[salawinder]

Hi all, I have a 2015 i30 GDi Turbo with (what I believe is) a GD-02 head unit with Sat Nav.

The car is fantastic, I have only one problem: the radio reception is terrible!

I have been told that the issue is the earthing of the aerial, so have removed the headlining and sanded the paint around the bolt for the antenna. I later ran a cable from the bolt to a bolt for the rear hatch to provide a different earth point.

I have also bought a cheap DAB receiver, this seems to work fine in itself, but it transmits on FM, which the head unit STILL cannot receive a clear signal.

I'm considering changing the head unit, but want to know if any one else has had (and resolved???) these issues?

[nzenigma]

How did 'whoever' determine bad aerial earth?

Can you define "terrible reception" please?

eg. only hear close by stations. or  static blocks out station.

[salawinder]

We've had the car 4 years, and for the first 2 or so it was fine, when it started deteriorating I googled it and found the suggestion of a bad earth on a forum but not sure which.

Terrible reception as in FM stations with local transmitters will be fine for 20-30 seconds, then the signal will drop out either completely or intermittently. As I said - even the DAB tuner which transmits on a low power FM frequency from inside the car breaks up!

We live in a city in the UK, and most of our travel is within that city. The radio stations are local or national stations with good signal (the family have SEAT & Renault, and have no problems whatsoever).

The real indicator that there is an issue is the DAB tuner, it is transmitting inside the vehicle on a frequency not used by anything else in our region, but is perfectly clear some times and breaks up badly other times.

[The Gonz]

I don't understand your comments about DAB. Your country's Digital Audio Broadcast network is a multiplexed digital radio service broadcast by stations such as BBC Radio using a meagre 128kbps, which is why it's poor quality. The DAB standard is 192kbps. No tuner transmits. How is DAB only inside your car?

[nzenigma]

Thankyou Gonz.

Now that I understand, I understand I cannot comment. 

Except the issue of 'the advice'.

It is possible that you have a fault with your antenna, or its connection at the head unit. Check it and eliminate fault.

"I have been told that the issue is the earthing of the aerial....on a forum",  is totally misleading

 you need to check continuity from back of radio to aerial with a multimeter.
1.The center wire must be a short circuit / no resistance
2. the outer shield should read the same short cct, and show it is earthed. Do this at the radio connector. No need to pull down head lining
3. The two wires must be open circuit = no connection between them.

[salawinder]

The DAB adaptor is this, it receives the digital signal and re-transmits it over a low powered FM signal. The issue is that the DAB signal is being received fine, but the transmitted FM signal is not.

It's not an issue with the DAB receiver. The fact that the radio is breaking up even with a locally transmitted signal, not just the normal broadcasts is proving that the car's radio is the problem.

[Dazzler]

The DAB adaptor is this, it receives the digital signal and re-transmits it over a low powered FM signal. The issue is that the DAB signal is being received fine, but the transmitted FM signal is not.

It's not an issue with the DAB receiver. The fact that the radio is breaking up even with a locally transmitted signal, not just the normal broadcasts is proving that the car's radio is the problem.

Radio Reception issues have been a problem with i30's for years and the antenna connection (as you say, has been blamed at various times) So I can't see why anyone is taking exception to your comments. 

Very frustrating for you. Not sure what else you cant try other than what has been suggested. Sorry. 

[nzenigma]

The issue is that the DAB signal is being received fine, but the transmitted FM signal is not.

Radio Reception issues have been a problem with i30's for years and the antenna connection (as you say, has been blamed at various times) So I can't see why anyone is taking exception to your comments. 

Exception to which comment?

Gonz seems as bemused as I am. We have a DAB unit that receives OK , but a radio that does not; so at a guess, radio is faulty.

BUT, the functioning DAB does not transmit well; therefore, we have a faulty aerial and/or faulty DAB 

If exception is taken to my comment about irrelevant 'forum advice' so be it. It was given from a professional position.

To clarify; only electronic measurements and the following results can confirm the failure or correct performance of the antenna. The ramblings of some online "Guru" cannot be relied upon until these physical tests are made.

End of Ramble #3 

[mickd]

Geez, all I've done all my life if radio is bad is to put on a tape,  a cd, a stick , or just listen to the" sounds of driving" (particularly if running straight systems )
I  thought the -" andriod / carplay " emphasis took care of that .

[nzenigma]

Before I went off and did something more worthwhile with my life, I should have informed the OP @salawinder  that his transmissions are via a broad frequency range  antenna used by the radio receiver.
A transmitter requires an antenna that is designed to 'profile' the wave-length / frequency of its transmission. > functioning car antenna is killing transmission.
This is probably why the DAB is failing.

[CraigB]

The GD's do have pretty poor signal, some areas/locations tend to be much worse than others I've found, if I was a regular FM listener it would really tick me off.

I've always put it down to the powered antenna amplification being to weak

I know Dave/Doggie always had reception issues around his area as do I when I'm out that way, though he did mention recently the new PD works great out there.

[The Gonz]

 
Receive antennae are not particularly tuned to an ideal frequency or bandwidth (both are important) because the job of receiving is usually an easy low-power process with lots of signal strength in an urban environment. Transmission is an altogether different and very demanding design requirement.

If they were the same, we'd have to be driving around with antennae the same size as the towers on the hill. Same goes for mobile phones, which are an even closer example for DAB, given their data rate requirements.

[salawinder]

Woha, everyone take a breath.

I appreciate everyone'e feedback & comments, I don't want anyone to think anything that has been said was out of order - I was a bit brief in my original post as I thought maybe it was an issues someone had seen and I'd get a quick answer.

I was an RAF electrical engineer working on microwave radio systems & fibre optics, so I understand frequencies and wavelengths (and how aerials are just doing a best-case job of receiving many frequencies) - but they normally work, in my case it isn't.

The problem first started being an issue a couple of years ago, and when I googled it I found very little advice but did find someone (possibly a forum guru, possibly not) who had a similar issue and said a faulty earth on the aerial was the cause. I can't provide more info as it was a couple of years ago. I will say that when I sanded the inside of the roof and tightened the bolt the problem seemed to disappear for a couple of months.

The DAB receiver is a cheap gadget that I thought might help. It does work in other cars, but in ours it is the same as the FM channels from local/regional & national stations - it breaks up at random intervals. I've mentioned this not because I think the DAB receiver is at fault, but because it _should_ be fine as it is a VERY local FM transmission, but is still breaking up - so it points to a fault either with the aerial / cabling / head unit.

I will take the advice and get some multi-meter readings, but it will have to wait until the weekend. I'll also take some better photos.

In the meantime, please get along

[The Gonz]

In the meantime, please get along

We're a passionate lot. Hello from a Shrivenham Masters graduate, still in uniform and on radar. Diagnosis from a distance is difficult but it doesn't deter us from hooking in. See how the measurements go.

[mickd]

  must say our GD was below par, SIL's Hilux had reception everywhere where GD had none. Aerial was twice as thick.

[mickd]

In the meantime, please get along

We're a passionate lot. Hello from a Shrivenham Masters graduate, still in uniform and on radar. Diagnosis from a distance is difficult but it doesn't deter us from hooking in. See how the measurements go.

Onya Gonz ! 

[Lorian]

what city/town in West Yorkshire?

When you say "breaking up" are you sure this is Loss Of Signal, not internal interference, like that caused by some LED bulbs and flaky USB leads....

Try turning Traffic Alert off on the radio too, if you have than on....

Checked there no short circuit on the aerial cable?

[nzenigma]

In the meantime, please get along

We're a passionate lot. Hello from a Shrivenham Masters graduate, still in uniform and on radar. Diagnosis from a distance is difficult but it doesn't deter us from hooking in. See how the measurements go.

Onya Gonz ! 

  

[nzenigma]

 Hello from a Shrivenham Masters graduate, still in uniform and on radar. Diagnosis from a distance i....

@The Gonz

Dear Sir,
I refer to a circling  P-3 Orion that is constantly annoying me and my neighbours, It appears to be yours. Could you direct it back to Base.

If it is being operated by a foreign power, could you please send a faster plane to shoot it down ( over Ipswich).

Many thanks...name withheld .

[mickd]

In the meantime, please get along

We're a passionate lot. Hello from a Shrivenham Masters graduate, still in uniform and on radar. Diagnosis from a distance is difficult but it doesn't deter us from hooking in. See how the measurements go.

Onya Gonz ! 

Or should I  say "onya blip " 

[The Gonz]

 Hello from a Shrivenham Masters graduate, still in uniform and on radar. Diagnosis from a distance i....

@The Gonz

Dear Sir,
I refer to a circling  P-3 Orion that is constantly annoying me and my neighbours, It appears to be yours. Could you direct it back to Base.

If it is being operated by a foreign power, could you please send a faster plane to shoot it down ( over Ipswich).

Many thanks...name withheld .

Anything over Ipswich must be lost.
Nobody goes there intentionally!
Here you go, these will send a search party...

(click to show/hide)

Rescue