Your digital radio hi-fi tuner will come with an indoor aerial, either a ‘ribbon dipole’ or a ‘monopole’ (‘half dipole’). Portable radios usually feature either a standard telescopic aerial, or with handheld models, the aerial is usually built in to the headphones.
The aerial supplied should work well if you’re within a DAB coverage area. However, if you’re listening in a basement, or your building is steel-framed or made of reinforced concrete, you might need an external aerial. As a rule of thumb, if you already have poor FM or mobile phone reception, chances are you’ll need an external aerial. If you want an outdoor aerial, we suggest you have it installed by a professional aerial installer registered with the Confederation of Aerial Industries, www.cai.org.uk. First, though, see if placing the radio near to a window improves reception.
The Yagi aerial must be pointed at the transmitters. All DAB aerials must be vertically polarised. The higher the aerial is mounted, the better reception you will receive.
To obtain the best results from an external aerial, either use a dipole (omnidirectional aerial – should work well for moderate to strong signal levels provided it is vertically polarised) or, in exceptional circumstances, a Yagi (which has a much higher gain than a dipole, but is directional – best suited where reception is poor and all transmitters are in the same direction).