Hi all,

 

I've recently purchased a 2010 FL Octavia VRS with the factory fitted bolero unit and no optional bluetooth. Because of this im looking to upgrade to a better headunit and had been considering the Kenwood DNX516DABS. Unfortunately I've come to the conclusion it's just too expensive to justify and I'm thinking of going for an Amundsen+ unit instead. I've found these two on ebay but I'm struggling to work out which to go for.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Skoda-Amundsen-RNS-315-RNS315-Bluetooth-Navigation-System-Sat-Nav-GPS-F-Yeti-/301922982399?hash=item464c0319ff:g:0bsAAOSwsN9XB57P

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SKODA-AMUNDSEN-RNS315-OCTAVIA-YETI-SAT-NAV-NAVIGATION-DAB-RADIO-UNIT-3T0035197A-/272752804516?epid=1844324410&hash=item3f815582a4:g:FrAAAOSwlXhZX6bG

 

From my research so far I know I will need a new fascia unit to resize the hole and I can order one of these from somewhere like superskoda with no issue, but beyond that will these essentially be plug and play by simply removing my bolero and plugging these in? I don't have Maxidot fitted which I think makes things easier.

 

In terms of my requirements I want my unit to have both Nav and Bluetooth audio streaming, DAB radio would be a bonus but isn't needed (if it has it do I need to do any changes to the existing aerial?)

 

In regards to the two units above I think the second one is a much better worded advert and gives me more confidence that it has all the features, but from the part number I think it's actually a sligtly older model than the one in the first link? The first link however doesn't mention DAB though? Is there any easy way of telling which of the two of these is the better to go for?

 

Thanks for any help you can give

Edited 12 August, 20178 yr by Binnsy01

I wouldn't buy the first one. Simply because he can't be bothered to upload pics of the actual unit you're going to buy.  Would you honestly buy one without seeing the thing you're paying for?

I wouldn't buy the second one either. It's got DAB and Bluetooth, and it's the actual unit you're gonna buy (I presume), but it's very expensive. There are cheaper ones on Ebay all the time, I've not checked tonight but generally knock £100 off that price.

Also, your car will need coding to ensure all the features work, you'll need a microphone for the Bluetooth to work, if you get a DAB unit you'll need a DAB antenna for that to work, and finally you'll need the 4 digit security code which should come with the unit. For £420 he makes no mention of including this, so factor in another £10 - £15 or so for getting the code, and hope it's not on the Skoda blacklist of stolen head units. It is not Plug & Play.

3 hours ago, Rustynuts said:

Also, your car will need coding to ensure all the features work, you'll need a microphone for the Bluetooth to work, if you get a DAB unit you'll need a DAB antenna for that to work, and finally you'll need the 4 digit security code which should come with the unit. For £420 he makes no mention of including this, so factor in another £10 - £15 or so for getting the code, and hope it's not on the Skoda blacklist of stolen head units. It is not Plug & Play.

When you say it would need coding why is this so? If I don’t have the maxi dot and the amusden+ has Bluetooth built in I’m struggling to work out what needs coding? For what it’s worth I’m not really fused about Bluetooth calling it’s more Bluetooth audio streaming that botheres me. I’m fine running my own mic wire though should the mood take me. 

 

Id be intrigued if anyone could post a long to a amusden* with dab and Bluetooth cheaper though as although I’ve seen this mentioned befor I’m yet to find one where this is the case. 

 

Thanks 

At the moment you don't have sat nav, so your car is set up to work without sat nav. Add or change anything and the car needs to know what you've fitted so that the two can communicate correctly. If you add sat nav then the car will need to send data from the wheel speed and steering angle sensors so that the unit knows when you're moving to calculate your position more accurately. It'll also need to know that there's a Bluetooth kit there to use otherwise it won't work.  How will anything work correctly if the car doesn't understand what it needs to do with the new options it's presented with?

 

I had a quick look on Ebay last night. There's plenty of Amundsen + units on there. I could contact all the sellers and ask them if they have the features you require and suchlike, but I'm sure you'd enjoy that more than me.

I thought with the Amundsen+ the Bluetooth was completely integral to the unit hence why I assumed it didn’t need coding? I know this is the case with the Columbus as it plugs in to the external unit (which my car doesn’t have) but I was hoping to avoid this with the Amundsen and that was one of the appeals as the oem/aftermarket Bluetooth modules seem rather expensive. 

 

Your answer to the gps part makes sense. I was wrongly assuming it would just use the antenna for all its data in much the same way as a smart phone / tomtom style device would. 

 

I’ll have a deeper search on google for cheaper units but all the cheap ones I’ve seen seem to be the non+ unit or are missing Bluetooth. 

Having Bluetooth built into the Amundsen unit doesn't mean the car will use it. It simply means it's there to be used if you tell the car it needs to do so. In the same way you can tell the car to lock all the doors at 10mph to prevent people opening the doors while you're stopped at traffic lights. The feature is there, but it may not be enabled. It needs coding to work correctly, or you can just install it and see what happens I guess...

 

Whatever head unit you buy and install will need coding to your specific cars requirements. Otherwise it'll just sit there saying "And what do you expect me to do with this then?"

 

A cursory check just now found one with a saving of £60 straight away, and best offer available should gain a bigger saving. Link here. However, I wouldn't buy that one either as the seller makes too many stipulations about delivery and checking the unit prior to signing which I find insulting. Also he's not showing pics of the actual unit once again, but he will send you pics of the unit he's sending if you ask.

There are usually some bargains to be had on Ebay (wrong descriptions, wrong category listing, cheap "buy it now" prices which get snapped up very quickly) but you need to look for them. 

This one is suitably vague and advertised as a Volkswagne unit, so ask the seller for more pictures showing the connections on the back and the data label on the side, and it might be a Skoda one with DAB / Bluetooth, or it might not. You'll find a bargain if you're prepared to do a bit of leg work (actually, only a few keyboard and mouse exercises really) and wait for the right one to pop up.

Edited 13 August, 20178 yr by Rustynuts

Thanks. That makes sense just a bit frustrating compared to the kinds of installs I’ve done in the past where it’s very much just been old radio out new radio in and job done. 

 

Ill do do some more digging and see what I can find but knowing this I’m now leaning back to the route of just buying the kenwood 516. By the time I’ve purchased the Amundsen, mic, new aerial and paid for coding im going to be somewhat closing the gap of price. 

 

I presume coding wouldn’t be needed for a aftermarket unit like that? These seem to suggest that they will just be plug and play although I know I’d have a few more wires to run. 

 

 

Plug and play is an interesting concept and phrase. It's often used as a catch all statement for all sorts of different meanings. There's a seller on Ebay quite happily listing an Amundsen + unit as "designed to be plug & play", yet later on in the listing states the unit may need coding. Is that genuinely plug and play? I don't think so. Also people list their Amundsen + unit as being "Bluetooth compatible", or other such vague statements. Being Bluetooth compatible isn't the same as having Bluetooth built in, just means there's a Phone button on the front screen and will work with Bluetooth modules in the same way as the Columbus does. That's also Bluetooth compatible, y'know...

 

I wouldn't know if the aftermarket stuff needs coding. There's so much out there which I don't get involved with as I only work with OEM stuff. I know if I fit an OEM unit that it's going to work as the manufacturer designed it to. If you install an aftermarket unit and it needs some coding then you're going to be in the same situation. As I've said, it's the car and  the unit which need coding to work correctly.

 

But to be honest, coding an Amundsen to work correctly is like 10 minutes with a laptop and cable. Takes longer to install the mike than code it.

Don't forget, with any DAB radio you're going to need a DAB antenna so factor that into your financial calculations. The screen mount ones are adequate at best, while the OEM roof mounted ones are much better.

 

Finally, there's some internet chat about the Kenwood needing adapters to work with certain VAG cars and retain all factory functions so don't believe everything that people selling stuff tell you, as they have a vested interest in telling you exactly what you want to hear. Me? I'm just telling you what I know to be correct.