derryuk

Agreed. Don't forget the shark-fin I used had an RF amplifier and you can probably squeeze more usable digital signal with one than say an FM/AM signal.

<lay the iPad on the central armrest and measure away> Ideally it wants to be at the same level as your ears. Microphones can also be directional. <The lower the profile the more the tyre noise. Run-flat are even worse.> Tyre noise is now published by the manufacturer. It is the first thing that I look at when buying tyres. Be cautious though because it is something called, I think, "drive by" noise not cabin noise. ie it's external noise. Remember also that the decibel scale means that the aparent difference to our ears means that 80dB sounds twice as loud as 77dB. A 3dB change means twice as loud or half as loud depending on which way it is going. Adding another noise tale, just ove a year ago I was looking for something new to replace my Scenic and tried a Honda CR-V. I liked the car until it came to driving it; first impression was it was gutless, as bad as my old Scenic; secondly IT HAD A LOT OF ROAD NOISE, SO MUCH SO THAT I SHOUTED AS MUCH TO THE SALES PERSON AT THE TIME. SHE SHOUTED BACK 'YOU CAN ALWAYS TURN THE RADIO UP.' Derry.

Ignore my previous, the poor reception was due to finger trouble (sigh). I had received an email answer from Alpine re my lack of FM reception. No solutions sadly but I thought I would have a play with the ezi-DAB settings. One option I had previously eneabled was FM aerial in (input 7) in my attempt to get an FM signal on my Lexus radio. I renabled input 8 (DAB only) and I noticed the signal strength shoot up! (one option is to display station name and signal strength.) So I drove back through my poor DAB reception route and the signal was perfect again! So my previous poor reception was due to seemingly me using the FM aerial for DAB. BTW the answer from Alpine was that FM pass-trough is only enabled with the ezi-DAB switched off. Sadly to say not in my case it isn't. Derry.

OK, I have changed my mind about the sharkfin. Today I drove through my local patch of poor reception for the second time and DAB reception was very poor, as bad as my old Scenic so I rerate the sharkfin DAB reception as mediocre. The change in performance is brought about I guess by a change in the weather. I know with FM you get better reception with high pressure, I don't know how it affects DAB though Now then although my Scenic was mediocre my Rav4 had very good DAB reception (whip aerial mounted ar the roof rear) with no dropout in my poor recption area at all for the year that I owned it. I'm toying with fitting a Hirschmann AUTA 16 V DAB to the 460. Derry.

Accepted. I should add that my comment about lack of FM referred to the FM feedthrough option on the EZI-DAB. AIUI with the EZi-DAB switched off the unit should feed through a signal from the car aerial for FM. On the main unit: connector 8 is DAB aerial in - my sharkfin DAB connected here connector 7 is FM aerial in - my sharkfin FM connected here connector 6 is antenna out for direct inject - this is connected to my Lexus radio FM aerial in. My uncertainty comes from the installer settings. One is antenna iput source: connector 8 (powered) - my sharkfin is externally powered so I don't need this connectot 8 (unpowered) connector 7 - I am not sure why this option is here I have tried all three options and all I get is DAB. More uncertainty comes with the FM pass-through options which are: (in their words) disabled - ezi-dab output effectively replaces all FM stations when ezi-dab is switched on (default) enabled - ezi-dab output is blended in to the FM waveband alongside normal broadcast FM stations. I have tried both and only ever get DAB with the unit on and FM noise only with it off. My current thinking is perhaps my sharkfin isn't producing any FM for some reason. Derry.

Install done though it took a while. I've been out on my usual run where my old Sceninc DAB used to drop out for about quarter of a mile and with the EZi-DAB there was just the briefest of drop-outs so I'd rate it a success. The installation is very neat with no loose cables. Complaints: (so far) There is no FM for some reason and the installer didn't know why. However since I have not listened to FM for the last 6 years and one day it will be switched off (allegedly) this isn't a problem. Derry. http://s692.photobucket.com/user/Derryuk/media/IMG_08121.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0 http://s692.photobucket.com/user/Derryuk/media/IMG_08091.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1

I started listening to mobile DAB about 8 years ago, first on a Scenic then a Rav4. The Scenic was mostly OK and would drop out once in my locale, the Rav4 was faultless with no dropout locally. On the DAB reception map http://www.ukdigitalradio.com/coverage/postcodesearch/ my locale is listed as “fair reception”. I’ve decided to fit DAB to my 07 LS460. I’ve chosen the Alpine Ezi-DAB http://www.alpine.co.uk/p/Products/dab3842/ezi-dab head unit and controller with a sharkfin aerial http://www.dabonwheels.co.uk/DAB_car_aerials.html suggested by my installer. He will fit the kit in a couple of days. I wouldn’t choose a sharkfin aerial as first choice as they look all wrong to me for DAB/FM but most upmarket cars use them. So while thinking of life one day it occurred to me that I could compare the sharkfin to a DAB dipole http://www.aerialsandtv.com/fmanddabradio.html#FMandDABaerialTests for reception. I have a dipole in my computer room hanging on the curtain rail connected to a Teac receiver. This shows signal strength of 15 digits for 5live. I mounted the sharkfin on the side of an old pc case to represent a car roof, not a true representation but better than nothing. When I connected the sharkfin to the Teac it showed signal strength of 13 – 14 digits for 5live depending on which way it was pointing. The sharkfin has a 12v amplifier in its body and with no power there is no signal. Bear in mind I have no idea what 13 digits means compared to 15. If the scale is logarithmic 13 might mean next to nothing while 15 is good. So on the face of it it looks reasonable. I’ll be interested to see if I get the same drop out as I did with the Scenic. I’ll post the results here later in the week. Derry.

I was pondering on the metallic paint issue and wondering how much it would reduce an aerials effectiveness and how could I test it. My first thought was to get some thin plastic sheet, spray that metallic silver and wrap it around the sharfin to see the effect. Not a true test if course but if the signal dropped out completely then I know the issue is true. However it then occurred to me that my Teac CD receiver I use indoors has a sig strength meter so I have ordered an SMB to F type connector from dabonwheels. Car DAB aerials use SMB connectors and DAB receivers use F type. I can now connect my sharkfin to my TEAC and see how it compares to the DAB indoors quarterwave aerial I use. Not a true comparison of course, the usual TEAK aerial hangs in free air whereas the sharkfin sits on a huge tin roof! I'll dig out a bit of tin sheet to mount it on for the test. Currently my TEAC sig strength is 15 out of 16 (I live in a marginal DAB area), I'll let you know the results. Derry.

Thanks for the feedback all. But .... I was browsing websites looking for painting your aerial tips and there was some discussion about not using metallic paint on fibreglass aerials or radomes. It occurred to me that my sharkfin may have a resin cover of some sort, it doesn't look like fibreglass. So for the benefit of maximum reception I will skip the paint.

My 2007 460 paint code is 1F2 - Halfords do Toyota Tyrol silver code 1F7. Does anyone know if this is a close match and if so is it lighter or darker? I am asuming my car paint has faded. What I want to do is paint a black sharkfin aerial to match the car. Thanks, Derry.

<Am I the only person here who hasn't a clue what you're talking about?> In the arm rest compartment are audio video input phono connectors see p399 of the owners manual. Normally they are enabled by selecting video on the remote. Only the rear seat passengers can see the video but the whole car can hear the audio. However the ezi-dab has, amongst others, phono output for audio. I was wondering if there was an easy way for the driver to select video input from his seat but not using the remote, if there was then I could ask the installer to use the AV connectors for ezi-dab audio. My current option is to use the ezi-dab FM feed-thru, you feed the Lexus aerial into the ezi-dab then link the ezi-dab aerial out back to the Lexus radio. So with the ezi-dab switched off you listen to your Lexus radio as normal (the FM signal is fed-thru), but with the ez-dab switched on it converts it's DAB audio to FM and feeds that to the Lexus radio instead. Derry.

Is there anyway of selecting the AV input from ther drivers seat without the remote control? I am having an Alpine ezi-dab and shark fin installed shortly and was looking for a way into the audio system. Thanks, Derry.

OK I'll let you know when I get the job done. Derry.

Does any one know which roof pillar(s) the electrical cables run up? I'm looking for somewhere to run an aerial feed. Thanks. Derry.

Look, life is simple. Buy yourself a multimeter and measure the battery first thing in the morning. 12.6v means battery is OK. 12.0v means battery is flat. If you get racy then 14.5v ish is ok with engine running. Derry.

Thanks for the thoughts all. <Without wishing to get into an audio debate, I'd suggest saving your money and giving DAB a wide berth. The bit-rates are simply too low for acceptable audio quality.> I'm happy with DAB. I've had it at home and in my cars for the last 8 years so know how it sounds. What I miss without it are radio 4 extra, radio 5, radio 6. If you want to know what grim is listen to radio 5 on medium wave. I'm happy enopugh to fit the DAB head unit and controller if I have to but am really looking for someone to fit the roof aerial. I don't trust myself getting the roof lining back in. Derry.

Just bought a 2007 version. Two questions, any DAB recommends? I'd like to fit a roof aerial and Alpine esi-DAB unit. Any other solutions and people to do the work? I'm in Lincolnshire. Any tricks to fill it without the the nozzle keep cutting off? At the moment the best position is rotate the nozzle handle towards the passenger door about 90 deg. Thanks, Derry.

I took my LS400 down to Janspeed Salisbury last Saturday and had it put on their rolling road. It has done 113K miles and is an auto. 209 bhp and 200 ft lbs. Derry. PS the guy running the test said it was the quietest car he had ever had on the rollers and by far the nosiest thing was the air blower they used for cooling. At the back end all you could hear were the tyres on the rollers.

Well needless to say it has started working again, but I suspect that it may be troublesome in the future. Thanks for your help. Derry.

Hi, I have a '98 LS400. Tonight when I got home I closed the moonroof as usual. It closed then opened again about 1/3. I tried closing it with the door key but the same thing happens. So that I could lock the car I managed to stop the roof recycling by using the tilt switch to stop it at the point of it opening again. The panel light says moonroof open. Any ideas what is wrong? Thanks. Derry.