F30POST
F30POST
2012-2015 BMW 3-Series and 4-Series Forum
BMW Garage BMW Meets Register Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
BMW 3-Series and 4-Series Forum (F30 / F32) | F30POST > Technical Forums > Navigation, iDrive, Audio, Video, Bluetooth, Phone, Cameras, Electronics > Radio delay/echo
ARMA SPEED
Post Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
      06-28-2012, 02:58 PM   #1
alienranch
First Lieutenant
19
Rep
312
Posts

Drives: 2012 BMW 335i
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Dallas

iTrader: (0)

Radio delay/echo

Has anyone else had any issues with certain radio (FM) stations repeating/echoing about 2 seconds of audio? About three weeks ago, I noticed that one of my stations (106.1 in Dallas) would repeat about 2 seconds of audio every couple of minutes. At first I thought it was just the station, then I found two others that did the same thing. I then thought that maybe it was several stations owned by the same company and they had a problem with their transmissions. I figured it would be resolved, but a couple weeks later it hadn't and I couldn't find anything about it on the web. Figured if this was affecting other people in a city the size of Dallas, something would be out there. Here's what I've seen:

1. Problem is only with FM (satellite which has a buffer is fine)
2. Occurs within 5 seconds of changing the station to one affected. Otherwise happens about every 3-5 minutes.
3. Occurs when I go into a garage which leads me to think that it has to be my car and not the transmitting station
4. Happens on HD and standard stations (not all though)
5. Noticed on 102.1, 102.9 and 106.1 in Dallas
6. My wife's car (non BMW) doesn't have an issue so it's either my radio, or my radio not meshing with those stations

Any thoughts?
Appreciate 0
      06-28-2012, 03:16 PM   #2
ƒ°
ƒ°'s Avatar
101
Rep
1,237
Posts

Drives: ✚
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: ✚ ✚

iTrader: (1)

I have this "out of phase" issue as well. For me, it's when the radio station switches between standard and HD stations. It's annoying as hell and has caused me to stop listening to radio all together.

Maybe there's a coding solution to this. Svache!
Appreciate 0
      06-28-2012, 05:23 PM   #3
Elk
Major
32
Rep
1,285
Posts

Drives: 2012 335i
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: *

iTrader: (0)

Switch off HD reception. Hybrid digital has lower fidelity in any event.
Appreciate 0
      06-29-2012, 08:30 AM   #4
alienranch
First Lieutenant
19
Rep
312
Posts

Drives: 2012 BMW 335i
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Dallas

iTrader: (0)

Turning off HD resolved the issue. Thanks guys! Does this imply that there's an inherent issue with my HD reception or the radio itself. Disabling the HD signal just to hear the station seems like a waste of the newer technology.
Appreciate 0
      06-29-2012, 05:02 PM   #5
svache
Lieutenant Colonel
svache's Avatar
United_States
264
Rep
1,879
Posts

Drives: 2012 F30 328i
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Hawaii

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tremolo View Post
Maybe there's a coding solution to this. Svache!
Not really lol.. it's an HD radio issue.

I have the same thing on one or two radio channels (and in certain areas with lots of hills/mountains), I also had it in my '09 X5.. What it basically is, is the radio switching between regular radio and HD radio because some of the HD receptions are not strong enough. Since the two streams (regular and HD radio) are not 100% synchronized, you hear the 'echo' when it switches

Nothing wrong with the car or radio, it's the radio towers that are not broadcasting the HD radio strong enough.
__________________
F30 328i Luxury w/ Mojave metallic, beige interior (timeline)


Note: Many PM me for links to the software needed to code. Please note that I do not have download links to this software. Your best bet is using the search function in the coding thread
Appreciate 0
      06-29-2012, 05:25 PM   #6
ƒ°
ƒ°'s Avatar
101
Rep
1,237
Posts

Drives: ✚
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: ✚ ✚

iTrader: (1)

Quote:
Originally Posted by svache View Post
Not really lol.. it's an HD radio issue.

I have the same thing on one or two radio channels (and in certain areas with lots of hills/mountains), I also had it in my '09 X5.. What it basically is, is the radio switching between regular radio and HD radio because some of the HD receptions are not strong enough. Since the two streams (regular and HD radio) are not 100% synchronized, you hear the 'echo' when it switches

Nothing wrong with the car or radio, it's the radio towers that are not broadcasting the HD radio strong enough.
Figured it out. I know the manual says we can turn it off, but I could never find that part of the menu on iDrive. I thought it was something we can code to turn the HD off. However, I somehow stumbled on the option today and managed to turn off the HD. I still don't know how I got to it. Some times I want to strangle the person that planned out the user structure on iDrive. It's just so stupid.
Appreciate 0
      06-29-2012, 06:25 PM   #7
Elk
Major
32
Rep
1,285
Posts

Drives: 2012 335i
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: *

iTrader: (0)

1. "Radio"
2. "FM" or "AM"
3. "Options" Open.
4. "HD Radio Reception"

Turn it off if you care at all about sound quality. Hybrid Digital sounds about as bad as an MP3. It is only better than satellite radio, which is dreadful.
Appreciate 0
      06-29-2012, 08:16 PM   #8
ƒ°
ƒ°'s Avatar
101
Rep
1,237
Posts

Drives: ✚
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: ✚ ✚

iTrader: (1)

^^ Thanks.

I guess I couldn't find it before because I was in Presets>Option.
Appreciate 0
      03-21-2013, 09:38 AM   #9
auptown
New Member
0
Rep
13
Posts

Drives: 2013 F30 328xi
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Boulder, CO

iTrader: (0)

Yes I've looked for this for months! Thanks!
Appreciate 0
      10-12-2014, 08:29 AM   #10
philbake
Second Lieutenant
United_States
21
Rep
207
Posts

Drives: 2018 640i GT/2017 X5 40e
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Castle Rock, CO

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
2023 BMW i4 e40  [0.00]
The reason this happens is that the radio station hasn't synchronized its analog and digital signals. The digital signal processing takes a few seconds, and normally they'd delay the analog signal to match that delay precisely, which obviously this station didn't do. When the digital signal level falls below a useable threshold, the radio defaults to the analog signal instead. If they've synchronized them, you should notice a difference in quality, but not timing. I'm in the radio business, and the way our industry has deployed digital is still the subject of some controversy. For the most part, the general public doesn't have much awareness.
Appreciate 0
      12-08-2014, 03:26 PM   #11
Anilkamta
Registered
0
Rep
1
Posts

Drives: 2013-2014 320i
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Trinidad

iTrader: (0)

hi, i just bought a used 2013/2014 320 from japan , but my FM bandwidth in Trinidad is out of the scope of what the BMW radio tuner is set to. i need to reconfigure. can any one assist? i have read i need to change the location from japan to another country (like New zealand) but i can't get access to that part of the computer.
Appreciate 0
Post Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:34 PM.




f30post
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
1Addicts.com, BIMMERPOST.com, E90Post.com, F30Post.com, M3Post.com, ZPost.com, 5Post.com, 6Post.com, 7Post.com, XBimmers.com logo and trademark are properties of BIMMERPOST