ianmayco68 Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 Hi all , I’ve done lots of reading of threads about this as there’s been many about it but none answer my particular question. I’ve got a glass mounted aerial fitted and as all have found they’re PANTS , so I know roof mounted ones are the best but I’m fitting a roof rack shortly so has anyone found a good dab aerial that you can mount to the rear back end of the roof ? Or has anyone found a good wing mounted one ? Or is there a way of using another aerial , say a cb aerial and making that work and still get good reception? Any help much appreciated as there seems to be lots of conflicting views out there cheers Ian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynic-al Posted December 15, 2019 Share Posted December 15, 2019 The best dab aerials I've retrofitted are the ones like the old mobile phone aerials, there is half stuck on the inside and half stuck on the outside of the glass with a short aerial sticking up. They usually need grounding by sticking a tab to the bodywork. I've never found the ones that just stick on the inside of the glass to be as good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianmayco68 Posted December 15, 2019 Author Share Posted December 15, 2019 No the one I’ve got fitted is rubbish , can’t fit one of those as only glass I’ve got is on the doors and windscreen so was looking for one that I could fit to the back on the roof just above the rear door or a wing mounted one . I’ve found Nakatanenga do a wing mounted one it’s £70 but I’ve read good reports about them on another forum while I was searching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynic-al Posted December 16, 2019 Share Posted December 16, 2019 The stock one in my VW is in the wing mirror and it isn't as good as the one I retro fitted to the Isuzus windscreen. The only other ones I've been recommended are the shark fin ones but I guess that doesn't suit your application. They do seem temperamental. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianmayco68 Posted December 16, 2019 Author Share Posted December 16, 2019 Yes it seems they’re very hit and miss with the reception. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianmayco68 Posted December 16, 2019 Author Share Posted December 16, 2019 Do people think a shark fin type aerial would work fitted to the back vertical bit of the roof ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaklander Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 I imagine that a shark fin needs some sort of RF amplifier. I don't know how the fin is constructed but they are quite small and can't be much in there in terms of the element length, even for 125MHz or whatever it is (~1m wavelength). Cars probably have an amplifier in the back wing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 These are certainly amplified: https://www.dabonwheels.co.uk/product/sharkfin-dab-fm-car-aerial/ I'm not sure how they really manage it in such a small package, as you say, the element needs to be ~40cm for even quarter wave. I suspect performance will suffer.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaklander Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 That's nice. Pricey but nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 Yup, DAB just doesn't seem to have come down in price like I would have expected, I think it is something to do with the technology licencing, or something else legal. Who benefits? Well not us..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianmayco68 Posted December 17, 2019 Author Share Posted December 17, 2019 Do you think they work similar to how the cb aerials work with the element coiled up ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaklander Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 CB is at 27MHz so around 10m wavelength which at quarter wave is 2.5m If the whole length of a CB aerial, including that coil, is about that then that's why those look like that as they'd be too long as a straight whip. However I have no idea how the shark fin is constructed and how it can provide omni-directional reception without compensating by boosting the signal with an RF amplifier. Also I imagine that there's a lot of variation in RF sensitivity between different DAB radio units. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynic-al Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 From the above website these are the sort that have worked well for me on the front screen https://www.dabonwheels.co.uk/product-category/dab-car-aerials/external-glass-mount-aerials/ I wonder if one of these would work for you near the rear door or bonnet? Mines in the wing mirror so I guess the bodywork doesn't get in the way too much? https://www.dabonwheels.co.uk/product-category/dab-car-aerials/wing-and-pillar-mount-aerials/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianmayco68 Posted December 17, 2019 Author Share Posted December 17, 2019 Nice one Cynic-al , that pillar mount one looks ideal to work on the rear of the roof was looking at that site but missed those , do you have idea from the list which splitter works best ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynic-al Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 Re reading it it appears that that is an FM aerial rather than a DAB aerial specifically which is why you need the splitter. I've always had a dedicated aerial for DAB and the stock car one for FM so never needed to split it. In that case I wonder how good the aerial performs? They give it a good rating but I've never done it that way 🤷♂️ These seem to be the dedicated DAB aerials https://www.dabonwheels.co.uk/product-category/dab-car-aerials/body-mount-aerials/ The JVC one seems to be straight whilst the Kinetic one seems to be adjustable mounting angle. This one seems to get a better reception rating. https://www.dabonwheels.co.uk/product/kinetic-dra-6001-dab-dab-fm-sw-mw-lw-car-aerial-3/ Might be worth giving them (or someone else) a call before you order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianmayco68 Posted December 19, 2019 Author Share Posted December 19, 2019 Cheers Cynic-al I’d looked at those , but I brought the one from above with the splitter it arrived today , I’ll be fitting it over Christmas so when I’ve used it for a bit I’ll post up how I get on with it and what the reception is like , at £28 thought it was worth a punt . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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