A car radio is often the primary source of entertainment for motorists. According to Statista, 52% of drivers listen to the radio while in the car, 15% prefer listening to their playlists, and 12% use streaming services. This shows how important a car radio is. Modern car manufacturers are taking your entertainment a notch higher by installing Dab car radios.
In fact, many new car models are advertised as ‘come with a Dab radio’ as more drivers now prefer vehicles equipped with this feature. Conversely, most old car models are likely to transmit FM/AM signals and may need upgrades. If you’re one of them, you can still convert your car stereo into a Dab radio. Here are ways of doing it.
What is DAB Radio?
DAB is an acronym for Digital Audio Broadcasting, a radio transmission system that provides better sound quality and reception than the traditional FM radio. Its digital transmission contains more information and channel choice than AM/FM transmissions allowing listeners to tune into any channel worldwide.
And unlike FM transmissions which are often prone to interference, Dab signals will keep going until the signal is too weak to broadcast quality sound. Here are more advantages of Dab radios:
- Less susceptible to interference
- Can record live radio, pause, and rewind
- It’s easy to find many channels
- They have more features that enable manufacturers to
- You don’t need manual searches to find new radio channels
- Rids off geographical restrictions as you can tune into radio channels for the UK and abroad
How to Upgrade Car Stereos to Dab Radios
The first step is to verify if your model has a Dab radio. If your radio can access a vast range of channels without scanning manually to find them, then your vehicle has a Dab digital radio.
Conversely, if you must scan the channels manually or only choose between AM and FM radio frequencies, you have an analog radio and need to upgrade it. There are four ways of doing it:
Use a DAB Car Radio Adaptor
