has then you may find it will be an expensive job as you will need to change the aerial and amp as well! In such case a portable FM/DAB radio may be a significantly cheaper option, or as another contributor suggested, use your mobile phone as a feed (by cable or Bluetooth) to a wi-fi/Bluetooth speaker. From comments on here the Bose Soundlink 2 is very good albeit expensive. A make I find to be acceptable are those made by Anker, but note that if you want proper stereo you may need two units in some cases!

Good luck.

 

[birdman101]

Our 2023 Swift does have DAB, although we never use it as we take Alexa with us. Can then just ask it what station to play without standing up or early morning whilst in bed, The aerial and amplifier looks exactly the same as our previous Swift which just had FM/AM radio. So i think it will probably just plug-in existing aerial.

 

[Woodentop]

Our 2023 Swift does have DAB, although we never use it as we take Alexa with us. Can then just ask it what station to play without standing up or early morning whilst in bed, The aerial and amplifier looks exactly the same as our previous Swift which just had FM/AM radio. So i think it will probably just plug-in existing aerial.

More importantly, assuming it is Status, which aerial and which amp does yours have. I doubt any caravan sold new these days would be without DAB - indeed our van which we are in the process of P/exing was a2018 model and had DAB. (It also had AM but the aerial and amp would not pass it!)

 

[birdman101]

Status aerial and amp and works DAB but we don’t use it prefer Alexa just plays what you ask it anywhere. Whereas DAB still has poor reception in some areas

 

[Woodentop]

Status aerial and amp and works DAB but we don’t use it prefer Alexa just plays what you ask it anywhere. Whereas DAB still has poor reception in some areas

As I commented above, for the best reception of DAB you MUST have the aerial vertical which you can achieve by turning the handle on the bottom of the aerial mount shaft. Whilst it will help to point it in roughly the right direction, the DAB section of the aerial within the case will be vertical and thus effectively omni-directional.

 

[Jcloughie]

As I commented above, for the best reception of DAB you MUST have the aerial vertical which you can achieve by turning the handle on the bottom of the aerial mount shaft. Whilst it will help to point it in roughly the right direction, the DAB section of the aerial within the case will be vertical and thus effectively omni-directional.

I think you will find that Birdman is connecting via the internet in the manner I suggested in #3. Reliant on reception as is dab. But few internet dead areas nowadays.

John

 

[birdman101]

Yes I take my 3 hub from home with us and full internet everywhere we go,just as at home. Just give Alexa instructions a to what we want to hear,and before getting out of bed ask for the days weather forecast wherever we are.

 

[ProfJohnL]

DAB radio in the UK has had a bit of chequered history in terms of quality. The highest quality broadcast transmission is BBC R3 all th eother stations uses a lower specification transmission bit rate.

Despite this Audio experts still sometimes claim BBC R3 on DAB is better on analogue VHF! I personally can't detect some of the differences they claim. But I can detect drop outs caused by poor signal reception on DAB where as the VHF signals may carry more hiss in poor reception but you can at least still hear what's being transmitted.

To be honest for the normal casual listener, I don't think there is any need for DAB, except the way that DAB can carry more stations, and thus more choice.

But not long after DAB was introduced, a new version of called DAB+ (DAB plus) was introduced. You need a receiver which specifically states it can receive "DAB+" to be able to listen to it and old DAB radio will not receive DAB+ channels.

DAB+ in my experience does a better job of working in poorer signal areas.

If Classic FM is you station then a couple of years ago they swapped from ordinary DAB to DAB+

Most modern cars seem to have DAB+ but I don't know if all the car radio retailers still sell old DAB only radio's or not.

Sadly most of these sets are quite expensive, and I do wonder if you might be better off getting a decent portable DAB+ radio, and using a headphone jack out put to feed into the aux socket many slight older (and simpler ) car radios had

It also means you can use the radio at home or when your out for pick nick or what ever.

 

[Sam Vimes]

I n the caravan I mostly use my phone connected by bluetooth to the on board radio but I've never really liked where the speakers are.

Recently I got given one of these (link below) and I'm really impressed with the sound quality for such a small box. At home though we stream the radio..., Classic FM.... through a Roberts internet radio.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0DMM8ZQGW?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

 

[otherclive]

We used to take our home Robert’s with DAB+ and other bands too. Decent reception although most of our listening was via the caravan AM/FM unless in the awning/outside, but since then some of our liked channels have moved to DAB.

 

[Hutch]

The only reason I requested to have a dab radio fitted to our Santa Fe , way back in 2014 was to to listen to Radio 4 extra, with the comedy programs, Dads Army, Steptoe and Son, The Navy lark, etc.
At the time the technology for the car was such that the infotainment system, system searches for an MP3 player. To tune into DAB. Of course no use in Europe as they are DAB +

 

[otherclive]

The only reason I requested to have a dab radio fitted to our Santa Fe , way back in 2014 was to to listen to Radio 4 extra, with the comedy programs, Dads Army, Steptoe and Son, The Navy lark, etc.
At the time the technology for the car was such that the infotainment system, system searches for an MP3 player. To tune into DAB. Of course no use in Europe as they are DAB +

Our son fitted a small DAB “black box” to his 2008 Land Rover and it worked very well

 

[Hutch]

Our son fitted a small DAB “black box” to his 2008 Land Rover and it worked very well

Ours must be something like that, a vertical stick on aerial on left hand side of the windscreen.

 

[Ray4*]

Wow!! Amazed at the quick response and advice on here.
Looks like the easiest and cheapest option is a portable DAB radio, which I already have.
If the site has WiFi, I could always download an app (eg Virgin) and Bluetooth to a portable speaker, which I already have too. Just wanted to avoid the extra clutter (and weight).
Often, where I pitch, tv reception is iffy anyway, so DAB will probably be the same.
Thanks to all.

 

[Woodentop]

Wow!! Amazed at the quick response and advice on here.
Looks like the easiest and cheapest option is a portable DAB radio, which I already have.
If the site has WiFi, I could always download an app (eg Virgin) and Bluetooth to a portable speaker, which I already have too. Just wanted to avoid the extra clutter (and weight).
Often, where I pitch, tv reception is iffy anyway, so DAB will probably be the same.
Thanks to all.

Don't be misled. Two differences with DAB/DAB+ and TV: (1) DAB/DAB+ is vertically polarised in the UK (it was designed for cars after all) but TV can be horizontal or vertical which can cause poor DAB/DAB+ signals if your aerial is horizontal for TV; (2) DAB/DAB+ is not necessarily transmitted from the same site as TV. For example, CMC site at Sandringham can get TV from a mast at the north end of the site but no radio, from Sandy near Bedford, from Tacolneston near Norwich, and from Belmont in Lincolnshire (all three with DAB /DAB+ and/or FM), but DAB/DAB+ (and FM for that matter) for the Sandringham area comes from Great Massingham about 7 miles ESE.