Hi,

Posted these queries on another thread but didnt get much of a reply, could soeome please let me know something about the below;

1. GPS

I have ordered a LE vRS and like everyone am waiting for them to be delivered, however, in the meantime, i have brought a Road Angel Compact and wanted to know if anyone currently runs one or a similar device on their existing vRS's. The unit does not seem to work with my current car (a Renault) but reaidng on the Road Angel website it says that some cars, including Renaults have a Athermic, comfort or UV windscreen which blocks the GPS signal being located.

Just wondered if i will need to get a MCX atenna in order for it to work with teh Skoda or whether it will work as it is i.e. Skoda dont have these Athermic, comfort or UV windscreen's blocking the signal?

2. DENISON ICE LINK

Anyone know what exact stereo is being installed in the Ltd Ed vRS as i am trying to research what i-pod system i can install and the Skoda Dension ice>Link Plus with Video output looks pretty good and i wanted to check if it support text on the unit that comes as standard on the LE vRS.

http://www.ipodcarkitdirect.co.uk/iPod_Car_Kit/For_Factory_Fitted_Radios/Skoda_iPod_Car_Kit/Dension_Skoda_iPod_Car_Kit/Skoda_iPod_Ice_Link_Plus_Adapter/Compatibility

much appreciated.

teok, not quite what you were asking but I have a 'classic' Road Angel and the normal vrs and it works fine. Are the LE windows different?

Road Angel worked fine in my Mk1 vRS, Origin B2 worked fine in my vRS and my L&K

my road angel classic works fine in my fabia bud you should have no problems with it

If the LE comes with an autochanger, you might want to look at the Dension Gateway 400, it lets you change over between the CD changer and your ipod (you will lose it with the ice-link). It also lets you plug a 3.5mm line feed in and a USB flash drive (neat) I think it has a flying lead out, for the video. SatNavSystems do them if you are interested, ask for Tom.

Amanda

Ps the Road Angel works fine in an Octavia.

Thakns for all your replies. I wont bother buying the extra cable for the Road Angel as it seems Skoda dont use these annoying windscreens.

Lady Elanore, thank you for your advice, i will look into the Dension Gateway 400. When you say 'autochanger' the LE does come with 6 disc CD player which i believe is located in a tray under the passanger seat. Is this the same thing you are talking about? If so i guess this unit plugs into the autochanger rather than wired into the back of the stereo headset?

Let me know

I used to have the Ice Link in my Civic Type R with Kenwood head unit. Here's a review I wrote on it back then:-

ICE Link Plus Review

Installation

Installation is pretty simple. If you've already changed the head unit yourself then it's a doddle; just pop out the stereo as normal, connect the lead to the CD changer port on the back, and route through to the glove box. The docking cradle is included in the kit, although there is a version that comes with lead only. To mount the cradle in the CTR I needed a Brodit clip that clips round the passenger side shelf and glove box opening. Just drill a couple of holes in the clip's mounting plate and the cradle screws into it. You can change the angle and orientation of the cradle and secure it using the supplied Allen key.

The excess cable I managed to route behind the dash along with the ICE Link module which houses the actual hardware that works the magic to 'trick' your stereo into thinking that it's controlling a CD changer. The Ice Link and the lead connecting the cradle to the Ice Link are generic bits of kit and don't depend on the make of head unit you have - although which version you buy determines which mode your Ice Link is configured to as default. The lead that goes from the ICE Link to the stereo is custom depending on the CD changer connection on the back of the head unit. If you change your stereo in future you should just need a new lead to fit to the CD changer port (if different) and you can change the mode of the ICE Link via a download from the Dension site.

Head unit configuration and firmware updates are manged via special MP3 files. These MP3 files contain data rather than music, and when played from your iPod into the ICE Link, will update the firmware or configuration as necessary.

Use

I actually ordered the ICE Link, the Brodit clip and the iPod at the same time. The ICE Link arrived first, then the Brodit clip next so I installed those awaiting the iPod. Upon the iPod arriving I tested it in the car. First impressions was that it worked pretty well. There are a few ways of using the kit, depending on which is most convenient at the time. If you are listening to your iPod with headphones and want to continue the playlist or album in the car you simply press the play button and insert the iPod into the cradle. Assuming the head unit is set to CD changer mode, the music will continue to play through the car speakers and you can pause, skip, rewind of fast forward the tracks using your car stereo.

Another method is activated by selecting disc 6 using your head unit controls. Disc 6 will bring up a menu on the iPod allowing you to browse playlists, and change various settings. By default, the first 5 playlists found on your iPod are assigned to discs 1-5 for easy access. You can determine which playlists these are by renaming them in iTunes with numbers preceding (e.g. "1 Rock", "2 Chill-Out"). Access to other playlists can be done via the disc 6 option, using skip forward to go down a menu item, skip back to go up a menu item, and holding skip forward to select. This method is pretty slow to be honest, taking a couple of seconds after pressing a button for the iPod to react, but is just usable. Standard stereo functions are also supported via the ICE Link such as repeat, random and scan modes. One gripe is that you have to remember to set the iPod backlight to permanently on before you dock it in the cradle. Otherwise, the light turns out and is not reactivated when you're trying to access menu options so it's very hard to see. They should have added another option into the menu to allow you to set permanent backlight when docked.

An other thing you can do is that if you hear a song you like and want to listen to the whole album that it's from, there is an AlbumPlay option on the menu that will do just that. There is also an iPod UI option that allows you to control the iPod directly whilst it is in the cradle. This disables certain functions such as ID tag information on the stereo, and current track number.

The ICE Link charges the iPod whilst it is in the cradle via the head unit power. This can be disabled if need be, or can be set to continue the charge for up to 2 hours if the radio or CD is listened to instead.

Problems

All seemed well and good with my ICE Link at first. On my first drive home after install (as the iPod arrived to work), the display froze on my second track and control via the head unit was lost. Not a good start. I disconnected the cable from the head unit to the ICE Link (at ICE Link end so I didn't need to pull the stereo out) and all was fine again. Further trouble emerged when the head unit wouldn't find the ICE Link posing as the CD changer and CD changer mode couldn't be selected. Disconnecting and reconnecting solved the problem (until the ignition was turned off, then it was touch and go when I wanted to use it next time).

I logged a support enquiry last Thursday (25th August) with Dension on Dension Support SIte . Since then I have heard nothing back. I thought about upgrading the firmware myself, but the update page gives the following message:-

Dear Customers, current ice>Link Plus models implement the full desired feature set already, therefore no generic firmware updates released in the future.

However we are comitted [sic] to continue our product support and to make bug fixes available if necessary.

Ha!

I did however find this page TomTek Innovating Systems :: iPod Integration, Sunit, ice>Link, TT i-connect, IT Security, IT Dienstleistungen, Fahrzeughalterung , which contains most of the past firmware updates. As my Dension came installed with 2.10, I tried version 2.11 (BETA). This appeared to be more stable after a few on/off ignition tests, but when I came to use it properly it was just as bad. In the end I tried various old versions until settling with version 2.03. This does not have the large size text that the more recent versions have, but is a lot more stable; and when it does go wrong, there is no need to disconnect; power cycling the radio (using ignition key) fixes. I think the problem with 2.03 is that when you first turn the ignition to position 1 it boots up, but if you then start the engine, the power to the head unit temporarily cuts and causes the software to go doolally. Annoying bug, but hopefully Dension will see sense and fix in a new firmware update.

Conclusion

Rating: 6/10

"Very good when it works" sums it up. Only the problem on first start-up of the stereo seems to be happening with version 2.03. Once running it seems fine. Works very well with iPod and auto pauses when ignition key is turned off or iPod removed - useful if you want to continue listening with headphones and don't want to miss any music. If it actually worked reliably without having to restart the car every now and again, it'd get a 9 out of 10. A 10 out of 10 if they got rid of the annoying delay whilst selecting menus and put the permanent backlight feature in.

Lady Elanore, thank you for your advice, i will look into the Dension Gateway 400. When you say 'autochanger' the LE does come with 6 disc CD player which i believe is located in a tray under the passanger seat. Is this the same thing you are talking about? If so i guess this unit plugs into the autochanger rather than wired into the back of the stereo headset?

Let me know

The 6CD autochanger I was referring too was on an Octy II, but I would imagine the connector fittings are the same. Check out SatNavSystems website for more info on the connector.