I've transferred my dash cam from old S2 to new S3. Located immediately under rear view mirror. Picked up satellites within 20 seconds of switch-on on the S2, but S3 has heated windscreen and takes up to 5 minutes to find satellite. Also occasionally drops out/ loses signal.

I guess that the 'power' of the dash cam GPS receiver can vary.

I've looked at GPS signal repeaters, but they involve a fair bit of wiring.

Having tried to enter coordinates for a destination today I couldn't find a way to change from degrees/minutes/seconds to decimal degrees for input. Is there a way?

 

Resorted to using a website with a conversion on it. Coming from tomtom I've never entered coordinates in that format before.

 

When you browse where you want to go with Google maps the coordinates are in the web page url so I've always found that an easy way to get exactly where I want. Annoying I can't just input it now.

Agree with previous posters.  Recently purchased this car and wary of the onboard satnav so used the TOMTOM in parallel but followed the Columbus routing - disaster!  Columbus led us on obscure routes and into severe traffic congestion that the TT wanted us to avoid.  Currently not using the Columbus. 

 

Has anyone got any experience of this:  https://www.audisatnav.co.uk/store/p40/Skoda_Columbus_map_update_dvd_V15_2018_Speedcam_version.html  it looks like a 3rd party software fix or is it the Skoda real thing?   The vendor's description suggests that it might be an improvement over the OEM version in my Superb.

@Hedinbag

try out Waze - https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=waze

and forget about oldish built in nav system

12 hours ago, Hedinbag said:

it looks like a 3rd party software fix or is it the Skoda real thing? 

It’s for the old RNS Columbus, as used in the Superb II, not the MiB devices used in the Superb III. It will not work.

Thanks BillyJim - useful advice.  Have used TomTom for a number of years so am content to stick with it.  Just a little disappointed that the on board system is inferior in a few important aspects.  Otherwise, have been a Skoda driver for a couple of weeks now and liking it.

Have just ordered an S3 and the satnav was one option I had no difficulty ignoring. Been using an iPhone 6, a decent mount and Google Maps for over a year now after binning an ancient TomTom. With all the muscle Google has put into mapping I don’t see the point using anything else now.

I'm still using a nine year old Navman S70 with ten year old maps. Fantastic piece of kit. 

 

Map updates are no longer available, but when they were, they cost £70, so I didn't see the logic in investing that sort of money in a device that might expire six months later. 

 

I did buy a Tom-tom at one point, as it seemed like a good investment and Navman were no longer available. It went back after a week as 'not fit for purpose', as it was mis-routing and generally carp!

 

Another good thing about the Navman is that it has a socket for an external aerial. Essential with a heated 'screen, as I discovered when I had a Mondeo. 

Unbelievable what I am reading! Does Columbus really still have a hard disc in this day and age?? I downloaded the Columbus guide from the Skoda website, and (this is just beyond words) it states it can take take up to 8 hours to update maps from an SD card and the ignition needs to be turned on for updates to install. It suggests connecting a battery charger!!! For Pete's sake.....

 

What!!!??? Is this true? In that case what a piece of shyte. I can't believe Skoda think Columbus is worth £1600 as an upgrade to SE owners. What planet are they on?

 

 

8 hours ago, daveo138 said:

I'm still using a nine year old Navman S70 with ten year old maps. Fantastic piece of kit. 

 

Map updates are no longer available, but when they were, they cost £70, so I didn't see the logic in investing that sort of money in a device that might expire six months later. 

 

I did buy a Tom-tom at one point, as it seemed like a good investment and Navman were no longer available. It went back after a week as 'not fit for purpose', as it was mis-routing and generally carp!

 

Another good thing about the Navman is that it has a socket for an external aerial. Essential with a heated 'screen, as I discovered when I had a Mondeo. 

Thanks to all for your comments.  Re: the use of Navman / TomTom / Garmin with a heated screen - I agree that this was difficult in the Mondeo - I guess because of the wires embedded in the glass.  When buying the Superb3, I was attracted by the 'heated windscreen' concept but now I have the car, I realise that the screen is not actually heated.  It seems to me that there must be an electric heater in the duct for air to the windscreen so when the car is very cold, the aircon can blow preheated air on to the screen to melt the ice.  My TomTom's built in antenna has no problem picking up both mapping and traffic data when attached to the screen.  Incidentally, the TomTom did have major problems when attached to the windscreen of Passats a decade or so ago - I think the mild tint in the glass must have been metallised.

If you specified a heated screen or have one as standard spec then it is indeed heated. It is not like the old Mondeo ones that had a thin wire embedded but is a very thin metallic foil that gives a slight tint to the screen. I used to hate the old wire screens as I could see the wires and used to annoy me. 

So if you have a heated screen then it is directly heated and not just warm air blowing on it.

8 minutes ago, PSM said:

If you specified a heated screen or have one as standard spec then it is indeed heated. It is not like the old Mondeo ones that had a thin wire embedded but is a very thin metallic foil that gives a slight tint to the screen. I used to hate the old wire screens as I could see the wires and used to annoy me. 

So if you have a heated screen then it is directly heated and not just warm air blowing on it.

Thanks for setting that straight.  In the recent freezing weather the heated screen did work fairly well.  For the benefit of other members, I use a TomTom with Live services mounted in the lower drivers side corner of the windscreen and it functions fine in my S3 L&K.  Only drawback is the cable but I was used to that with my previous cars.

Mmmm.. am I the only one that enjoys using the built in nav ? Maybe because I was using a 10 year old TomTom. Have on occasion used Google via CarPlay but still prefer the built in.

I am absolutely content with the built in nav but then I am also very content using maps. Journey planning has always been something I do especially as a bike rider where you want to pick the good roads and the best way to get there. 

 

Traffic avoidance is a lottery, for example going up the M1 to get towards York.  M18/A1 is shortest but as soon as you decide the traffic starts coming up and the crashes on the A1 around Doncaster etc or if you decide to go to Leeds then that backs up around the M62/M1 junction. And as for nipping of to get back on, is it really worth the stress? Especially as all the others with their wonderful anti-traffic diversions decide to travel on the local A roads. 

 

The best way to avoid it is to travel at a different time.  If you have to travel at that time just suck up the delays they are a fact of life.   

 

That said the systems should be able to update when parked outside your house overnight and can get access to the internet.

 

The Columbus satnav is my first satnav, so I have nothing to compare it to. I like it, especially when I can input the geo coordinates. But, on a couple occasions, I have had to use my phone and Google maps to find the destination.

 

I keep a large-scale map of the UK in the car, and that comes in handy when I want to see the big picture.

 

I've also had occasion to rely on the car's internal compass. That's handy!

 

As a side bar: today I enjoyed driving home from the market with the sunroof open and the aircon switched off. December 30th!

13 hours ago, xman said:

Unbelievable what I am reading! Does Columbus really still have a hard disc in this day and age?? I downloaded the Columbus guide from the Skoda website, and (this is just beyond words) it states it can take take up to 8 hours to update maps from an SD card and the ignition needs to be turned on for updates to install. It suggests connecting a battery charger!!! For Pete's sake.....

 

What!!!??? Is this true? In that case what a piece of shyte. I can't believe Skoda think Columbus is worth £1600 as an upgrade to SE owners. What planet are they on?

 

 

Don't worry, it doesn't take anywhere near that long and you can just get it going and then forget about it. It will update itself as you drive and then, if it hasn't finished, it will continue where it left off when you start another journey.

I may not be a perfectionist but it always gets me to where I want to be.

@facet edge The eight hour figure refers to the possible download time from the internet. A dial-up could take that long. High-speed broadband won't. It usually takes about 40 minutes to upload from the SD card to the Columbus hard drive.

6 hours ago, Nick_H said:

Mmmm.. am I the only one that enjoys using the built in nav ? Maybe because I was using a 10 year old TomTom. Have on occasion used Google via CarPlay but still prefer the built in.

 

I certainly don't enjoy using it. I will tend to use it alongside the Navman, if only for the traffic alerts. 

 

It sometimes does not recognise postcodes when the Navman does. 

 

The other thing I don't like about it is that it uses the same screen as the rest of the 'infotainment' system, so you have to keep switching between screens. 

 

 

On 12/28/2017 at 19:16, Hedinbag said:

Agree with previous posters.  Recently purchased this car and wary of the onboard satnav so used the TOMTOM in parallel but followed the Columbus routing - disaster!  Columbus led us on obscure routes and into severe traffic congestion that the TT wanted us to avoid.  Currently not using the Columbus. 

 

Has anyone got any experience of this:  https://www.audisatnav.co.uk/store/p40/Skoda_Columbus_map_update_dvd_V15_2018_Speedcam_version.html  it looks like a 3rd party software fix or is it the Skoda real thing?   The vendor's description suggests that it might be an improvement over the OEM version in my Superb.

That's just someone who's downloaded the maps from somewhere online and is selling them on. Basically, you can do just the same with google, a dual layer dvd, a dvd burner, and a freely available burning program.

Edit: But unfortunately that's for the previous version of the Columbus, so no use for your Superb 3.

 

Edited 30 December, 20178 yr by Rustynuts

2 hours ago, freelunch said:

@facet edge The eight hour figure refers to the possible download time from the internet. A dial-up could take that long. High-speed broadband won't. It usually takes about 40 minutes to upload from the SD card to the Columbus hard drive.

But it doesn't say that. It says it takes up to 8 hours from an sd card. It's probably something lost in the translation.

can't believe people still happy with oldish entering method like Country -> City -> Postcode -> Street  -> number

instead in Waze or Google Map you can start by number and after type first few letters of street name choose destination from suggested list

also you don't need to know address when destination is some bigger object, just type title of it

another useful Android app is `GPS Coordinates`,

just copy your current coordinates and send(sms; email; ..) to another person
and he can Copy-Paste received numbers directly in to destination input box