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

[profanegardener]

Hi all,

Got my ANS810 last week - thanks Sandy for the prompt service!..... Here are a couple of my observations from installing and using the unit on a recent long-ish trip:
- Installation was a cinch.... the hardest bit was tracking down the torx(?) bits to remove the fascia and OEM unit
- Audio and video features are pretty good. It's played pretty much everything I've thrown at it (although that hasn't been that much)
- The touchscreen is not that sensitive, so you need to press harder/longer than you would on your touch-screen phone, for example
- Calibration of the touchscreen is quite annoying. The instructions are in Chinese and there is no obvious way out of the calibration if you get in there by mistake (or it sticks in a loop of calibration). The only way out I've found is to restart the device
- It would be handy to have a quickly accessible button to move to the next folder of MP3 files, rather than having to scroll to the top, hit the 'up folder' button and then scroll to the new folder. Coming from my cheapy Pioneer MP3 player in my other car this is quite annoying
- The track information is often wrong when you're playing a track. I've found that the previous track details get shown in some instances (perhaps the current track doesn't have the right ID3 tags or something)
- The GPS is not very intuitive, although the only GPS I'm used to is Google Maps/Navigation on my phone. Perhaps I need to get some iGo documentation...

Cheers,

Tim

[riggsy]

I know there is a local distributor there, not sure which city, but if it's the one a member here dealt with, they don't seem to know much about the unit and does not have much after sales support. Alternatively you can buy direct from Audiosources for about $700 delivered.

I purchased the 810 unit from in the UK, I'm technically savvy but couldn't get the device working correctly due to lack of knowledge from the UK supplier, it was only stumbling across DKN's thread that provided me with the information to get everything up and running smoothly and branded correctly for my car. Can't praise the support on this thread enough, well worth the support fee in my opinion. Finally, with hindsight I would not purchase from the UK supplier.
Not sure if there are any other UK users out there, I haven't stumbled across any yet but I can highly recommend the unit, delighted with mine now it's configured correctly.

[DkN]

HEllo,
I just wanted to share with you an email i got from audiosources. i am interested in the ans-810 bu i had some questions and got interresting answers:
1) What is 3G online? can i connect a USB 3G dongle? or does it support SIMCARD directly?
===You can enter the internet via 3G sim card,but need to connect a USB 3G dongle.

2) Will it work with WIFI dongle?
===No wifi.

3) Can i connect a read camera that is NTSC or PAL or both?
===Yes,you can ,about NTSC or PAL,I do not know that camera also have this format.

4) Can you confirm it will fit in a GOLF MK6 from 2010?
===Yes,of course.But you'd better send me a photo of the dashboard.

5) Do you have any plan to support Android? this would open support for more option free of charge (Android market with 1000 of free apps)
===Yes,we plan do this,but I think not too quickly.

Cedric

Missed this post from earlier.

Must be a mix up because 3G is not available yet on the ANS-810, there is plan for support in the future but that's not for a while.

The unit is capable of both NTSC and PAL but I think it is natively NTSC so I would stick with that to be safe, I haven't personally tested a PAL camera yet.

It fits all mk6 Golf. ANS-810 / 610 / 510 are the units to use.

Don't hold your breath for Android. Also, the idea of Angry Birds in your car might sound interesting but probably not that useful - the ANS series works pretty well out of the box.

- Calibration of the touchscreen is quite annoying. The instructions are in Chinese and there is no obvious way out of the calibration if you get in there by mistake (or it sticks in a loop of calibration). The only way out I've found is to restart the device
- It would be handy to have a quickly accessible button to move to the next folder of MP3 files, rather than having to scroll to the top, hit the 'up folder' button and then scroll to the new folder. Coming from my cheapy Pioneer MP3 player in my other car this is quite annoying
- The track information is often wrong when you're playing a track. I've found that the previous track details get shown in some instances (perhaps the current track doesn't have the right ID3 tags or something)
- The GPS is not very intuitive, although the only GPS I'm used to is Google Maps/Navigation on my phone. Perhaps I need to get some iGo documentation...

Cheers,

Tim

You need only tap anywhere on the screen after calibration is done to exit out of it. Although yes I was meant to remind my technician about that Chinese menu...

The permanent "up one level" button in music menu has been suggested and added to the list of things to improve.

Track information seems to not update every once in a while if you skip songs quickly, but I haven't noticed it doing that for a while now - perhaps your unit is not running the latest firmware. I'll have a firmware update soon to send out.

For music, again I think the better solution is to have all your songs in one folder and let the unit shuffle them that way, until an update to implement a proper music library with ID3 tags comes out (this is being tested for the iPod menu but for SD / USB it's still some time away).

The GPS is a strong point of the unit although I have not tried Google Maps for car navigation, it's probably just a matter of getting used to it. If you find iGo Primo not very intuitive then trust me you don't want to try the VW OEM map system...

As for a manual, each GPS manufacturer modifies their Primo slightly and while the one provided here is the international edition, each custom skin can again change the user interface. Here's a good manual for the stock skin though, map interface would be different if you are using my recommended skin, but the settings will be mostly the same:

http://www.hemanavigator.com.au/manu...-UserGuide.pdf

[DSGVW]

Hi all,

Got my ANS810 last week - thanks Sandy for the prompt service!..... Here are a couple of my observations from installing and using the unit on a recent long-ish trip:
- Installation was a cinch.... the hardest bit was tracking down the torx(?) bits to remove the fascia and OEM unit
- Audio and video features are pretty good. It's played pretty much everything I've thrown at it (although that hasn't been that much)
- The touchscreen is not that sensitive, so you need to press harder/longer than you would on your touch-screen phone, for example
- Calibration of the touchscreen is quite annoying. The instructions are in Chinese and there is no obvious way out of the calibration if you get in there by mistake (or it sticks in a loop of calibration). The only way out I've found is to restart the device
- It would be handy to have a quickly accessible button to move to the next folder of MP3 files, rather than having to scroll to the top, hit the 'up folder' button and then scroll to the new folder. Coming from my cheapy Pioneer MP3 player in my other car this is quite annoying
- The track information is often wrong when you're playing a track. I've found that the previous track details get shown in some instances (perhaps the current track doesn't have the right ID3 tags or something)
- The GPS is not very intuitive, although the only GPS I'm used to is Google Maps/Navigation on my phone. Perhaps I need to get some iGo documentation...

Cheers,

Tim

Could not agree with the DVD/SD card searching more. Having to scroll all the way to beginning of folder and then tap folder back button is crazy while driving. There needs to be a way to exit out of folders to go back.. and I wish that right scroll button served a purpose and actually scrolled through the files as the AS-7608 did very well.

The OBDII functions may keep me entertained for awhile while i ignore this annoying issue, lol

[DkN]

Could not agree with the DVD/SD card searching more. Having to scroll all the way to beginning of folder and then tap folder back button is crazy while driving. There needs to be a way to exit out of folders to go back.. and I wish that right scroll button served a purpose and actually scrolled through the files as the AS-7608 did very well.

The OBDII functions may keep me entertained for awhile while i ignore this annoying issue, lol

As I mention above, for music, again I think the better solution is to have all your songs in one folder and let the unit shuffle them that way, until an update to implement a proper music library with ID3 tags comes out (this is being tested for the iPod menu but for SD / USB it's still some time away).

[starionx]

I got my ANS-810 today (thanks Sandy ).

My experience installing the unit as a first time 'install anything in a car' person... not great. In fact after 2 hours I gave up.
The hard part (I thought) was going to be taking off the trim without damaging/breaking it. It took a bit of courage, but it eventually popped off. Taking the vw unit out was easy. Unplugging the cables was a little trickier (I was doing this in an underground car park with only the car interior lights on), but they came out. Plugging the cables into the new unit... FAIL! Try as I might, I could not get the FM cables out of the white socket. In my car, the two cables are connected to the one plastic socket. They swivel around, but would not pop out. For now, I have no FM. The instructions mention to 'connect to the slot with a clip on top of it', but I had no clue what that meant.
The position where the Ipod/USB cable and the audio/video cable goes (in the setup instructions diagram) is wrong. They need to be swapped around. For the life of me, I could not work out where to feed the USB cable from the interior, to the exterior. I'm not sure I want to be trying to remove more plastic trim.
The GPS antenna. Well, I had no idea where to put this. There was no room on top of the unit (once it's in) and there were no holes big enough inside the cavity that I could place it. I ended up just throwing it in the gap behind where the unit would sit. Hopefully the signal will get through without too much interference.

Finally, I put the unit with cables, into the cavity and it fit very snugly. Took the car outside and tried to set the Nav part up. This SHOULD have been easy, but it wasn't. I spent 20 minutes (I kid you not), trying to work out how to scroll through the GPS folders so I could get to the Primo.exe file. Every time I swiped the screen, nothing happened. I tried up, down, even left and right... no response. I tried starting from the folder icon, the folder name, even the blank part next to the name. Nothing. Occasionally, one of the folder names would light and it would take me into it. Press the Back button and start again. There is a dent in my head the amount of times I would bang it against the dash. FINALLY, by sheer luck, I worked out that you had to swipe HARD on the screen, for it to register. If I had to press that hard on my mobile, I'm sure the screen would crack. I don't think the screens on these units are very touch sensitive.
After that, the setup was a breeze.

If someone could help me workout what to do with the FM connector, how to expose the USB cable into the cabin interior, and where to place the gps antenna (my car is in my sig), I would be very grateful.

[wai]

If someone could help me workout what to do with the FM connector, how to expose the USB cable into the cabin interior, and where to place the gps antenna (my car is in my sig), I would be very grateful.

On the antenna cables, these are supposed to be FAKRA connectors. You need to press a tab built into the top of the plug. This lifts the catch over a small "peg" on the bit on the radio, allowing the plug to come out. If yours are joined together, it should just be a single press down to release both clips. As an absolute last resort it would be a case of cutting the cables off and re-terminating them. Just remember to tag the cables before you cut them so you know which one is which.

On the iPod/USB cables, about the only possibility on my Caddy is to remove the ashtray. This reveals an opening in the top if the cavity which might be suitable. The GPS antenna will be interesting for me.

Thanks for the information as I will be getting my ANS-610 for my Caddy shortly. I will post my experiences. I have been trying to get as much information on this as I can.

[DkN]

I got my ANS-810 today (thanks Sandy ).

My experience installing the unit as a first time 'install anything in a car' person... not great. In fact after 2 hours I gave up.
The hard part (I thought) was going to be taking off the trim without damaging/breaking it. It took a bit of courage, but it eventually popped off. Taking the vw unit out was easy. Unplugging the cables was a little trickier (I was doing this in an underground car park with only the car interior lights on), but they came out. Plugging the cables into the new unit... FAIL! Try as I might, I could not get the FM cables out of the white socket. In my car, the two cables are connected to the one plastic socket. They swivel around, but would not pop out. For now, I have no FM. The instructions mention to 'connect to the slot with a clip on top of it', but I had no clue what that meant.
The position where the Ipod/USB cable and the audio/video cable goes (in the setup instructions diagram) is wrong. They need to be swapped around. For the life of me, I could not work out where to feed the USB cable from the interior, to the exterior. I'm not sure I want to be trying to remove more plastic trim.
The GPS antenna. Well, I had no idea where to put this. There was no room on top of the unit (once it's in) and there were no holes big enough inside the cavity that I could place it. I ended up just throwing it in the gap behind where the unit would sit. Hopefully the signal will get through without too much interference.

Finally, I put the unit with cables, into the cavity and it fit very snugly. Took the car outside and tried to set the Nav part up. This SHOULD have been easy, but it wasn't. I spent 20 minutes (I kid you not), trying to work out how to scroll through the GPS folders so I could get to the Primo.exe file. Every time I swiped the screen, nothing happened. I tried up, down, even left and right... no response. I tried starting from the folder icon, the folder name, even the blank part next to the name. Nothing. Occasionally, one of the folder names would light and it would take me into it. Press the Back button and start again. There is a dent in my head the amount of times I would bang it against the dash. FINALLY, by sheer luck, I worked out that you had to swipe HARD on the screen, for it to register. If I had to press that hard on my mobile, I'm sure the screen would crack. I don't think the screens on these units are very touch sensitive.
After that, the setup was a breeze.

If someone could help me workout what to do with the FM connector, how to expose the USB cable into the cabin interior, and where to place the gps antenna (my car is in my sig), I would be very grateful.

Sorry you had a difficult experience.

Re the FM fakra connector, look here:



Ignore the right side, your connector end should be the same as the one on the left in that picture. Notice only one of the dual connectors has a clip with a tab. You need to pull the little tab back, away from the unit, before you can remove it by pressing the tab down and pulling the connector out. Where the connector with the tab is now will also be where you insert the provided single FAKRA antenna into.

For the GPS antenna, I have helped install a unit into a MY10 Golf GTI so it should be the same - on the left side of the cavity when you remove the unit, there should be a gap big enough to push the antenna through. If you use some double sided tape, you can stick it on the other side of that wall.

Also below your air con unit, after you remove the fascia, there should be a little shelf that is held on only by clips. Behind that shelf is a little gap that should be ok to fit the USB / iPod wires through, but you have to remove the shelf because the connectors are obviously too big to squeeze through. Just be careful and apply some force wiggling that shelf, it will come loose easily enough. Bring your USB / iPod cable around, from memory I think I removed the air con unit too to get the wires behind it - once you have the fascia off it's just 4 more torx screws. Then replace everything back and you should be set.

If all else fails with the cables, after you remove the air con unit, you should be able to push the cable through the fascia to your left where a gap can be found, picture below (mine is a mk5 Golf):



Ignore the cable on the left that's my RVC cable which is not yet buried. Cable on the right is USB and I just hook it back around to the centre console area.

[starionx]

Thanks for the pictures and info Sandy. I should point out that my frustration is more to do with my inability to get the job done, rather than a problem with the unit (well, apart from the touch screen sensitivity).

You mention using double sided tape for the gps antenna, so maybe I can tell you something you might not be aware of. You can peel off the orange/red film on the bottom which reveals a sticky surface.

I'll have another go tomorrow to see if I can properly finish the install.

[DkN]

Thanks for the pictures and info Sandy. I should point out that my frustration is more to do with my inability to get the job done, rather than a problem with the unit (well, apart from the touch screen sensitivity).

You mention using double sided tape for the gps antenna, so maybe I can tell you something you might not be aware of. You can peel off the orange/red film on the bottom which reveals a sticky surface.

I'll have another go tomorrow to see if I can properly finish the install.

Oh yes I forgot about that - the latest antennas they've been shipping has tape included, it's a recent thing

And by the way, the screen is resistive rather than capacitive, so touch scrolling will not be as sensitive as your smartphone but normal pressing of buttons shouldn't be a problem.