After Market Sat Nav (Copy RNS510)

[Macka]

I know there have been some previous threads on this before but l was wondering whether anyone has had anymore/new experience with the aftermarket sat nav from Auspack Electronics?

They have a copy of the RNS510 which they sell for $950 uninstalled. They have told me that installation is very simple and it is basically plug and play.

http://members.optusnet.com.au/auspacks/productPage10.html

http://members.optusnet.com.au/auspacks/productPage5.html

Yes l did order my R36 without this option!!!! Pick it up this Friday and can not wait.

[WEDEL.1]

Sounds alright....may be OK for our Golf Edition.

Maris

[3Putt]

Not a Great Unit

Had one for 6 months now. It does the job ok, but it's unfortunately the same old addage...

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!

The main problem is the cheap-looking, cumbersome user interface. It's just not easy to operate.

Sat Nav - OK, not the greatest nav software. Apparently you can install other software thru the SD card. The unit runs on Windows CE, so theoretically there are any number of NAV programs you should be able to load and run. GPS receiver does fire up quickly though.

Sound Quality - OK. You get a bit more oomph (50W x 4) which you can notice via a bit more punch in the bass. Sadly, i don't think the pre-processing is that great, so quality is not significantly improved overall.

Radio - Pretty good. Change channels via touchscreen which is ok. Hard to set to stereo mode, but got it eventually.

CD/DVD - Very slow to load. Treats DVD and CD the same so you get this annoying message about driving and viewing even when its a CD. Takes up to 30sec to star playing.

TV - Don't bother - analog and reception is crap.

Bluetooth - Barely acceptable. Pairs ok most of the time, but absolutely no functionality. No call history, phonebook, contacts etc. Sound quality thru speakers is good, but you have to shout to be heard due to mic in headunit.

Reversing camera - Did not work! They did send me a new one, but have not had it installed yet. Will be at my own expense, which leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

This unit is a 'jack of all trades - master of none'.

In hindsight, i would not buy this unit again. I would save up for a Kenwood or something that offers maybe less functionality, but better quality in the functions it does have. Choose what functions you really want then go for a unit that has them.

[gead]

wow, good review....

[Macka]

Had one for 6 months now. It does the job ok, but it's unfortunately the same old addage...

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!

The main problem is the cheap-looking, cumbersome user interface. It's just not easy to operate.

Sat Nav - OK, not the greatest nav software. Apparently you can install other software thru the SD card. The unit runs on Windows CE, so theoretically there are any number of NAV programs you should be able to load and run. GPS receiver does fire up quickly though.

Sound Quality - OK. You get a bit more oomph (50W x 4) which you can notice via a bit more punch in the bass. Sadly, i don't think the pre-processing is that great, so quality is not significantly improved overall.

Radio - Pretty good. Change channels via touchscreen which is ok. Hard to set to stereo mode, but got it eventually.

CD/DVD - Very slow to load. Treats DVD and CD the same so you get this annoying message about driving and viewing even when its a CD. Takes up to 30sec to star playing.

TV - Don't bother - analog and reception is crap.

Bluetooth - Barely acceptable. Pairs ok most of the time, but absolutely no functionality. No call history, phonebook, contacts etc. Sound quality thru speakers is good, but you have to shout to be heard due to mic in headunit.

Reversing camera - Did not work! They did send me a new one, but have not had it installed yet. Will be at my own expense, which leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

This unit is a 'jack of all trades - master of none'.

In hindsight, i would not buy this unit again. I would save up for a Kenwood or something that offers maybe less functionality, but better quality in the functions it does have. Choose what functions you really want then go for a unit that has them.

Great review, much appreciated. When you say the Kenwood option, does it look like the standard VW sat nav?

[3Putt]

Kenwood, Pioneer, Sony etc all make pretty good (and pretty expensive) 2-din headunits.

I don't know if they fit exactly into the Passat fascia.

That's the one good thing about the AVC-9000. It is custom made for the Passat, so fits perfectly. If it wasn't for the really amateurish GUI, it would almost look OEM!

[3Putt]

Consider Google Maps on Mobile Phone

Before anyone buys an in-car satnav system, i strongly recommend they check this out....

http://www.google.com/mobile/default/maps.html

All you need is a phone with GPS, and you are away.

This is, I believe, the way of the future. Have your satnav on your phone, and put the money you save into a better car stereo (or into buying a gps phone!).

Google Maps on your phone is seriously a phenomenal application. It combines a super accurate 'moving map' style display with Google Earth quality graphics (or Street Maps if you wish).

And this is the kicker... you get the power of Google search embedded in all of this.

So, you can do things like... search for the nearest pizza place, or service station, or massage parlour.

You then get turn by turn directions, and a pretty little pink line on the screen to follow. You can also choose to call that pizza place (or madam) directly with the push of a button - you don't even see the phone number. Google has already found it for you.

No more generic, mud-maps of where you are. You get so much more detail.

[STV4SYT]

I have been using Amaze on my phone, its Free and does voice guidance too where the google maps doesn't.

http://www.amazegps.com/welcome.php

I bought a little windscreen phone mount and a retractable car charger that i have permanently hanging by the holder (bottom right of windscreen) so the phone wont die, and it does suck the juice a lot on GPS.

Screw paying Nokia $20 a month to use their service.

While it is not as good as the indash systems, its not $3k and while not as easy to use, or as large a screen as the tom tom or similar units, it gets you thee, and the added bonus is you dont risk your car getting broken into by satnav thieves as you generally dont leave the phone in the car either.


I dont see how car manufacturers can get away with charging so much for an item that you can buy (albeit in less integrated form) at **** smiths for under $200 !!

[Macka]

Before anyone buys an in-car satnav system, i strongly recommend they check this out....

http://www.google.com/mobile/default/maps.html

All you need is a phone with GPS, and you are away.

This is, I believe, the way of the future. Have your satnav on your phone, and put the money you save into a better car stereo (or into buying a gps phone!).

Google Maps on your phone is seriously a phenomenal application. It combines a super accurate 'moving map' style display with Google Earth quality graphics (or Street Maps if you wish).

And this is the kicker... you get the power of Google search embedded in all of this.

So, you can do things like... search for the nearest pizza place, or service station, or massage parlour.

You then get turn by turn directions, and a pretty little pink line on the screen to follow. You can also choose to call that pizza place (or madam) directly with the push of a button - you don't even see the phone number. Google has already found it for you.

No more generic, mud-maps of where you are. You get so much more detail.

l did this and it is unbelievable!! The only thing l have against it though is as the dot moves along the line (road) and goes to the edge of the screen, the screen didn't then move. Does this happen to yours?

[3Putt]

Hoping for some Improvements

Yeah, its only new, so i'm hoping they will be adding more and more to it as it evolves.

Functions like a 'true' moving map display, that keeps the blue dot in the centre of the screen, will surely be forthcoming.

[STV4SYT]

l did this and it is unbelievable!! The only thing l have against it though is as the dot moves along the line (road) and goes to the edge of the screen, the screen didn't then move. Does this happen to yours?

Try Amaze, googlemaps is dangerous to use while driving. it pops up a large arrow and countdown in distance to turnoff, voice guidance too if you want it. All for free.

[sci_fianime]

Before anyone buys an in-car satnav system, i strongly recommend they check this out....

http://www.google.com/mobile/default/maps.html

All you need is a phone with GPS, and you are away.

This is, I believe, the way of the future. Have your satnav on your phone, and put the money you save into a better car stereo (or into buying a gps phone!).

Looks good - what kind of data charges does this app incur?

[STV4SYT]

I cant speak for googlemaps, but using amaze in arrows moded uses very little, i use it once or twice a week and have got a 500Mb limit . i have never gone over 200Mb as it doesnt need to download all the maps.

[3Putt]

Problem With Amaze

Amaze keeps crashing on me. I think it might have something to do with me having Windows Mobile 6.1. Amaze was written for WM6.0 i think.

So i'll be sticking with Google Maps for now. Amaze is probably the better nav app right now, but the search functionality of Google Maps for mobiles is truly 'amazing', pardon the pun.

Like the iPhone add says, this really will change everything!

[STV4SYT]

Amaze keeps crashing on me. I think it might have something to do with me having Windows Mobile 6.1. Amaze was written for WM6.0 i think.

So i'll be sticking with Google Maps for now. Amaze is probably the better nav app right now, but the search functionality of Google Maps for mobiles is truly 'amazing', pardon the pun.

Like the iPhone add says, this really will change everything!

Yeah, im pretty sure the WM version is either still in beta or just recently released. i have n95 8Gb and it wokrs great. I use Google to find stuff locally and amaze for nav. best of both worlds.

and the gmail app is bloody handy too. just s shame it is only pull. when i had the mail for exchange i was able to tell it how often to check.