DAB radio that plugs into cig lighter/aux help/recommendations

Are they all created equal?

Do I need an additional aerial

Ideally I want a cheap one, low on features with aerial/great signal to plug into the aux on my stereo.

i was after exactly the same thing and found dabonwheels to be great to deal with.

they let you test products with a no quibble returns policy if it doesnt work, and were good at answering my questions by email. i tried glass mounted aerials but they werent good enough, and in the end i plumped for a little ‘clarity’ dab unit which plugs into my aux, then i trail a 5m magnetic aerial lead to the aerial which i keep on the hatch.

this is far tidier than seeing a lead coming out the top of a door and to the middle of the roof.

unfortunately it looks like they dont sell the clarity unit any more, but theres still a few options on that site. think i spent about £70 all in and worth every penny to listen to 6 music every day 😀

6 music is the only channel that I want this for 8)

I’m very impressed with the PURE highway I have. Occasionally looses signal near pylons but very rarely.

I use a sonichi gizmo from halfords, works a treat

On these ^ do I need to buy an aerial ontop?

I’ve got the Sonichi one too. Yes you need an extra aeriel. Mine’s clamped to the inside of my van high up where it works fine 99% of the time. The tiny co-ax plug into unit isn’t very secure, when it occasionally falls out the signal reduces by 50 to 70% I reckon.

It doesn’t plug into the Aux, you tune one of your radio presets to it, which works very well. And can I also recommend,

Radio 4
XFM
Some of the Absolute stations.

for those times when 6 Music is a bit shit. Mainly when Mary Anne Hobbs is on.

edit – Just remembered, the most annoying thing about mine is the ugly and bulky suction mount cradle that comes with it. I’d like to try and find a different way to mount it and that would put me off buying another.

this ones mine. itll either tune into a radio preset, or work standalone when you press aux. but its noticeably louder as an aux output than preset radio.

out of stock at dabonwheels, but may be found elsewhere possibly?

Sadexpunk off on a tangent but theres a full unit/aerial here. I could stick my nearly new Pioneer normal one on fleabay

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111237812078

This looks ok? Costwise I might as well just do the h/unit and avoid clutter

I got this:
http://www.ijtdirect.co.uk/dab2/
Powered by a USB lead into lighter socket with double USB (leaving one free).
Audio into aux in.
The unit remains on 6music so is under seat.
It comes with an internal windscreen aerial.
Sorted.

This looks ok? Costwise I might as well just do the h/unit and avoid clutter

yeah, if you can be bothered to change the lot, itll look neater. id be lost trying to change a radio over these days, far too much faff in these new fangled cars with them all connected to the info systems on the dash etc. now if it was an old morris marina or something id have a bash 😀

The unit remains on 6music so is under seat.

yeah, mine just stays 6 music, and is in my armrest cubbyhole (octavia). when cerys, craig charles or gilles peterson are on tho, ill quickly change it over to absolute 90s 🙂

Do you have a smart phone? I nearly got a DAB for the car but in the end I just got a 3.5mm lead from my iphone into the stereo and use the iplayer app. Works like a charm

i tried the phone app route too, but poor data streaming meant it was always freezing due to no buffer.

I changed the head unit and all speakers myself. Nay botha 😀

I’ve got a 12/240V inverter which plugs into the lighter. I have a bog standard DAB radio in the garage, 3 pin mains. I just plug this into the inverter and drive around with it on the passenger seat, works fine. Last time I looked proper car DABs were really expensive.

keep an eye on your local halfords, i just scored an ex display philips dab with a autoleads powered aeriel thrown in for 30quid.

try ‘tune in radio’ for listening via your phone on the move. you can set the buffer amount. i just set it on max, and find it drops only occasionally when i’m legging it around the country.

it was tune-in that i used, maximum buffer. mine was rubbish tho 🙂

I bought a Pioneer DEH-6600. It makes me grin 😀