Do you have any chargers or electronics plugged into the 12v sockets? This caused my DAB to stop working. Pulled them out and it was perfect again.
Poor DAB Signal
- Thread starter Johnod17
- Start date
Do you have any chargers or electronics plugged into the 12v sockets? This caused my DAB to stop working. Pulled them out and it was perfect again.
nails54
Member
Hi all I had poor radio reception Dab And FM. LOW AND BEHOLD IT WAS THE USB MULTI ADAPTOR. I bought two new ones from screwfix. Make is Ring dual USB adaptor . Part code 725HP one for me and my VW Caddy van. No issues any more. Nearly had a shark fin upgrade. But found out via youtube!
After blaming VW for ages for my complete lack of DAB reception for a lot of my time on the road in the van and posting about it on here, I think it was Dellmassive who pointed the finger at 12V USB adapters as a potential issue. I then did a few experiments by waiting until DAB reception cut out and then disconnecting and reconnecting my phone or whatever else was charging from the 'dash top' socket. Lo and behold, once I unplugged the cable, reception often came back (but not all of the time!). Further testing with other USB adapters indicated that some were better than others. I also Googled for RF interference and came across a video where the chap tested a load of different adapters and measured the noise / interference generated by each. He concluded that some little Ravpower hobbies are about the least worse (if you know what I mean!) so I recently ordered a couple from Amazon which haven't arrived yet - I'll report back as and when I have a chance to test them.
That said, I'm still not convinced that VW are completely blameless in this issue and still believe that their crappy mirror-based aerials are at the root of the problem - maybe the T6.1 will tell a different story. I'm also conscious of the fact that between us, my wife and I have now had a fair few different cars with DAB fitted (inc. others 2 from other VAG companies) none of which have ever given us a problem except on a 50 odd metre stretch of road a few miles from us which goes past a big power installation when all reception disappears without fail.
That said, I'm still not convinced that VW are completely blameless in this issue and still believe that their crappy mirror-based aerials are at the root of the problem - maybe the T6.1 will tell a different story. I'm also conscious of the fact that between us, my wife and I have now had a fair few different cars with DAB fitted (inc. others 2 from other VAG companies) none of which have ever given us a problem except on a 50 odd metre stretch of road a few miles from us which goes past a big power installation when all reception disappears without fail.
I've spent many an hour in an EMC test chamber where the invisible noise pixies can be visualised....whilst dull as dishwater to most, I find 'electrical noise' an interesting topic. My area of expertise is more industrial so normally talking in far larger numbers..but it can be related to this.
What we have here is devices (USB adaptors, aftermarket bulbs etc) on the 12v circuits which are taking power but not cleanly. LEDs for example use a driver circuit (contained within the bulb assembly) and power is 'pulsed' to the LED itself as a means of regulating it. you can sometimes see this on video where the light appears to flicker. The naked eye can not normally see this, however other electrical devices within the vehicle can see the electrical disturbance. Basically the aftermarket devices have high conductive emissions.
There are 2 ways to mitigate this...VW would argue the aftermarket devices should be supping the power more cleanly, the after manufamarket device manufacturers build things to a budget however and any additional smoothing circuits would add cost...so they don't! I'm not sure of automotive EMC standards, however typically devices have to be build to a certain standard to gain EN approval to make them suitable for purchase by us, the consumer. I'm not convinced of a lot of devices imported from China/sold online meet these standards assuming they exist.
The second way of getting around this is to have sensitive devices to be less susceptible to electrical noise...basically apply filters on incoming feeds to clean away any noise on the circuits. Sensitive devices will do this (ECUs etc) To prevent them suffering any damage, arguably VW could do a little more on the radio design which would prevent this problem...but you can be fairly sure the VW equipment will be tested to meet the required standards (exhaust emissions excluded!
).
There is a second part to this is radiated emissions and susceptibility. Basically how much noise can radiate from the device non conductively...like a radio transmitter. This would be noted if moving the suspected noisy device further from susceptible equipment (the radio) helped reduce the interference. Again both parties can help prevent this, by good shielding and design practices...however like before this can add cost.
What we have here is devices (USB adaptors, aftermarket bulbs etc) on the 12v circuits which are taking power but not cleanly. LEDs for example use a driver circuit (contained within the bulb assembly) and power is 'pulsed' to the LED itself as a means of regulating it. you can sometimes see this on video where the light appears to flicker. The naked eye can not normally see this, however other electrical devices within the vehicle can see the electrical disturbance. Basically the aftermarket devices have high conductive emissions.
There are 2 ways to mitigate this...VW would argue the aftermarket devices should be supping the power more cleanly, the after manufamarket device manufacturers build things to a budget however and any additional smoothing circuits would add cost...so they don't! I'm not sure of automotive EMC standards, however typically devices have to be build to a certain standard to gain EN approval to make them suitable for purchase by us, the consumer. I'm not convinced of a lot of devices imported from China/sold online meet these standards assuming they exist.
The second way of getting around this is to have sensitive devices to be less susceptible to electrical noise...basically apply filters on incoming feeds to clean away any noise on the circuits. Sensitive devices will do this (ECUs etc) To prevent them suffering any damage, arguably VW could do a little more on the radio design which would prevent this problem...but you can be fairly sure the VW equipment will be tested to meet the required standards (exhaust emissions excluded!
).There is a second part to this is radiated emissions and susceptibility. Basically how much noise can radiate from the device non conductively...like a radio transmitter. This would be noted if moving the suspected noisy device further from susceptible equipment (the radio) helped reduce the interference. Again both parties can help prevent this, by good shielding and design practices...however like before this can add cost.
Flying dutchman
New Member
With all this extra time on my hands I’m looking at replacing the rubbish VW DAB aerial with a shark fin aerial. My question is which route should I take to get to the head unit? Dropping of the head lining is straight forward enough, just not sure on the last bit.
As Highwaycollective says, I would start by doing simple stuff like disconnecting any chargers etc. I was plagued by DAB reception problems for a long time and only seemed to receive anything for about 15% of my time in the van. In the end, I replaced a 12V twin USB charger in the dash top and things improved greatly, Mind you, the signal still drops out a lot more than it should and I still think the design of the mirror antennae is pee poor but........
Led lamps in your Drl's can cause the dab to drop out too.
Boywonder186
New Member
I’m a bit late to the party here but I’m also in Bridgwater and my T6 is shocking for DAB but the wife’s Golf is spot on. Did you ever get to the bottom of it?
more info here:
www.t6forum.com
T6 Aerials, GPS, DAB, FM/AM, GSM - How I Did It -
T6 Aerials, GPS, DAB, FM/AM, GSM - How I Did It - Taken from a recent thread about poor DAB reception on the head units, and an attempt to help out a fellow member . . . . . . i though id post this here. All the antennas for the T6 are located in the side wing mirrors. The left contains...
Boywonder186
New Member
Thanks for this!more info here:
T6 Aerials, GPS, DAB, FM/AM, GSM - How I Did It -
T6 Aerials, GPS, DAB, FM/AM, GSM - How I Did It - Taken from a recent thread about poor DAB reception on the head units, and an attempt to help out a fellow member . . . . . . i though id post this here. All the antennas for the T6 are located in the side wing mirrors. The left contains...
Boywonder186
New Member
Thanks for your reply.
brackenlamb
New Member
what shark fins are everyone fitting ?
I bought mine from Peter Preston a SCR. Skipton Car Radio - Suppliers of Car Audio since 1978, Visit our online shop for great products at great prices.
Maybe PWM in combination with non OEM/factory fitted "consumers" is the main problem with poor DAB reception?
I am still using factory fitted aerial and DAB works quite well for me.
I am still using factory fitted aerial and DAB works quite well for me.
