DAB+ App: (real)zoulou's DAB-Z app (official support thread)

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okij

Senior Member
Oct 24, 2012
2,028
3,934
Düsseldorf
Samsung Galaxy S10e
I had the timeshift function enabled and indeed it is writing the cache files. After disabling it, no cache files were written.

The best thing is that after re-enabling the timeshift function, DAB-Z now only keeps the latest cache files, i.e. when closing and opening DAB-Z, the old "ts_*" directory is deleted and a new "ts_*" directory is created, which should be the way it's supposed to work.
@realzoulou I now checked this again and unfortunately this bug is back, i.e. the cache files are not being deleted again, please see attached screenshots.

It's no problem for me ATM, since I now disabled the timeshift function. I just wanted to let you know that this indeed needs to be fixed in v2.0. :)
 

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voxmagna

Member
Jul 15, 2009
38
8
Dab-Z sound mute: I don't know if I'm missing something but I have DAB-Z runing fine in a car head unit. As most of us know, car head unit apps sometimes need features not needed in phone Apps. My problem is DAB-Z boots to my Android Home screen link where I run it, but I can't mute its sound and keep satnav audio running?

DAB-Z and SATNAV apps sound are both locked together on the same volume settings. The head unit launcher allows me to set the sound ratio level difference, but what I want is to be able to mute DAB-Z audio from its screen if I'm concentrating on NAVI, or if my passenger finds my choice of music whilst navigating annoying. I don't know how to do that? If I could kill DAB-Z whilst it was running that's less desireable, but could work. I don't know how to do it once it's running?

Any ideas please?
 

voxmagna

Member
Jul 15, 2009
38
8
@moiloon
just be aware that this window-sticked antenna has very poor reception capabilities, so if you live far from transmitter then you will get poor reception.It is better than nothing, but much better way is to use roof antenna with amplifier (so called "active antenna") e.g. like this https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B073R8KW7F .
I'm a retired rf engineer and for what its worth, I've just finished the 'As perfect as I could make it' car antenna system. But it would be too complicated to fully explain. Traps are in cheap Chinese antennae and their pre-amplifiers. I had to test several of them to get components with truthful specs. Pre-amps are useless without a decent whip and then it should be mounted over a metal area (Ground Plane). Avoid the dual band FM/DAB+ whip antennae with integral pre-amps. Better to just use a dual band whip and attach the pre-amp(s) externally. I used a BMW 'Mini' dual band antenna - it's the longest you can get and when tested I confirmed it was tuned to FM and DAB+ bands. That way you can set lower gain for FM. I designed an active diplexer to separate strong AM/FM signals from DAB+. I had a special reason for mounting the antenna on my trunk lid.

There is so much Chinese junk car antennae parts and amplifiers out there it's likely giving DAB a bad name in UK. My car antenna system drives a Chinese USB DAB+ dongle with the head unit running DAB-Z. The dongle came with an active screen antenna which was useless. To run a whip antenna and remote amplifiers you have to think about d.c blocking the dongle antenna input and re-inserting d.c at the correct voltage for amplifiers which will be 12V NOT 5V. But as I hinted, a good car r.f antenna system isn't going to be easy plug and play with parts from Ebay.

If you want to prove your car DAB system, search the internet for some local DAB stations, get their coverage map, tune your station then drive to the edge of the published service area. If you get sounds and more than 2 green strength bars you are good, if you get pops crackles and DAB mutes, your mobile antenna isn't good enough.
 

Flemischguy

Senior Member
Dec 15, 2014
380
74
Antwerp
I'm a retired rf engineer and for what its worth, I've just finished the 'As perfect as I could make it' car antenna system. But it would be too complicated to fully explain. Traps are in cheap Chinese antennae and their pre-amplifiers. I had to test several of them to get components with truthful specs. Pre-amps are useless without a decent whip and then it should be mounted over a metal area (Ground Plane). Avoid the dual band FM/DAB+ whip antennae with integral pre-amps. Better to just use a dual band whip and attach the pre-amp(s) externally. I used a BMW 'Mini' dual band antenna - it's the longest you can get and when tested I confirmed it was tuned to FM and DAB+ bands. That way you can set lower gain for FM. I designed an active diplexer to separate strong AM/FM signals from DAB+. I had a special reason for mounting the antenna on my trunk lid.

There is so much Chinese junk car antennae parts and amplifiers out there it's likely giving DAB a bad name in UK. My car antenna system drives a Chinese USB DAB+ dongle with the head unit running DAB-Z. The dongle came with an active screen antenna which was useless. To run a whip antenna and remote amplifiers you have to think about d.c blocking the dongle antenna input and re-inserting d.c at the correct voltage for amplifiers which will be 12V NOT 5V. But as I hinted, a good car r.f antenna system isn't going to be easy plug and play with parts from Ebay.

If you want to prove your car DAB system, search the internet for some local DAB stations, get their coverage map, tune your station then drive to the edge of the published service area. If you get sounds and more than 2 green strength bars you are good, if you get pops crackles and DAB mutes, your mobile antenna isn't good enough.
I agree with you, thats why i installed the cheap chinese DAB receiver in the trunk away from the radio, and an Italian Calearo shark fin antenna on the roof of my 325i coupe, and it works like a charm.
 

voxmagna

Member
Jul 15, 2009
38
8
I left myself the option of trying a shark fin antenna over the same cable entry hole which would look neater if I painted it to match my trunk lid, but performance wise, a long straight dual band whip is going to be better than a short stub antenna and pre-amp. Unlike you, I have a cabriolet with a folding roof and glass fiber trunk lid. Therefore my r.f design included creating a ground plane on the trunk lid which involved more work.

Most DIY car antenna systems will work to some extent near DAB transmitters, but it's only out on the road as you move from one local DAB station coverage to another or get into areas screened by tall buildings that you can really tell their effectiveness. I think that's how Ebay sellers get away with selling most of the Chinese DIY junk which may seem to 'just work'. IMHO the antenna systems designed by OE manufacturers for new cars are going to be more credible.

The DAB-Z signal strength bars are quite useful to watch as you drive around. But I still haven't found out how to mute the radio or kill the app and still leave the Navi or an MP3 tune playing? Germany has a lot of DAB stations and German car makers should know best what they are doing if you look at newish DAB car models post 2018.

Putting the dongle in the trunk or even inside the head lining close to the antenna makes sense to reduces cable losses, but after a preamp either integral or mounted close to the antenna cable, losses don't matter so much because the biggest effect on noise figure will be losses at the first pre-amplifier input. Post antenna pre-amp and my active diplexer splitting stronger FM/AM from weaker DAB signals, I ran 2 lengths of RG174 - one to the head unit for F.M and the other to the glove box where my USB DAB+ dongle is plugged in. I removed every FAKRA connector and used plated SMA throughout.

Most Chinese head units have a selectable software option to produce 12v pre-amp power when turned on. From measurements, I found their d.c output was poorly regulated for loads above 50mA and was probably a simple source resistor to protect against shorts. My pre-amp and active diplexer draws about 100mA so I took an 'Always on' fused voltage source and switched it from the radio antenna d.c with a mini 12V relay.

All is not as simple as it seems.
 

realzoulou

Senior Member
Nov 3, 2016
1,046
1,325
Greater Area Munich
But I still haven't found out how to mute the radio or kill the app
When you switch to any other audio or video app, DAB-Z should stop its audio output immediately. See #3,515
This will cause DAB-Z to enter a sort of paused state.
When you want to close DAB-Z you simple press the BACK button when DAB-Z is on screen. This will stop DAB-Z. It is not like killing the app, because the Linux process will still remain in RAM and when tapping on the DAB-Z icon in Launcher, it will "warm start".
 

TJF2

Member
Feb 15, 2020
41
9
Munich-Starnberg, Germany
I have made a firmware update ( Android 11 ) in my car radio. Now (! ) I can no longer install DAB-Z. I do not use Google software ( Playstore ). I downloaded and installed the apk file from apkpure.com as before.

It starts and seems to install. Then the message appears "DAB-Z wasn't installed". What can I do?
 

TJF2

Member
Feb 15, 2020
41
9
Munich-Starnberg, Germany
I have made a firmware update ( Android 11 ) in my car radio. Now (! ) I can no longer install DAB-Z. I do not use Google software ( Playstore ). I downloaded and installed the apk file from apkpure.com as before.

It starts and seems to install. Then the message appears "DAB-Z wasn't installed". What can I do?
Problem solved: Since the latest DAB-Z version, you have to select the right variant for the matching hardware on apkpure.com. To do this, you have to scroll down and click your way to the right section among all releases.
 
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TJF2

Member
Feb 15, 2020
41
9
Munich-Starnberg, Germany
Android 11, Car: When the audio player Neutron Pro (setting "bitperfect") plays and DAB-Z is opened, Neutron is neither closed nor muted. Both apps are playing. And vice versa. In DAB-Z I have set the quitting under "Audio".

Is there any way to set it to only play the app in the foreground besides manually quitting?
 

IG_Vasilich

Senior Member
@realzoulou
tested with .126 and 127, but not sure when it started to happen again:
Problem with missing last station name char, when name contains non-ASCII chars, is back.
"RadioRüsselsheim" is scanned as "RadioRüsselshei". Checked with my kitchen radio with DAB+ - it still has full name after rescan.
Do you need log, or this is already known problem (you have already fixed it once) and you already know where to look at?
 
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IG_Vasilich

Senior Member
@TJF2
have you checked ducking settings in DAB+ app and in Neutron app?
I have no problems with DAB+ - it mutes when navi app is talking, and switch to pause when any other music player (checked with Stellio and AIMP) is starting to play - everything works acc. to DAB-Z settings.
 

AntonyTime

New member
Nov 14, 2017
2
0
Hi, i have a problem, the USB DAB+ Is connected, the antenna too, but the app does not find the stations when I do the search, someone help me?
 

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IG_Vasilich

Senior Member
@AntonyTime
where are you located? Are you sure that there is some DAB+ broadcasting in your area? check here pls https://www.worlddab.org/countries/italy#coverage
Moreover, your DAB antenna has been installed wrongly (as I see from your picture) - the last part (farmost from antenna housing) should be connected to unpainted metal part of your car - read/watch installation manuals for that type of antenna.
 
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    Last updated: 2023-10-28

    DAB-Z v2.x thread is here

    This thread is discussing the (now old) DAB-Z v1.x versions...

    Release notes of last v1.x release 1.9.127

    If you want to become beta user, subscribe in Google Play or open this link from the device : https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.zoulou.dab

    The app is available in Google Play named DAB-Z with package name "com.zoulou.dab".
    It can be installed in parallel to any original preinstalled DAB+ Player.

    Get DAB-Z on Google Play

    Get previous versions on Apkpure

    Compatible devices:

    all DAB USB dongles with VID/PID = 16C0/05DC (decimal 5824/1500) ("VOTI", "Van Ooijen Technische Informatica", "shared ID for use with libusb", "wshtyr@126.com")
    Examples (for sure not complete!)
    XTRONS USBDAB01
    Joying DAB+
    Pumpkin Y0251
    Hotaudio Dasaita DAB+
    (and dozends or hundreds more, they are all quite the same, if not equal.)
    Use this link to find out more

    NOT SUPPORTED:

    * Any SDR ("Software Defined Radio") devices (e.g. based on Realtek RTL2832U R820T)
    * Fulljoin adapter
    * Dension DAB+U
    * Dasaita DAB box


    Frequently asked questions FAQ:

    DAB-Z's expected behavior regarding Play/Pause, Mute/Unmute, Navi App announcements

    Q: Does DAB-Z support fallback to FM Radio?
    A: No and it is not planned due to technical reasons.

    Q: Why do some stations appear several times in the list but have all the same content?
    A: This is an annoying behavior of the broadcasting stations. DAB-Z does not lump them together to give the user the choice to pick one into the favorites list that has the best signal strength.

    Q: Is it possible to add a sort of buffer to bridge short reception outages and therefore interruptions of audio, e.g. while driving through a tunnel?
    A: No. DAB is a real-time, live (but digital) broadcast (same as old-style TV and FM radio), in contrast to streaming. The broadcasted data that is lost due to missing reception cannot be recovered or re-requested later. Also, DAB cannot be read-ahead in contrast to streaming. An app therefore cannot create a buffer of "future" data in order to have data locally, which can then be used to bridge the loss of reception.

    For testers ...​

    ... that want to actively support me and help everyone to have a better DAB-Z app:

    If you encounter an issue with DAB-Z, I will maybe ask you to provide a) logcat logs or b) raw recordings.

    a) logcat logs are created by pressing the logcat button in DAB-Z Settings -> Info (at the very bottom)
    A zip file is created and you will be able to choose what to do (send via Email, add to Google Drive, etc...). Get this zip file to me somehow.
    If I additionally ask you to enable "OMRI verbose logging", then follow these steps before creating the logcat as above:

    1. Enable Developer Menu: tap 7x on DAB-Z Settings->Info->Version , then go back, a new menu item appeared "Developer options" at the very bottom
    2. Enable OMRI verbose logging
    3. Close DAB-Z
    4. Reopen DAB-Z
    ... reproduce the issue ...
    5. Create the logcat DAB-Z Settings -> Info (at the very bottom)

    b) raw recording are created by this procedure:

    raw recordings are done using this procedure:
    1. Enable Developer Menu: tap 7x on Settings->Info->Version , then go back, a new menu item appeared "Developer options" at the very bottom
    2. Enable OMRI raw recording (you don't need to activate verbose logging)
    3. Close DAB-Z (raw recording enable/disable requires a restart of DAB-Z)
    4. Reopen DAB-Z
    ... reproduce the issue ...
    6. Go to DAB-Z Settings and disable OMRI raw recording. Restart DAB-Z again.

    Afterwards, files with ending .raw exist in:
    <internal memory>/Documents/DAB/rec/
    Download them all from the head unit, zip them and send to me.
    18
    Release ZOU-DAB+171119 "Master Piece"

    Release of the "Master Piece" version of the DAB+ App mod.
    ZOU-DAB+171119

    Download: REMOVED

    ZOU-DAB+171119-Flip-AutoHide.gif

    Credits for translation to Norwegian goes to again to XDA member @syk02jcb@hotmail.com
    Credits for translation to Italian goes to china-rns.com member John Dai

    Changes (see also Changes.txt from the download):

    New:
    - Station logos
    Station logos can be downloaded from Volkswagen for >20 countries across Europe and automatically installed to a User accessible location. More than one country can be installed. User can add own station logos in subfolder "<extStorageDir>/DAB/logos/user" in JPG or PNG format. No width/height restrictions for the logo. The app will automatically scale to fit.
    Settings allow to enable/disable showing station logos in station list and in Slide Show area. Scaling can be limited to 1x,2x,3x if needed.
    Settings list any issues in finding a matching logo for a certain station. The search is based on the station name. If no exact (substring) match can be found in the list of logo files, then a default logo is presented. The User has to fix this by renaming logo files or adding additional logo files outside(!) of the DAB app using a File Manager.
    - Layout:
    * new button icons
    * button bar moved from left to right side to gain more space for the slide show area
    * Changed the "logic" of the favorites button: Shows what will happen when pressing it, not what the current status is.
    * new "radio.png" logo. Using now a new DAB logo used in Germany (www.digitalradio.de)
    * the background boxes are not disabled by default. Can be reactivated in Settings.
    * General layout optimization for
    - 800x480 @ 320 dpi
    - 800x480 @ 240 dpi
    - 1024x600 @ 320 dpi
    - 1024x600 @ 240 dpi
    - Removed the previously added "Large SLS" activity. Replaced with an animated fade out of the station list.
    - Added an option to automatically hide the stationlist after a selectable timeout.
    - Added Audio format (MP2 or AAC) and Sample rate (44,1 or 48 kHz) to Station details. As before in the Large SLS, still accessible via "flipping" the slide show picture.
    - Added an option in Settings to move the App to background when the DAB App was started by the "USB device attached" event. Useful eg. when using certain launchers.
    - New logo in the notification bar.
    - Settings->Info shows the reason why the DAB App is running: Either started by "LAUNCHER" or "USB DEVICE ATTACHED"
    - Settings->Info shows the screen resolution and density (e.g. 1024x600 @ 160 dpi)
    - When scanning with type "update", old stations no longer received are now deleted. The favorite setting will be kept.
    - Added Italian translation. Thanks to John Dai @ china-rns.com

    Changes:
    - Replaced old "Connecting..." behaviour with a completely new implementation
    - Audio recording now stored in <extStorageDir>/DAB/rec/ (instead of <extStorageDir>/dab_rec/)
    - Fixed: Channels "10N, 11N and 12N" not shown in station details
    - for developers: BroadcastIntent generation is now disabled by default. Can be reactivated in Settings.
    BroadcastIntent definition has changed w.r.t. "artist", "track" and "playing". See change documentation in BroadcastIntent-definition.txt

    Note that the high pitch sound issue is not fixed in the 171119 release.

    Video tutorial for station logo download from Internet:
    http://youtu.be/zVTGYbXsG7I

    Video tutorial for adding own logo pictures :
    http://youtu.be/Bux3LEJoML8
    16
    Release ZOU-DAB+180804 "Master Piece Maintenance Release 5"

    Release of the "Master Piece Maintenance Release 5" version of the DAB+ App mod.

    ZOU-DAB+180804

    Download: http://bit.ly/2Kqp7HB
    (Please only share the bitly link with others)

    Changes (see also Changes.txt from the download)

    - BroadcastIntent: added slsBitmap which contains currently displayed logo or DAB slideshow picture
    Goal: Allow launchers (e.g. FCC Car launcher) to display album art
    INFO: DAB App now also has a fairly complete implementation of Android's android.media.browse.MediaBrowserService interface
    This allows for using pure Android APIs to view metadata instead of using the proprietary BroadcastIntent
    - Add buttons for PREV and NEXT to Notification and use Media style notification
    - PREV/NEXT steering wheel behavior can be swapped in Settings->General
    - Fixed: Volume adjustment in Settings->Audio is lost after station change
    - Fixed: After several station scans, App completely fails to work until re-install.
    - Fixed: Duplicate entries in station list
    - Removed feature to delay the USB connection on automatic start, which was introduced with ZOU-DAB+180210
    - Removed option to avoid that DAB App is started twice from Settings->General. This is now avoided by using Android manifest launchMode=singleTask
    - Removed feature to download a country-specific station logo zip file and automatically extract it.
    Note: You can still copy an extracted folder of such station logos to /DAB/logos/ folder and after pressing "Sync" button in Settings->Station Logo the logo files will be scanned for a match between filename of a png/jpg file and the name of a station.
    13
    Release ZOU-DAB+180618 "Master Piece Maintenance Release 4"

    Release of the "Master Piece Maintenance Release 4" version of the DAB+ App mod.

    ZOU-DAB+180618

    Download: REMOVED

    Changes (see also Changes.txt from the download)

    - Fixed: Adopt Station Logo download to new VW website
    - Add a button to Settings->Info to show hints picture about how to use the UI
    12
    Release ZOU-DAB+170909

    Release of my next major version of the DAB+ App mod.
    ZOU-DAB+170909
    This is not the "master piece" release yet.

    Download: REMOVED

    There are (again) two versions of the App:
    a) the "normal" one
    b) one with no usb_device_filter.xml included, which makes Android remember already granted access of DAB+ App to the USB DAB device.
    However, Android then also starts the DAB+ App whenever it finds the USB DAB device as newly connected, which is the case when you power on the
    head unit.
    Some people don't want that the DAB+ app starts automatically when the DAB USB device is detected at startup. This is the reason why this version exists.
    Note: When running on Android >= 6, this version will most likely ask for permission to access the USB device at *every* start of the app.

    Credits for translation to Norwegian goes to XDA member @syk02jcb@hotmail.com

    Changes (see also the Changes.txt from the download):

    New:
    - Most (not all) of the texts are now available in: English, Deutsch and Norsk bokmål
    Credits for translation to Norwegian goes to XDA member [B @syk02jcb@hotmail.com[/B]
    - Swipe to right in station list shows a delete button. On swipe left again, delete button disappears. On click on delete button an alert dialog appears to allow the user to confirm. Deletion of stations cannot be un-done. A new scan is needed to get the station back.
    - Additional info (channel and ensemble name) in station list can be deactivated via Settings->Layout
    - "Service Following" feature can be activated in Settings->General. NOTE: This is treated as "Experimental". This activates the original app functionality, which was always in the app, but was not connected to the UI. Do not blame me if you find it not working.
    - Audio recording button can be activated via Settings->General
    - The borders around the slide show picture and around the station list can be deactivated via Settings->Layout
    - A click on the slide show picture creates a large version of the picture. I call this "Large SLS".
    - Swipe left or right on "Large SLS" switches between the picture and some detailled info about the current station.
    - When starting a re-scan one can choose now between "Replace all stations" and "Add new stations"
    - The app sends out broadcast intents containing all information that you can also find on the screen.
    The definition of the intent is in file "BroadcastIntent-definition.txt"

    Changes:
    - Fixed: no audio after standby when using NoKill mods.
    - Fixed: when USB connection suddenly drops, the App remains active but with no audio. My fix is to close the app.
    - Settings layout improved
    - Notification now contains station name instead of "Make DAB+ great again ..."
    - A second way to enter the settings screen is via the "Large SLS" screen
    - Optimization of memory allocations. Results in less Garbage Collector runs, which is good for overall performance.


    Main.PNG Large_SLS.jpg
    ChannelDetails.PNG Credits.PNG

    Videotour through the DAB+ App:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHVRfX5n8eM