Smartd00d Posted September 4, 2017 Share Posted September 4, 2017 Hi my 2017 Fiesta's DAB is very poor even though I live within a few miles of Crystal Palace. My smax has perfect DAB reception though. Anyone know why the Fiesta is so poor and what an be done about it? Don't want to use FM. DAB should and does work in my area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke4efc Posted September 4, 2017 Share Posted September 4, 2017 DAB is awful and actually quite outdated. The only reason why DAB id any good is because there's more stations. Audio quality isn't as good for a start, it all gets compressed. Infact most of the broadcasters were mp2 quality (less than 80kbps) in a mono channel last time I looked. I've also heard DAB can only be broadcast at half strength due to interference. I think it's just very hit and miss depending on what radio you use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobr Posted September 4, 2017 Share Posted September 4, 2017 I just switch over to FM. DAB is so unpredictable it's not worth the bother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyprusPluto Posted September 4, 2017 Share Posted September 4, 2017 Mine works fine, but a DAB signal can easily weaken around trees and buildings and in that case it can disappear altogether rather than just become worse like an FM signal. I don't know whether Ford radios are DAB or the better DAB+, the latter is used widely across most of Europe, but not so widely in the UK yet If I use my DAB radio in the garden the aerial generally has to be pointing in a certain direction whilst listening to certain stations. If you transpose that problem to a moving car the aerial is constantly changing direction and signal strength and so the sound will disappear more often. I just use a USB in the car loaded with 100's of tracks played on shuffle 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jezza54 Posted September 5, 2017 Share Posted September 5, 2017 Just a thought - I found that my dash cam interfered with DAB reception, also using a cheap charging lead for my phone. Either of these a possibility in your case? Is the difference because the Fiesta has an aerial in the glass and the S max has an external aerial? dabonwheels.co.uk - external aerials supply and fit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyprusPluto Posted September 5, 2017 Share Posted September 5, 2017 3 hours ago, Jezza54 said: Is the difference because the Fiesta has an aerial in the glass and the S max has an external aerial? My aerial is on the roof at the front 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jezza54 Posted September 5, 2017 Share Posted September 5, 2017 Puzzled as to why your reception is bad especially in London- if there's nothing causing interference as I've said above then get it back to the dealer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJNewton Posted September 5, 2017 Share Posted September 5, 2017 Agreed - don't be too quick to give up on DAB. I've had no issues with reception in a whole variety of areas. All that said, I'm not sure what to suggest. Is performance any better on the national stations? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartd00d Posted September 5, 2017 Author Share Posted September 5, 2017 Thanks for the replys. The fiesta aerial is on the roof as far as I know. The smax is in the rear glass. All stations are bad, even the supposedly strong signal ones like Kiss, LBC etc. I will approach the dealer but I think it's just a crap aerial personally. Sync is v5.9 and made no difference when upgraded from 5.2 or whatever it had from the factory too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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