nice one andy. a few quick questions :

1) thanks for pics of rear side sunblinds. they look good. is the mechanism easy and smooth ?

2) what are the mats you have in the back - they look like rubber. hope these are not the ones i have paid £50 for . was expecting posh carpet ones.

3)what do you reckon to the voice control on the bluetooth. the bit where you can simply say a number in full and it will dial it. i thought that was very clever.

4) interesting what you say about bluetooth modem. i will talk to you more when you are back. i need a solution for occasional internet access when i am in my caravan, this might be the answer.

enjoy your holiday

In answer:

1. The mechanism is nice and smooth, and easy to use.

2. All the mats are rubber. They were a freebie, so I'm not complaining. I chose them as the carpet mats in my Octy had all sorts of gunk spilt on them. I've also got a set of carpet mats, which I'm saving for now.

3. The voice control works really well, so no complaints there.

4. Not tested it yet, but the speed will only be GPRS, no 3G.

oh yeah - and can you disable the auto dim rear view mirror ?

Yes you can. There is a button on the mirror, and a little green LED which shows when its on.

Yes you can. There is a button on the mirror, and a little green LED which shows when its on.

pinched from the Audi A6 parts bin by the sound of it as that is exactly what we had on the 2004 A6 !!

so your passenger can watch a DVD while you are driving. although i bet DVD playback isnt available whilst in motion is it (no doubt someone very clever will work out a fix for this)

all we need now is to work out how to feed the DVD signal to some rear screens !!

You're right. No DVD playback whilst in motion. Kufatec make an interface to get around this, but it's very expensive.

To enable AV out, you also need a module that converts the RGB signal to composite. Again, Kufatec do something, but it's pricey.

You're right. No DVD playback whilst in motion. Kufatec make an interface to get around this, but it's very expensive.

To enable AV out, you also need a module that converts the RGB signal to composite. Again, Kufatec do something, but it's pricey.

you must be able to find the wire that sends the signal to the columbus to say "I am now in motion" and snip the wire !!

You're right. No DVD playback whilst in motion. Kufatec make an interface to get around this, but it's very expensive.

To enable AV out, you also need a module that converts the RGB signal to composite. Again, Kufatec do something, but it's pricey.

or use a PC monitor with an RGB input !!

I know on some aftermarket ones its just a cable that goes to earth when the handbrake is on, so find the wire and earth it permanently.

I know on some aftermarket ones its just a cable that goes to earth when the handbrake is on, so find the wire and earth it permanently.

Sadly, it's not that simple with the Columbus. It uses both speed pulses from the ABS wheel sensors, and also GPS position change to determine that the vehicle is in motion.

The trick is to fool the Columbus without breaking it's 'dead reckoning' capabilities. This is where it uses vehicle speed and the compass to keep track of position when the GPS signal is unavailable.

This is not as simple as it sounds, as you have to piggy back the CANBUS and modify certain messages and block others before they get to the Columbus.

oh i see !!

sounds a bit complicated, and unecessary !!! not to mention the possible warranty issues. i am not that sad that i need a DVD player in my car anyway - when on earth woudl i watch it !!! if i am stuck in traffic i simply listen to the radio and i woudl have 18gig of music to select from anyway !!! not that i sit in traffic much due to living in lincolnshire. a traffic jam round here is getting stuck behind TWO tractors !!!