Looking to upgrade head unit for a DAB-capable model

glitch · 1 Mar 2013 at 13:31

I'm considering upgrading the head unit in my '03 Focus and the appeal of having DAB in-car is tempting me - Is retro-fitting DAB in this way likely to cause anything other than grief?

The reason I ask is that I've seen varying reports of the effectiveness of in-car DAB and while I'd really like to be able to get 6 Music in the car, as well as listen to the cricket without interruptions, I'd really rather not go to the expense and bother of doing so if it's going to be rubbish.

And having done a tiny bit of research about DAB, the Alpine CDE-136BT has cropped up on my radar as a head unit that would seem to cover all the bases. It's DAB, seems to allow you to fully control an iPod from the head unit, is fully Bluetoothed and even had a CD slot for those 'haven't bothered to put it on the iPod yet' moments.

Assuming DAB is even worth bothering with, would the Alpine be a good choice? And if not, is there another head unit which would be?

glitch · 1 Mar 2013 at 14:16

rodenal said:
How much you enjoy it will be massively restricted by the signal in your area. If your FM reception is dodgy then you are unlikely to have any luck with it.

Sorry, not sure I quite understand you there.

Do you mean FM reception for the stations I want to listen to on DAB or FM reception in general?

glitch · 2 Mar 2013 at 13:56

breadfish said:
I bought a DAB radio for my 52-plate Focus back in 2011 and I've been nothing but pleased with it. Mine is a Kenwood KDC-DAB4551U and I'm using one of these:

http://www.dynamicsounds.co.uk/autoleads-pc6536-dab-aerial-splitter-p-11422.html

Very interesting - a much neater solution than the ones you stick on to glass!

Where are you pulling the +12 volt feed from? Was that a relatively simple task to accomplish?

glitch · 2 Mar 2013 at 20:06

Sounds deceptively simple - will have to study the wiring diagram for the Alpine to see what's there. Is it likely to be part of the ISO block or a cable connector of some sort?

In the unlikely event of there not being something suitable, or the more likely event of me dong something stupid, how achievable is it to route a +12v feed for the aerial from another source?

And lastly, are there any recommendations for cabling to get the stereo working with the existing wiring and the steering controls? It seems there's two choices open to me: Autoleads and Connects2.

Autoleads seems to require the PC99-X07 harness and PC99-ALP stalk adapter where Connects2 seems to require the CTSFO001 and an un-numbered Alpine Adapter.

Much of a muchness or is one brand preferable to the other?

glitch · 3 Mar 2013 at 18:59

MatteH Oxford said:
Just tap into the switched 12v feed to the head unit, after all that's where the power for the aerial out ultimately is coming from. The aerial should have a power wire that has to be fed back to the head unit.

These are very good if you don't fancy stripping the wire & soldering: http://www.posi-lock.com/posiplug.html

Lovely stuff - appreciate the detailed advice there, MatteH.

breadfish said:
I did also buy another fascia plate a little later on that I thought would make good use of the 0.5 DIN remaining..

http://www.dynamicsounds.co.uk/auto...s-puma-black-fascia-panel-adaptor-p-1348.html

It sucked though - rattled all over the place. The bar shaped one (which goes at the top of the bay) is nice and stable.

Bugger - that's the one I had my eye on instead of the bar-shaped one.

I'm sure I bought a smoothed-in single-DIN centre console way back when, but I'll be damned if I find the sodding thing.