DAB radio reception?

Barter

Hi,

When we go down to the south of France, near the Pyrénées, we have a radio which can get some BBC programmes on LW & SW but the reception is really poor & makes listening very difficult.

Can anyone tell us whether it would be worth getting a dab radio - knowing nothing about how it works, what the coverage is, etc...... we're not able to work out if reception would be any better. And should we get a UK or French one, if there's a difference?

Hope someone can help, many thanks.

penrhyn

DAB radio uses the old Band III TV frequencies, around 225 Mhz.
You can find out what the coverage is in your area of the UK here
http://www.ukdigitalradio.com/coverage/search/default.asp
You would not be able to receive it in France, as an alternative there is always the internet or a satellite system.

-TangleFoot-

There's a DAB coverage map of the UK here. It appears to be somewhat out of date, but it is a little more detailed than those on WorldDAB.

Poppycat

I doubt you will get it I cant belive there are large areas in UK that still dont get it including my town of 300,000 people, so little change of forgein parts getting it. Glad I checked before purchasing a dab radio.

jon_r_2

NO ! NO !... d.a.b. in France uses a totally different system to us here in the uk,(we utilise the old 405 line ITV Band, which is still used for tv in France)they use the 'high band' which i think is around 1470 mhz ie much higher than uhf tv band (470-860 mhz throughout Europe though the pic standard varies from country to country ie we use PAL France uses SECAM.) That aside even if you did have the right receiver for dab in France it would be local progs only... Your next best bet after Shortwave or Medium Wave after dark is A satellite receiver and dish.That would work, but because of where you are in France you'll possibly need a bigger dish than here in the uk.Get hold of a 'second' Satellite receiver ie a friend's disused one that does not require subscription then that way at least you will receive all the uk radio channels and more free, with a £20 free view card,bought in the uk you'll get the uk basic tv channels as well ! hope that helps, without being too technical... please p.m me if you need further advice... oh as far as radios go for lw,mw,sw and fm the standard is the same world wide, thats where it stops ! A really good multi band radio (Grundig) would be your last option if the satellite idea was useless.