[BlueMeanie]

Is this accessory worth it ? Does it impact on Media-Nav or R-Link capabilities in any way ?

Anyone thinking of going for it ?

 

[Georgiegirl]

Had an email about but today but the link didn't quite a price. I'm not desperate for it at the moment as coverage isn't great, but would consider it if it was a reasonable amount. Let me know if you find out more

 

[Meldrew]

I spoke to my Renault dealer today about the cost and he said I wouldn't get much change out of £300 for the unit and fitting. I believe it is shown as an optional extra in the brochure. Is it worth it, ask a friend, ask the audience, I don't think so at this time. Great car, wild engine (diesel).

 

[Georgiegirl]

Wow that's a bit more expensive than I thought it would be! Definitely won't be spending out until I have to!

 

[BlueMeanie]

Agreed... not worth it yet.....

 

[meterman_56]

£300....no thanks..stick with what I've got...I actually love what I've got.
meterman_56

 

[tonysawford]

I have the DAB add-on, and it works well enough. It works on the same principle as things like the Pure Highway, i.e., it re-transmits on an FM frequency. I'd say that it sort-of-integrates with R-Link, but it feels a bit like a tacked-on afterthought (which it is...). And yes, it is stupidly expensive for what it is (particularly given that you can get things like this for about a tenner). I fail to understand why manufacturers don't just fit DAB tuners as standard - it's not exactly a new technology. Grrr.

Tony

 

[RogerThat]

I will just transfer my Pure Highway, new ariel may be needed though, will have to wait and see!
Does the unit in the brochure require a different ariel I wonder?Edited by: RogerThat

 

[Barrowboy63]

Can I be cheeky, Tony, and ask how much it was to supply and fit? Also is the dab unit hidden way from sight?
Cheers,
John.

 

[tonysawford]

It was £240, John (so, as I said in my previous post, stupidly expensive - but as a proportion of the overall cost of the new car, not that great, I guess). One of the reasons I bit the bullet and forked out for it, rather than taking the Pure Highway is that it is mounted behind the R-Link console - there are no trailing wires or separate head unit - and you use the controls on the steering wheel stalk to control it. The only visible cue that it's fitted is the small DAB aerial mounted on the windscreen.

Tony

 

[Barrowboy63]

Good lord, Tony, that's a lot. But when you look at the pure DAB, that's coming in at around £175, plus no training wires. My OCD hates trailing wires What is the DAB aerial like? Any chance of a photo?

John

 

[tonysawford]

Your wish is my command, John...

(Note: raindrops added to give a sense of scale...)

 

[Spicemelange]

We have also requested the DAB radio. Although it is expensive but when you look at the alternatives this unit is hidden behind the dash
and can be controlled by the media nav controls. No additional wires no
hiding another unit away each time you stop. Although i do agree for a modern car not having dab as standard is very poor. Thank you for the photos tonysawford. Bit of a silly place to put the aerial. Should have been placed lower
down or at the very top of the screen. Although i suppose for the super qualified Renault technican it
is easy to place there.

 

[tonysawford]

That's the position specified in the AutoDAB installation instructions.

 

[RogerThat]

Had a stick on window aerial like the picture but found reception very mixed and poor on several occasions. Changed to magnetic mount which is so much better. May invest on a window fixed exterior mount for my new Captur. Will assess later after it arrives.

 

[Spicemelange]

Just looked at the autodab fitting instructions and only states that 15cm should be left above the aerial.

 

[tonysawford]

Yes, that's about right - there's about 6" of glass above the top of the aerial.

 

[crossbow]

Please think carefully before parting with a lot of money for your add-on DAB unit. Coverage in some areas of the country for DAB is very patchy. This can lead to disappointing reception. Whilst DAB is better at overcoming interference, and reception is better when transmission areas overlap. Reception can be very poor in areas of limited coverage. This leads to drop-out, or juddering effects on the audio.
Whilst there are more stations available on DAB than FM. The coverage is by national rather than local versions of stations. Though more and more local versions are finding their way onto digital.

Finally the audio quality of DAB is not necessarily better than FM. This is the price paid for more channels. However the government push to DAB will help to improve this, by moving from FM to DAB, from 2015. However, the roll-out will not be finished until 2019. So there is plenty of time left to enjoy our FM waveband radios.

 

[tonysawford]

All fair points, crossbow, but if, for example, your preferred listening is Radio 6Music or Planet Rock, then you don't have many options if you want to listen to them on the move.

Of course, what I really want is fully-integrated access to internet radio in the car...

 

[Meldrew]

Internet radio on the move, see www.Dension.com/products/webradio solutions. Requirement appears to be one smartphone, unlimited download and £99, if it does what is says on the tin, then forget DAB. Thought for the day.