FM or DAB Radio?

[MtB]

Sounds like your JVC is in demo mode. Ours retains its settings for some while with the batteries disconnected but have never left it longer than the time it takes to replace the batteries.

 

Possibly. The manual is written in impenetrable English - very difficult to understand. This is another minor niggle with this JVC.

 

The sound and reception is excellent, everything else about it is rubbish!

[OldGoat]

It's much like the terrestrial vs: satellite TV debate. It all depends...

Where we are moored FM is pants, no freeview, so I bought a cheap DAB / FM car radio for the saloon and it works fine. The downside is that it only works well with the nasty sticky on window aerial. I've tried an appropriate whip aerial - which doesn't work.

 

On the topic of DAB power requirement, I've bought a cheap Tesco DAB/FM alarm clock; powered it from a 12 - 5v converter and it works fine. The converter is only rated at norra lot - so not power hungry.

[MtB]

It's much like the terrestrial vs: satellite TV debate. It all depends...

Where we are moored FM is pants, no freeview, so I bought a cheap DAB / FM car radio for the saloon and it works fine. The downside is that it only works well with the nasty sticky on window aerial. I've tried an appropriate whip aerial - which doesn't work.

 

 

But whip aerials are not appropriate for DAB, are they? The DAB aerial I'm using works brilliantly and is about 12" tall, with a little coil in the centre, like old carphone aerials. Size is critical with aerials, IIRC.

 

Here it is:

 

http://www.halfords.com/technology/car-audio/dab-radios-car-stereos/sonichi-magnetic-roof-mount-dab-antenna

[pearley]

When I read appropriate whip aerial I assumed he meant a dedicated DAB antenna rather than some all purpose one. The big complaint with DAB in cars is reception but the vast majority of these is because people do it on the cheap and manufacturers pander to them by packaging the stick on window antenna with the DAB car radio. With a proper body mount or may mount reception is generally very good - I know there are some areas where reception is poor but these places are reducing each year as new transmitters come on stream.

[OldGoat]

 

 

But whip aerials are not appropriate for DAB, are they? The DAB aerial I'm using works brilliantly and is about 12" tall, with a little coil in the centre, like old carphone aerials. Size is critical with aerials, IIRC.

 

Here it is:

 

http://www.halfords.com/technology/car-audio/dab-radios-car-stereos/sonichi-magnetic-roof-mount-dab-antenna

My bad use of terminology -

Your example is what I meant - but thanks Mike!

[Chris Davidson]

We have 2 DAB radios on the boat, a Pure which we use on 12v via cigarette charger, and a Roberts which uses AA batteries.

Both work very well, the Roberts lasts 25 hours on batteries, which are rechargeable,.

Both have FM as well, Roberts advise you in the manual to use the DAB tuner as the battery life is better.

we have never failed to get a good DAB signal,

Hope this helps.

[Keeping Up]

Change the LED's

Well they are Bedazzled's best interference-free LEDs so I don't know what other LEDs I could change them to.

[Nickhlx]

Well they are Bedazzled's best interference-free LEDs so I don't know what other LEDs I could change them to.

 

Cheaper similar ones from E-bay - I use various radio transceivers and have never experienced LED RF interference from any - or even on broadcast band equipment..

 

Nick

[Nightwatch]

Possibly. The manual is written in impenetrable English - very difficult to understand. This is another minor niggle with this JVC.

 

The sound and reception is excellent, everything else about it is rubbish!

Is it one of those with a big shovel at the front and a bucket at the back?

[DHutch]

My Pure One has a 4.5AH battery and that will only run the radio for about 8 hours. A battery that massive would run a FM radio for about a month!

4,5 Ah but what voltage?

[Machpoint005]

Radio 4. For a long time was the only way I could listen to the cricket while driving.

 

The cricket is on R5SX on digital. Just as well -- there's no long wave in my car, but DAB on the boat (first-generation Pure, which works fine with its own aerial provided it's near a window).

[Timleech]

early DAB adios were certainly power-hungry.

My father bought me a Roberts RD-1, which was one of the first mains/battery DAB/FM portables to come on the market. Using batteries for DAB was frankly a joke, it would eat a set of six D size alkaline cells in a few hours. An excellent radio in other respects, though.

I now have a Roberts ecologic4 mains/battery portable, a set of the same batteries lasts for months with occasional (not infrequent) use.

 

On the boat, we have a TEAC mains portable which takes 12V from a wall wart, seems quite happy with the 12.6V from a 24/12V converter.

I opened up the back to get access to a 'proper' aerial connection, and run this to a simple mag mount external whip, works well. Useless with an internal aerial because not enough apertures in the steel cabin to let a signal though.

 

Tim

[MtB]

4,5 Ah but what voltage?

 

7.4V, IIRC.

Or might be 7.2v. 7V or so, anyway. A hefty battery pack to run down so fast.

[Top cat]

Has anyone used the car type DAB radios, Halfords have them starting at £80. They say you need a special aerial and sell a stick on the window type aerial I'm guessing that ain't much use on a canal boat if it ends up on the side facing away from the transmitter. They also list a mag mount aerial that gets panned in reviews.

 

Top Cat

Edited July 12, 2015 by Top cat

[OldGoat]

Has anyone used the car type DAB radios, Halfords have them starting at £80. They say you need a special aerial and sell a stick on the window type aerial I'm guessing that ain't much use on a canal boat if it ends up on the side facing away from the transmitter. They also list a mag mount aerial that gets panned in reviews.

 

Top Cat

I bought one - when on offer from one of those box shifters (their normal lines are at silly prices IMHO), so at about £45 was worth a punt. Apart from the silly and illogical controls, it's been vey good.

It came with one of those stick on aerials and a long lead which (the former) I stuck on a side window. Has worked pretty everywhere in my cruising range (London, Reading, Oxford, Banbury, Brum W'hampton). As it came with a socket that I was unfamiliar with, I didn't try a stick aerial - even to test as I don't want to drill holes in the roof and running a cable through a ventilator would be ugly. The aerial is behind a curtain so only looks ugly from the outside.

[Keeping Up]

Has anyone used the car type DAB radios, Halfords have them starting at £80. They say you need a special aerial and sell a stick on the window type aerial I'm guessing that ain't much use on a canal boat if it ends up on the side facing away from the transmitter. They also list a mag mount aerial that gets panned in reviews.

Top Cat

See my post #19 above.

 

This year we have travelled the Grand Union, Northern Stratford, Worcs & Birmingham, Severn, G&S, Staffs & Worcs, Shroppie, Llangollen, T&M, Macclesfield, Peak Forest, Bridgewater, Weaver, and Soar. Apart from the LED light interference problem there hasn't been a single day when the stick-on aerial has failed to get a signal.

Edited July 12, 2015 by Keeping Up

[RLWP]

I don't want to drill holes in the roof and running a cable through a ventilator would be ugly.

 

Drill a hole in the mushroom

 

Richard

[larkshall]

Well I would never buy one again. They are rubbish in trucks, no good overseas, eat power as others have said even with the newer chipset. Won't work with standard whip aerials and I'm not sticking anything on the windscreen.

I use mostly long wave in Europe, either for French, German stations. Fm is ok on a localised basis in Europe. A lot of stuff on medium wave. When parked up I use shortwave, I can usually get Anglo American speech channels. Of course I can get stuff on Internet radio, but that really needs wi if connectivity.

You even have more fun with cb radio. Anybody use that on the canals?

[emlclcy]

There's a bit. BBC World Service. French equivilant & stacks of Frog & Anglo 'static' that the little Roberts RSR mini ghetto blaster can just get.

 

Most aimed at former African connetions I guess.

my god! the only station worth listening to is bbc radio 6 music

Radio 4 , that's all we need.

 

T C

tut tut radio 6 unless you're hooked on the archers or war...

[MtB]

my god! the only station worth listening to is bbc radio 6 music

 

 

 

You've obviously never logged in to XFM at 10pm on friday night...

[churchward]

I need a new radio on the boat and thought of DAB. This may be a daft question but is the signal good with the right areial.

 

Thank you

We have DAB Radio on the boat and have not really had any issues getting a good signal. We do use an exterior radio ariel but even a Pure Dab radio using its attached aerial was OK. What we have now is a car DAB Radio with FM Also and only use the FM side if tuning into a station unavailable on DAB.

Well I would never buy one again. They are rubbish in trucks, no good overseas, eat power as others have said even with the newer chipset. Won't work with standard whip aerials and I'm not sticking anything on the windscreen.

I use mostly long wave in Europe, either for French, German stations. Fm is ok on a localised basis in Europe. A lot of stuff on medium wave. When parked up I use shortwave, I can usually get Anglo American speech channels. Of course I can get stuff on Internet radio, but that really needs wi if connectivity.

You even have more fun with cb radio. Anybody use that on the canals?

I don't think it is correct in my experience that whip ariels won't work with DAB radios. As I say above our setup is a Car Radio on teh boat with an external Whip aerial. Now it is an aerial optimised to receive DAB but it also receives FM signal just fine,

Edited July 13, 2015 by churchward

[Saffa]

Thank you all for the info. I am now keeping a lookout on ebay for a Car DAB Radio

[emlclcy]

You've obviously never logged in to XFM at 10pm on friday night...

will give it a try

[bottle]

Well they are Bedazzled's best interference-free LEDs so I don't know what other LEDs I could change them to.

 

Neither do I but perhaps a word with Bedazzled...

 

 

 

Bet you have already done that.

[churchward]

Thank you all for the info. I am now keeping a lookout on ebay for a Car DAB Radio

Have a look at this website to give you an idea what is available.

 

www.dabonwheels.co.uk