RNS510 questions

[Oli]

Just a couple of questions on the RNS 510. (and I have been searching)

Due to the fact that I find the RCD300 poor in sound quality, and usage, and my Parrot MKI9200 is OK, but not outstanding.  I am looking at upgrading to an RNS510, with bluetooth.  I also had a quick look at one the other day and they look fantastic, and will not need the tomtom anymore.

1. Where is the best place to get one, I need it inoviced so I can put it through my business?  And am I right in thinking from a shop around £5-600.

2.  Can my iPhone plug straight in for my tunes, or is it very easy to upload them all to the hard drive?

3.  What is the phonekit from fiscon like with this(I believe this is the cheaper option), I had it in my RS4 and it was great.

4.  Where is the best place to mount the GPS receiver, and are there any problems picking up satellites?

5.  What are the pro's and cons of the RNS510, and are there any other alternatives out there(I like the factory look)

Sorry for all the questions, but I like to get it right.

Many thanks

[stealthwolf]

1. Where is the best place to get one, I need it inoviced so I can put it through my business?  And am I right in thinking from a shop around £5-600.

ebay is your best bet for £5-600. Otherwise from VW it's around £1500. Overseas from £700.

2.  Can my iPhone plug straight in for my tunes, or is it very easy to upload them all to the hard drive?

HAven't tried an iphone but have used my ipod nano but it's not a brilliant method. You can save from CD or SD card onto hard drive but this takes a lot of time.

3.  What is the phonekit from fiscon like with this(I believe this is the cheaper option), I had it in my RS4 and it was great.

The fiscon is supposed to be quite a popular choice but not used it personally.

4.  Where is the best place to mount the GPS receiver, and are there any problems picking up satellites?

On the vent arm. I'll find a pic

5.  What are the pro's and cons of the RNS510, and are there any other alternatives out there(I like the factory look)

Think someone's done a review on this. But here's a pro/con list against the tomtom that I did which should give an idea:

Things I like about the RNS510 over the Tomtom ONE:

• larger touch screen
• features like autozoom, split screen, etc
• matches the rest of the dash
• permanent fixture (so no worrying about thieves)
• plays mp3s, ipod and dvds
• no faffing around with windscreen mounts and chargers (tomtom had a crap battery life)

Things I dislike about it compared to the TomTom:

• touch screen not as sensitive
• limited customisability
• permanent fixture (so visible!)
• crap address entry, so not very accurate
• position means more time spent not looking at the road

from >here<

[stealthwolf]

Okay here's someone else's pic. They placed it vertically whereas I placed mine on the vent arm (red outline).

[flyboy1976]

hey oli dude how are you?

if you had an mfd2 you could do a straight swap,if you want to plug the iphone in you need the MDI kit from kufatec,i got mine off ebay.you can either go oem bluetooth like stevep on here or fiscon ,each have their own advantages but in different areas.
Alot of guys are using the so latest firmware but i would buy a version B RNS510 with the 1100 to start with.

[Oli]

Thanks for the quick answers.

Slight mix up with the answer to question 5, I was after pro and cons of the unit, compred to other double din units out there

[Oli]

Oh and another question - How hard is it to load your music onto the hard drive?  And how do you do it, can I plug my laptop straight into it?

[nwhiteley]

Oh and another question - How hard is it to load your music onto the hard drive?  And how do you do it, can I plug my laptop straight into it?

From what i can gather, music and Satnav map updates are loaded on to the HD via a SD card.

[Oli]

Do you have the RNS510?  Is there a limit to the SD card size?

[ollie288]

On the previous firmware to the latest there is a 2gb SDHC limit but no limit on the latest firmware i use an 8.

[Oli]

So loading the music doesn't take too long??  What format does the music have to be in?  itunes format?

[mclovin]

All my music is in mp3 format, I transfer it onto the HDD via an SD card, it's pretty easy to do and you can do it in the background, so I tend to add music to the SD card and throw it in the car whenever I go anywhere and upload it on the way. To be honest I don't see much point in investing in the MDI to connect up my iPhone when I can get music onto the RNS510 so easily.

[Oli]

Thank you, that was just the answer I was looking for.

[JPC]

I don't use the hdd anymore. I use the sd card which I bought a 32 gb card for. I've got a fiscon Bluetooth kit and it's outstanding. You can play tunes on your iPhone and they wirelessly play thru the car! It's brilliant!

[Oli]

So I can load all of my music onto one 32gb sd card, and it will accept it?

[Lyons]

Is the track name etc displayed on the highline computer if a song is played from the SD slot or hard drive?