DAB radio in cars – high time it was standard

Since most cars aren't manufactured in the UK, and the rest of Europe's targets for digital radio don't seem to be as forceful, including digital radios as standard in cars may be seen as an extra rather than inclusive.

The whole idea behind DAB is to force people to buy new radios and give manufacturing a much needed boost. Although, I think it is a scam.

I just bought a DAB radio with my new car for £300+, because I thought I would be keeping it for more than 7 years and the switchover would have happened by then. Recently however the Government has removed the target date for switchover, though I still believe the decision to get a DAB may be a good one. I have had two minor niggles – the signal occasionally drops out (even in the city where I live), and the manufacturer's instruction book for the radio is poor in its DAB instructions (the radio is much more complicated in than an FM one, and also it reads as if it is a translation from the German!!!). Of course it offers zillions of channels we never use.

The major problem with DAB is that it was the first attempt to produce a standard for digital radio; the process has been very slow (it started in the 80's) our Government naively thought that the rest of the World would adopt it and an unstoppable momentum would be created – it hasn't happened. Other countries ran DAB tests or pilots then decided to look at the growing number of more sophisticated forms of digital radio. Twenty countries have now adopted the DAB+ system (which is not backward compatible) Its no wonder people are not falling over themselves to move to an obsolete, over compressed, low bit rate, patchy service that cannot even match FM performance over most of the country.

DAB radio is a scam! I have one DAB radio and several FM radios at home and I can't tell a difference in sound quality. what I can tell is a lag of about 10 seconds in the DAB reception. How are you able to get an acurate time check? The much vaunted "hundreds more channels" on DAB is of no interest to me. BBC 2 and 4 plus various local stations are more than adequate for my needs. With reference to car reception I find FM more than adequate and the stations I use are certainly not "scratchy". If you want scratchy try AM which was all we had until FM came along. An upgrade to FM was very much needed then. DAB is not needed.

DAB is a feeble attempt by a previous government to obtain revenue from the sale of FM spectrum. As a standard it has long since passed it's sell by date. It is not in use in any other European country (so that DAB radio in your car is really useful in say France when you are on holiday). The UK transmission network is thin, the quality worse than FM. The hypocrisy of a report listing DAB as greener than FM since it uses less power at transmission without noting that it also uses x6 more power for reception in the millions of receivers shows the depths to which supporters will go. The loading of the usage statistics by counting all DAB sets as in use, even if what is in use is the FM receiver in the set (try buying a clock radio in John Lewis without DAB) is another example of the weasels at work. Tell your MP that you do not want it and do not need it. If the BBC want to spend our tax (licence) money on something let it be content not technology.

Being an OAP lots of modern technology is beyond me and seems irrelevant to my lifestyle.
My car radio works well in most parts of the country – why change it?
The proposed DAB for this country isn't the best available – according to the newspapers !
So why are we proposing to change a system that works for a system that isn't better ?
Why not….. just leave things as they are ?

I'm all for progress and the move to new and better technology but I wish the transition was better managed. I have both DAB and FM radios. We often have sets on in different rooms so we can listen to a programme as we move about the house. The problem is that the sound from each type is out of sync. Why can't the FM analogue signal be transmitted with a slight delay so the FM and DAB sounds come out at the same time?
My other problem is that I'm about to change my car. The uncertainty over the future of analogue radio means I don't know whether to spend significant extra money on a DAB car radio or not.

Never heard of 6 Music until the recent discussion about it's continuation,probably because we don't have a DAB radio.Tried to buy one for my late Mother 5 or 6 years ago as she thought the advertised improved sound quality would cancel out her increased deafness,but discovered that where she lived on the W.Sussex coast no signal was available.Whilst AM cover can be a problem in certain areas,think this is largely due to the siting of the aerial,in my wife's MX5 the tip of the aerial is only about 4' 2" from the ground so we do experience some interference,whereas in my Lorry the tip is probably about 12' 0" from the ground so only experience problems in remote hilly areas.FM seems to work well everywhere so can't see us buying a DAB radio unless incentivised.

The whole world has gone raving mad , Firstly it was the TV that was changed to a new system that was to give us better viewing , WHAT!!! the rubbish that we are meant to watch now is disgusting after it cost the country millions to throw away good working sets or purchase new equipment that cost money we need not have spent , as an old age pensioner it was money we had been asked to save for our retirement by the government , then they want us to throw it away on items that we really did not need as the old system worked perfectly well . Now it is the radios they want to muck up as I find that the FM system works very well at home as well as in the car without costing us a lot of money , Lets all think what is going on with our lives as the next thing will be a high charge for a licence for DAB Systems , just think about it , It will come mark my words , then it will cost everyone many pounds to get every radio in the home changed , even down to the alarm clocks , then your car radios will have to be thrown away & all those vehicles who have had SAT Navs fitted with the radio in them will be obsolete & they did not come cheap when fitted in the first place , I expected it to come sooner or later when I purchased my first new vehicle upon retirement so declined the offer to have that system fitted at another great cost of which will soon be OBSOLETE . The fault is to my mind the younger generation who are not satisfied with just a few channels but want more that they have any chance of tuning into listen while driving & there thoughts should be on the road not playing with the hundreds of radio channels they can get . This is something the government has concocted up to get more into there coffers not what the country wants , they should ask the general public before it is changed as many thousands will vote against it I am sure .

Let’s get clear. The vote (at the moment) is 8 to 3 for having DAB in cars. But most contributors are saying DAB is a poor option which should be scrapped ! Then read these motoring comments along with the ones on DAB generally as the future of broadcasting. Maybe DAB in cars isn’t such a good idea.

Hmmm.

I have a DAB radio but find it will not pick up all stations – some being very poor – My TV/DAB radio doesn’t offer very many stations. The FM reception in the car annoys me by fading over distance.and in tunnels

So I use an earphone MP3 player – 10hr battery life – output steady as a rock and will never annoy other people as far too many overloud car drivers do – everyone of the 200 tunes EXACTLY what I want to hear as a first choice. I can program a set series of records – or random generate a selection. It even has a radio.

And CHEAP – When I change my car I will be still using it.

Having DAB in a car presupposes that it will be available everywhere. I live on the West Coast of Cumbria and, according to the BBC Website, do not get FM, let alone DAB!! This is not quite true, I can get FM, but only in the right place in the house, in the right weather and with particular radio models. When I drive alone the A595, I am quite dangerous in places as I have to keep re-tuning my car radio to keep track of my favourite Radio 4 programmes. The best Radio 4 signal here is medium wave, but it keeps being hi-jacked by Test Match Special. I think that the analogue transmitters should not be allowed to be turned off, until there is a very high percentage of GEOGRAPHICAL coverage. The percentage figures that are required at the moment are population numbers and this will allow the radio transmitter providers to remove a service from a remote, rural area again. So much for equality!! It will also mean always patchy coverage for car owners driving through the more sparsely populated areas of England.

I bought a new car at the start of this year and expect to keep it for 10 years. I have not been able to find Test Match Special so I have made enquiries to both the car manufacturer and BBC over the past few days as to where was the problem. I was shocked to learn that I did not have a DAB radio as I had made it clear that I was aiming for a 10 year use and no reference was made to the radio during the ‘sales spiel’. However – if the transition is to be at least five years away – then I reckon that it is not really such a big issue. However – I really do want to listen to TMS and the BBC do not seem to be too interested which is poor!!

DAB will probably never be satisfactory for rural roads in UK. While FM radio degrades gradually when the signal is poor, DAB stutters and drops out completely. If FM is dropped then I shall probably give up listening to radio in my car.

Maybe I am a little odd, though I listen to the radio when I am driving I have not listened to more than 5 radio stations while in my car. I don’t need, or want, any more than are available just now on FM.

To be honest, I don’t even want DAB at home as I can get better quality radio via satellite (Freesat) and the internet.

Andrew

Whilst speaking to Bose help desk at Sittingbourne I touched on this subject. The very helpful young lady informed me that we are the only country in the world having to change to DAB and this at the whim of the last government. The need to change is minimal, the reason for change is to free up band width for sale to commercial outlets, as bandwidth is becoming scarcer. The other reason is to create employment and gain soon to be 20% for each upgrade. Dont be fooled it aint being done for your benefit.or mine!! Answers on a post card to “Terry Wogan” BBC etc………..

I put in a DAB radio in my car and found it similar to FM reception – often poor and not conducive to “easy listening” – the extra facilities meant it was more distracting – and more of a hazard to driving.

So I returned back to my superb MP3 player – far better – far cheaper. 200 tunes I really like – no interruptions for news. Set to “random” means I don’t know what song is coming up next – except I will always like it. Never fades or drops out in any conditions unlike radio.

Far superior.

I had been looking forward to DAB car radios reaching an affordable price, but when I bought my VW Golf in 2002 I suddenly became much happier with FM car radio. It’s not much use in the highlands of Scotland but elsewhere it works better than I had believed possible for an FM car radio.

I would like a DAB/FM radio in my next car so that I can have the best of both worlds.

the author of this article should stick to motoring comments an area where he may have some expertise

I’m like FM, but am quite happy with DAB for speech. But how do I get acceptable reception in my car for 5Live? and worse still, my favourite World Service has now disappeared from AM. The reviews for Pure’s Highway as an intermediate fix are very mixed and although Which? promised a review when it came out, I can’t find one.

I am led to believe that DAB is not the latest technology nor is it the favoured European standard. Can you confirm this? Is this why they are so expensive. Why are TV set top convertors so cheap?
The average portable am/fm radio can use as few as only about 9 transistors (ok I know there are lots of other passive components) and is most efficient compared with DAB and batteries last much longer I believe.
Also I have at least 14 am/fm radios around my home, cars, workshop and garage. All are tuned to Radio 4. I cannot imagine ever wanting to listen to the rubbish churned out on all the new digital channels. The day that Radio 4 dissapears from the bands that it now occupies on my current equipment, is the day that I no longer will be able to listen to the radio as I will not be replacing any of these receivers. Perhaps you can tell me where I can send them for others to enjoy. Alternatively, may I suggest that we take them all down to The Radiocommunications Agency and dump them in front of their office!
You must know that powerful forces have been at work in the industry lobbying for the commercial organisations who care little about all the people that are quite satisfied with existing radio and I am so dissapointed that WHICH? is not discouraging change to satisfy them. Lets face it all this technology will come from abroad and do little for our own people.

Governments never take any notice of what the public want so DAB will be foisted upon us anyway, I have no objection to DAB personally but I feel that when it comes to getting a conversion done, the manufacturers will rip us off big time.

Call me superficial but I am in the market to buy a secondhand car and this feature does influence me way beyond the way it should perhaps.. I am a big listener. Maybe because the alternative bolt on remedies seem very… bolt on!