Install a DAB Windscreen Aerial

In this video we install a DAB windscreen aerial in a car. These aerials are reasonably cheap and easy to install.
See the full instructions and links to buy here:
www.digitalradiochoice.com/ca...
Check your DAB coverage with a postcode checker here:
getdigitalradio.com
Seen in this video:
Autoleads DAB Film Antenna SMB - DAB-AA1
Sonichi S100 DAB Adapter
Vauxhall Corsa C 2006
Music:
Sunrise Drive by South London HiFi (KZbin Music Library)

[@mythologicalwarrior4511]

Still good today. Nice upload. Very helpful, easy to understand even for someone who's not installed one before. Thanks 👍

[@chrissdavey]

Thanks, this was very helpful and clear. My aerial came with pictures, but I didn’t realise it needed to be earthed through the metal body of the car.

[@killaquito]

Great video, the aerial I purchased didn't come with instructions, this was a great help thanks!

[@topfuelteddy]

Just fitted a pure DAB Ariel and the reception isn't that steady , do you know if they can be fitted to close to the wires in the A pillar that might cause interference ?

[@GARAGESXERO]

Very helpful as I’ve bought a 2nd hand radio and thought the black wire was an earth not positive and didn’t realise the copper strip stuck to metal frame behind a pillar 🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️

[@Phillcymru]

I have the same antenna as you, I'm connecting it to my in car dab stereo, do I need to connect the second wire ? If so, connect it to what?

[@edwardmcallister5681]

Perfect, many thanks

[@TheShotsboy123]

Would this be suitable to be plugged into a head unit? Looking at getting the XAV-AX1005DB DAB Receiver for a 2011 Corsa?

[@thehollis91]

Clear and concise tutorial. Thanks.

[@louisebastard2091]

excellent video

[@davidjames9069]

Good video..I got one with no instructions. You just summed it up easily :)

[@Ishaan243]

Hey thank you for the video, if you have time can you check and tell if the dab+ radio can be connected to sony dsx a410bt

[@RustyBlades]

Can it make a difference to the signal if the window isn’t clean?

[@alwishy2696]

Great video bud

[@liamuk6417]

Hi thanks for the video I have a sony dab sterio would I need to run a 12volt feed to it? Appreciate the help

[@Rosbergen80]

no

[@RNB1]

My original windscreen was changed for an after market one. The original one had the radio antenna film stuck around the bottom. Can the DAB work for me? I have 3 wires which connected to the original one. Thanks

[@johnbrassington870]

HI There, Great video. I intended installing a Pioneer DMH-A340DAB and Pioneer glass mount Ariel tomorrow to my ford Cmax. What do i connect the antenna power to , just a 12v switched power supply, of is there a specific wire on the ISO harness for power this? I look forward to your reply. (like powered antenna lead). Thank you 🙂

[@90s_HipHop]

Great video thanks. Can you mount these antenna's horizontally?

[@digitalradiochoice7157]

Thanks for the comment - I apologise for the late reply. The instructions for this aerial don't mention whether it can be mounted horizontally or not, but as DAB transmissions in the UK are vertically polarised I would mount the antenna vertically.

[@mooghead]

Cheers for this, followed what you did and fitted my aerial no bother :-)

[@brunteniklasson]

Does it matter which side of the wind screen it's mounted? Must the end of the aerial point upvards? Thanks for a good video!

[@digitalradiochoice7157]

Thanks for the comment - apologies for the late reply. It's normally recommended that the aerial is installed on the passenger side so it doesn't interfere with the driver's vision. Depending on the instructions (e.g. if written for a left hand drive car but installing in the UK or vice versa) it might look like the aerial is upside down by doing this because the grounding part needs to attach to the A-pillar, but this should be OK. The aerial should be installed vertically and not horizontally (e.g. not across the top of the windscreen or behind the mirror).

[@patrickparker8417]

I have a Volvo s80 which had a windscreen aerial put on it for my new kenwood dab radio , its reception is dire , the copper strip tore off , I will have to get another one and sand the lip of the pillar to bare metal to see if I can get a better reception , there is no aerials on them vehicles as far as I can see so this is going to be hard work [ so it seems ] , any suggestions ?

[@digitalradiochoice7157]

Do you know the model/brand of the aerial which was fitted, or if it came with the radio or was supplied separately? If it's an active/amplified aerial it's worth double checking that the power option on the DAB radio is set correctly. This might be called 'DAB ANT POWER' in the tuner settings on Kenwood radios. The aerial supplied with some Kenwood radios looks like it comes in two parts. There could be a bad connection between the film antenna and the amplifier unit, which would affect reception. It looks like the Volvo S80 does not have an aerial which would be compatible with a convertor/splitter, so a DAB antenna will be needed. If the S80 has a heated windscreen this could also affect performance. There should be a gap between the top of the windscreen and the DAB aerial - Kenwood recommend 150mm for their own antenna. Accessories plugged into the 12V socket, such as 12V USB adapters, phone chargers, dash cams, etc can cause interference, so it would be worth unplugging anything like that and see if it makes a difference.

[@Turak_64]

Following this guide, I was able to install the attena on the rear side window so it doesn't appear on the front windscreen (which looks a bit ugly imo). As my pinoeer head unit has power for the attena, I didn't need a seperate power cable or ground. Made it very easy to do, but I did forget to clean the window first... Oops. Seems OK so far though

[@jackyattack6395]

How to fit one of them in astra j

[@lamondaforestry]

Hi, nice video. Do you know if it's possible to have both traditional fm and dab radio? Do you have to choose one? I live in a country that is currently using fm and will move on some years to dab radio, so I'm wondering what I should get. Thank you.

[@oolivero45]

You should find that most DAB-capable car stereos will also support FM radio too - but it'll be through a separate antenna (the one built into your car), which connects through a different connector on the back of the stereo.

[@shonky5948]

Easy if you follow the instructions on this

[@Tintoycar]

Why can't you use the existing antenna cable? (I don't need FM)

[@Ukuleleal]

Just had a Dab aerial fitted to my van and five days later I've just had a stone smash my windscreen. Do you know if I need to get a new aerial or can I reuse the existing one?

[@digitalradiochoice7157]

It might be possible to remove the aerial, but there may not be enough adhesive to keep it fitted on the new windscreen. If the aerial is similar to the one in the video you could buy one in Halfords for £20 - they also have a fitting service for an extra fee. If the DAB radio is a Pure Highway adapter you could buy a new aerial pack from Pure for £14.99. The Pure antenna is separate from the cable so should be easier to replace.

[@Ukuleleal]

@@digitalradiochoice7157 Cheers. Thanks for the speedy reply. :)

[@patrickparker8417]

@@Ukuleleal Stick more glue on it or put very thin double sided tape on it .

[@lauwe54]

thank you so very much,problem solved

[@courageous101]

What would happen if its not grounded

[@JordiHermsen96]

I have a kenwood radio with kenwood dab antenna this works fine. I recently installed a kenwood dab antenna with alpine radio, this doesnt work i have really bad reception. I installed it the same way. Is a dab antenna universal or would it help to buy an alpine antenna?

[@digitalradiochoice7157]

If the Kenwood antenna has a built-in amplifier (it might have been called an 'active antenna') it could be that the Kenwood stereo was providing power but the Alpine stereo isn't. In the Alpine stereo there should be a setting for something like ANT-POWER. Do you know the model numbers for the antenna and stereo?

[@JordiHermsen96]

@@digitalradiochoice7157 kenwood cx-dab1 on an alpine ilx 702d. I already activated the 'active antenna' mode, but it doesnt make a difference. I scratched paint to stick the connector from the antenna on bare metal

[@JordiHermsen96]

@@digitalradiochoice7157 i did something dumb. I forgot to remove the plastic strip of the adhesive tape, so the metal part of the dab antenna couldnt touch the window antenna. I fixed it and the kenwood works perfect now

[@michael6692]

ARE THESE OK FOR THE UK MOT

[@digitalradiochoice7157]

The GOV.UK website has information about items stuck to the windscreen and the zones of the windscreen / dimensions of items: www.gov.uk/government/publications/stickers-or-other-items-in-front-and-rear-windscreens/view-to-the-front-and-windscreen-obscuration and www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspection-manual-for-private-passenger-and-light-commercial-vehicles/3-visibility. On this car the antenna was outside of the swept area and didn't affect the view of the road, but you could check those pages to be sure for your own installation.

[@gismothecat1]

my dab antenna has two wires

[@jindarmaou3246]

هل يمكنني حصول على تطبيق APK لانني فقدتها

[@davesmith4804]

Good job, but why didn't you put the aerial up as close to the top of the A pillar as you can, that way it would not be in the passenger's field of view ... I would have put it so the antenna bit is about 1 inch from the top

[@digitalradiochoice7157]

Thanks for the comment. I've checked the instructions for this Autoleads antenna and it said to leave a 15cm gap at the top and a 5.5cm gap to the left. Some antenna instructions also mention to leave a small gap below the UV band at the top of the windscreen.

[@davesmith4804]

@@digitalradiochoice7157 Maybe so mate, but I have seen others put it about an inch or so from the top and have no problems at all with getting the stations, it's like the instructions say put the GPS antenna on a flat surface on top of the dash, I have mine like most in the A-pillar right near the headlining and have no problems, just saying like : )

[@dylandickie2013]

@@davesmith4804 Usually the instructions give you it in a "this is the best chance of getting the best signal in the worst conditions" kind of way, so whoever has bought it is less likely to say "this doesn't work, I'm taking it back". My seller told me something about installing it directly on to the A-Frame metalwork, which I've yet to do, but would like for the sake of having it nice and hidden away.

[@abiandem1]

Have you had experience in fitting dab aerials to a motorhome as I've heard the overcab luton can affect reception?

[@fenphotographystudio5322]

i just fitted similar to my talbot camper and getting no signal :( not sure if its a windscreen issue

[@digitalradiochoice7157]

Thank you for the comment. I'm afraid I haven't had experience fitting an aerial in a motorhome. I think the 'dabonwheels' shop online offers a 45-day buy and try option and the details on the website mention temporarily fixing a windscreen aerial with sticky tape, so this could be an option worth exploring to see if it will work in your vehicle. You may wish to contact them first before buying. I have seen motorhomes with an aerial on the front wing. If you have one and this is not amplified you could look into using an FM/DAB convertor instead, or replacing it with a new DAB/FM wing mounted aerial. The aerial manufacturer CALEARO has a page on their website with aerials for Recreational Vehicles, including some for DAB, which might be worth exploring. Again I would contact them or the seller to ask about suitability for your particular vehicle.

[@kingsley205]

what 1990s looking Radio......

[@waynegriffiths5143]

Don’t even waste your time, instead invest in a decen roof antenna for rock solid results. Windscreen antennas are dreadful.

[@Wazza722]

These antennas suck! There a obstruction for the passenger and what if you break a windscreen!

[@rdrgtreer]

Digital radio is terrible

[@jasonbrowne7057]

Don't waste your time or money on these windscreen DAB antennas, they are absolute garbage.

[@dwcuz5946]

I’ve got one on my car, and my DAB keeps cutting out, is this the same issue you have