First post here so hopefully it'll make sense.

 

I've just bought a 2013 Fabia Greenline and I suffer with an awful sense of direction. My last car had a factory-fitted GPS which was a godsend, even for local journeys so I'm pretty keen to upgrade the standard CD / radio in the Fabia to something more suitable.

 

Ideally I'd like something with Bluetooth and DAB but this may be over-reaching. My car does NOT have the maxidot dash nor does it have a multi-function steering wheel. There's a few options I've found:

 

Amundsen+ - this is a standard upgrade Skoda offered on the Fabia but it wasn't fitted to my car. I think DAB is available on some versions.

Columbus - more capable but comes with less connectivity I think i.e. BT and DAB unless you're a big spender

Kenwood DNX... - Seems to have everything I want but is also expensive

Eonon or other aftermarket unit - my boss had one and he said he had to punch the screen to get it to work, it overheated and he ended up sending it back, but that was about 8 years ago.

 

I think as a preference I'd want the Kenwood but I'd be very happy with either of the Skoda options BUT I can't seem to find any definite answer as to which versions include DAB, or whether you just need to have version '?' with the DAB fitted. I also believe that the Columbus doesn't support Bluetooth at any revision without a separate module. Is this correct?

 

What would anyone advise as the best way to go?

Correct on the Columbus. Some have DAB built in but all require a seperate bluetooth module.

 

Amundsen+ would tick all the boxes.

 

Just make sure you find one that does have bluetooth and DAB built in as not all of them do.

 

It would be plug and play with the car. Add a GPS antenna, DAB antenna and a microphone and you're all sorted.

 

I think it's got a B at the end of the part number you need. Also make sure on the sticker on the side that the MAC address isn't all 0000s. If it's a load letters and numbers then it has bluetooth.

 

Phil

Thanks for that, Phil.

 

I've been scanning pictures trying to figure out how to tell the DAB and the non-DAB units apart and I've finally noticed the additional antenna port on suitably equipped units so at least I can stop asking sellers obvious questions. It seems a bit unfair that a SEAT and VW Amundsen+ seems to sell for much less than a Skoda one :( Sadly, I think the red lights would bother me!

 

There seems to be a dearth of Skoda DAB units at the moment so I might have to abandon that for now and just go for a Bluetooth one off evilBay.

 

If I replace the factory radio and fit a GPS antenna and a microphone, do you think I will I need to get any programming done to get the GPS to fully work with my car or will it be plug & play as you suggest?

 

Phil

Yes I think the availability of VW and Seat ones reduces the price of them slightly.

 

You may or may not need coding.

 

It will depend how the head unit you buy is already coded.

 

You may be lucky and it works straight away but it may work (in that you can use it for music etc) but Bluetooth might not work until it's activated.

 

Phil

Am I right in thinking that this Amundsen+ is a DAB version? It's an eBay item and while the owner says it has Bluetooth he didn't think it was DAB. If it isn't, can anyone tell me the function of the extra connector that has the cable attached?

 

Yes, that's a DAB radio.

Amundsen+ doesn't do speed cameras.

 

At all.

 

No possibility of hacking them in either.

 

I have my phone clipped to the dash for cameras and it looks crap.

 

I'd go for a top-spec Columbus instead.

Or just don't speed and buy the Amundsen+?!

Or just don't speed and buy the Amundsen+?!

Spoil sport.

I drive a Greenline II Estate! Not much need for speed camera notifications!

 

Okay - still awaiting delivery of the Amundsen+ (bought it so kinda committed to it now) and I've got the GPS antenna ready to install BUT there's other things I need:

• Finding the right microphone kit for the Bluetooth and
• Making some kind of sense of how to get the antenna connected to the (possibly present and working) DAB connector.

I'm working on the assumption that there's no wiring in place for the microphone so I'll need the kit with the long cable but where does it link to on the back of the unit? I'm guessing there's 2 pinouts that the mic leads need to terminate to. Can anyone suggest a suitable mic kit that I can install? I'm okay running cables inside the car.

 

Regarding the DAB antenna - I'm really not too keen on a glassmount but I will if I have to although I'd rather not take out the headlining. I've seen powered signal boosters with fakra connectors. Has anyone tried one of these?

For you mic Eddie-NL is your man as he sells the kits:

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/274292-blackline-bluetooth-kit-loom-mic/

 

As you can see it comes with the connector and just plugs into the back of the headunit. Then run the wire up to the interior light and clip the microphone in.

 

In terms of the antenna. I doubt you will already have a DAB aerial if the car didn't originally come with it.

 

Your only options are either to replace the roof aerial with DAB and run the extra wire along the headlining or get a glass mount one.

 

The powered signal boosters... are these not just for FM? The car will already have a boosted antenna for FM/AM reception but this won't do DAB.

 

Phil

I've done a DAB installation in my 2011 Octavia. The ones that you stick in the glass are a waste of money. I tried a £20 which was awful. I then had a powered £50 top of the range, but still really annoying. In the end I upgraded to the real thing.

 

The parts I used were:

 

Aerial base 6R0 035 501 D 

Aerial mast 6R0035849A (thread size is different from normal one)

 

I also needed a Fakra cable to connect the aerial base to the head unit -unfortunately I could not get one out of Skoda as the part (5J7035549) was not available to the UK yet. I found a seller on eBay in China who make cables and enquired whether a cable that they had listed could be made but with a longer length (5m instead of 3m), they were very helpful and created a new eBay listing for me with a buy it now and in less than 2 weeks I had my cable for £11 including shipping (probably cheaper than Skoda anyway) I opted for Fakra Z jack to jack as Z is the universal and will plug in to any Fakra (A to K)to avoid any confusion.

 

Now that I have my DAB Columbus in I am really glad I did it. The sound is flawless and so is the Satnav.

 

Re the power, I think that the DAB antenna is phantom powered, but it gets the 12 volt via the FM antenna so no need to run an extra unless you have a separate DAB antenna.

 

Garnett

Edited 6 January, 201511 yr by Garnett

Thanks Garnett and Phil - that's really useful information. So, I assume I might as well plump for swapping out the existing roof antenna for the 6R0035501D + 6R0035849A combo and take the AM/FM/DAB/GPS all from this unit? I guess that means I will be removing the head lining after all :(

 

Then I just need the microphone from Eddie-NL (already contacted him) and some coding and I'm good to go.

 

If I'm taking both the DAB and the GPS from the new antenna, I assume I need two of those leads, not just one i.e. one for the DAB and one for the GPS? I'm also assuming the leads for the AM/FM are already in place and are interchangeable with the existing antenna?

 

Phil

After a very helpful call to my local Skoda dealer just now I spoke with the service guy there who had already retrofitted an Amundsen+ to his car, albeit with a glass-mount DAB antenna, which he acknowledged was a bit hit and miss. Things to know about the antenna fakra connectors;

• Red is for phone (the Amundsen+ doesn't seem to have this)
• Blue is GPS
• Black is DAB
• White is radio

The correct antenna for my car is part number 1K0 035 501 E but he doesn't think it'll make any odds fitting a 6R0 035 501 D as an alternative (thoughts, anyone?). The DAB link cable 5J7 035 549 mentioned by Garnett is now available from Skoda and costs £16, which is more than the £11 one from eBay but I'll probably pay the extra for the genuine part. If you want to use the GPS part of the antenna, his advice is don't. For a start the correct link cable is part number 5J7 035 572 B, which costs a whopping £45 but mainly he says that the antenna is unreliable and frequently "loses" the car so you're better off using a £7 under-dash one off eBay. It's far more reliable and cheaper. He says the easiest way to mount this type of GPS antenna in a Fabia is to remove the upper glove box and stick it to the dash frame there. Taking out the centre air vents is a PITA.

 

The thing I'm most worried about now is dropping the head lining but he says it's actually pretty straightforward. Just make sure you have help.

 

So my current shopping list is:

6R0 035 501 D   £50 (eBay)

5J7 035 549       £16 (Skoda)

Bluetooth Mic     £30 (Eddie-NL)

GPS Antenna     £7   (eBay)

 

The only thing I haven't got covered yet is the coding for the new radio. Is there anyone in North Staff / South Cheshire who could do this?

Hi

 

Really Interesting about the GPS Antenna failing. By sheer coincidence mine did just that on the way home last night just like your garage suggested it would. I plugged an eBay £7 unit into the extension and it worked fine. Rather than replacing the unit I have put the eBay antenna under dash on top of the glove compartment and have a steady 5-8 satellites showing on the display as I drive around. No point in replacing it if it is a known weakness.

 

Thanks

 

Garnett

For the aerial: if you don't want to use the built in GPS receiver in the roof aerial, you might as well go for 6R0035501A and save a few pennies. This looks exactly the same as the standard factory aerial ie. it's NOT a shark fin, I have one on my Roomster which I use with a VW RCD510 DAB head unit

@peekaymac

My current GPS is part of the roof aerial. Its a whip design not a shark fin but has never dropped out as I can tell. Was the dealer saying its the shark fin design that is the problem for GPS? As I am thinking about getting one to give me DAB as well...

@adamal

 

He wasn't specific. He fitted the Amundsen+ and currently uses a glass-mount DAB antenna and under dash GPS antenna but he mentioned that he wouldn't personally use a factory GPS roofmount as in his service department, they get a lot of trouble with them. At the time, we were talking about the sharkfin antenna but that was because that's the part number we came up with. My intention is to get the sharkfin 6R0 035 501 D and only use the DAB and AM/FM connections, because there's a few of them on eBay at the moment for £50. I wouldn't use the red or blue connectors. The Amundsen+ doesn't seem to need the red one and I'd use the underdash GPS antenna for the blue.

 

I gave him the eBay item number I'd found for the sharkfin 6R0 035 501 D and he was thinking about getting one for himself as the glass-mount was giving him pretty bad reception but he'd continue using the dash GPS antenna so I'm kind of following his lead, after all he spends his life working on Skodas so I assumed he'd know best.

 

Phil

Ok cheers Phil.  Can you PM me the eBay item number too please?

 

Ta

Adam