DAB stations on radio 'off air'

The Black Oil

Having an issue with a Roberts Play 10 in the kitchen. All was fine until relatively recently, now the DAB stations (Gold, Lyric, Radio 1 - max 3 presets per mode) constantly display 'off air'. I've tried resetting and retuning, without success. Contacted Roberts who said that LED bulbs can interfere with DAB radios. Had never heard of this of this before, but searching it seems others have had problems. There is one LED bulb in the kitchen under the job, rarely used. Apart from that, there are a few in a bedroom upstairs. There are a few Philips Hue 27s knocking around - not in the kitchen, though. Roberts said Hue LEDs can cause issues. I unplugged the Hue bridge which runs the whole Hue thing, no luck.

I took the radio out to the shed and of course the stations worked. Presume there's nothing I can do the get the DAB working again the kitchen?

dxhound2005

It is probably a weak signal issue rather than interference. Can you get reception upstairs in the house? DAB signals are low power compared to FM radio and TV signals from the same transmitter sites. Your reception might be in a marginal area for whichever transmitter you are picking up.

North East Ireland Clermont Carn 5 Kilowatt power
Eastern Ireland Kippure 15
County Dublin Three Rock 14
Cork area Spur Hill 10
Limerick area Woodcock Hill 10

Measure the aerial fully extended. If you can get a longer replacement, it might help. Make sure it has the same connection as the one on the radio. 62 cm seems to be the longest available with what looks like the correct connection for your Roberts.

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/62cm-7-Sections-Stretch-Telescopic-Antenna-Remote-Aerial-TV-FM-Radio-Interphone-/382095199275?hash=item58f6a60c2b:g:k4MAAOSwR29ZIsRL

The Black Oil

Thanks for the detailed reply. It works upstairs alright. Current aerial seems to be about 42cm.

Three Rock it is.

The Black Oil

Found an 85cm aerial lying around. It's too big/heavy to use full time. Unfortunately, it didn't make any difference re the spot in the kitchen. Went back to the current aerial, again works up stairs, etc. It's just a few spots in the kitchen where it's constantly 'off air'.

It did work briefly on the counter top and over near the cooker. The latter's not really ideal due to moisture, imo. Tried it again last night, no joy.

Baffled.