[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by vinodrkn

... Torque has installed the clip-on adapter to numerous Pioneer, Sony, etc. HUs but they haven't come across a sound-drop every 100 meters so far. ...

It is not possible to make a mistake with the antenna connection, unless someone made a simple mistake of inserting the connection meant for Radio Antenna into the socket meant for TCM, or vice versa. The Blaupunkt Philadelphia 835 HU comes with it's own set of adapters to avoid such mistakes.

[vinodrkn]

Yes DerAlte. We've been on this for the last 6 months, so it is unlikely that this mistake would have happened. Any views on a good windshield antenna - as that seems to be the reasonable option available to me. Thanks.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by vinodrkn

... Any views on a good windshield antenna - as that seems to be the reasonable option available to me ...

Look for a internal antenna that has 2 black sticks sticking out of a black box. This cost about 300, and mounts just behind the RVM (top of the windshield, where there is a dark shade) with adhesive. Route the antenna cable inside the ceiling moulding, down the A-pillar cladding, and then behind the dash to the rear of the HU.

[vinodrkn]

Thanks DerAlte. I did that (the one I used had steel sticks out of a black box, about 300) and still the reception was not good... Looks like my Vento has a special aura of protection against any radio interference!

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by vinodrkn

... I did that (the one I used had steel sticks out of a black box, about 300) and still the reception was not good...

Strange.
- Which areas in Bangalore?
- Which HU are you using it with?
- Did you try to set frequency manually? I remember, 10 years back I had a Kenwood HU which had a peculiar problem: the strong signal was at XX.05KHz (on the display) instead of the expected XX.00MHz.

My Safari has the same antenna, and it has worked with both Blaupunkt and Kenwood HUs anywhere in Bangalore.

[vinodrkn]

Yes... v strange. Locations in Bangalore - Sarjapur Rd, Bannerghatta Rd, Electronic City, MG Rd - keeps dropping pretty much everywhere in Bangalore. I use a Pioneer AVH-P3250DVD, which was working like a breeze in the Polo before. Yes, I tried setting the frequency manually on the HU earlier, and it did not help.

I went to Sachin's Autoshop to get an opinion from them. I gave them the background, and they felt it could be an earthing issue. After about 1.5 hours of tweaking, driving around, tweaking and driving around - we pretty much gave up. Nothing seemed to work. The last thing we tried was to flesh out the power wire within the antenna wiring at the stereo-end and connect it directly to the antenna input in the HU - the sound quality improved marginally, but the sound per se kept dropping on / off. They feel it could be a power-delivery issue, and something in the car's circuitry is making it go on a sinusoidal path. Apparently this issue is seen in after-Market system installations on Polos and Ventos. They will be ordering an antenna-signal-amplifier (they advised to wait for the imported ones - about 2 weeks waiting time), and then fit in the car, to check.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by vinodrkn

... Apparently this issue is seen in after-Market system installations on Polos and Ventos. ...

* Does the signal strength increase if you hold the antenna / antenna connector at the antenna end? In your situation (waxing and waning signal) this would mean an HU problem!

* One simple check - electrical continuity from the cable end near the HU till the antenna connector at the antenna end

[vinodrkn]

:-) nope DearAlte. No impact on the signal strength if one holds the antenna or places a finger on the antenna connector or holds the antenna pin. This does not seem to be a HU problem for the reason that the same issue in exactly the same manner, crops up even in a new Pioneer HU that we checked. On the continuity - the VW folks have done a complete rewiring from the antenna end right down to the antenna pin. All wires rewired, so this also doed not seem to be a problem.

[manjubp]

Hi ICE Gurus,

Need your help to upgrade speakers in my Vento.

1. Your Car: VW Vento HL

2. Your current setup (If any): Stock

3. Your Budget: 15-20K

4. Do you drive most of the time or is it chauffer driven? : Self

5. Your Music preferences : Regional, bollywood, country, indian classical, concertos, Instrumental

6. Additional Information:
I would retain stock HU RCD320. No need for AMPS or Subs. However prefer to have damping on all the four doors. There should be no wire cuts, I want to retain warranty on my Vento(Just 6 months old).

Please do suggest the good speakers and also where can I get a quality installation done (willing to pay for quality installation). I am Based in Bangalore.

regards,
-manju

[FireFoot]

Hello Experts,

I have been contemplating a change of HU for my Vento as well. After a bit of research, I narrowed down to 3 HUs, 2 from Witson and another one from Eonon

Following are the URLs to shortlisted models:

Witson 1: http://www.witson.com/en/displayprod...roID=102307451
Witson 2: http://www.witson.com/en/displayprod...roID=102169901
Witson 3: http://www.witson.com/en/displayprod...roID=101908516
Eonon : http://www.eonon.com/Car-GPS/Specifi...GPS/C5152.html

The reason for a change is to get all possible features bundled in a single unit i.e. Navigation, Reverse Camera, Wi-Fi (though I don't think this will be used much but is certainly good to have)

When I spoke with their contacts, specifically to check if these units were compatible with the Vento sold in India, they asked me for one picture of car dash, year of manufacturing and the power plug on the HU.

My Vento came with the RCD 320. I was wondering if anyone has a picture of the back of this unit i.e. after it is removed from the dash.

At the same time, I was wondering if anyone here has recently looked into any of the above listed HUs and any advise/ feedback you may have for me.

Cheers!

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by FireFoot

Hello Experts,

I have been contemplating a change of HU for my Vento as well. After a bit of research, I narrowed down to 3 HUs, 2 from Witson and another one from Eonon

Following are the URLs to shortlisted models:

Witson 1: http://www.witson.com/en/displayprod...roID=102307451
Witson 2: http://www.witson.com/en/displayprod...roID=102169901
Witson 3: http://www.witson.com/en/displayprod...roID=101908516
Eonon : http://www.eonon.com/Car-GPS/Specifi...GPS/C5152.html

The reason for a change is to get all possible features bundled in a single unit i.e. Navigation, Reverse Camera, Wi-Fi (though I don't think this will be used much but is certainly good to have)

When I spoke with their contacts, specifically to check if these units were compatible with the Vento sold in India, they asked me for one picture of car dash, year of manufacturing and the power plug on the HU.

My Vento came with the RCD 320. I was wondering if anyone has a picture of the back of this unit i.e. after it is removed from the dash.

At the same time, I was wondering if anyone here has recently looked into any of the above listed HUs and any advise/ feedback you may have for me.

Cheers!

I had replaced the stock RCD320 with the Blaupunkt Philadelphia 835 (which is plug and play). I still have the RCD320 with me and can share a photo. Will share once I get back home today

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by FireFoot

Hello Experts,

I have been contemplating a change of HU for my Vento as well. After a bit of research, I narrowed down to 3 HUs, 2 from Witson and another one from Eonon

Following are the URLs to shortlisted models:

Witson 1: http://www.witson.com/en/displayprod...roID=102307451
Witson 2: http://www.witson.com/en/displayprod...roID=102169901
Witson 3: http://www.witson.com/en/displayprod...roID=101908516
Eonon : http://www.eonon.com/Car-GPS/Specifi...GPS/C5152.html

The reason for a change is to get all possible features bundled in a single unit i.e. Navigation, Reverse Camera, Wi-Fi (though I don't think this will be used much but is certainly good to have)

When I spoke with their contacts, specifically to check if these units were compatible with the Vento sold in India, they asked me for one picture of car dash, year of manufacturing and the power plug on the HU.

My Vento came with the RCD 320. I was wondering if anyone has a picture of the back of this unit i.e. after it is removed from the dash.

At the same time, I was wondering if anyone here has recently looked into any of the above listed HUs and any advise/ feedback you may have for me.

Cheers!

Here you go. Hope this is what you are looking guy for.

[Padcot Prakash]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

I had replaced the stock RCD320 with the Blaupunkt Philadelphia 835 (which is plug and play). I still have the RCD320 with me and can share a photo. Will share once I get back home today

Hi Rajeev,

Was this a straight swap or needed some connectors ?

Besides, is the BT and steering controls working ?

Im trying to locate an RCD 510 , but unable to do so for now. Also setting up the 9W2 BT module could be an headache. so looking at alternates.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by Padcot Prakash

Hi Rajeev,

Was this a straight swap or needed some connectors ?

Besides, is the BT and steering controls working ?

Im trying to locate an RCD 510 , but unable to do so for now. Also setting up the 9W2 BT module could be an headache. so looking at alternates.

Yes. Straight swap. BT and steering controls work fine. Further details and in depth review can be found in my vento ownership thread or in gannu_1's gt TDI thread.

[FireFoot]

@ Rajeevraj

Thank you so much. I'll take this information back to the concerned people from Witson & Eonon and will update the post with responses. Hoping something works out