ANS-810 / ANS-510 (PROPER RNS-510 alternative)

[70RTY]

Hi all,

I had this unit installed last weekend.

Firstly, I would like to say that DkN was a pleasure to deal with. He is very helpful and honest.

The unit looks great in my Mk VI Golf GTI. It looks like a factory unit:



These are my initial impressions after using the unit for a few days:

* I was pleasantly surprised that I get decent AM reception after being warned that this could be an issue
* the FM reception is OK but not as good as the reception quality I had in the standard unit. There is occasionally some 'interference' noise but it is not a major issue. I may look into options for improving reception.
* The GPS works well. It is better than other manufacturer supplied systems I have used but not as good as a Tom Tom or Navman in my opinion. Occasionally it is a little slow and laggy. The are a mind-boggling array of options to personalise the look and feel of the navigation.
* Bluetooth works but I haven't had much chance to test this yet. My entire phone book downloaded but sometimes it refuses to make a call when I select a name from the list. I then have to enter the number manually. I also noticed when I received a call, it took quite a while for the system to recognise it and give me the option of answering it. The sound quality of bluetooth is ok. Also, I can stream music from my iPhone via bluetooth.
* the iPod connection doesn't work with my iPhone. Hopefully this will be rectified in a future update.
* the screen is very shiny and light often glares off it. It also shows finger marks very clearly. Maybe this can be addressed via some kind of screen protector, similar to what is used with iPhones?
* whenever my aircon changes fan speed automatically, the graphic pops up on the screen to tell me this which is a bit frustrating as it locks your out of the touch screen while this is displayed. Hopefully future updates will address this issue so that the graphic is only displayed when climate control is altered manually (as per the stock unit).
* the unit is a little bit 'glitchy' sometimes taking a bit longer to load or it does some random glitchy stuff. Nothing major and I am sure future updates will address this.

I know I have highlighted a few niggles but overall I am very happy with the unit. It is fantastic value for money. I am looking forward to future updates. After speaking with DkN, I am confident this unit will continue to improve with future software updates and will have even more functionality. I will especially be interested in DAB radio and the OBD II features.

[Ryan_R]

Volkswagen RNS510 Screen Protector from Clarivue

Recommended screen-protector for RNS510 (anti-glare). Just select the custom cut option and tell them the dimensions you need.

[DkN]

Volkswagen RNS510 Screen Protector from Clarivue

Recommended screen-protector for RNS510 (anti-glare). Just select the custom cut option and tell them the dimensions you need.

That looks useful, thanks for the link.

Also thanks to everyone who left feedback on the unit.

I have given feedback to the head tech including iPod & music browsing and BT phone functions, and he was accepting of everything. In fact he wasted no time to report it to the top and says that he imagines he will be planning some major changes based on the feedback.

In the mean time if anyone finds any small glitches, do let me know and I will pass it on so they can be fixed.

Interesting comments on the map software, I've not used TomTom and I heard some good things about it, but I owned several Navmans and one Garmin, and in my experience they cannot compare to iGo Primo at all. These units, especially Navman, all get laggy after a couple of months of use, the voice directions were at times unclear, and they show a lot less information.

Also, all of the GPS units I owned exhibited lag. Primo on my ANS does not lag except for when the map is visible, since it has to process all the 3D data at the same time. As soon as I press settings for example, and the full screen menu takes over, everything including animations all run smoothly. Navigating map settings with half the map visible is probably the laggiest operation, but I do not know of any unit that handles this without lag - every unit I have owned / played with, exhibit lag in animation even in the full screen menu with no 3D data being processed. Maybe things have changed since I have not played with any new GPS units <1 year old, but that has been my experience.

[gviddy]

Hey everyone,

On the weekend I installed this unit into my VW EOS convertible..

You can follow the link below which shows my step-by-step installation with lots of photos ...

ANS-810 Installation into a VW EOS « GV Blog

[whiskywallah]

Good photos! I wish I had been patient enough to have done the same.
It reminds me that there were 2 antenna plugs joined together, side by side, in my MY12 Tiguan. I chose one and FM seems ok. Is the other for AM which doesn't seem to work at all? In which case what do I do with it?

[TommyP]

Regarding the AM radio reception. The vw's have two antenna connections, depending on which one you use will determine if you receive AM radio. If you're not receiving AM and want it just swap to the other antenna connection. You should be able to buy a 2 into 1 Fakra adaptor off ebay if you want both connected.

[DkN]

Yes the two connectors are rf/zf and not the same, one is for general reception and the second one is an FM booster only. Factory unit has what is called a diversity function which, on the FM band, chooses the antenna with the better signal. The signal from each antenna are designed to be separate. In other words, an antenna adapter that combines both is useless and may even decrease signal quality. Some adapters claim to retain the factory diversity function, but i have tried one myself and found no noticeable improvements.

The single antenna adapter that comes with the ANS is designed to convert the general connection so while your plug fits the FM only antenna, you may not get any signal at all even on FM if you connect to it.

Also, it would seem that the newer cars like mk6 golf compared to mk5, has a different antenna design - same dual fakra but the two plugs are joined, and connecting to the one with a clip on top of it does give AM signal as well as FM - that was the experience here from a mk6 GTI anyway... Don't know why a MY12 Tiguan is different

[whiskywallah]

Here's a photo of my connector.




As you say, the ANS plug will only fit into one of the connectors due to keying.
I get reasonable FM with it but zero AM.
At least I know about the dual connector now...thanks.

[shakespeare]

Hi all,

Thanks to DkN I received my ANS-810 last week and installed it today into my wife's MK V Jetta. DkN supplied some great feedback and advice before I ordered and thanks to all his good advice and install links I had no issues at all putting it in.

Overall very pleased with the unit and it does what it's supposed to do! Initial views, bluetooth is better than I expected so happy here, navigation looks very impressive and whilst I'm used to the RNS-510 I found this easy to use and possibly better in some areas too! Radio reception FM is excellent, AM is good. iPod connectivity not as good as the MDI on the RNS as I could not display playlists etc so looking forward to an update down the track. DVD playback very good, though the kids pointed out to me that you can't go to the dvd menu during playback? Maybe I missed something, though worked out how to pause it And agree that the screen's shiny appearance is a bit susceptible to glare in the day time, think I will need to invest in one of those anti glare screen protectors (thanks Ryan)

For the money you cannot fault the unit and I am very impressed and satisfied with DkN's service, well done mate and thanks for your help.

Cheers
Chris.

Images of installed unit in a MK V Jetta

[DkN]

Chris,

Thanks for the review. Re the DVD, check your email mate, I've just sent out new firmware, this fixes the DVD menu issue and also pretties it up a bit. There are also speed improvements for switching between the nav, phone and other menus.