T5 transporter aftermarket radio options

[Silver Caravelle]

I would stay with the double din unit a lot less grief , I can see that VW seemed to allow for the wider unit like in your first link but there is no way it will fit yours because directly beside the opening is the main support parts for the whole dash facia remove it and there would be nothing for another radio to attach onto .

Thanks very much Horward. Cheers Scott

[Silver Caravelle]

Hi Howard and all, is an antenna amplifier adaptor required to plug into the existing powered antenna? Scott

[Silver Caravelle]

Hi Howard and all, is an antenna amplifier adaptor required to plug into the existing powered antenna? Scott

For example?

PC5-137 VW Transporter T5 Amplified Booster Fakra - Din Aerial Antenna Adaptor | eBay

[Sunny43.5]

If you are connecting to your existing antennae which are usually twin Fakra connectors depending what year you will find reception pretty ordinary depending on what model aftermarket head unit you fit . Some of the Chinese ones are pretty ordinary as VW have "tuned "the antennae to their own head units and the use diversity technology in some as well . I found on our early T5s that AM was just nothing at our location 32 km from Brisbane centre FM was okay but again not as good as standard . Now the new Android one I fitted last week seemed even better than the early ones and even had DAB+ which was pretty impressive . If the antennae connection on the back of the head unit is the standard male into female style then you will need the adaptor as shown in your link . The original radio antennae in the front windscreen are powered as there is a small powered component right where the centre of the top of the windscreen is . I was told by a Auto Barn fitter that when they do some VWs they use a test light to find the right wire apparently you need to power the antennae from the new head unit . So they connect the head unit and then use the test light to probe the wires at the connection near the head unit one end of the test light is connected to 12volt acc and they probe the wires and once they find the right one the radio suddenly gets proper reception it may help .

[Silver Caravelle]

If you are connecting to your existing antennae which are usually twin Fakra connectors depending what year you will find reception pretty ordinary depending on what model aftermarket head unit you fit . Some of the Chinese ones are pretty ordinary as VW have "tuned "the antennae to their own head units and the use diversity technology in some as well . I found on our early T5s that AM was just nothing at our location 32 km from Brisbane centre FM was okay but again not as good as standard . Now the new Android one I fitted last week seemed even better than the early ones and even had DAB+ which was pretty impressive . If the antennae connection on the back of the head unit is the standard male into female style then you will need the adaptor as shown in your link . The original radio antennae in the front windscreen are powered as there is a small powered component right where the centre of the top of the windscreen is . I was told by a Auto Barn fitter that when they do some VWs they use a test light to find the right wire apparently you need to power the antennae from the new head unit . So they connect the head unit and then use the test light to probe the wires at the connection near the head unit one end of the test light is connected to 12volt acc and they probe the wires and once they find the right one the radio suddenly gets proper reception it may help .

Thanks Howard, I have not purchased anything yet, but when I do I will have to wait and find if the adaptor part is required. That's my understanding too; the adaptor gets its 12V (the blue wire) from the head unit to power the antenna. Sounds like DAB+ is worthwhile.

Cheers, Scott

[Foxpuppet]

I fitted a brand new one Erisin the other day to my T5 its the latest Android 5.1 I was drawn to the newer model because it has DAB+ now . The older one I fitted last year was sold to a friend so this one is the very latest design . These Erisin models have Bluetooth built in no need for the VW part . Now I will admit that at first after pairing my Galaxy S6 it connected fine and works fine , but I could not get any music via Bluetooth until I discovered you need to click on the A2DP app in the app menu instantly the music from the phone is accessed . You can control the phone music from the head unit and any phone calls can be answered directly from that same app . The DAB is brilliant I had fitted a Pure DAB radio as an add on to the old one and it was a pain , signal would drop out and it was awkward to find stations in the menu . How did you connect the reverse camera and what year is your T5 as the early ones you need to connect a signal wire from the reverse lights to activate the camera after 2010 it is part of the head unit connection so no need for that wire .I like the DVR feature as it records to a SD card onboard and you can review the video without taking the card to a PC . GPS software is brilliant as well very up to date mapping with heaps of new functions .

Is this one compatible with the newer model T5.2 onwards? iPhone compatibility or mirroring like apple CarPlay?


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[Husky310]

Foxpuppet
I fitted the ES3048v into a 2015 multivan So yes it will fit.
It has a mirroring function for iPhones like you get on an Apple TV. But the problem is both the phone and unit needs to be connected to wifi so not very practical.
No car play

after two weeks of playing with it very happy. For $380 it's way infront of the $2500 rns510

[Foxpuppet]

Foxpuppet
I fitted the ES3048v into a 2015 multivan So yes it will fit.
It has a mirroring function for iPhones like you get on an Apple TV. But the problem is both the phone and unit needs to be connected to wifi so not very practical.
No car play

after two weeks of playing with it very happy. For $380 it's way infront of the $2500 rns510

Definitely better than RNS unit. I'm looking at the pioneer avic 7" unit with GPS and reverse camera.


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[stevan]

Hi Husky, I ended up giving my unit back to Erisin to swap for same model as yours.Mine is in transit.When you say it has to be connected to wifi do you mean an iphone will not work via bluetooth at all,that is to make calls? Was wondering about radio reception with yours, did you add anything or just plug straight in with VW plug? Thanks

[Sunny43.5]

From what I saw with my latest one is that to mirror link you need to connect to the head unit via a USB connection only . Now I cannot confirm as I have already used both USB connections for DVR and DAB + if I get a chance I can do a swap and see if that's how it works . As for radio as I reported earlier the DAB+ works all the way from the centre of Brisbane and out around 40 kays from the city using just the supplied stumpy antennae . AM well never listen to it FM is pretty good as well but again we ditched the factory system and fitted a powered roof mount which was built for Nissan Xtrail . You can buy these from Auto Barn stores around $70 .