SWANSWAY CUPRA Dealership

Genuine Aerial needed for Dab radio?

t3rm3y

Active Member
Jun 24, 2010
53
0
Hi, my proper aerial was lost/stolen some time ago, i never got round to replacing it as listened to CDs but now am bored as i don't update them, so they are old.
I brought a cheaper aerial from amazon (Mast length - 284mm), had good reviews and although it does improve the reception, all stations are very disrupted / have a lot of noise / hissing / static etc. i do live in a rural area, but i remember the genuine aerial working ok.

(i have also put my partners VW genuine aerial in and that works as soon as i am out of the village...)

Now i am thinking of a new head unit for Christmas, and maybe a dab radio - is that pointless? or do i just need the genuine aerial for it to work?

or should i be wiring something up in the back of the headunit for better reception?

for example - when i connected the new radio all them years ago i just plugged the red and yellow wires together, there was a blue lead with the sticker attached saying "aerial" i just left that hanging down the back as there is nothing to connect it to??

Any thoughts?
 
I have read that the std base of the ariel has a booster which aftermarket headunits need to pick up radio reception,as said think this is the blue 1 but not sure where it connects

I'm sure a few ppl on here can help
 
ok, cool, hope so then, as it is quite annoying. and the more i think about it the more annoyed i get :)

maybe ill have a look at lunch to see if there is a port on the back, i havent messed with the radio in a long time.
i am not sure if normal but on mine i remember having to plug the yellow wire from car into the red socket on radio, and red to yellow. very weird
 
Right on most vags, you will need what is known as a signal booster (can be pick up from halfords). All this does is attach between your standered fm aerial and the aftermarket headunit. The blue wire that comes off the signal booster then needs attaching to the solid blue wire coming from the headunit (this provides a 12v feed to the booster).

This will only improve fm, am, mw and lw radio not dab as dab is seperate.

The red and yellow wires are for perminate and swicthed live. Get a volt meter and test them to see what wire has a constant 12v. This wire needs attaching to the yellow wire coming from the headunit. This is to ensure that the memory saves. The red wire is to insure that the stereo turns on when the ignition is swtiched on.
 
You will need a dedicated aerial for DAB reception. JVC do a really good one for about £60, which incorporates FM and AM as well. Your fm reception will be about as good as it can be if you install it
 
mk1cupradave said:
Right on most vags, you will need what is known as a signal booster (can be pick up from halfords). All this does is attach between your standered fm aerial and the aftermarket headunit. The blue wire that comes off the signal booster then needs attaching to the solid blue wire coming from the headunit (this provides a 12v feed to the booster).

This will only improve fm, am, mw and lw radio not dab as dab is seperate.

The red and yellow wires are for perminate and swicthed live. Get a volt meter and test them to see what wire has a constant 12v. This wire needs attaching to the yellow wire coming from the headunit. This is to ensure that the memory saves. The red wire is to insure that the stereo turns on when the ignition is swtiched on.
Click to expand...

How do you attach the wires? just twist the together or does it have some form of grip and plug the aerial into it?
i went into halfords but was told they dont stock it and will have to order one in for £17, can they be brought anywhere? was hoping to sort over weekend during daylight hours.
 
goto http://www.dabonwheels.co.uk/

I bought an aerial booster and I have to say, I was disapointed. If I were you, I'd buy a proper dedicated DAB aerial (there is a Kinetic one on that website for reasonable money). DAB is not easy to pick up. I found the booster worked for a bit but quickly deteriorated
 
cheers mark i think i will just stick to a standard aerial. just need to get the booster fitted and test it works.
i have ordered the one as per nd-photo.nl - how is it connected? i have a metal cylinder wit ha black wire which has a metal pin connection, and a blue wire with a grip on the end ... do i plug the light blue wire from the head unit (with aerial written on it) into this blue wire? or into the end of the cylinder?
 
Last edited:
nd-photo.nl said:
I plugged the blue wire (needs 12v) in the switched 12v on the back of the radio (red or yellow wire)
Click to expand...

ok, how do i know which one? and where do i plug the blue aerial wire from the head unit?

plus the booster thing has a piece of metal on the end that i assume grips another wire - did you remove this or just grip the red or yellow wire with it?
 
get a volt meter and test which wire gets 12v with the ignition off. If the yellow wire has 12v then thats the constant live. This will mean the red one is the switched live. The blue wire coming from the back of the headunit it the correct one to use as this is designed for the aerial. Have a look on the headunit and it will have a diagramme saying what wire does what. Like said above you can just attach the blue wire to the switched live.

The metal bit just cut off, then strip and crimp.
 
thanks, im getting there, just annoying that have to wait till weekend to do this stuff.

just so i am clear - the booster is a cylindrical shaft of metal (with a hole in one end) then there is a black wire with a "pin?" on the end and a blue wire with a grip on the end.

so i cut the grip off and strip the insulation then connect this to the switched live.

where do i plug the black wire with the pin? (that's part of the booster)

and where does the aerial wire from the headunit plug into? (this will also need the insulation stripping)

sorry i am not an electrician, just want to make sure everything is correct and plugged together the right way.
all of this is then going to hang down the back of the dash board behind the radio?

i had a quick look on the headunit but didnt see a diagram
 
You're making it harder than it is!

5-10mins work tops

-Car antenna connector > booster antenna input > radio antenna input
-Booster blue wire > radio blue wire or 12v switched (red or yellow)
 
Last edited:
thank you nd-photo.
i think i have it now. the "booster antenna input > radio antenna input" seems too large to fit into the hole thouhg, do i use some force? forgive my ignorance, i just dont want to push it in and find out its wrong / break something and have no radio or cd ability.

i have attached a pic to confirm all is correct:
aerial.jpg

Car antenna connector > booster antenna input
Booster blue wire > radio blue wire (labelled aerial)

the booster in is a thick bugger though and a pushed fairly sternly but it does not go in...
 
t3rm3y said:
thank you nd-photo.
i think i have it now. the "booster antenna input > radio antenna input" seems too large to fit into the hole thouhg, do i use some force? forgive my ignorance, i just dont want to push it in and find out its wrong / break something and have no radio or cd ability.

i have attached a pic to confirm all is correct:
aerial.jpg

Car antenna connector > booster antenna input
Booster blue wire > radio blue wire (labelled aerial)

the booster in is a thick bugger though and a pushed fairly sternly but it does not go in...
Click to expand...

Make sure you tape that blue wire up tho or use crimps! Lol
 
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