mgaleano Posted April 6, 2017 Share Posted April 6, 2017 (edited) Hi its been a while since I posted on this forum. I got a brand new mazda 3 with the dab radio in January. Unfortunately the dab radio has been disappointing. It does not scan the commercial networks first go. When you do get 9A and 9B it will glitch and audio drops despite good reception. There are workarounds to manually enter the frequency. 9C has no issues no dropouts. Other issues ,No DAB text & Volume is quite low compared to fm and am. Mazda cant fix it, need to wait til a firmware update which may not come. (To solve the dab issue). My car did spend 3 days at the dealer trying to fix. Mazda stated it happen in a brand new car as well, as I asked if they could replace the head unit but they said its a common fault. From my observations it could be 9A and 9B uses varying FEC 4A, 3A and 3B depending on the station. It seems to cause the ensemble to go a little haywire. It impacts on all stations including the 3A ones. 9C uses 3A consistently. Or it could be the repeaters with ABC not really utilising the repeaters. I dont think this would be an issue. If anyone has a mazda 3 it would be great to hear from you. Edited April 6, 2017 by mgaleano Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanh Posted April 7, 2017 Share Posted April 7, 2017 (edited) mgaleano I would ask Mazda head office in Australia if the radio they have installed complies to Australian Standard 4943-2009 Digital radio—Terrestrial broadcasting There are a number of compusory Australian standards that vehicles have to comply with which are all safety related. Since it appears to be a common problem, I also suggest you contact http://www.digitalradioplus.com.au/contact-us because they are responsible for the commercial transmitters. Are you sure that the ABC is not using repeaters, they do in WA. Does your car have the shark fin antenna or the plastic rod? Let us know of progress Alanh Edited April 7, 2017 by alanh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgaleano Posted April 7, 2017 Author Share Posted April 7, 2017 (edited) Thanks. I did contact broadcast australia in respect to the error encoding. They stated that broadcasters can use varying levels of error encoding. Basically Mazda need to fix it. I will throw that standard to Mazda and see how I go. I am now waiting for a firmware update. This problem may only happen to cars with 59.x.x.x firmware but that is unconfirmed. Its my theory not mazdas. I cant find another mazda to test. Also its a big no no to downgrade to 56.x.x.x with a new car born with 59.x.x.x. I am in Sydney. I know that the abc broadcast uses very low power on the repeaters. I agree and dont think its an issue, the issue I think commercial radio dont use a standard set of audio encoding parameters like 9c does. So this is why abc/sbs does not glitch. Its my theory. Though the dab text does not work on any ensemble in Sydney. The text is no big deal but it is more the principle of it being a new car. It seems to have a separate aerial to analog but not sure where the digital one is. If you ignore the glitches, the reception is pretty good. The plastic rod is for am/fm. Mazda did check the wiring and aerial. You talk to the customer service rep rather than the engineer. And I believe there was someone remote who told the mechanic what to do. So its hard to get "crisp answers". I have yet to have a road trip to canberra. That would be a great test, no time to go. Will keep you updated how I go. Thanks. Edited April 7, 2017 by mgaleano Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanh Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 mgaleano, The DAB+ standard was updated in January this year, to remove modes 2 - 4 which are not being used by broadcasters they say. I don't know about CRA http://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_en/300400_300499/300401/02.01.01_60/en_300401v020101p.pdf You may be interested in https://aerpro.com/products/dab_antennas_accessories and note that they are Australian! The sharkfin antennas contain an amplifier and a very short antenna. The plastic rod has a wire wound around it. For optimum DAB+ reception in Australia on a vehicle the metal part of the antenna should be vertical and 370 mm long because the roof forms a ground plane. Unfortunately my Mazda 6 is 2004 model so I can't help you other than to say they are a well made car! It's nice to have a constructive post. Alanh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betty boop Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 our family car is a mazda 3 and its just good to hear mazda have joined in with dab+ support. its rare it would seem for japanese makers as most dont support dab+, unlike the european makers. however pity to hear about the issue. I do hope they fix. stay on their backs ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danTheMan1503560646 Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 On 06/04/2017 at 6:30 PM, mgaleano said: Other issues ,No DAB text & Volume is quite low compared to fm and am. Hi mgaleano, my dad has 2017 Mazda 6 as a company car. I haven't noticed any reception issues in the Perth metropolitan area, but I have noticed the volume issue that you mention. The volume is significantly lower than AM and FM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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