Navigation upgrade?

[mcmaddy]

would agree with the rns upgrades which were a simple plug and play (nearly) but the mk7 sounds different especially when you consider the parts in the glove box. I just dont see it being as easy as previous retro fits and the camera kit is around £400 quid plus fitting to retro fit where as its only £165 from factory.

[Buddy]

Hi, been reading this forum for a couple of weeks and just joined.

Have my car on order and like the rest of you, the wait is killing me!

Sent the company above an enquiry a few days back and they responded comprehensively today. Cut & pastes below:


My enquiry:
Can you tell me whether your Product - VW GOLF MARK VII 7 SATNAV GPS MULTIMEDIA REAR CAMERA INTERFACE - includes a sat nav application and if so, which navigation software it incorporates. Can you create or refer me to a link, perhaps on YouTube, showing it being used?

Secondly, can you give some more details about the reversing camera function, please. If a customer has a Golf mk7 without having opted for the reversing camera, does this product still provide reversing camera functionality? And if so, how?

Thanks

Prod. ID:   SKU14836
VW GOLF MARK VII 7 SATNAV GPS MULTIMEDIA REAR CAMERA INTERFACE

Their response:
Thank you for your email regarding your interest in our VW Golf Mk 7 Multimedia Video Interface with GPS.

The interface runs on Windows CE and includes iGO 8 UK Maps as standard. We have just today added an option for fully update-able European mapping (Sygic maps) which can be found on the drop down menu of the listing.

The interface has only recently been launched and we are currently awaiting for further information and media from our suppliers to show the interface in operation. As soon as this is received, we will be happy to forward you the link.

The interface works by intercepting the monitor signal. Therefore, if a customer has a Golf Mk 7 without having opted for the reversing camera, then this interface will still be compatible. There is a wire on the interface which requires a 12v reverse signal. When this wire receives 12v, then the screen will automatically switch to the reverse camera input.

Please let me know if you have any further queries and we will be happy to assist.

If this resolves your issue, please close your ticket.

[mcmaddy]

it sounds the same as retro fitting a genuine camera where you need to splice into a live feed to power the camera. sat nav sounds interesting though.

[DougL]

Just while we're talking about this, I was looking at an upgrade to the standard system. There is of course Dynaudio and also the Helix plug and play system that goes in the spare wheel well. After doing a search on a german forum it would appear that the Helix is more than a powered sub, it also amplifies the speakers.

Another interesting thing is that the power and speaker connections are made at the CD unit in the glovebox not at the back of the headunit. I suspect that this Nav unit here would connect there too.

Anyway, back to the Helix system: it installs by running a wire from the unit in the boot to the glovebox, along the sills of the car. There are four connections to make. The power comes out of the glovebox unit to power the Helix and gets piggybacked into the main unit. The feed to the speakers is sent to the Helix and then comes back (amplified) and is sent to the speakers. Connectors are supplied to connect to the unit and the speaker cabling. I will go and find the document which is in German but the Helix unit works in a very similar fashion to a Blaupunkt PNP amp.

[CraigW]

Just while we're talking about this, I was looking at an upgrade to the standard system. There is of course Dynaudio and also the Helix plug and play system that goes in the spare wheel well. After doing a search on a german forum it would appear that the Helix is more than a powered sub, it also amplifies the speakers.

Another interesting thing is that the power and speaker connections are made at the CD unit in the glovebox not at the back of the headunit. I suspect that this Nav unit here would connect there too.

Anyway, back to the Helix system: it installs by running a wire from the unit in the boot to the glovebox, along the sills of the car. There are four connections to make. The power comes out of the glovebox unit to power the Helix and gets piggybacked into the main unit. The feed to the speakers is sent to the Helix and then comes back (amplified) and is sent to the speakers. Connectors are supplied to connect to the unit and the speaker cabling. I will go and find the document which is in German but the Helix unit works in a very similar fashion to a Blaupunkt PNP amp.

That sounds really promising re the Helix system. Didn't bother speccing the Dynaudio as I knew if I want happy with the standard system there was always the plug and play option. To be honest though the standard system sounds pretty good to me but then I've never heard the Dynaudio

[DougL]

http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.motor-talk.de/forum/plug-play-soundsystem-fuer-reserveradmulde-t4172371.html&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dgolf%2Bhelix%2Bsubwoofer%26newwindow%3D1

http://www.motor-talk.de/forum/plug-play-soundsystem-fuer-reserveradmulde-t4172371.html

The PDF is in the first post of this thread:

http://www.motor-talk.de/forum/einbauanleitung-helix-soundsystem-plug-and-play-t4627365.html

or here (lots of clear pictures, although it took me a while to figure out what I was looking at)

http://www.mhvimmobilien.de/vw/Einbauanleitung%20HELIX%20Plug%20and%20Play%20Soundsystem%20Golf%20VII.pdf

I already have a very nice Blaupunkt active subwoofer, which at a cost of £150 from bluespot uk will  be relatively easy to install via the glovebox.

[mortimerchris]

I was wondering if anyone actually got the sat nav mod in the end?

Although the discover nav system is a rip off (GT has free nav as do most modern cars) I regret not adding it for practicality.

Therefore I have been looking for a reto fit.

I contacted SatNav systems about this and got the following response:

We don't offer Navigation Upgrade for  Golf MK7 models yet as VW has not released activation codes and if we install navigation unit to your car it will lock itself and we won't be able to reverse it back to radio and the whole multimedia system will be disabled.
There are companies who do offer Golf 7 navigations and tried installing it in customer cars and ended up with cars without radio nor navigation.
 
I suggest to hold on for a month or two when the codes should be released and navigation will be available to retrofit. (They also have to be activated via official VW online connection) so only dealers and us will be able to do it.

Therefore has anyone had the work done successfully or the third part alternative mentioned on the previous page in this thread? If so how did it go and who did the work?

Thanks