Looking to upgrade head unit for a DAB-capable model

glitch

glitch

glitch

Soldato
Joined
8 Nov 2005
Posts
4,574
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?
 
I had an oem DAB in a 2009 focus and also had an aftermarket head unit when it was a fairly new concept years ago. I liked both and could get a good number of stations even when using an old tax disc mobile phone aerial instead of a proper DAB aerial.

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.
 
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.
Click to expand...
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?
 
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

to split the stock roof aerial. BBC Coverage has been fantastic up and down the country. Some local multiplexes are a bit more disappointing though, but that's not the radio's fault.
 
I mean the digital coverage but you can get a rough idea by the quality of the FM reception in your area. If you struggle to get anything other than local stations you might struggle to get many digital stations.

The main problem with it is you either get the station or don't, there is no slight loss of signal
 
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?
 
When I bought my car it had a DAB radio in it, I must admit when I come to sell the car I will make sure I put one in whatever I replace it with. The sound it crystal clear and I have never had an issue with the reception, I mainly listen to 6Music and NME, mine is a very old blaupunkt 52, it has an internal aerial attached to the top left of the front window, you cannot notice it.
 
glitch said:
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?
Click to expand...

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

You can get them from here: http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/crimp-butt-splice-terminals/6666029/

*I've heard that you can use the remote wire for the amps to feed the aerial, but you *may* suffer interference doing it that way - just be aware, I've never had to do this myself so can't comment further. In theory it's the same thing, just a 12v switched feed, I'm pretty sure that on some stereos the antenna feed & the amp remote come from the same wire. My own unit has seperate amp/antenna feeds.
 
Last edited:
glitch said:
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?
Click to expand...

I bought a kit which included a wiring harness with support for the steering controls - I think it may have been made by Connects2 but I'm not certain. All I know is that it works as it should. Said kit included the fascia plate and aerial converter (to go into the splitter) too; worked out cheaper to buy that than all the parts seperately.

http://www.dynamicsounds.co.uk/ford...ia-panel-fp0702-steering-control-p-11356.html

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.
 
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
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom