A little update. The eBay seller I was getting the Xtrons unit from made contact with me to say their shipment had been delayed and would I be prepared to wait or would I rather have a refund.

I took the refund.

This is simply because this weekend was my open window of time to fit said unit, and I have no idea when I'll have a free weekend agai this side of Christmas to revisit this project. I'd rather not have the radio sitting around for weeks before I can test and install it. I'd rather get it in quickly so that, if it turns out to be rubbish, I can still reject it under the Distance Selling Act.

So, in short I will repurchase this unit later in the year. Also, in the interest of cost and ease of installation I probably won't get the DAB version next time.

DAB is very poor now and getting worse.

 

When it started it was great - but now the commercial operators are cramming so many channels into their bandwidth, many stations broadcast in mono at crummy bitrates.

 

My favourite track for use (or abuse) of stereo effects is Voodoo Chile - I heard it the other day on Planet Rock in mono and was deeply disappointed.

 

Back to FM and SD card music I think.

Edited 26 September, 201510 yr by camelspyyder

Question - so I currently have the Swing radio (factory fitted), along with factory Bluetooth. Now, will that Bluetooth module be built into the Swing or be a separate module elsewhere in the car (under the drivers seat for example)?

I've always been working from the assumption that the Bluetooth module was separate from the radio, but some posts elsewhere on the forum suggest that it might actually be integrated into the Swing?

If anyone has any insight into this I'd appreciate it. Reason for asking is that I was musing earlier about fitting a Columbus or Amundsen, some of which come with a built-in Bluetooth module, some of which come without, and it got me thinking again about the Bluetooth setup in the car.

Cheers

Chris

The only head units with built in Bluetooth are some of the Amundsen Plus units. Everything else has a separate Bluetooth module, usually under the drivers seat.

It's separate.

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Mines built in, but its factory fit Amundsen+,  not like his ^^^^^

Edited 26 September, 201510 yr by camelspyyder

Mind you saying that. The Swing was removed and the Amundsen put in so did it have a separate module?

Not sure as I always thought it was under the seat.

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chrisgreen: if you have vcds scan for you car, you could easily tell from that info

Mind you saying that. The Swing was removed and the Amundsen put in so did it have a separate module?

Not sure as I always thought it was under the seat.

I had a good look under the drivers seat. There's something module-wise under the carpet under the drivers seat, but is too far under to be able to see if it is a Bluetooth module. I may take a leap of faith and assume it is the BT module. Getting very tempted to go for a cheap Amundsen RNS310 (or a 315 without built-in BT), just to make it a very clean install (just the GPS antenna to house) that retains all the steering controls and Maxidot compatibility etc.

chrisgreen: if you have vcds scan for you car, you could easily tell from that info

I do not have VCDS, just Carista.

I had a good look under the drivers seat. There's something module-wise under the carpet under the drivers seat, but is too far under to be able to see if it is a Bluetooth module. I may take a leap of faith and assume it is the BT module. Getting very tempted to go for a cheap Amundsen RNS310 (or a 315 without built-in BT), just to make it a very clean install (just the GPS antenna to house) that retains all the steering controls and Maxidot compatibility etc.

I do not have VCDS, just Carista.

 

That's the TELEPHONE module. As said before, only the Amundsen+ has this built-in. The p/n is 7P6035730N probably.

By the way, Carista can also do a full scan and show this information, try it.

Edited 27 September, 201510 yr by eyegr

An update:

I've bought an Amundsen+ RNS315. It is a 2015 manufactured unit (with the updated logo graphics) and supposedly fully working, in excellent condition and comes with the code card and a new GPS antenna. It's coming from Lithuania (what could possibly go wrong there), and thanks to a 10% off code that popped up on my eBay dashboard, I got the whole thing for £260 including 24 hour courier shipping.

Other than the GPS antenna, this should be a simple drop-in OEM replacement, with some basic VCDS coding to follow to get it talking to Maxidot etc.

Fingers crossed.

An update:

I've bought an Amundsen+ RNS315. It is a 2015 manufactured unit (with the updated logo graphics) and supposedly fully working, in excellent condition and comes with the code card and a new GPS antenna. It's coming from Lithuania (what could possibly go wrong there), and thanks to a 10% off code that popped up on my eBay dashboard, I got the whole thing for £260 including 24 hour courier shipping.

Other than the GPS antenna, this should be a simple drop-in OEM replacement, with some basic VCDS coding to follow to get it talking to Maxidot etc.

Fingers crossed.

any chance the ebay link so can have a look ?

I think you'll be fine Chris, the Lithuanians are trustworthy in their VAG group business and AFAIK it really is a 'plug and play' job to do.

We are waiting for photos during the installation.

I've bought an Amundsen+ RNS315. It is a 2015 manufactured unit (with the updated logo graphics).

Is that one?

Is that one?

Yes, that's the one, though as I've bought a more recent version it has the updated typeface on the buttons and no Skoda branding across the top of the bezel:

If I'm correct... that mean you will spend more money for maps updates... some say £200 for SD card at a dealer... I hope so not... :|

If I'm correct... that mean you will spend more money for maps updates... some say £200 for SD card at a dealer... I hope so not... :|

Yes, map updates are very expensive (although genuine Western Europe map update cards can be bought for about £100 a time from other resellers), but I like the idea of OEM neatness.

Before I bought the Rapid I promised myself the next car I bought would have built-in nav. The Dacia I wanted would have had Renault Medianav factory fitted, but as I've previously posted, I could not wait 3+ months for the car to be built and arrive in the UK (such is the demand for them). The Rapid I went for didn't have Nav, but it had everything else I was looking for and had the added benefit of being available there and then, and the dealership offered me what I wanted in part-exchange without arguing. This will complete the puzzle hopefully.

The Swing is an excellent FM/MW radio, but for everything else I find it a clunky, cumbersome unit, especially for iOS device control. That was why I was initially tempted by the Xtrons unit. But this will hopefully be better in other ways.

That's just like mine was. It's a great HU. You won't be disappointed.

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That's just like mine was. It's a great HU. You won't be disappointed.

Fingers crossed.

I'm pleased to say that it is already on its way - DHL has collected it from the seller and it's en-route to me. I should have it tomorrow.

Chris

Thats the same unit that came in our new one... I've been very impressed comparing it to the wind unit. It's a little clumsy at times but great unit all the same!

I really do like the fact you can multi-display with it,

 

e.g Radio /media on screen & Nav on maxidot concurrently (or vice versa if you prefer of course)

I am pleased to report that the radio has arrived at home. From placing the eBay order to delivery (from Lithuania) took 25 hours. That's stunning!

I, however, am at work and it's really annoying as I want to go home and fit it

Hope it works!

I am pleased to report that the radio has arrived at home. From placing the eBay order to delivery (from Lithuania) took 25 hours. That's stunning!

I, however, am at work and it's really annoying as I want to go home and fit it

Hope it works!

WTF??

Unless it was delivered from a UK warehouse, how is it possible to be shipped within a day from a thousand miles away and across the north sea? Did he teleport it to you??

WTF??

Unless it was delivered from a UK warehouse, how is it possible to be shipped within a day from a thousand miles away and across the north sea? Did he teleport it to you??

I know - pretty quick, but I watched the DHL tracking from end to end - it really did come from Lithuania - it was picked up by DHL about 90 mins after I paid for it.

It's a really good sign - lets hope the product lives up to the customer care demonstrated so far.

Chris

Hello again

WOW! Just come back in from playing with the Amundsen+. Only did a temporary hookup to test it was working. It's fully functional and immaculate. Has the latest V7 Western Europe maps on it and works perfectly. It was indeed a drop-in replacement for the Swing (except for the GPS aerial of course).

Sound is very good, navigation works really well and my Bluetooth module has not only gained the ability to display track information, but I now have full steering wheel control over the iPhone when it is playing mu)sic and podcasts.

I'll do a proper, permanent install at the weekend when I can take pics. I want to remove the drivers-side A pillar to run the cable from the GPS antenna inside it (going to mount it on the glass above the rear view mirror, unless anyone has a better idea for where to put it).

Thanks

Chris