I'm a bit disappointed with the digital radio stations on the Amundsen in my new Blackline. Its the first time I've had a digital radio in a car but it keeps dropping stations & the aerial symbol appears in the display. Drive half a mile down the road & the station comes back. this happens on different stations not just one.

Is this normal or is it my radio?

I'm afraid I would suggest that's it more likely to do with where you live and the quality of signal that you are receiving rather than the unit itself. I had DAB in a previous car and stations dropping (or not) varied greatly depending on where I was in the country.

When i used to drive up to newcastle from Leeds the DAB would always dissapear about 20 minutes before i got to the tunnel.

As it's been said, it's not the car that is at fault, it's the lack of digital coverage throughout the UK. That is one of the main reasons why the government have scrapped the plans to change radio stations to digital like they have with TV.

At the moment DAB is mainly available in towns/cities and also along motorways etc - anywhere else and coverage will probably be patchy at best, rural areas is likely to be almost none existant. Still can't wait to start enjoying my guilty pleasure of Absolute 80's in the car though - the wife already hates my choice of music

Thanks for the replies, I had thought it might have be the Radio at fault.

Do all Amundsen units have DAB? I have a 12 plate Octavia SE Plus Estate but it does not show DAB only AM and FM.

I must say in and around Warwickshire, West Midlands it is faultless.

Does anybody know if I can tune into a local Liverpool station from here?

Do all Amundsen units have DAB? I have a 12 plate Octavia SE Plus Estate but it does not show DAB only AM and FM.

I thought the SE Plus got DAB as part of the "plus" package?

Do all Amundsen units have DAB? I have a 12 plate Octavia SE Plus Estate but it does not show DAB only AM and FM.

My radio is an Amundsen+ unit. Perhaps the + is DAB ?

I also have the Amunsen+ unit but although the manual shows instructions for the DAB frequency band it is not in the list of frequencies when I press "Band" on the display.

I have just spoken to my Skoda dealer who said that the Amundsen+ unit does not have DAB as standard and it is an optional extra.

Do all Amundsen units have DAB? I have a 12 plate Octavia SE Plus Estate but it does not show DAB only AM and FM.

Me too

The dab is ok for me, but you will soon loose your local stations. Not really used the national stations so can't comment if they stay tuned in. As said above it all depends on coverage.

It's a nice option, I like the absolute radio stations and some good tunes on heat.

I mostly play mp3 of my 32gb sd card.

Further to the messages above has anybody heard of a way to activate/ retro-fit DAB on the Amundsen + fitted in the SE Plus?

As far as understand from this thread and others the only Amundsen + that comes with integrated DAB is the vRS Blackline.

However following the comments from SE Plus owners above is there anyway to get DAB on the Amundsen + in the SE Plus without going down a complete aftermarket solution?

I’m wondering if the Amundsen + unit fitted in the SE Plus and the vRS Blackline are the same unit? If so if there a technical fix that somebody can do by hooking the car up to a computer and effectively flicking a switch to activate DAB?

Or are the two Amundsen + units fitted to the SE Plus and the vRS Blackline the same in name only with the actual stereo fitted behind the dash being different and with a different aerial?

If there was anyway to get DAB on an SE Plus without a huge job I’d definitely be interested just for the ability to get stations that aren’t available on fm such as 5 Live and BBC 6 Music.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts & advice.

John

I think the unit with DAB is RNS315 as it has inbuilt 4Gb storage for maps with the DAB option fitted. Seems that an option is available at £150 but no info available.

http://www.my-gti.com/719/differences-between-the-volkswagen-rcd-210-rcd-310-rns-310-rcd-510-and-the-rns-510

UK DAB coverage map here.

http://www.ukdigitalradio.com/images/coverage-map.gif

as you can see its full of holes in most parts of the country.

I seen a post that implies DAB is a bit like the Bluetooth on the Amundsen+. i.e. it's included in the HU but is turned off on some models but can be activated with a DAB aerial and some coding. I haven't got an Amundsen+ so can't confirm.

Hi All,

Thanks for all the comments.

Welsh_kai_boy : Do you know how I find out which exact model I'd have in the car?

Mannyo : Thanks for the map and I appreciate what has been said about coverage and the fact that there are lots of holes in the DAB coverage right now. If the stations that I wanted to listen to were available on both fm and DAB I'd be perfectly happy as I've no problem at all with the fm sound/signal. However stations like 6 Music, Planet Rock, 5 Live Sports Extra are only available on DAB. Unfortunately I'm really addicted to 6 Music on my DAB radio whilst at home and really miss it in the car plus my wife really likes Planet Rock and would like to be able to listen to that in the car if we can figure out a way to get DAB activated on the Amundsen +. Fingers crossed following the post from io1901 the ability to pick up DAB is there it just needs activating somehow.

I just have a mini dab radio which cost 30 quid in the car and use the aux port. Obviously sound quality is a bit low but its fine for sports commentary etc which is what I need dab for. Maybe useful cheaper solution for some...

Hi All,

Thanks for all the comments.

Welsh_kai_boy : Do you know how I find out which exact model I'd have in the car?

I think the unit in my Blackline is the RNS315 (as it has inbuilt 4Gb storage for satnav maps) with the DAB option fitted (probably a daughter board). Seems that an option is available at £150 (see link below) but no info available. Reading other forums it does not appear to be a VCDS switchable item like the BT was.

http://www.my-gti.co...and-the-rns-510

http://www.vweosclub.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-5350.html

This seems to confirm that they do have some models that have DAB but aren't switched on. (in VWs anyway!)

Pull the radio out and have a look for a DAB aerial input -it will be a black Fakra connector on the top left hand corner as you look at the back of the radio -if it doesn't have one then there is no way it can receive. If it does then it might be possible that you can install an aerial and activate it with some coding VW did the option of DAB OR rear view camera but not both together not sure if this is still the case and whether it applies to the Skoda units:

The dab is ok for me, but you will soon loose your local stations.

Thanks to all above for the extra info and for the photo of the back of the unit which is much appreciated.

Cheers,

John

Pull the radio out and have a look for a DAB aerial input -it will be a black Fakra connector on the top left hand corner as you look at the back of the radio -if it doesn't have one then there is no way it can receive. If it does then it might be possible that you can install an aerial and activate it with some coding VW did the option of DAB OR rear view camera but not both together not sure if this is still the case and whether it applies to the Skoda units:

All you need to do is fit a decent roof mount antenna, when I say decent I mean a good active unit, no need for coding. I fitted an aftermarket sportflex type to my Leon FR when I installed DAB and it worked perfectly......You can get these rom most online retailers dealing in DAB units........