mlhj83 Posted October 31, 2006 Report Share Posted October 31, 2006 Hello people!!! I can't wait for my R32 to arrive in 2 weeks, pity I won't be able to drive it not until my birthday which is on Nov 24th. The reason being insurance. Anyway, there are a few things I would like to find out and they center around the pioneer AVIC-HD1BT sat nav unit, which I believe RS32 has as well, brilliant system I must say. First of all, my R32 comes with the standard RCD300 system with the long antennae on the roof. What I want to do is change the long antennae to the short one that comes with the factory specificed vw sat nav system. The dealer has said that changing the antennae is not a problem. However I forgot to ask the following questions: 1) Is the short antennae responsible for both radio and GPS reception when vw sat nav is specified? 2) If the short antennae is both a radio antennae and external GPS receiver, are there 2 cables (RF cable and MCX cable) connected to it? 3) Assuming what I've said above is correct and that my dealer is changing the long antennae to the short one, this would mean that I will not have the GPS/MCX cable as it would only be a cosmetic change. How then will I connect the pioneer sat nav unit to the antennae? 4) Will there be a loss of radio reception strength with the short antennae? 5) If there is a loss of radio reception strength when I change to the short antennae, then how does the factory fitted vw sat nav and short antennae maintain radio reception strength? Much appreciated!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlhj83 Posted October 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2006 Anyone? Help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rs32 Posted October 31, 2006 Report Share Posted October 31, 2006 hi mlhj83 1) Is the short antennae responsible for both radio and GPS reception when vw sat nav is specified? <font color="blue"> yes, I believe so </font> 2) If the short antennae is both a radio antennae and external GPS receiver, are there 2 cables (RF cable and MCX cable) connected to it? <font color="blue"> Again, yes I would expect so </font> 3) Assuming what I've said above is correct and that my dealer is changing the long antennae to the short one, this would mean that I will not have the GPS/MCX cable as it would only be a cosmetic change. How then will I connect the pioneer sat nav unit to the antennae? <font color="blue"> you can either run the Navi cable up through the headlining in the same way as VW would do for OEM, or as per my install you can get the supplied Pioneer GPS aerial placed behind the rear-view mirror where the small section of windscreen is blacked-out. This is invisible from the outside of the car </font> 4) Will there be a loss of radio reception strength with the short antennae? <font color="blue"> sorry don't know but other owners would have reported problems by now if it was a real problem </font> 5) If there is a loss of radio reception strength when I change to the short antennae, then how does the factory fitted vw sat nav and short antennae maintain radio reception strength? <font color="blue"> see answer to Q4 </font> --------- Hope that's useful - why not just leave the long antennae in place for the time being, get the Navi unit fitted with the supplied Pioneer GPS aerial, then upgrade to the short roof-aerial later on ? Also make sure that when the unit has been fitted, your installers used plenty of silicon lubricant on the dash trim before refitting - otherwise it will creak like mad a few months later. I've just been back to the dealer to have this sorted out and all is good now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlhj83 Posted October 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2006 Thanks very much. I very much prefer the look of the short roof aerial as I can't bear the look of the long skinny stick of an aerial that comes as standard. I feel it spoils the sleek lines of the car IMHO. Anyway, what I might to is get the dealer to fit the GPS cable that comes as standard with the oem sat nav as well as the short aerial. I don't want to use the pioneer supplied GPS receiver as placing it behind the windscreen at the blacked out area is still never as good as a GPS receiver placed on the roof of the car where the signal is significantly stronger from my experience with external GPS receivers. My only worry now is whether the oem gps cable for the vw sat nav will fit the pioneer unit. By the way, has the 3D gyroscope lived up to all its hype from the pioneer website? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rs32 Posted October 31, 2006 Report Share Posted October 31, 2006 [ QUOTE ] I don't want to use the pioneer supplied GPS receiver as placing it behind the windscreen at the blacked out area is still never as good as a GPS receiver placed on the roof of the car where the signal is significantly stronger from my experience with external GPS receivers. [/ QUOTE ] not had a problem at all in over 7k miles of driving here and abroad [ QUOTE ] My only worry now is whether the oem gps cable for the vw sat nav will fit the pioneer unit. [/ QUOTE ] the pioneer kit should come with the cable, and a decent installer will have the part anyway - but don't discount the supplied GPS receiver option for the time being. I may go for the smaller aerial at some point myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlhj83 Posted November 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2006 Thanks for your help. It would be nice if I could have a look at your sat nav and how you route your GPS receiver since I don't live too far from you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rs32 Posted November 1, 2006 Report Share Posted November 1, 2006 I think they routed the cable up from the dash through the A Pillar trim, then across the headlining, then down through the rain sensor wiring trim behind the rear view mirror. A very neat job and you don't notice the aerial block when sitting in the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlhj83 Posted November 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2006 Could you recommend the dealership that you fitted your sat nav? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rs32 Posted November 1, 2006 Report Share Posted November 1, 2006 Huets Car Audio (independent of VW) in Brighton fitted the Navi + audio install - I cannot recommend the dealer that sold me the car for ICE-related things as they told me the RCD500 + soundpack was as good as BOSE/Dynaudio However Caffyns VW at Haywards Heath sorted the creaky dash trim under warranty and I can recommend them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlhj83 Posted November 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2006 Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Froggy Posted November 2, 2006 Report Share Posted November 2, 2006 [ QUOTE ] 3) Assuming what I've said above is correct and that my dealer is changing the long antennae to the short one, this would mean that I will not have the GPS/MCX cable as it would only be a cosmetic change. How then will I connect the pioneer sat nav unit to the antennae? [/ QUOTE ] The factory GPS aerial works on a different voltage and connector system to the Pioneer one. Whilst it may work if you adapted one to the other it may damage the Replacement aerial, or just not work at all. From memory the Factory GPS is 5v, the Pioneer 3v. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlhj83 Posted November 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2006 Interesting. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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