RNS510 Poor FM Reception

[CooperSmith]

Hi Everyone,

As the topic suggests I have poor FM reception with my RNS510. I believe that I have the GPS module integrated within one of the wing mirrors. I haven't checked as I know the wing mirror covers have a habit in breaking when removing. I have a feeling that the interference that I get maybe electronic as there is a definite deterioration when my phone is on charge. But what I'd like to know is,

• Do I also have an FM aerial as well as the GPS one?
• Is there an aerial upgrade?
• If it is electronic interference has anyone tried using a ferrite sleeve on the aerial lead?

I know some people may suggest putting an aerial booster on it, but I personally don't believe in these as they are generally designed to amplify everything including noise, not quality.

Thanks in advance

Lee

 

[briwy]

Yes there will be an FM aerial in the wing mirrors.
We had a lot of problems with reception on DAB and FM, dealer replaced the head unit and aerial but still bad and then updated the firmware so that may be an option.
First try resetting the unit. Go into Settings, System, Factory settings. This will reset the unit but you will lose any settings you have put in, saved stations, satnav preferences etc.
If that fails you could take the unit out and try plugging in a separate aerial and see if it works OK. If it does then either the Cali aeial is faulty or a bad connection to the unit.

 

[CaliCZ]

Hi Lee,

there is the same trouble at me with my RNS 510, then I´d appreciate if there is any development with Yours. Is it solved yet ?Just waiting for my dealer´s diagnostic what shows. Tks for Your kind comment.

Martin

 

[CooperSmith]

Hi Lee,

there is the same trouble at me with my RNS 510, then I´d appreciate if there is any development with Yours. Is it solved yet ?Just waiting for my dealer´s diagnostic what shows. Tks for Your kind comment.

Martin

Hi Martin,
A few things that I tried and noted.

Inference is considerably worse when charging something through the 12v cigarette lighter/socket. I've also spoken to a few people who have installed LED DRL's, so there is some Electro magnetic inference there. I fitted some ferrite cores on the power cable leading to the head unit which has helped and not noticed as much interference when charging my phone. I also noticed there was differences in phone charging cables. Cheap ones seem to be far far worse than good quality ones. So it pays to buy a good quality phone charging lead/socket for the van.

I have two FM/AM wing mirror aerials which after researching are supplied/manufactured to VW by Hirschmann who are regarded as market leaders when it comes to aerials. When I looked into alternatives there were two. Either an internal windscreen mount, which I believe would give a worse result, or a roof mounted version. I believe the roof mounted is a tried and tested alternative that's recommended by quite a few audio outfits. Whilst I'm competent with tools, the thoughts of drilling into the roof does put me off, plus the fact the missus would throw a wobbly if I told her my intentions

So at the moment the reception is reasonable

 

[CaliCZ]

Hi Martin,
A few things that I tried and noted.

Inference is considerably worse when charging something through the 12v cigarette lighter/socket. I've also spoken to a few people who have installed LED DRL's, so there is some Electro magnetic inference there. I fitted some ferrite cores on the power cable leading to the head unit which has helped and not noticed as much interference when charging my phone. I also noticed there was differences in phone charging cables. Cheap ones seem to be far far worse than good quality ones. So it pays to buy a good quality phone charging lead/socket for the van.

I have two FM/AM wing mirror aerials which after researching are supplied/manufactured to VW by Hirschmann who are regarded as market leaders when it comes to aerials. When I looked into alternatives there were two. Either an internal windscreen mount, which I believe would give a worse result, or a roof mounted version. I believe the roof mounted is a tried and tested alternative that's recommended by quite a few audio outfits. Whilst I'm competent with tools, the thoughts of drilling into the roof does put me off, plus the fact the missus would throw a wobbly if I told her my intentions

So at the moment the reception is reasonable

many thanks for Your experience sharing (at me nothing connected to the socket, no phone charging etc., but poor reception). Untill now I´ve only joined my country VW import agency in order to get know if such trouble appeared anywhere in VW service network, ....surprisingly they did not do anything for me :-( , just recommended me to reach any authorised VW service . I´m afraid it´s time and money wasting.

Martin

 

[WelshGas]

many thanks for Your experience sharing (at me nothing connected to the socket, no phone charging etc., but poor reception). Untill now I´ve only joined my country VW import agency in order to get know if such trouble appeared anywhere in VW service network, ....surprisingly they did not do anything for me :-( , just recommended me to reach any authorised VW service . I´m afraid it´s time and money wasting.

Martin

It could be worth just removing the Head Unit and making sure the plugs are correctly seated. Remove each one and possibly clean the contacts and make sure you have a good, firm connection.

 

[WelshGas]

This might be helpful.

http://www.oemepc.com/vw/part_singl.../035/subcategory/35010/part_id/3700585/lang/e

 

[briwy]

Interesting diagram WG.
So we have RNS withFM, DAB, AM, original bluetooth GSM connectivity in our van which means we have four separate aerial modules all crammed into the wing mirrors so I'm not surprised that reception is poor. Aerials like this are always a compromise and consist of coils of wire matched as closely as possible to the wavelength.
I notice that FM and DAB share a module so presumably there is a splitter somewhere in the line as these wavelengths are miles apart, this will undoubtably make it less efficient than two separate aerials.
Our previous Cali had the RNS unit fitted retrospectively and had a separate aerial for the GPS under the dash tray. No DAB so I guess just an FM module.This would explain why both FM and satellite reception was far better than our current setup.
I think I will get the unit out and fit separate aerials for FM, DAB, GPS and see what happens. Shame the roof is alloy as that makes it impossible to put magmount aerials up there which would be the ideal place as it would provide a groundplane.

 

[reserves]

These aerials, both FM & DAB are powered, if they lose power reception will be awful, your RNS510 should be providing power to the aerial via the connector though.

 

[CaliCZ]

tks guys all of You for Your useful comments, I´l, check it and we´ll see

Martin

 

[Stoneybroke]

Poor reception for FM and DAB is a problem that persists with the T6. The antenna is obviously inadequate. Very disappointing.

 

[MattBW]

I know some people may suggest putting an aerial booster on it, but I personally don't believe in these as they are generally designed to amplify everything including noise, not quality.

Thanks in advance

Lee

I used to get poor DAB (not FM) signal interestingly whenever I have a high load item plugged into the dash 12v sockets.

I could literally plug them in and hear the signal degrade, remove and it got better. Do you have anything plugged in?

 

[CaliCZ]

Poor reception for FM and DAB is a problem that persists with the T6. The antenna is obviously inadequate. Very disappointing.

really disappointing, ...the more I can compare to my VW Passat RCD 510(no navi), where the reception is excellent !

 

[reserves]

I used to get poor DAB (not FM) signal interestingly whenever I have a high load item plugged into the dash 12v sockets.

I could literally plug them in and hear the signal degrade, remove and it got better. Do you have anything plugged in?

Had this too with a USB charger plugged into the dash, threw it away and got a different one.

 

[MattBW]

Had this too with a USB charger plugged into the dash, threw it away and got a different one.

Mine was the same a cheap twin usb port thing with LED lighting, purchased from a garage on a trip. I replaced with a decent one and poor reception solved (mostly).

 

[Stoneybroke]

I have one factory fitted USB port in the dash, that has a small Kingston flash drive in it with the media collection I switch do when I get fed up of poor radio reception. I wouldn't have thought that would have caused an issue, but I might take it out and see.
Rarely use plug-in charger, but I do have a dashcam piggy-backed from a fuse. I wonder...

 

[WelshGas]

Well I have RNS 510, with AM/FM/DAB and USB Media In and have excellent reception on all AM, FM and DAB stations No interference when a USB stick is plugged in either. So I do not think this is a generic fault in the system. The T6 has a different head unit so that might be a different problem.
You do not have ALL 4 aerials fitted, only those that are required depending on the Options selected at purchase.

 

[briwy]

Seems I have finally found the source of the rubbish reception.
Today I decided to take the RNS out and put the one from our Yet in to see if there was any difference.
We have a dashcam, a tracker and a unit that outputs two USB sockets all connected through fuses to the wiring that goes to the 12v socket in the dash tray.
Out of interest I disconnected this lot and went out to try it. Reception loads better and DAB staying in for much longer before reverting to FM which appears to be perfect.
The offending item is the USB converter so that has now been removed.
At last got a radio we can actually listen to.

 

[CaliCZ]

Seems I have finally found the source of the rubbish reception.
Today I decided to take the RNS out and put the one from our Yet in to see if there was any difference.
We have a dashcam, a tracker and a unit that outputs two USB sockets all connected through fuses to the wiring that goes to the 12v socket in the dash tray.
Out of interest I disconnected this lot and went out to try it. Reception loads better and DAB staying in for much longer before reverting to FM which appears to be perfect.
The offending item is the USB converter so that has now been removed.
At last got a radio we can actually listen to.

it seems trouble is the 12v socket related, also the previuos posts regarding, ..frankly I´ve got also any ipod connecting cable (last owner made by) sticking from the passenger compartment, then I have to check where the cable is connected (head unit or 12v socket). Tks for Your kind investigation effort.

 

[briwy]

I've now run a power cable direct from the leisure battery to the dash to power these accessories and it seems to have sorted the problem.
Why it should be a problem powering stuff from the socket on the dash tray I don't know but it's obviously feeding back some sort of nasties into the electrical system.

 

[Stoneybroke]

Looks like my problem is solved too.
Cheap hardwired dashcam 12v-usb converter died. Replaced it with an inline socket from the same switched live, and used the original transcend dashcam 12v-usb adapter, taped into the socket and hidden under the dash - all the usual DAB drop out areas locally appear to have gone. Trip to Cumbria unaffected by reception problems.
Seems the shielding of these 'bargain' gizmos is the issue.

 

[Andy]

Cheap USB chargers are cheap for a reason, they use poor quality components that are more likely to cause interface.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

[Rich20]

I have been suffering from the FM reception issues and thanks to this thread I have found it to be caused by my USB charger. However, it is not a cheap one so I am not sure what to use instead.

 

[MattBW]

Mine aren't cheap either but if I plug in my iPhone to charge t definitely kills the dab.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Rich20]

Mine aren't cheap either but if I plug in my iPhone to charge t definitely kills the dab.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Mine is iPhone as well so maybe the issue is related to that as well