Question For The Ice Guru's

[beefy505]

I have a 2010c Focus (Mk 2.5) and I am changing the factory fit Sony DAB to an aftermarket Pioneer with DAB.

Whilst picking up a aerial adaptor from Halfords the shop guy told me that the DAB won't work on the Pioneer as it needs a separate power supply and a separate aerial for the DAB to work, he said the factory fit don't need this as they are powered from the radio.

Is this true, do I need a separate power supply AND aerial for the Pioneer??

Cheers

Paul.

[Preee]

What connectors are on the back of the Pioneer , does it have a Fakra connection like the Sony for the Dab.

Best to check these things out before taking the word from Halfruads.

[BOF]

Are you saying that the Pioneer doesn't have any aerial power output?

In any case, you need the aerial powered any time you want to use the radio (which may be only when the car is running, or it may be at other times - one of the advantages of 'factory fit' is that the radio will just power on for an hour without needing the ignition on - aftermarkets often don't do this).

You could power the antenna continuously - this would run the battery down a bit faster, but that may not be a big issue if you never leave the car for more than a couple of days without running it, but leave it at the airport for a couple of weeks, and that could be more tricky. Also check that the antenna is suitable for connection to the battery, which could have a wide range of voltages, and isn't only suitable for connection via some limited output from a radio.

[beefy505]

Thanks for the replies, had a search on google and came up with these reviews on amazon.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B00AAXRTQU/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

The third one down is from a guy who fitted the same model as mine to his Alfa and says ;

"I installed a window DAB aerial which draws power from behind the head unit"

So it looks like there is a power point on the back of the unit.

Cheers

Paul.

[Merv130]

There are some very highly skilled people at some Halfords stores, not everything they say is rubbish. but then there is the fair share of part time workers with little or no training as well.

in this case, if you are buying all the kit from them, you will need the autoleads digital aerial to make the digital radio work. This aerial mounts on the inside of the front window and will need hooked up to an ignition live to work. it is possible to get an aerial that doesn't need an ignition live but your signal will really suffer.

[JustCONNECT]

Yeap Norman your spot on :) And by the way we have used that antenna ourselves in our DAB installs, & we fit loads of DAB kits

The best type of antenna you can have is a external body mount, known as a MAG mount. These operate in free air, which is why they are so good. But they don't look great.

We find that glass mount amplified antennas are best. Firstly they are discreet as they can be mounted on the front screen, rear or even a quarter glass, if the car has one. But most importantly they have good signal power as they are amplified. The best we have found is Autoleads & the part number is DAB-AA1.

Also, if you have the heated windscreen on your focus, then you need to be careful where you fix the glass mount antenna, as the heating elements in the screen will weaken the antennas signal strength. There are some clear spots that you can use on the windscreen. Lets us know if you need some help with finding them.

Cheers

JustCONNECT