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I'm sick of not being able to listen to Radio 6 in the car and the internet seems to be pretty thin on the ground for reviews or recommendations. Where else to ask than a mountain bike website?
pure highway, [url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/nick-grimshaw-discuss-1/page/2#post-4251238 ]like this[/url] for me
works well, but signal turns to shite on part of my longer commute despite being on a motorway in southern englandshire (pretty sure it's the signal, not the radio at fault)
I've had several and by far the best in my opinion are the blaupunkt models. They look less 'bling' than most and you can buy lots of accessories I required.
Phillips i bought from halfords for £99 is ok for the money but not a patch on the blaupunkts.
Just done this for similar reasons. But depending on where you live - even properly done (new head unit, roof aerial etc)- it varies from perfect to intermittent to annoying. For comparison mine is used in central Scotland which has 100% perfect bbc fm.
So - where do you drive, whats the car, can you route an external aerial(or live with compromises).
I like the look of the new Pure
[url] http://www.pure.com/products/product.asp?Product=VL-61716#Specifications [/url]
but my vehicle only has USB aux, but this connects via 3.5mm
Ive got the old pure, if you dont like trailing wires you won't like it, but its saved me from vanessa feltz in the mornings so I love it.
i went the route of dabonwheels. they let you test stuff and then return if not needed. i trialled a little adaptor from clarity that was quite cheap. plugs into the aux which is in my armrest (octavia). then trialled different aerials but had best success with a magnetic mount. didnt want leads trailing across roof so positioned it on tailgate with lead tucked into the cavity down the side of the rear window.
been a great success for me and its also portable for me if i want to use it in a works van.
now i listen to 6 music wherever i go 😀
all in all it cost about £70 IIRC.
...STR - for comparison - I managed to borrow one of those Pure's during the olympics to try and get r5 live, but it was massively reception dependant. Driving in the same areas now with an external wired aerial the dropouts are much less frequent - but still annoying.
I'm hoping someone comes along with a good answer.
I'm no expert here, but wandering with the advent of 4G internet radio will work in the car at some point?
My old Pure Highway gets good reception in most places I go to (other than out in the wilds) [b]and I've only had the antenna running alongside the centre console and tucked into the pocket on the back of the passenger seat in my cars.[/b] It would possibly be even better with a better antenna/position.
Trailing wires aren't an issue if you have an aux socket in the glovebox and route the cables behind the dash/centre console.
Thinking of adding to my skoda one of the dab units from Vw golfs. Double din sized unit same plugs according to work avoidance tinternet.
We got a Philips dab for the camper and it's ace. Audio does need more antenna than a standard fm am one.
I'd go for it.
Thinking of adding to my skoda one of the dab units from Vw golfs. Double din sized unit same plugs according to work avoidance tinternet.
We got a Philips dab for the camper and it's ace. Audio does need more antenna than a standard fm am one.
Are you me? I just put a phillips DAB in my camper and I've been reading about how to put a DAB unit in the skoda that's arriving soon.
Skoda Octavia greenline, cruise control, air con but no 3mm input jack. How tight are car manufacturers exactly?
You can buy DAB-enabled head units. The good thing is theres always a plastic surround that will adapt/help it fit to your car as well. I keep meaning to do this on my C1/Aygo (again).
6 music fans in our house too...
First solution was a pure highway
Not great- even in the city reception would cut out, trailing wires all over the place etc.
When we changed that car we got a Ford with DAB radio as standard- works really well cos antennae all over the car. Obviously no reception across the snake pass etc but never cuts out in urban areas.
Other option is tunein radio app if you have enough data allowance
It works fine on 3g- I can drive all the way home for 30 minutes and it doesn't cut out or buffer (well maybe once or twice)
It does get through data though- prob about 1MB a minute I reckon...
The thing with head units etc I guess it depends on having a decent antenna more than anything?
I've got a Kenwood DAB head unit in my Octavia, takes CD's if you want, and has a USB port in the front, which takes an iPod, phone or whatever. Very handy when I'm using the satnav on my phone with an Arkon screen mount. At the mo' I'm using the little stick-on antenna, which gives me a pretty good signal around N.Wilts - down to Bath, Bristol,, W-S-M, etc, but the signal dies if I go to Devizes, Salisbury, Amesbury. I'm going to invest in a proper antenna soon, but generally reception is far better than what I used to get on FM, R1/2 used to die before I got two miles away from Chippenham.
you can get a little box that plugs into your aerial to boost it for DAB. I've used these, stick on window aerials and the little springy aerial thing...
They all cut out in the same places, (just north of Brighton on the A23 for example) doesn't seem to matter which aerial it is. For ease of installation the booster unit is the best.
As a very good alternative you could try an app on your smartphone. I use 'TuneIn Radio' on Android but I know it's available for Iphone too, it's very good. There are thousands of international radio stations you can listn to, mostly advert free, listener supported but all your BBC ones are on there too. It works best around the house with a wifi but I've been surprised how effective it is out and about in the car, it keeps the signal pretty well. Better in town around decent H (data) signal areas but still mostly works well in G areas, rural & motorways etc. I've yet to see how much data it takes but I have an unlimited tarrif for data.
Anyone used the Connects2 AutoDAB unit? Looks like it could be quite good, but a bit pricey for a speculative punt!
I too went with [url= http://www.dabonwheels.co.uk/ ]dabonwheels [/url]
I chose a cheap headunit by [url= http://www.dabonwheels.co.uk/In_Phase_IPX_DAB_1_DAB_and_DAB_Plus_Car_Radio_.html ]In Phase[/url] and a powered adaptor for the existing ariel. It works fine apart from when I am in the valleys of Calderdale or Peak District.
pictonroad - or should I say me.
See this
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AIV-LINE-IN-ADAPTER-3-5mm-JACK-TO-MINI-ISO-CABLE-MP3-PLAYER-TO-CAR-RADIO-/170885926390?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item27c9984df6