Android app for in car USB DAB adapter

[Tommie38]

I finally got around to buying one of those USB DAB+ adapters, complete with windscreen mounted aerial. This is for my Android 9.0 head unit. For £19 or so from eBay delivered so I thought I should give it a go. All installed fine and, on my driveway at least, I appear to be getting a full strength green signal.

However, the stick that I bought (branded DTR-100, if it makes a difference) didn't come with any software and the head unit didn't have anything installed. I had a look on the Play store and found an app called 'DAB-Z – Player for DAB/DAB+ USB adapters'. It works but is a bit buggy and crashes from time to time.

Are there any other apps that are more reliable?

I am looking for proper DAB. It looks like quite a few of the apps allow you to stream radio via mobile data, which is not what I want.

Thanks in advance.

[Sidecar Man]

I use Dab Z all the time and it's perfect I would suggest it's more to do with the internal Aerial

[Tommie38]

Thanks for your reply.

Digging a bit, the issue on stability appears to be the use of OMRI. When I disable that, stability improves but the quality of the audio reduces.

I will run with a bit before deciding whether K want to go for an external aerial.

[Rugged1]

I use the DAB-Z app and it works fine for me to. Regarding the DAB + windscreen stick on Arial. Make sure that the stick on copper tag is in full contact with bare metal on the car..! This is very important for reception. Grind away the paint to the bare metal the full size of the copper tag and clean the area thoroughly with a de-greaser. All of the copper tag must be in contact with bare metal for best reception. Run the antenna wire as far away from other wiring looms as you can.

[Rugged1]

Yes, disabling OMRI greatly improved my reception as well but the signal still drops off quite often depending on where I am. I also have a Honda CRV which has a rooftop mounted fin type antenna. This works better but the signal still occasionally drops off depending on my location when I am driving along. Right now I don’t believe that any car DAB antenna set up will have reception anything like as good as that you get from FM. Unless something is done about the signal transmission strength and coverage I don’t believe that car DAB reception will ever be fully acceptable.

[silvacrest]

Just wanted to say thanks to the guys who mentioned turning off OMRI, yes it gives better signal but DAB-Z crashed all the time and wouldn't open without resetting my head unit.

I'll take poor signal over constant crashing any day

[remy70]

Hi I’m new to dab radio. I have installed dab z on my android 10 head unit but confused how do I change or put on omri mode? I have windscreen aerial and only receive 1 bar? So wanted to change omri mode to see if this is better. Thanx remy

[dxg]

If you're running an Android head unit, why not use something like TuneIn or RadioPlayer, using your phone's data connection if need be.

Far more reliable in urban areas.

[remy70]

Hi all can someone please tell me how I check or turn on/off omri on dabz please? Thanx all

[remy70]

Don’t really want to use my data that’s why I bought the dab aerial for this head unit. So do you know how to turn on omri on dab z? I’m also in London so reception should not be an issue. Thanx