I have lost channels on my DAB radio. But at night I lose the signal completely. The screen just says ‘connecting’ but it won’t come back on until the morning. I live in Liverpool.
– Steve
It’s unusual to only lose stations at a particular time of day, as DAB transmissions don’t change depending on the time of day.
DAB digital radios can be susceptible to interference. An issue can arise with DAB in cars when certain 12V adapters are used with a satellite navigation or dashcam gadget.
There could be something which is causing interference at night and preventing your radio from receiving stations. Unlike AM or FM radio you won’t notice a change in the sound of the station you’re trying to receive, as the digital station will likely cut out.
You could see if you have any LED lighting and try switching this off to see if the radio returns to normal. It would also be worth moving the radio to a different location and check if stations return. You could try another room to see if the radio is able to receive stations.
An article on the BBC website suggests that LED lights can cause a problem when they’ve been used to replace halogen lights, but with the original transformer.
DAB digital radios can be used in rooms with LED lights, but it appears that some LED lights cause more interference than others. You could also see if there are any other devices you use or switch on at night, such as televisions or phone chargers, and experiment with turning these off.
Why do I lose the DAB signal at exactly the same time every morning?
– Steve
It is unlikely that the DAB signal changes during the day so there could be something which is causing interference. If a device like a timer is set to switch on a boiler or a lamp at the same time every morning this could be causing an issue.
Similarly if the radio is used at work something may be switched on at the same time every day which affects the radio. The cause could be difficult to trace, but if the radio appears to have the same issue in a different location (e.g. a different room or another building) it could indicate a problem with the radio itself.