550 Interference with DAB radio?!!

B20RRL said:
Now this is really weird....

I have an Audi A3 in our group of vehicles that has a system called AutoDAB. I normally listen to Radio 1 in the morning and when I had the DR500 I had no problems. Ever since installing the DR550 I have had issues with the DAB signal. It cuts out quite a bit on my short journey to work in the morning.

I powered down the whole system and had no issues with the DAB whatsoever. As soon as I plugged it in again the blackouts started up again. I think I'm going to disconnect the Rear Cam as I'm sure it's something to do with that or the AV cable. Maybe the shielding isn't good enough? Once I have tried this I'm going to report it to the technical boys over at Pittasoft.
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Is there any feedback from your tests with the A3 and the DAB radio ??
 
Hey Anthony,

Sorry for the delay guys, the Audi A3 has been having some work done to it so haven't been able to test since I got the cable.

I did however whip it in yesterday and if I'm being honest it's almost the same as my current AV Cable with 2 Ferrite Cores on. The dropout of the DAB is however a lot shorter in certain areas, lasting no more than 1-2secs compared to the standard cable which could be 3-5secs depending on location.

I do think it's a big improvement on the original cable though! Without the cores it was jumping out all the time!!
 
B20RRL said:
Hey Anthony,

Sorry for the delay guys, the Audi A3 has been having some work done to it so haven't been able to test since I got the cable.

I did however whip it in yesterday and if I'm being honest it's almost the same as my current AV Cable with 2 Ferrite Cores on. The dropout of the DAB is however a lot shorter in certain areas, lasting no more than 1-2secs compared to the standard cable which could be 3-5secs depending on location.

I do think it's a big improvement on the original cable though! Without the cores it was jumping out all the time!!
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Thanks for the update ....

Are you planning on using the new cable with Ferrite Cores on or is there no point ?
 
Just fitted the cable and Pre testing seems better, but not a major difference. I have run the new cable through the same route as the old one. with the old one beside the new one.

The connector seems a little tighter. I have taken it for a little drive and its not fading the music out quite as much or as long as it normally does. Normally pulling away from my house I get a hiss then no music for around 3-4 seconds as I pass the buildings with metal inside them. this time it was only a brief hiss then music again. so yes it is better at first try. I am heading out and about tomorrow I will find a nice quite road where i always get more interference as the signal in that area is lower then normal and record the sound and video it on my camera. then switch wires and check if its doing the same.

To do this I will be risking my life as its a bit of a rough area where nice cars are damaged and people with digital camcorders normally have there burden of that costly item removed from there hands. Its rare in this weather for the rogues to be out as its a dead end and they only go there to race on the beach with there stolen cars and mopeds. only a few really nice houses at the end of the road. That is where I am going.

BTW When the camera is disconnected and no power is being provided to it, in the lower signal area I get perfect radio. So its just lower then at home where the transmitter is with in sight on the horizon but in sight of my roof.

I find it strange that they have used the same cable and connector, both are RG174 cables. both are nearly the same length as far as I can tell its fitted to the car bit hard to measure, both have the same thickness and the same connectors... I don't know what they have done to the cable from looks they are the same. I have attached a small bit of tape to the ends just for identifying the cables.

Be back in touch tomorrow.
 
Thanks all for providing the feedback.
I have resigned myself to this not being taken too seriously, and by all accounts a cable which "almost" fixes the problem does not fix the problem!.
I'll just stick with the ferrites and stick to FM until I hit a DAB strong signal area.

That said, unless they sort out this blasted pixilation issue I'll just drop the camera out of the car in favour of a different unit, probably without a rear cam, and probably not a blackvue.
 
well took for a drive haven't recorded it as my job canceled yesterday. but it seems better, by a small amount. not all the time but most of the time.
 
Peter Wilson said:
I find it strange that they have used the same cable and connector, both are RG174 cables. both are nearly the same length as far as I can tell its fitted to the car bit hard to measure, both have the same thickness and the same connectors... I don't know what they have done to the cable from looks they are the same. I have attached a small bit of tape to the ends just for identifying the cables.

Be back in touch tomorrow.
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my guess:
maybe they forgot to solder the shield in the old cables, or they added a tiny hf capacitor in the connector.

new cable does its job.
for secure i added 1 ferrite at the rear cam.
 
I have been testing and it seems to be much better. I have moved the cable around to avoid the main wiring loom and its not really getting any interference. however it still hisses out in areas with a weak signal. but most radios do. I did also change my aerial as the old one was stolen. the new one is about 1/2 as long again but this one is a coiled aerial the earlier one was the straight fiberglass one.

I have however been in touch with my credit card provider and I have applied for them to do there cover for the quality issues footage wise and the fact that the camera never works when I check it. Its always ether off, fuzzy, the wrong date, the wrong time, pixalated, or the rear camera in the rainbow lands where the sky has changed to a halo and the ground is pink.
 
Peter Wilson said:
I have been testing and it seems to be much better. I have moved the cable around to avoid the main wiring loom and its not really getting any interference. however it still hisses out in areas with a weak signal. but most radios do. I did also change my aerial as the old one was stolen. the new one is about 1/2 as long again but this one is a coiled aerial the earlier one was the straight fiberglass one.

I have however been in touch with my credit card provider and I have applied for them to do there cover for the quality issues footage wise and the fact that the camera never works when I check it. Its always ether off, fuzzy, the wrong date, the wrong time, pixalated, or the rear camera in the rainbow lands where the sky has changed to a halo and the ground is pink.
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Out of interest Peter, did you purchase from a re-seller in the UK or did you import it from Korea?
 
I purchased from Ireland via Amazon. the seller was slightly cheaper. It more a problem with the manufacturing quality. The rear camera is unreliable although for now it seems the date and time have remained correct. Its a UK model. I am just sorry to say every time I have wanted to get footage off its failed. I fear that it will be the case of if I have an accident It will have missed the whole thing and then I will find out after I have told the insurance that I have it all recorded it will be Sorry mate the claim has failed due to insufficient evidence. I cant afford to take that risk as I have to have trade insurance and if I lose my no claims I would be looking at an extra £1000 per year and an excess of over £500 to pay.
 
The rear camera Cable BTW is much better I have had to move it to the other side of the car down the drivers side. I must say its causes less interference then the old cable in the same location. still interferes a little though
 
Peter Wilson said:
The rear camera Cable BTW is much better I have had to move it to the other side of the car down the drivers side. I must say its causes less interference then the old cable in the same location. still interferes a little though
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How did you end up getting a replacement cable? I too bought mine from Amazon UK but after a whole load of fuss, it has now ended up being a non UK model without the sellers knowledge and as a result, BVUK don't want to help.
While I stuck with Pittasoft cameras since the first one and have reviewed many on the various forums I am on (and sold many as a result) I too am washing my hands with pittasoft cameras after this experience.
I think the quality of production of the units itself is shoddy, the after-sales service is shoddy and overall company is shoddy who have been very shady on how they operate especially with the recent change in operations.

I am now amending all reviews but also posting my experiences online - at the end of the day, it should not matter where these are purchased from because it always boils down to one point - it is a pittasoft camera.

We've now got rid of most of the BVs in the family now but whats annoying is with almost £1.5k spent over the years with BV - it makes you think when the 350 died mysteriously, the 400v1 had the heat issue and killed the lens, the v2 was stable enough but then the 550gw was purchased and the DAB issues started not to mention eating up two SD cards (lexar/sandisk)
 
Non-UK model without the sellers knowledge...? I find this very hard to believe.

When I purchase stock, I know exactly where all my cams come from and each serial number is linked to the original distributor and for what market it was produced for. It's obvious when a new distributor tries to poach your business from another based on the prices they give you.

Always the danger with Amazon and eBay. Cheap price but then you don't know what you're really getting.
 
Peter Wilson said:
The rear camera Cable BTW is much better I have had to move it to the other side of the car down the drivers side. I must say its causes less interference then the old cable in the same location. still interferes a little though
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Pete you may find this interesting....

I have been doing lots of reviews recently, especially the DR530 and the DR500-Lite.

Now I have been swapping cams in and out like nobody's business and the other day I realised I plugged in my original DR550 Front but had accidentally left in the DR530 Rear. Was using the new DAB AV Cable too. I thought this would have messed up the recordings but was surprised to see the recordings were fine. This could be a massive coincidence but I noticed my DAB signal was near perfect with only 1 or 2 short drop outs. I wonder if Pittasoft have changed something in the Rear Cam to help with the DAB signal?
 
B20RRL - sorry don;'t know your name :- )

The response from BVUK was :
"The amazon seller in question has contacted me with the detail, it seems he has unknowingly purchased what he thought was UK stock from a old reputable supplier.
We know of this seller and they were clearly from the other evidence and detail (S/N) we have parallel importing from other European countries in conjunction with buying from Pittasoft."

It really was unknowingly - I spoke with the seller on Amazon a lot prior to buying and then after too as I had issues with the rear cam like Pete has previously and after much testing, we got it a working pair.
I do believe he was/is genuine and was just as shocked when he found out - From what I know, he has since ceased BV operations so to speak and is just offloading any remaining stock.

As for cheap - not at all...in actual fact, I think I paid a little more due to BVUK not having stock if I remember correctly. It was around the £350 mark and at that price, would not have skimped out on a few tenners on a imported model. Mines apparently from France.

I work for a haulage company and I'm hoping this experience puts them off a potential large order for their lorries and vans

Interesting finding on the 530 rear cam though - Sounds like a combination of not just cable but camera itself that needs shielding.
 
Hey,

No problems. It's Tim!

Okidoke that sounds fair enough. I hear lots of stories like this but if you paid the normal price then it does seem he genuinely didn't know it wasn't UK stock. Hopefully this original seller that sold to him will be caught out one day... I hate it when bedroom sellers and companies try to pull the wool over other peoples eyes. No trust anymore!

Yea it is strange about the 530 Rear. I have switched back to the 550 Rear now to see if it was just a coincidence.
 
I have played with quite a few cameras, I am testing one at the moment, not a BV unit and the noise off the CMOS sensor is horrendous to the point where it kills even a tom-tom at 1m. It's a problem I see in various degrees with the samples I get sent. The BV issue is off the sensor and the cable acts as an antenna to radiate the signal out. Screening the cable helps but it still leaks RF.

A ferrite helps and RF screening lacquer on the inside of the rear camera helps even more. There are other solutions but they can be costly.

It's worth noting that some of the levels of leaked RF I have seen can contravene the Wireless and Telecommunications act. In the UK re-radiating GPS antennas were banned for this reason. I am not convinced that these camera companies are conducting full RF and EMI tests even though they say they do.
 
Hi does anyone know if the duel cam blackVue 530 has the same problem with DAB radio interference. Like the 550.
 
Did anyone test 650 for DAB issue yet? If the problem was with the sensor (as
ukspeedtraps mentioned), I hope it is gone with the new Sony Sensor and the new cable they advertise.

I am getting a 650 next week and will test it in my car which has DAB issues with 550.
 
I did DAB interference test with 650 and 550 yesterday. The DAB interference is same as with the "550 replacement cable". This means interference although very less and same as with 550 "replacement cable", it is still present. I confirmed this by checking with channels in places where the signal is weak. This means CMOS change hasn't eliminated the interference problem completely.
 
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