How do I put DAB radio in my car? Electronics specialist garages are overwhelmed with these kinds of questions as the new year approaches. The SSR’s announcement to eliminate FM from 2025 has caused panic among motorists, even if RFJ and your regional radio stations, as a reminder, will continue to broadcast in FM at least until the end of 2026. Specialist garages electronics are hard at work trying to adapt DAB systems to cars that are not originally equipped with them. Among them, Duplain SA in Delémont which showed us that the maneuver can quickly turn out to be complicated.
Firstly because the parts are missing. “We have had a lot of requests for the past one or two months and we have a great shortage of everything that is a DAB compatible car radio module,” breathes Hervé Eray, director of Duplain SA. Then, the maneuver is far from obvious. “It’s not easy. The newer the vehicle, the more complex the modification. For old vehicles, agricultural and construction machinery, we manage to find solutions. But on a recent car, it’s a complicated modification… sometimes even impossible,” says Hervé Eray.
There are roughly three solutions available to motorists
“As soon as we remove the electronic box from the radio, it will cause faults. Typically with certain German brands, removing a radio also removes parking assistance, steering wheel controls, heating, you can also lose driving assistance. All these things are managed by the car radio. There are module solutions to replace that, but it’s complicated and expensive,” Hervé Eray does not hide. Price is the other big problem with switching to DAB. Count at least 500 francs for a small additional module with installation, and up to more than 1,000 or 1,500 francs to modify an existing radio. “Personally, for such an essential media, I find it absurd,” dares the mechanic. The addition risks chilling more than one person. /jpi
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