Poor radio signal

[Phooey]

Hi guys, I live in South Wales and accept that my radio will likely be receiving a weaker signal due to the hills and valleys.  But, I cannot get DAB at all and FM is intermittent to say the least.  Is there anything I can do or get to boost the signal or is as good as it is going to get? I have the standard radio as supplied with the is300h executive model.

[wharfhouse]

2 minutes ago, Phooey said:

Hi guys, I live in South Wales and accept that my radio will likely be receiving a weaker signal due to the hills and valleys.  But, I cannot get DAB at all and FM is intermittent to say the least.  Is there anything I can do or get to boost the signal or is as good as it is going to get? I have the standard radio as supplied with the is300h executive model.

I have the Executive trim too. I've driven all over the country including South Wales and in general found FM ok other the deep valleys, but generally that's the same with all cars. However DAB can be hit and miss. If you listen to the main BBC Radio channels they are on a National DAB Ensemble and tend to be better to pick up and you can also use FM Link with these so if the DAB signal is lost it switches to FM seamlessly and back to DAB when the DAB signal is strong enough again. Probably worth going somewhere where you know there will be a good signal and scan for DAB channels there first to make sure DAB is working properly. 

[Phooey]

Thanks Phil, I work in Bristol and can get the BBC channels ( BBC 2 and BBC 4) but as soon as I get back to Wales DAB is lost.  FM is OK till I get home (Pontnewynydd near Pontypool) then in and out.  Maybe something wrong with my receiver! Although I've had the car for about three years and it has always been the same 

[wharfhouse]

14 minutes ago, Phooey said:

Thanks Phil, I work in Bristol and can get the BBC channels ( BBC 2 and BBC 4) but as soon as I get back to Wales DAB is lost.  FM is OK till I get home (Pontnewynydd near Pontypool) then in and out.  Maybe something wrong with my receiver! Although I've had the car for about three years and it has always been the same 

I go to Bridgend a couple of times a year (from Berkshire) and from what I recall I found DAB reasonably ok on the M4 for Radio 2 in Wales - some switching to FM Link in the big dips but nothing out of the ordinary. As I'm not in South Wales for any length of time though I just use Radio 2 DAB/FM there rather than local channels. Up from the M4 to Pontnewynydd I would have thought DAB will struggle the further up the valley you get. However I would have expected FM to still work OK for much of journey on the main road up to there (it does for me in the valleys above Bridgend). Maybe some others in Wales may be able to add more local knowledge. 

[rayaans]

Have you got a dashcam?

[Phooey]

46 minutes ago, rayaans said:

Have you got a dashcam?

Yes!

[Notamech]

In my experience the antenas being built into the rear windscreen doesn't work well. Even in London i have found my FM reception to be spotty. And im sure its just this car because its much better on the wifes jazz and has never been spotty on my previous cars.

[wharfhouse]

7 hours ago, Notamech said:

In my experience the antenas being built into the rear windscreen doesn't work well. Even in London i have found my FM reception to be spotty. And im sure its just this car because its much better on the wifes jazz and has never been spotty on my previous cars.

That's strange - I never have any issue with FM - at least for BBC R2 which I tend to listen to most when driving around the country. DAB is a little more limited but on R2 it seamlessly switches to FM as needed and I don't remember the last time I lost the FM completely despite driving all over the country. Have to be in some deep valleys in the mountains to lose it. I listen to Greatest Hits Radio as well locally around the south of England on DAB and have to move between Berks and South channels for that by having two presets, but that's due to the way DAB works (no FM Link for Greatest Hits as it's localised stations) but DAB is stable within it's transmission area and only starts to drop out near the edge of the area. The comment above about dash cams may be relevant though as I remember reading something about those interfering with the radio reception in some cases. Many years ago I had a BMW with a rear screen aerial and had a car phone fitted with the aerial on the rear screen and that caused FM radio issues - they had to move the aerial to the front screen to stop the problem.

[rayaans]

11 hours ago, Phooey said:

Yes!

I'd try unplugging the dashcam or turning it off first. Nextbase in particular have caused issues with radio signals

[Phooey]

1 hour ago, rayaans said:

I'd try unplugging the dashcam or turning it off first. Nextbase in particular have caused issues with radio signals

It is a Nextbase too.  Front and rear. 😞 

[Notamech]

2 hours ago, wharfhouse said:

That's strange - I never have any issue with FM - at least for BBC R2 which I tend to listen to most when driving around the country. DAB is a little more limited but on R2 it seamlessly switches to FM as needed and I don't remember the last time I lost the FM completely despite driving all over the country. Have to be in some deep valleys in the mountains to lose it. I listen to Greatest Hits Radio as well locally around the south of England on DAB and have to move between Berks and South channels for that by having two presets, but that's due to the way DAB works (no FM Link for Greatest Hits as it's localised stations) but DAB is stable within it's transmission area and only starts to drop out near the edge of the area. The comment above about dash cams may be relevant though as I remember reading something about those interfering with the radio reception in some cases. Many years ago I had a BMW with a rear screen aerial and had a car phone fitted with the aerial on the rear screen and that caused FM radio issues - they had to move the aerial to the front screen to stop the problem.

Yeah not sure why that is. Like you say it could be the dashcam. I never use DAB as i couldn't figure it out. I know theres a post somewhere on this forum on how to set it up. Il take a look one of these days. But i feel like DAB uses a different antenna and not the in glass one so might probably be a bit better.

Most of the time i just use Bluetooth with spotify so not an issue...but the few times i have used fm it hasnt been great in the city. But on motorways its fine. Likely due to less buildings and a stronger signal.

[rayaans]

8 hours ago, Phooey said:

It is a Nextbase too.  Front and rear. 😞 

Turn it off. Well known to cause issues with radio across other brands. See if it makes a difference

[Phooey]

10 minutes ago, rayaans said:

Turn it off. Well known to cause issues with radio across other brands. See if it makes a difference

Any suggestions for resolving if it is the dashcam?  Obviously not wanting to spend £300 on a cam setup and then not use it for the sake of a better radio signal. lol.

[wharfhouse]

5 minutes ago, Phooey said:

Any suggestions for resolving if it is the dashcam?  Obviously not wanting to spend £300 on a cam setup and then not use it for the sake of a better radio signal. lol.

Could be the position of the rear cam - is it possible to move it to another position and see if that improves it. 

[Phooey]

lol ... no idea what you have just said, Phil but I will investigate.  Thanks.  

[rayaans]

19 minutes ago, Phooey said:

Any suggestions for resolving if it is the dashcam?  Obviously not wanting to spend £300 on a cam setup and then not use it for the sake of a better radio signal. lol.

I'd unplug the rear cam first and see if that helps. If it is - just remove it. 

If not then unplug both and see if it's helping. At that point you have a choice to either forget about the radio and continue using the dashcam, try one of those magnet things you can attach to the cord or unplug the dashcam completely 

[Phooey]

21 minutes ago, wharfhouse said:

Could be the position of the rear cam - is it possible to move it to another position and see if that improves it. 

Re-read your reply and it makes sense now ... lol.  Long day. 🙂