DAB Radio Purchase and Fitting

[pw8757]

Hi Folks (and a Happy New Year to all)

I recently wanted to change the audio system in my Discovery and wanted to take advantage of DAB Radio as well as Bluetooth for hands free telephony.

The local Halfords were fairly competitive on price, but actively advised me against DAB in-car radio because "the coverage isn't good enough".

Actually this was code for "We only sell glass-mounted Ariels for DAB reception which are nearly useless"

It turns out that the reason Halfords (and other ICE sales outlets) aren't keen on DAB is they offer a fitting service which extends to unplugging the existing system and plugging in the new head unit. They don't like the drilling/carpets out/new Ariel route.

After a fair bit of Googling I found the excellent DAB On Wheels website, where I found a whole load of technical advice and very competitive pricing, combined with a first rate delivery service.

Having fitted the new system (for about £100 saving on the Halfords offer), I can say that whilst it is a chore to take out all the carpets and seats to run the Ariel cable neatly from front to rear, (not to mention the apprehension I felt when drilling a hole in the roof!!) going for DAB was well worth the extra effort, especially as I am a Radio Five Live addict.

If anyone wants to pick my brain for the finer details of the fit, please don't hesitate to use PM. However, my best tip would be - don't buy old technology - go for Digital and hear the difference!