Dash cam causing radio interference.

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Colthebrummie

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I recently bought a cheap dash cam, one of those clip over the mirror type. It works pretty well and for the money, it seems good value. However, it is causing trouble with my car radio, it's the original landrover radio/cd player which, although a bit basic, usually produces a good tone. Normally, I listen to Radio 2 and I've noticed over the past couple of years the signal seems to be getting weaker. I reckon it's a ploy by the bbc and the government to make us switch to DAB. Since fitting the dash cam the reception is worse than ever. I'm constantly having to retune the radio to find the signal. The power cable for the dash cam is tucked behind the trip and it's a tight fit so changing it for much thicker shielded cable is out. Any ideas?

Col
 
Check the ground connection on the bottom of the aerial. They can corrode over time, given poor reception of radio signals.
 
I find that most accessories plugged in to the cigarette lighter socket cause some kind of interference, especially on AM.. I put it down to unsurpressed Chinese electronics.
 
kernowsvenski said:
I find that most accessories plugged in to the cigarette lighter socket cause some kind of interference, especially on AM.. I put it down to unsurpressed Chinese electronics.
Click to expand...
I've wired the dash cam into the fuse box. There was several reviews for this model, all good except one which mentioned radio interference.

Col
 
Colthebrummie said:
I've wired the dash cam into the fuse box. There was several reviews for this model, all good except one which mentioned radio interference.

Col
Click to expand...

Lots, actually most electronic equipment will give off some form of RF interference. However this normally affects lower down the radio frequency spectrum than FM band. It's definitely worth making sure the aerial is grounded correctly, as a high resistance ground will cause it's own interference.
 
Colthebrummie said:
I've wired the dash cam into the fuse box. There was several reviews for this model, all good except one which mentioned radio interference.

Col
Click to expand...

Lots, actually most electronic equipment will give off some form of RF interference. However this normally affects lower down the radio frequency spectrum than FM band. It's definitely worth making sure the aerial is grounded correctly, as a high resistance ground will cause it's own interference.
 
Those cheap Chinese 12v to 5v converters can cause loads of interference. I took the one I had out and replaced with a cigarette lighter socket and used the power cable that came with the dash cam (all hidden behind the dash), interference completely disappeared then. Before I did that, the instant the converter was required to provide any power to the dashcam the radio reception went.
 
Juzza6720 said:
Those cheap Chinese 12v to 5v converters can cause loads of interference. I took the one I had out and replaced with a cigarette lighter socket and used the power cable that came with the dash cam (all hidden behind the dash), interference completely disappeared then. Before I did that, the instant the converter was required to provide any power to the dashcam the radio reception went.
Click to expand...
Interesting. I originally had the dash cam powered by the cigar lighter socket and all seemed well. It wasn't until I tidied the cabling up by wiring it up to the fuse box that the interference became an issue. Its been raining all day so I haven't yet had a chance to look at the arial ground. I'm assuming I can get at that by removing the interior light fitting, am I right or wrong?

Col
 
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