Amundsen+ DAB sytem available

[CJJE]

I've noticed that the Euro Octavia and Fabia brochures show the Amundsen+DAB system being offered (although it is not shown in the Euro Yeti brochure! None of the new UK brochures admit that it exists of course, and only show the now obsolete Amundsen system.

There's also a YouTube video at

which show the Skoda Amundsen+DAB system in operation, but the commentary is in Czech.

I think I remember The Plumber saying that the Amundsen (and Bolero?) were being deleted from the parts list after week 22, is this still true as the UK brochures still show the Bolero being fitted and the Amundsen as either standard on the SE Plus or as an option?

Any ideas when we will be getting the Amundsen+DAB system already offered in Europe?

Chris

[mannyo]

The EU are adopting a totally different system to us here in the UK, They are going for a modern system with decent encoding which is not backwardly compatible with our poor system from the 1980s. DAB take up in the UK is very poor so for a manufacturer to develop kit for one country is going to make the cost of the radio expensive. The number of DAB car units available has in recent years fallen as a result of the EU decision. DAB+ is that system, and it will be a long while before the UK start to roll it out nationally (if they ever do).

[The Plumber]

Hi CJJE,

until recently I had a fleebay copy of the ETKA parts system; unfortunately being from fleebay the licence has now died :S However certain component numbers like the Amundsen were dated up to the introduction of MY12. This suggested that the were to be superseded by a new component or modification standard.

I'm sure accurate guidance will be forthcoming from SUK :wonder:

Regards,

TP

[adamc260]

Skoda UK seem the least informed about anything that goes on!

[Macdemon]

What benefit or advantage does the Amundsen unit give over the Bolero unit??

I'm unclear.

[adamc260]

What benefit or advantage does the Amundsen unit give over the Bolero unit??

I'm unclear.

I think the Amundsen unit is lower than the Bolero isn't it?

[Yeti-RS]

This system comes on the newer gti in the states, so far the reviews have been luke warm.

Its better than the older RDS510 but noway as good as the RCD optional satnav system.

Anyway if its the same price or close to the price for this 'amundsen' i would go for the RCD.

[The Plumber]

It's the basic sat nav unit; older versions needed the map CD in the drive to use the map function I believe.

TP

[rockhopper]

What benefit or advantage does the Amundsen unit give over the Bolero unit??

I'm unclear.

Sat Nav.....

I thought in the UK it was standard spec on the SE Plus models (without the DAB bit)

[CJJE]

Hi all,

answering your various comments:

The Amundsen sat nav system is a rebadged VW RNS310, while the Amundsen+ is the RNS315, made by Technisat rather than Blaupunkt and a completely different system. It uses the SD card reader to update its internal flash memory to hold Western European mapping. VW and SEAT have been offering their versions in the UK with a DAB tuner (which handles both UK DAB broadcasts as well as the various systems used by European broadcasters) since last summer.

It is not a AM/FM radio with a 6CD player like the Bolero, but provides AM/FM/DAB radio with a single CD player as well as 7 digit post code navigation. (Normally I don't rate oEM satnav devices as I need to be able to add my own POIs easily and this is much easier to do with my TomTom, but for basic navigation needs it does save having to remove the TomTom each time I park up!)

As you have noticed, Skoda UK are still fitting the old Amundsen to SE Plus models, and as an option elsewhere. I don't understand why unless they have a lot of old units coded for the UK to use up?

There's been no mention of Skoda offering the Bolero or Columbus with a DAB tuner although it's possible in VWs or Audis I believe.

Chris

[EdmundBlackadder]

Been on holiday to the S. of France, home of the Porsche, Aston Martin and Ferrari. I did actually see one Yeti which was a bit of a surprise but the Porsche's ganged up and drove it out into Italy. Anyway a few weeks ago after another DAB thread I emailed Skoda UK about it. The day after they rang me and advised as follows. A/ Skoda UK keep asking to get DAB on UK cars. They know there is a demand and they want to fulfil it. It is not Skoda in the UK who are blocking DAB. B/ The Amundsen unit is set up to accept DAB and I assume that is why they are being introduced now instead of the Bolero Unit. At some point in the next few months Skoda will start to offer DAB into the UK and the Amundsen units will have something extra done to them, imagine someone pressing a big red button at Skoda HQ, and they will be able to offer DAB as an option. The change to Amundsen is the start of the process.

[CJJE]

Been on holiday to the S. of France, home of the Porsche, Aston Martin and Ferrari. I did actually see one Yeti which was a bit of a surprise but the Porsche's ganged up and drove it out into Italy. Anyway a few weeks ago after another DAB thread I emailed Skoda UK about it. The day after they rang me and advised as follows. A/ Skoda UK keep asking to get DAB on UK cars. They know there is a demand and they want to fulfil it. It is not Skoda in the UK who are blocking DAB. B/ The Amundsen unit is set up to accept DAB and I assume that is why they are being introduced now instead of the Bolero Unit. At some point in the next few months Skoda will start to offer DAB into the UK and the Amundsen units will have something extra done to them, imagine someone pressing a big red button at Skoda HQ, and they will be able to offer DAB as an option. The change to Amundsen is the start of the process.

Great news, but I suspect it is only the new Amundsen+ system that will get a DAB tuner, so we will need to watch to see when the old Amundsen gets replaced by the Amundsen+.

I'm also keeping an eye on the Skoda Auto documentation webpage http://new.skoda-auto.com/com/service/documentation/Pages/documentation.aspx to see when they update the car, radio and satnav user manuals (at present they are still showing the 11/2010 versions, but look as if they should update to 6/2011 soon.)

Chris

[r999]

The Amundsen sat nav system is a rebadged VW RNS310, while the Amundsen+ is the RNS315 ...

As you have noticed, Skoda UK are still fitting the old Amundsen to SE Plus models

Chris

But the updated car configurator on the Skoda UK site shows the standard spec for the Yeti SE Plus as including "Navigation system "RNS315" (integrated data storage device)".

So it would appear the 6 June configurator does not match the 1 June brochure. Quelle surprise!

[CJJE]

But the updated car configurator on the Skoda UK site shows the standard spec for the Yeti SE Plus as including "Navigation system "RNS315" (integrated data storage device)".

So it would appear the 6 June configurator does not match the 1 June brochure. Quelle surprise!

And since the new updated cofigurator also lets you build a Tangerine Yeti, I don't have much confidence in it!

Chris

[Big Rich]

Just speced up a Greenline Elegance and Dab is a £0 upgrade see below

Model Yeti Elegance

Equipment Elegance GreenLine II

Engine GreenLine II 1.6 TDI CR DPF 105PSDPF

Interior style Gobi Sand Leather (leather and artificial leather)

Colour Candy White £0

Optional equipment

060. Comfort Elec heated, adjustable & foldable, auto-dimming door mirrors with memory function and boarding-spots £60

030. Steering wheel / interior / seats funct ionality Electrically adjustable drivers seat with lumbar support and memory function £525

080. Radio / telephone / navigation Integrated data storage device for Western Europe £0

- Navigation system "AMUNDSEN+" with DAB £0

Telephone preparation GSM II with\Bluetooth, "MAXI DOT"\(for navigation system "AMUNDSEN+") £0

020. Functionality Towbar preparation £170

So which is correct the brochure or the configurator?

[smf1007]

I've only posted a couple of times before on Briskoda but the subject of DAB is very important to me so here's my twopence worth.

There is a lot of rubbish information out there and most people do not understand the benefits of DAB and how reception and coverage has improved over the last few years. Being able to listen to 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra (digital only) with great audio clarity is enough reason for me. No more rubbish AM hiss & crackle for me! Current car is a 56 plate Vectra Design with CDC40 Opera AM/FM/DAB radio/CD changer (made by Blaupunkt I think).

DAB is not a relic of the 1980s. The BBC did not start broadcasts until 1995 in London. This is why we now have DAB and other countries are trialling and starting services with newer (better?) technologies such as DAB+ and DMB. The UK is years ahead of other countries ref digital radio and has the largest DAB network, coverage and listener numbers in the world.

The UK government is committed to DAB and endorsed the previous administration's plans contained in Lord Carter's Digital Britain report published in June 2009. Plans for the switch to DAB for national radio (FM bandwidth then available for more local radio) are contained in the report which forecast that the conditions would not be met until at least 2015 but there was no definitive date set. One important condition is that "national DAB coverage is comparable to FM coverage, and local DAB reaches 90% of the population and all major roads."

I've had DAB in my car since 2006. I will not buy another car without a digital radio solution. Coverage has improved since 2006. The only place I remember losing signal was in Padstow, Cornwall, but it even works there now right down by the harbour, and I can drive from Derbyshire to Perranporth in Cornwall without a single drop-out. The only time I have to retune to FM is for Radio Derby.

DAB availability in new cars is now growing although some manufacturers are being particularly slow at upgrading their equipment. Ford are probably the leaders in this and have recently committed to having DAB as standard equipment in all their models by the end of 2012. This is a year ahead of the governments desire to see all new cars fitted with DAB enabled audio equipment by the end of 2013. The SMMT has signed up to delivering this despite the challenges it poses.

Other countries are able adopt the newer digital radio technologies because they are so far behind the UK. For instance, Germany is to relaunch digital radio services using DAB+. DAB+ and DMB may be better but for in-car listening, where there is so much ambient noise going on, I'd challenge anyone to spot the difference. At home I have other options as well - internet, satellite, Freeview etc.

DAB may not be compatible with DAB+ but the Digital Britain report specifies that "digital radio receivers sold in the UK are at least compliant with the WorldDMB receiver profile 1; which includes DAB+ and DMB-A." Therefore any DAB car radio sold in the UK will be bale to receive DAB+/DMB signals should the government and/or broadcasters choose this route in the future.

What is clear for the short-term is that Skoda are not going to satisfy my needs for DAB in a Superb Elegance. I've been keeping in touch with Skoda UK on this subject for nearly a year now and I'm no longer sure that they have the faintest idea what they are doing for DAB. The UK probably has the biggest demand for DAB but unlike VW, who can now offer DAB for all Passat models, Skoda continue to disappoint.

I don't want to lose the functionality of the Columbus unit so I'm going to trial streamed internet radio for my car and for this I have ordered a Dension Webradio that I can trial in my wife's car before ordering the Skoda I want. If it works as it should then I'll have about 250,000 internet radio stations to choose from. I hope it works ok!

You get a lot for twopence these days.

cheers Simon

Sources

Countries using DAB/DMB - Wikipedia

World DMB Country Information for DAB, DAB+ and DMB - Germany

BBC Research info

Lord Carter's Digital Britain report - June 2009

World DMB Digital Radio Receiver Profiles

Edited 9 February, 2012 by smf1007

[Llanigraham]

Simon,

you obviously haven't been to the majority of Wales then!! Even the BBC state that outside of the coastal belt, north and south, DAB is probably going to be unobtainable!

[smf1007]

Simon,

you obviously haven't been to the majority of Wales then!! Even the BBC state that outside of the coastal belt, north and south, DAB is probably going to be unobtainable!

True, but I assume the BBC will get around to improving DAB coverage and at least equalling the current FM coverage, otherwise the government criteria for switching to digital will not be met. I was on holiday near Llanelli in 2009 and never had any problems and we did venture into the Brecon beacons Park.

Simon

[CJJE]

Just speced up a Greenline Elegance and Dab is a £0 upgrade see below

Model Yeti Elegance

Equipment Elegance GreenLine II

Engine GreenLine II 1.6 TDI CR DPF 105PSDPF

Interior style Gobi Sand Leather (leather and artificial leather)

Colour Candy White £0

Optional equipment

060. Comfort Elec heated, adjustable & foldable, auto-dimming door mirrors with memory function and boarding-spots £60

030. Steering wheel / interior / seats funct ionality Electrically adjustable drivers seat with lumbar support and memory function £525

080. Radio / telephone / navigation Integrated data storage device for Western Europe £0

- Navigation system "AMUNDSEN+" with DAB £0

Telephone preparation GSM II with\Bluetooth, "MAXI DOT"\(for navigation system "AMUNDSEN+") £0

020. Functionality Towbar preparation £170

So which is correct the brochure or the configurator?

If you add the "Integrated data storage device for Western Europe" option on the new configurator, you are able to add the Amundsen+ with or without DAB, as well as a Bluetooth option, but all are not yet priced, and as the configurator forgets the prvious options you have chosen you have to start again to add them back in. It also lets you choose Tangerine paint when that seems to be unavailable.

So I'm treating the configurator as a work in progress, and would not rely on its output as being available at present. But when Skoda UK price up the new options, hopefully they'll be available for dealers to enter onto the order computers!

Wonder what the 'free' PHI option gives you??

Chris

Edited 8 June, 2011 by CJJE

[Llanigraham]

True, but I assume the BBC will get around to improving DAB coverage and at least equalling the current FM coverage, otherwise the government criteria for switching to digital will not be met. I was on holiday near Llanelli in 2009 and never had any problems and we did venture into the Brecon beacons Park.

Simon

Try coming further up country!!

We get R1,2,3,4 and Cymru; that's it. We can't even get Radio Wales!!

[smf1007]

Try coming further up country!!

We get R1,2,3,4 and Cymru; that's it. We can't even get Radio Wales!!

I might do one day...but last time we did Wales there was far too much rain, which is why we're dragging the caravan to Kent again this summer.

Simon

[EdmundBlackadder]

Try coming further up country!!

We get R1,2,3,4 and Cymru; that's it. We can't even get Radio Wales!!

Most people who want DAB want it for MW channels such as BBC R5 and Talksport as FM coverage is generally pretty good. From the sound of it you can't get them anyway so if DAB comes in you don't lose. Most car DAB radios offer DAB, MW and FM so having this option would not be to your detriment, you may actually gain channels you currently can't get as the DAB signal and coverage improves. No one actually believes the govt will switch off analogue in 2015 anyway.

[Blum]

Latest update from SkodaUK

"Dear Mr Blum

Thank you for your email received yesterday, the 28th of July. I have now received further information from our Product Marketing Department, who in turn are in discussion with the factory itself regarding the introduction of DAB to our model range.

At present, we know that DAB radio will definitely not be available from ŠKODA in 2011. The factory is currently investigating compatibility with existing stereo systems and we do not anticipate that we will have any definite ETA for the introduction of DAB until 2012 at the earliest.

Naturally, I recognise that DAB is a very desirable option and I am sorry that I cannot provide a more definitive answer. In terms of equipping the vehicle yourself, as per the excerpt in your most recent email, I would have to counsel against this.

Unless an accessory is Skoda Approved and can be fitted without the need to modify the vehicle, there is the risk that it will not work and may also affect your vehicle's warranty.

Once again, I apologise for the lack of a definite timescale. We are of course aware of delays in delivery of model year 12 vehicles, although this has begun to alleviate. On this basis, it may be worth waiting a little longer to order a vehicle which features DAB.

Thank you once again for contacting ŠKODA UK.

Kind regards

Will Fisher, Customer Relations Manager - Executive Office ŠKODA UK | Selectapost 34 | Sheffield | S97 3FA

Tel: +44 (0)845 7745745 | fax: +44 (0)844 8267855 [email protected] | www.skoda.co.uk | www.skoda-auto.com"

[mannyo]

No one actually believes the govt will switch off analogue in 2015 anyway.

A recently conducted survey for the government has shown that analogue radios are still outselling DAB ones at quiet an alarming rate putting the whole switchover into chaos.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2020020/Radio-revolution-threatened-analogue-sets-outsell-DABs-one.html

[kibby]

As I'm told Skoda UK monitors this forum can I MAKE A REQUEST THAT THE BIT OF INFORMATION YOU DO KNOW ABOUT THE YETI IS ACCURATELY BUILT INTO THE CONFIGURATOR AS WELL AS OTHER SOURCES.

(Not shouting only hoping they take notice.) With 4 sources continually giving wrong info (DEALER/BROCHURE/YETI CONFIGURATOR/SKODA UK WEBSITE it's doing my head in!!!

I'm reluctant to believe the Dealer anymore on product spec and "i don't know" is not good enough.

Never come across such a poor effort!

Just test driven a Ford C Max, so hope I haven't upset anyone, so please don't tell me to go away

as I'm only on the brink of changing and may still replace like with like.Not been a Ford man for ages

but it fits the bill as a slightly bigger Yeti although build quality is not as good and a bit flashy and over chromed especially inside cabin.

B-MAX is crap and lot poorer build quality (no B pillar and sliding rear door) You can put your hand behind flimsy door seals without trying! A leak waiting to happen.

Edited 20 October, 2012 by kibby