Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Andy H]

I have been using a single DIN Blaupunkt DAB53 in my 1994 Omega for the last 5 years.

With a Nokia Cark91 phone interface (I fitted it 5 years ago so part no might be wrong) I have hands free phone, bluetooth or in cradle phone charging, 10CD boot changer, cd/mp3 player in head unit, memory card mp3 player, AM/FM/DAB radio. The three features that are most important to me are the phone charging, hands free and DAB radio. I don't have an interface for the MID so the radio display isn't 'integrated' but the design of the head unit (black plastic, no chrome effect bits) means it doesn't look out of place.

Do any of the integrated ICE in Omegas have DAB or scope to add DAB?

Has anyone written a guide to the capabilities of the different head units fitted to Omegas? (preferably with pictures to aid identification)

[Dave DND]

I have been using a single DIN Blaupunkt DAB53 in my 1994 Omega for the last 5 years.

With a Nokia Cark91 phone interface (I fitted it 5 years ago so part no might be wrong) I have hands free phone, bluetooth or in cradle phone charging, 10CD boot changer, cd/mp3 player in head unit, memory card mp3 player, AM/FM/DAB radio. The three features that are most important to me are the phone charging, hands free and DAB radio. I don't have an interface for the MID so the radio display isn't 'integrated' but the design of the head unit (black plastic, no chrome effect bits) means it doesn't look out of place.

Do any of the integrated ICE in Omegas have DAB or scope to add DAB?

Has anyone written a guide to the capabilities of the different head units fitted to Omegas? (preferably with pictures to aid identification)

No, and as the Omega was pretty much out of date before DAB hit the uk market properly, its unlikely to find any adaptors to integrate with an OEM head unit.

Pure Highway through an FM modulator is really only way of getting DAB into a standard Omega head unit, but not a patch on what you are currentl running

[Andy H]

Thanks Dave.
Comments I have read from people making extremely negative comments about DAB had me doubting my own experience.

[Dave DND]

Thanks Dave.
Comments I have read from people making extremely negative comments about DAB had me doubting my own experience.

most negative comments made in relation to DAB are almost always about poor reception, and 99% of those are also reluctant to fit a decent quality EXTERNAL aerial.

Those that have fitted it properly are generally pretty chuffed with it.

[amba]

What would you call a decent external aerial ? I have a highway with its own screen mounted wire aerial and its quality is very intermitent.When it works its great to get planet rock and 5 live sport,but signal is very hit,n,miss.

[Dave DND]

What would you call a decent external aerial ? I have a highway with its own screen mounted wire aerial and its quality is very intermitent.When it works its great to get planet rock and 5 live sport,but signal is very hit,n,miss.

A decent aerial is one that is designed to work with DAB equipment and is mounted to the exterior of the car by drilling a hole. Stick on internal aerials are no good. If they were, you guys wouldn`t be moaning about reception.

[Andy H]

I have had success with a glass mount aerial but I was very careful to keep well away from the heated rear screen elements.

If memory serves http://www.panorama.co.uk/uk/products/dab_glass_mount.html is were I got my aerial from.

[Kevin Wood]

Purely out of interest, Panorama's "through the bodywork" mounts work nicely as replacements for the "bee sting" mobile phone antennas which are standard fitment on the Omega. Not sure if they do a DAB antenna with the same mount...

Kevin

[Dave DND]

Purely out of interest, Panorama's "through the bodywork" mounts work nicely as replacements for the "bee sting" mobile phone antennas which are standard fitment on the Omega. Not sure if they do a DAB antenna with the same mount...

Kevin

The Pioneer DAB beesting aerial is a stunning performer, although a little on the "chunky" side visually.

[Goonybird]

I have had success with a glass mount aerial but I was very careful to keep well away from the heated rear screen elements.

If memory serves http://www.panorama.co.uk/uk/products/dab_glass_mount.html is were I got my aerial from.

My need for Dab was because it's the only way to get Planet Rock 8-).
Commented in another thread, but have fitted a Panorama glass mount aerial at the top of the rear window. The inside connector is in the space where the Brake light is, and the cable runs under the top edge of the roof lining cover down into the glove box.
Pure Highway sits in glovebox fed by a 5V usb power adaptor hard wired to the Cigar Lighter circuit.
Comes on when car started. Set to preset 10. All hidden and works seamlessly. Yes sound is not quite as good as CD/FM,
But travelled 180miles from Nothampton to Northallerton at the weekend with No signal loss or droputs. Try doing that on FM!

Stef

[Andy H]

I have had success with a glass mount aerial but I was very careful to keep well away from the heated rear screen elements.

If memory serves http://www.panorama.co.uk/uk/products/dab_glass_mount.html is were I got my aerial from.

My need for Dab was because it's the only way to get Planet Rock 8-).
Commented in another thread, but have fitted a Panorama glass mount aerial at the top of the rear window. The inside connector is in the space where the Brake light is, and the cable runs under the top edge of the roof lining cover down into the glove box.
Pure Highway sits in glovebox fed by a 5V usb power adaptor hard wired to the Cigar Lighter circuit.
Comes on when car started. Set to preset 10. All hidden and works seamlessly. Yes sound is not quite as good as CD/FM,
But travelled 180miles from Nothampton to Northallerton at the weekend with No signal loss or droputs. Try doing that on FM!

Stef

Planet Rock most of the time for me too, getting a bit bored of Alice Cooper now though

The thing that really annoyed me with FM was having to scan past 7 iterations of Radio 3 (without running off the road) & then discovering that all the local stations were transmitting drivel.

The annoying lost opportunity with DAB is that in the UK the traffic announcements (that are already being produced anyway for FM) are not being transmitted on DAB.

[Kevin Wood]

It's a shame we only get the choice between cr@p music and decent-ish sound quality (FM) and decent music with cr@p sound quality (DAB). 

Kevin

[Dave DND]

It's a shame we only get the choice between cr@p music and decent-ish sound quality (FM) and decent music with cr@p sound quality (DAB). 

Kevin

Whilst I agree with your thoughts on crap content, I cannot agree with the quality issues on DAB.

Fit a proper DAB radio and DAB aerial and sound quality is simply stunning.

 

If you use an aftermarket bolt on accessory with an aerial sellotaped to the inside of the car, and play this through an FM radio, then yes, sound quality will obviously suffer

 

[Kevin Wood]

Hmm. Have to say I haven't tried DAB in a car but through a Hi-Fi it doesn't sound that wonderful IMHO.

Not that it matters much with the amount of compression (of dynamic range) most music stations, DAB or FM, employ.

Kevin

[Andy H]

I haven't heard DAB through a HiFi setup, what were the circumstances under which you heard it?

BBC Radio 3 FM seems to be the 'gold standard' in terms of bandwidth, I don't know if Radio 3 DAB is given a comparable bit rate?

With FM it is probably difficult to squeeze a speech only channel down to a tiny bandwidth whereas with DAB the bit rate can be changed from one programme to the next.

With any digital to analogue conversion the black magic seems to be filtering out the digital artifacts. I would hope that the manufacturer of a HiFi DAB tuner would get that right.

The Blaupunkt I have been using seems excellent to me on both FM & DAB but I might not be so impressed if I were listening to it through reference speakers in a sound studio.