I have bought a Tibo tuner and Planet Rock and Absolute Classic Rock are not on DAB, but they are on Sky?
– Alan
Both Absolute Classic Rock and Planet Rock are available on Sky and DAB digital radio. However, you may not be able to receive the stations on DAB in your area.
Planet Rock is available on DAB digital radio to 83% of households in the UK. It’s also available on Sky (channel 0110) and Freesat (channel 730) as well as Virgin Media.
Absolute Classic Rock is also available on DAB digital radio, but only in some parts of the UK. These are mainly in the North of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and London. The rock station is also on Sky as ‘Classic Rock’ on channel 0203, but not Freesat.
It would be worth checking whether you should be able to receive these stations on DAB in your area. There is a coverage checker which will predict the stations which you should be able to receive based on your postcode.
If the coverage checker suggests that you should receive these stations there could be an issue with the antenna which is plugged in to the Tibo tuner. Photos on the Tibo website show that its TI435DAB model, as available at Richer Sounds, comes with a flexible wire antenna which has an F-plug connector.
This should be fully extended in a vertical position, but this can be difficult with a flexible aerial. You could consider purchasing a telescopic aerial with an F-plug connector which would stay vertical, if there is space to do this.
If it’s possible you could also look into a loft or roof mounted DAB aerial to improve reception of stations. This would help make the most of the DAB tuner.
Alternatives to DAB for rock music stations
Should Planet Rock and Absolute Classic Rock not be available on DAB in your area you could consider some alternatives. If you have Sky you could see if your receiver can be connected to an amplifier. Some older Sky receivers had standard stereo RCA sockets which can be used to connect to a stereo amplifier. Alternatively if you have a AV Receiver this may accept a HDMI connection from a Sky box.
Another option could be an internet-connected device which would receive these and many more rock music stations. The cheapest option would be an Amazon Echo device with a 3.5mm aux output which can be plugged in to an amplifier with a 3.5mm mini-jack to stereo RCA lead.
If you would prefer to use a Hi-Fi seperate with a remote control there are some products which receive Internet radio stations. Look for media streamers or network media players and check that it has a built-in Internet radio tuner. Most of these now use WiFi to connect to your home network and the Internet, but some can be used with an ethernet connection too.