Hi all.
Has anyone tried using the rear window antenna as a DAB+ antenna? Obviously it would need to use an SMB adaptor for the plug, but is the antenna itself able to pick up DAB+ frequencies?

I thought DAB+ was/is a Gimmick so I have not bothered

will be interested to hear though

DAB+ is great if you're in metro areas..

The rear antenna may be able to.. I haven't had much of a play with it.. I'll pull one off a wreck and test it out..

SuFz

Should be fine so long as you don't turn on the demister.

Should be fine so long as you don't turn on the demister.

The demister doesn't cause an issue with FM reception, are you saying that it would cause an issue with DAB+ reception?

DAB+ is great if you're in metro areas..

The rear antenna may be able to.. I haven't had much of a play with it.. I'll pull one off a wreck and test it out..

SuFz

Much appreciated... I don't have a DAB receiver OR the SMB-Motorola adaptor at this point so would be great to know if it will work before I start.

The demister doesn't cause an issue with FM reception, are you saying that it would cause an issue with DAB+ reception?

Well, whenever I turn my demister on my FM reception is terrible. Must be a separate issue. :redface:

Well, whenever I turn my demister on my FM reception is terrible. Must be a separate issue. :redface:

Mine does the same thing, goes fuzzy when its on, i usually switch to either cd1 or cd2 when i need it on. just easier.

380 Aerial didnt work as well as thought - May have been my dodgy adaptor, but it seemed to constantly drop in and out, where as my little Pure Highway in the car with the flimsy aerial was working a treat!

If I get myself another few adapters I'll have a play again.

SuFz

I bought an Orion AVR6.1, waiting for it to come in. Will see how the window aerial fares with this one.

Just a thought but: I remember reading somewhere that DAB+ uses a higher bandwidth frequency similar to the sort you find with TV broadcasts. I'm fairly sure there are design differences between the two types of antenna's, one being optimized for AM/FM signals and the other for DAB+. Which is probably why the small antenna works better than the 380's Arial.

As I recall, digital radio in Australia is using spectrum around 200MHz (FM radio is 88-108MHz) in a gap between TV channels 9 & 10.

Does the 380 onglass antenna have an amplifier, IIRC it just might, I wonder if disconnecting it from the OEM head unit disables the amp, this would also explain my crap FM reception.

Does the 380 onglass antenna have an amplifier, IIRC it just might, I wonder if disconnecting it from the OEM head unit disables the amp, this would also explain my crap FM reception.

Marty I was checking this out yesterday & yes the AM & FM screen antennas go into an amp which has a single wire from the headunit presumably to power it? I learnt few things yesterday about what creates the comm error too, it wasn't the wiring I thought.

Nice info there Fooz, Thank you very much. Now we need to know how much power to send to it.

Nice info there Fooz, Thank you very much. Now we need to know how much power to send to it.

Yep was gonna look into that today but I left my multimeter on a job Friday. Other question is does this power get switched to it only when the radios on because it originates from the headunit?

You're thinking what I'm thinking.
I'd bet it cuts the power.

You're thinking what I'm thinking.
I'd bet it cuts the power.

Hmmm gonna have to solve this coz I'm determined to have no comm error & functional antenna with the new headunit.

Well if you do Fooz You will be awarded 1000 Internetz!

Why thankyou Mr Googlezoid ;)

FYI, I hooked up my Orion AVR6.1 tonight using the window antenna and not powering the antenna amplifier (pin 3 in the 14-pin connector) and I get DAB+ signals fine in my driveway. Time will tell how well it works elsewhere, but I am optimistic at this stage :)
Am also interested in getting rid of the Com Error now, I started a new thread asking about it :)

I looked into this also & there is no voltage or ground on the amp cable & even with the wire unplugged behind the head unit the radio still works fine ..... bit of a mystery what that actually does.