...and another newbie...

[chrism]

Hi all. I'm hailing from Pulborough, West Sussex, an 'about to be' waiting to get my hands/paws upon a 1990 silver se and already impressed by the wealth of info available on this forum.
Previously wrangling an MG TF135, I'm already trying to get my head around fitting DAB radio, aerials and ground planes etc.
(A 'splitter' didn't work on the MG, but I'm trying this first with the Elan since I'm not sure how difficult it is to get at the metallic a-pillar ground plane-y parts for a sticky screen mount...)
Looking forward to a sharing of experiences

[dapinky]

Hi Chris,

Welcome to LEC, and I wish you all the best with your new acquisition.

On that subject, I fitted a stick-on DAB aerial to mine last year and fixed it to the aluminium windscreen frame for the ground plane. It is far from perfect (an not as good as in a metal box car), but with DAB you either have it or you don't so there is no signal degradation.

When parked in the garage I can get loads of channels (except they aren't really channels, but you know what I mean), but once out and about I tend to keep it on Radio 2 as that gives me coverage everywhere local/national. It may be geographical, as others seem to manage, or it may be because of the aerial, or something else....

Access to the aluminium frame is fairly straightforward by removal of 2 small screws and lifting out the frame cover.

[Saltire]

What Dave said! I too have a stick-on DAB aerial, and it was really easy to get at the windscreen frame. Hint: peel back the screen pillar leather covering on the flat part at the top to find the two screws Dave refers to; they screw vertically downwards into the screen surround.

You’ll (probably) find that the top of the screen pillar cover (plastic) has split; I repaired mine with a bit of fibreglass mat.

I’ve tried all sorts of DAB aerials, including one of the amplifier boxes that plugs into the back of the radio, but nothing beats the screen aerial, even though it’s more obtrusive than I would like. Which reminds me; I must check out the FM aerial, as reception there has degraded a lot over the last few months.

Welcome to the forum! My folks used to live in Glebelands in Pulborough, so I know your neck of the woods well. Some nice driving roads, as long as you stay off the A27

[chrism]

Aw...those two welcomes make me feel less 'newbie-in-short-trousers-with-knobbly-knees' already, thanks for that
And aerial advice was just what I needed!
(Little Dippers...me...just across the road )

[Blaster]

I have used an old Bosch DAB aerial mounted where the original one was. It looks similar to what was originally there and just run power and DAB feed under the centre console. Works well.

[chrism]

Thanks as well Blaster. If the splitter doesn't work that might have to be another option.
No experience of DAB body-mount or fibreglass so I'm guessing there's some sort of earthing stuff already attached to the original aerial mount?
(ps And why do those aerials all seem to be pointing at crazy angles in all the Elans I've seen ? )

[alan e]

Welcome i can't help with the aerial problem but it's good to see that there is another owner in West Sussex i am in Worthing not far from you.

[FunElan]

Welcome, greetings from Los Angeles. Lots of info here as I'm sure you'll find. Searching through threads can be a bit of a bear but the info is usually there!

[Blaster]

Thanks as well Blaster. If the splitter doesn't work that might have to be another option.
No experience of DAB body-mount or fibreglass so I'm guessing there's some sort of earthing stuff already attached to the original aerial mount?
(ps And why do those aerials all seem to be pointing at crazy angles in all the Elans I've seen ? )

I have a splitter I use on my van with the standard aerial it works well but the one on the Lotus works better.

[Saltire]

Thanks as well Blaster. If the splitter doesn't work that might have to be another option.
No experience of DAB body-mount or fibreglass so I'm guessing there's some sort of earthing stuff already attached to the original aerial mount?
(ps And why do those aerials all seem to be pointing at crazy angles in all the Elans I've seen ? )

1) There’s a ground plane (aka square of kitchen foil ) stuck to the underside of the bodywork which is in contact with the standard aerial

2) They’re all at crazy angles because they’re non-original. The original aerial only ever fitted vertically AFAIK

[chrism]

Warmth of welcome = 11/10...WOW

[par]

Welcome!

I also have a screen mounted DAB aerial which works well and was straightforward to fit.

[chrism]

This thread keeps on giving and giving...

Now I know that I can go down the DAB sicky w/screen aerial route, get the metallic w/screen earth plane attachment and (presumably) feed behind the a-pillar trim (?) and across behind the dashboard to the back of the set (?) like I did with my MG

At risk of being uber-demanding the TF had a top-rail trim that attached just like the a-pillar trim and I was able to run the cable along the top-rail and down the a-pillar underneath the trims as you can see in the pic. Imo it really tucks the sticky aerial neatly and subtly out of line-of-sight/peripheral vision to the driver in the rear-view mirror area.

Question: will I be able to run along the top rail with the Elan? Is there a removable trim along there?

ps as an aside I noticed that most DAB w/screen stickys were vertical like par's (probably because they're mostly in saloons) and I did some research to find out if the alignment of the sticky element was critical. It turned out that many transmitters broadcast horizontally as well as vertically and, anyway, the waves/signals change their alignment on their many subsequent reflections. The general consensus seemed to be that if you were in line of sight of a vertical transmitter then the aerial element should be vertical as well. Certainly I found no problems with a horizontal sticky

ps I've got a splitter, and I'm going to try this route first, but if it doesn't work (as I suspect) I'll try the sticky route and post some relevant pics (inc yours par or one like it) in the 'proper' stereo section in case others want some help to 'go DAB/DAB+'...

[HJ2]

Welcome aboard Chris!

Well, thanks... now i feel obliged to place my DAB windscreen arial as well!
Another job on the to do list...

[chrism]

...pesky newbies...

[Saltire]

At risk of being uber-demanding the TF had a top-rail trim that attached just like the a-pillar trim and I was able to run the cable along the top-rail and down the a-pillar underneath the trims as you can see in the pic. Imo it really tucks the sticky aerial neatly and subtly out of line-of-sight/peripheral vision to the driver in the rear-view mirror area.

Question: will I be able to run along the top rail with the Elan? Is there a removable trim along there?

Yes there is.

When I did my interior refurb, I had both A pillar trims and the top rail trim off, because I replaced the ultrasonic alarm sensors in the header rail above the mirror (new alarm). I’ve also fitted some extra interior lighting in the footwells, and I needed to pick up a power feed from the interior mirror (which is where the original interior lights are situated).

IIRC, the header rail trim is held by 4 or 5 Philips head screws. Watch out for the wiring though.

With regard to cable routing, I ran the DAB cable down the O/S screen pillar. I removed the instrument panel cover (two Philips screws towards the front of the car), and then fed a piece of stiff wire across to the base of the screen pillar, attached the aerial cable to that and pulled it back. You can then drop the cable down the back of the instruments to the space behind the radio.

I’m no expert, but I always thought DAB transmissions were vertically polarised, and therefore DAB aerials needed to be positioned vertically for best reception. Certainly round here, where the DAB is flaky, vertical works best. I guess if you have a stronger signal, the aerial orientation would be less important.

Also, given that I’m peering through the very top part of the screen when I drive, I wouldn’t want anything obscuring the view. And a horizontal aerial would need to be at one side, because I have a dash cam in the centre, and that can interfere with a DAB aerial

[chrism]

Yet more incredible detail!!! Many thanks for that Saltire...

Aw, if I'd had such a detailed mode of attack before I'd ordered the splitter I wouldn't have bothered with it, seriously. (Honest, I trawled the electrics/stereo section and there was nothing as specific as all this...)

Well, assuming the splitter won't work (and also that I can't adjust that wayward aerial into a more meaningful upright direction...), this superb info also gives me the option of removing the aerial completely, putting a blanking plug in the hole and going fully with the DAB sticky in the windscreen area (either horizontally or vertically). I can't think of any AM/FM stations that I'd miss; aren't they all on the DAB/DAB+ network anyway?

And actually it'd seem rude not to, given the excellent 'how-to' that this thread has provided...

ps I've been thinking about electromagnetic wave polarization; true they invert on subsequent reflection but do they change circular angle? Hmm...in the Shoreham area of WSx there's an area where the TV aerials are flipped through 90 degrees, presumably to improve reception? Or could it be that their local transmitter is horizontally polarised? Food for thought, tho'...(Perhaps I'm lucky to be living in a strong signal area, as suggested, or perhaps they become randomised in some way?)

[dapinky]

My thoughts were along the lines of Jonathans thoughts (but I can't remember if he did his before or after I did mine, so can't say if my interpretation was influenced by his fitment or not).

I had read that the aerial "needs" to be vertical, but that may have just been in the book of words which came with the headset.....

I have already got my dashcam stuck to the screen in the bit of the window hidden from my view (when driving) behind the mirror, so I went for the nearside 'A' pillar.

There was no further research other than following the written wisdom on the instructions, and then working out if it was possible to do fairly easily - which it was.

Having said that, then the top cover is certainly easier to remove than the 'A' pillar cover - but not by enough to make it worth the extra thought/effort.

My only issue was finding the 2 screws under the leather trim, and getting them out. 1 was easy to undo, but the other needed to be drilled out and then drilling a 3mm hole and threading it with a tap to accept an M4 stainless steel setscrew (which was what I found in my box before I got to the self-tappers!!!!). Typically, the steel screws used at the factory were corroded due to the electrolytic reaction with the aluminium rail, but once out, the rest was easy - cleaning up the aluminium to stick the ground plane aerial was just a case of rubbing it down with wet & dry paper and scotchbrite, then wiping with acetone - which would be the same wherever you stick it.

[chrism]

Yes DAB sticky vertical on left hand screen side seems more conventional, but perhaps it's dictated by the physical build + design of the stickys we get.

I'm not really looking forward to wrangling those A pillar screws tho'...still, they might both 'behave'? ( )

[Saltire]

...still, they might both 'behave'? ( )

If they do, we’ll all hate you for always Every screw I’ve ever taken out of the screen surround has always been a b****r. And I speak as someone who is had both side pillar trims, the top trim, and both the A pillar seal retainers off the car.

By the way, for the anally retentive among us, the Whitehawk Hill transmitter, which covers Shoreham-by-Sea, operates with mixed polarisation, so that may account for your experiences.