Poor DAB reception

[ian.f]

Hi Forum,
Just returned from my annual Easter trip to West Wales. Love it down there.
However, the DAB reception down there is really poor, and it is every year.
My wife advised me that her motor (13 plate Qashqai) never drops in/out down there, so I’m thinking there’s an issue with my motor.
I have problems with it all over the uK and just assumed that DAB wasn’t everything it was cracked up to be!
Has anyone else struggled generally with poor reception in their B9s? Could there be an issue in my motor?
Thanks!

 

[NHN]

Do you use any usb charging adapters or dashcams, if so unplug & test again

 

[HMG1K]

Depends what type of DAB system you have and your wife. Newer cars, like the B9 ( I have a B9.5) have DAB+ which is completely different to DAB.

DAB+ is a newer version or DAB allowing the owners of the multiplexes to squeeze more stations onto that transmitter for a region at a lower bit rate but at a better (arguably) quality of sound. The older DAB had (when it started 20 or more years ago) fewer stations at a higher bit rate (better quality of sound). Because of the expense, there are now more stations on the old DAB at a far lower bit rate, music stations in mono 64k.

Many radio stations are on the old DAB and the newer DAB+. Others just DAB. But it depends where you are (is there a DAB or DAB+ transmitter or both? And what your DAB radio is capable of receiving - DAB or DAB+ or both.

 

[Frizzley]

Never had any issues with DAB reception on my B9 A5 which was basically the same set up. Seem to recall there was an option in the mmi settings to enable something called L Band which enabled stations with longer range to be received.

Worth checking to see if this is ticked- it not give it a try

 

[ian.f]

Hi everyone, thanks for all the messages/suggestions.

Do you use any usb charging adapters or dashcams, if so unplug & test again

Yes, I have a dashcam and active phone charger.
I found a section of road where the signal drops completely. So I unplugged everything and re-drove the road and the signal was perfect. Just to check, I plugged back in and re-drove the road and the signal dropped.
Problem identified!

Does anyone have a recommended solution? I’ll research it of course, just asking if anyones already solved the problem!
Thanks.

 

[clawhammer]

Same here, signal worse than in skoda

 

[NHN]

Then try unplugging any usb etc adapters.