Options available to convert your car

When in comes to in-car DAB digital radio, it may surprise you to learn that there are multiple options available to convert your car to DAB. In this post I'll summarise some of the options that are available to you. 

Quick fit add-on 

Original Pure Highway

The most basic way to add DAB to your vehicle is to go down the route of a product that is quick to fit, much the same way as a SatNav. The general principle of these products is that there is a stick-on or magnetic aerial connected to a control device. The control device is often stuck to the windscreen, which takes power from a cigarette lighter connection. The audio is either transmitted wirelessly to your existing FM car radio or through a cable to an aux input if your radio has one. An advantage of this option is that it isn't a permanent one, so you can move them between multiple vehicles. However, there are a few downsides to these products. The windscreen aerials are not the best for picking up signals, and there are likely to be wires trailing across your dashboard, which doesn't look too pretty. 

Permanent add-on 

Alpine EZi-DAB

OK, so perhaps I am telling a little fib here because if installed correctly and carefully any installation can be removed without trace it was ever there. For some people, you may be perfectly happy with the existing car radio you have, so why change it? There are some devices which have a totally discrete installation controlled using steering wheel controls, whilst others have separate control units. 

DAB head-unit 

Kenwood DNX5230DAB

The best option (if you can afford it) is to go for a proper DAB head-unit. You may think that it is not possible to replace the radio that came built-in to the dashboard of your car, but actually you'd be surprised because nearly all integrated car radios can be replaced. Further more, most DAB head-units are compatible with steering wheel controls, so there really isn't much for you to lose. These days there are some very versatile head units offering a range of extra features from USB playback to Bluetooth and even SatNav!

Another way?

If you have a particularly modern vehicle, it may be that your car manufacturer already sells a DAB module for your existing head unit. Although this is likely to be poor value for money compared to other DAB conversion options, for those who like to keep their vehicle with all original fittings it may be a consideration. For those with much older vehicles, I am aware that some owners have been happy with a hacksaw and soldering iron and had a go at their own installations using standard kitchen DAB radios.