Bee sting antenna for DAB radio?

Question

yesterday i purchased a new head unit for my 1997 polo so i can get DAB radio in my car

it came with a magnetic DAB antenna which quite frankly is pretty ugly and would make my car look like a taxi

what i want to know is can i use my existing bee sting antenna for DAB radio

my understanding of DAB signal is that it runs on a higher wavelength so requires a shorter antenna which i suspect most people need a different antenna from there FM one as a lot of cars have long ones, so theoretically speaking my short bee sting antenna should be fine

Answer 1

How short?

a typical aerial length for DAB needs to be around 30cm (1/4 wave)

much less than that and you may have problems.

My car DAB is different from the home version, you get good reception or nothing,

Home DAB will make distorted sound from weak signals.

Answer 2

Bee Sting Antenna

Answer 3

Yes. You can use a converter like this with your existing aeriel: http://www.dabonwheels.co.uk/dab_car_aerials.html If you hunt around you can find a really decent one. That one is rated 3/5 stars but there are some really good ones out there.



Side thought, get a splitter and install a second antenna somewhere out of sight. You can also get window strip antenna like this: http://www.dabonwheels.co.uk/AFAR-P_internal_glass_mount_DAB_car_aerial_.html



Again if you look around you can find a decent one and the benefit of two is better signal but not all stereos support this. IIRC only the post 2005 VW cars support dual antenna connection.