Antenna Diversity for Improving the BER in Mobile Digital Radio Reception Especially in Areas with Dense Foliage

An antenna diversity for satellite digital audio radio systems (SDARS) was implemented as a first hardware demonstrator and tested. Proof is shown that for critical reception scenarios for example underneath dense foliage or in multipath situations between high buildings the antenna diversity yields a significant reduction of the bit error rate (BER). Full diversity function is achieved with no additional effort in mounting and required space for the antennas. Only one antenna line is used and one tuner as in conventional single arm receiving systems is employed.