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No problem. Truth be told, I don't really have a need for an extra SIM in the car but it wasn't expensive (Lebara £5/m, £2.50 for first 3 months) and was done in the spirit of discovery! My wife asked why and I mumbled something about "in case of emergencies"
A question for those of you using a USB DAB+ dongle with your Android HU...
I bought the Podofo DAB+ adapter (used widely apparently) and connected it to the OEM FM/AM aerial with a Fakra-SMA adapter. I'm now seeing frequent issues with DAB reception and/or interference, particularly when driving. Horrible squealing and squelching noises. I've discounted software (I think I've experimented with every available DAB+ app just to pick a favourite) but that never seemed a likely root cause.
I haven't tried the packaged "amplified" window-mounted DAB aerial yet because I didn't want the faff, but would welcome feedback before I do so.
The squelching is when the signal strength drops. I get this on the exact same spot of road each time I drive to the station. I use the DAB Z app and there's a setting to fill low quality signals with silence, but it doesn't seem to work for me!
I bought the erisin dab module and use it with the factory antenna and drove from Kent to Derby with only the occasional drop out and, to be fair, you get that in any car even with factory DAB.
The squelching is when the signal strength drops. I get this on the exact same spot of road each time I drive to the station. I use the DAB Z app and there's a setting to fill low quality signals with silence, but it doesn't seem to work for me!
I bought the erisin dab module and use it with the factory antenna and drove from Kent to Derby with only the occasional drop out and, to be fair, you get that in any car even with factory DAB.
Might be worth trying the erisin unit?
Thanks @andy2111 . I may well do that. Mine feels like more than just poor signal - more like something in the car interfering with the signal when driving. It could just be that the Podofo USB adapter is more sensitive / not shielded well enough. I was also wondering whether the FM/AM aerial isn't particularly well suited to DAB given the different frequencies involved (I read as much elsewhere). I will continue to experiment!
The squelching is when the signal strength drops. I get this on the exact same spot of road each time I drive to the station. I use the DAB Z app and there's a setting to fill low quality signals with silence, but it doesn't seem to work for me!
I bought the erisin dab module and use it with the factory antenna and drove from Kent to Derby with only the occasional drop out and, to be fair, you get that in any car even with factory DAB.
A question for those of you using a USB DAB+ dongle with your Android HU...
I bought the Podofo DAB+ adapter (used widely apparently) and connected it to the OEM FM/AM aerial with a Fakra-SMA adapter. I'm now seeing frequent issues with DAB reception and/or interference, particularly when driving. Horrible squealing and squelching noises. I've discounted software (I think I've experimented with every available DAB+ app just to pick a favourite) but that never seemed a likely root cause.
I haven't tried the packaged "amplified" window-mounted DAB aerial yet because I didn't want the faff, but would welcome feedback before I do so.
Did your car have OEM DAB? If so, you need to connect the Fakra adapter to the OEM DAB antenna, not the separate FM antenna. In our Cayman, I have the FM antenna connected via an adapter to the HU FM input, and the DAB antenna adapter is connected to the OEM DAB antenna. This works perfectly here. No distortion or signal dropouts. Remember to rescan each time you change software or hardware.
DAB does occasionally drop out in areas of poor reception, but this is quite rare and should not be something you experience all the time.
If your car did not have OEM DAB, then you will have to use the supplied window antenna, or install a separate external DAB antenna. If you use the window antenna, make sure the copper ground part is properly grounded to the car A pillar. This will involve scraping off some paint back to bare metal.
@ratt359 - can you clarify if your car originally had OEM DAB? If so, all you need to do is get the right FAKRA adapter and connect to the OEM antenna and you will be good to go. You can't use the FM antenna for DAB. I actually tried this (by mistake) when installing DAB in the Cayman and although we got DAB reception on our driveway, it only pulled in about 30 stations and as soon as my wife drove into town on her way to work, she had the same issues as you are having. When she reported this, I took the HU out again, realised my mistake, connected to the DAB antenna and as soon as I rescanned I got about 90 stations. That alone told me I must have a better connection. Since then DAB has worked perfectly here. AAMOI, how many DAB stations are you currently seeing?
This is the FAKRA adapter you need (thanks to Andy for pointing me in the right direction after an earlier false start):
Not sure how good the stick on antenna is, but there are lots of very good alternatives you can buy to improve reception if needed
My wife's dad uses a stick-on DAB antenna in his car and he gets good reception and a full set of stations. He was careful to ensure that the ground connection was good (IDK if this matters much, but assume they tell you to ground it properly for a reason). As you say, there are plenty of external DAB antennas to look at if ratt359's car doesn't have OEM DAB. Only issue there is that installation will be a PITA, but we're all getting used to solving these things now
This is a photo of the back of the Cayman PCM 3.1. The FM antenna is the black connector on the left. The GPS/satnav antenna is the blue one and the DAB antenna is the green connector. Fakra adapters are available for all of these connectors.
My DAB antenna is at that jaunty angle because the photo was taken when I was installing the Isudar board. Loosening the connector helps with feeding the wires through. The fact that this connector is removable shows that Porsche offered DAB (and in the USA, XM) in some cars but not others, with an extra DAB/XM circuit board on the other side of that connector.
(Note for USA members - you guys don't have DAB but you may have XM (SDARS) in your cars, in which case I believe that the connector that is green for UK is yellow for XM.)
Thanks for the detail @ZedZed - much appreciated. No, my PCM didn't have factory DAB, which explains my issue. Same symptoms as you when using the FM aerial - fine in the driveway (loads of stations) but awful when driving.
I'm going to try an alternative to the window mounted DAB aerial (a splitter/amplifier thing) - will keep you posted.
New question! Did any of you have OEM parking sensors front and rear? I have the beeps but not a visual display. Not a huge issue but wondering if someone might have a clever solution to this.
Thanks for the detail @ZedZed - much appreciated. No, my PCM didn't have factory DAB, which explains my issue. Same symptoms as you when using the FM aerial - fine in the driveway (loads of stations) but awful when driving.
I'm going to try an alternative to the window mounted DAB aerial (a splitter/amplifier thing) - will keep you posted.
Yeah, the thing I have against the window antenna is that it is fugly and reeks of 'add-on'. I'd be interested in your experiments.
Originally Posted by ratt359
New question! Did any of you have OEM parking sensors front and rear? I have the beeps but not a visual display. Not a huge issue but wondering if someone might have a clever solution to this.
Both our cars have OEM parking sensors. Both work as expected, with beeps and a visual on screen. IMO the visual is better than the OEM version.
Have you made sure that you have enabled it in the canbus settings section of the HU? It's a bit of a distant memory for me now, but there is a menu section where you can set things like the 'door open' display on screen. Also, this section is where you set light delays and things like that. Check if there is an option to turn on or off the display and beeps separately. I don't recall having to do any of this and ours 'just worked' but there may be a setting that can fix it for you. Incidentally, do you get the 'door open' on-screen display? I know for a fact that you can set this to on or off, and also change the doors from L to R and vice-versa. Find that menu and have a look for parking sensors.
Another idea is to check the settings for the reverse camera. In both of our cars there is a small settings graphic on the screen when the car is in reverse. Try tapping that and see what it brings up - there might be a setting in there for parking sensors. It's a long shot. If you don't have a settings icon, try tapping and holding for a few seconds anywhere on the screen - I have seen displays where this is how you bring up the settings.
It is a powered antenna too, which should enable a useful signal boost. I'd mount in the front bumper to get as far away from the engine as I could. It may also be possible to mount this inside the car under the dash, using the PCM opening as access. That would certain;y make the wiring easier and the plastic/leather dash shouldn't impede the signal too much.
04-19-2024, 09:48 AM
