Car Radios

Ah ok, I had a look at the specs and there were no mention of AM or FM radios in it.

So I went back and a closer look at the pictures in the ad, and whilst the specs didn’t mention any sign of a radio, I noticed they do have buttons numbered 1 to 6, and another button that says BAND, so I think you’re right!

So :relieved: , I’d hate to think there was going to be a future of cars without radios.

And yes, no sign of a CD player either, but I think some Volkswagens (? - not sure which brand) are currently on the new car market without a CD player.

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Quite a few new models in the last 2-3 years have been sans CD player. My Cruze is 6 years old and I’ve never used it.

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I’ve used mine once!

But more out of curiosity than anything. It’s supposed to be Gracenote capable via mobile connection, but mine didn’t show anything.

I might try that again soon.

I keep forgetting I’ve got a CD player in the car. I remembered the other day and found there was even a CD in it! “The Alternative 80s” compilation. Must have been in there for 18 months at least since the last time it had a spin.

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I use the CD player in mine a lot - I burn a disc every few months, just to have something to listen to if I haven’t taken my iPod with me to plug into the USB port.

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What a welcome change to get a trifecta. Especially AM in this day and age.

How consistent was the DAB north of North Lakes? Can dip out around ‘Depression Bay’ - Burpengary and again around Caboolture.

Likewise, what of consistent coverage south of Pimpama River towards the Gold Coast? I’ve found coverage is most consistent driving the ‘old’ route out of Surfers up the GC Hwy, save for the hills of Helensvale and then mostly consistent north of Helensvale Road (Movie World on left driving north).

I didn’t try DAB north of Brisbane, but @Brianc68 has the same car as I do, and he has reported consistent DAB as far north as Caloundra on the Bruce Hwy.

I have tried it around the Gold Coast, and it is fine up around Oxenford, but dropouts started occurring from Paradise Point and they become a bit more frequent as you head further south. But even around Broadbeach, it is there 95% of the time. I haven’t tried it further south than that yet, but I will tomorrow or Wednesday.

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Yes it’s perfect until the Caloundra exit of the Bruce highway. Not DAB of course, but how are you finding FM reception of Breeze and Rebel around the GC?

Rebel and Breeze very good on 99.4 and 100.6, though 90.5 and 92.1 are only receivable up around Oxenford. Very scratchy reception elsewhere.

Yep 90.5 and 92.1 are good in Logan/ southern Brisbane.

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Well selling the Mazda getting a Kia with a DAB radio… :slight_smile: Partially for the reason of the DAB radio in Mazda having issue with no fix, but the main reason need a bigger car too. I hope the DAB is not flaky :). If it is at least it has Android auto.

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What type of Kia?

Carnival

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Ah nice. That certainly is bigger. Hopefully a better DAB experience. Look forward to a report.

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My older brother bought a Kia Carnival recently, but he bought it a bit too soon to get one that has DAB+. :frowning:

Yeah got the MY19 model. Its got Android auto and Apple Car Play. That is a big bonus, I think I will value that as much as the DAB if not more.

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Yea still can’t believe that Mazda don’t have Android Auto and Apple Car Play as standard.

Though it is about to become a dealer fit accessory on any existing Mazda that has the MZD Connect system dating back to 2014.

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AM reception in my Yaris is crap ,lose the signal when driving under overhead powerlines or under a overpass,so I hardly ever listen to it in the car.Sometimes I listen to ABC Classic FM though most of the time l listen to my own tunes from my iPhone.

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Here’s a fun test for you all to do, & it’s something I never realised until last week, & when it happened, I noticed & it hit me like a ton of bricks, & I wondered why it hadn’t dawned on me before?

I was driving along listening to a distant AM station with reasonably good reception & at a point the reception went crackly, a short distance further on, I passed over a new section of asphalt & the reception came clear, as I left the new asphalt section after few hundred meters, the reception went crackly again.

Different place but, there’s a section of the M1 (F3) motorway at Mardi on the NSW Central Coast, where AM reception is crackly on all stations (all are distant at that spot from Newcastle, Sydney or further afield), I’ve tried this spot in a number of different cars with different radios & it’s the same in all cars at the same spot & I’ve wondered why, as it’s only over a distance of about 600 - 1000 meters?

I’ve always just thought that a particular area had poor ground conductivity & AM reception was bad because of it, but this recent bad, good, bad section over a short distance has led me to believe there may be long stretches of road where there’s bad AM reception, & it could all be due to the amount of metal in the road surface (asphalt or concrete)?

Obviously areas away from the road is likely poor ground conductivity, but driving the highways listening to AM radio, the reception quality (or lack thereof) could well be influenced by the road surface?

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Very interesting. I wonder having a van will mean better reception for am radio or worse or no different? Further away from the road surface. In theory fm and dab should be better. Since I have loved radio since I was kid. I remember going on school camps the buses seem to have superior am reception than cars. Might be my imagination any truth to that theory?