57 Passat Estate - Can I remove the drawers above the stereo?

[jonokimber]

Hello all, just picked up a new 57 plate Passat estate SE Diesel. (Company car). Elected for a tomtom one xl so i can add speed cam POI's and want to make a home made style powered mount.

My plan is to use one of the drawers above the stereo and to put a 'block', probably wooden, inside with an embedded and epoxied power plug facing upwards. The Tomtom device will sit across the top of the drawer and the power connection will stop it sliding left and right. I also plan to remove a little section of each side of the drawer so as to support the device while 'plugged in' and so that the drawer will close when not in use. By cutting sections in the side and lowering the fit height of the device i will lower the overall height of the power plug and this means that the power plug won't foul on the dashboard whilst trying to close the drawer.

As a final effort to support the device i plan to use a hinged back support. This will hinge forward when closing the drawer but will only hinge upwards as far as vertical when the drawer is open and i want to attach the device. I may also have a small front 'lip' on the main wooden block that will sit in the drawer as another way of restraining the device. If possible i may actually cannibalise my slot mount and use this as a sure fire way of supporting the device but i'll have to see how it goes during construction.

Anyway, THIS BRINGS ME TO MY MAIN QUESTION:

Can I remove the two drawers from above the stereo so that I can carry out this work in the relative comfort of my shed?!

I am comfortable with removing the drawer fronts and also the trim around the stereo. Maybe this can help me with the drawers? Maybe i just need to be bold but i'd hate to break what could be my answer to a concealed powered mount.

btw, the power lead will be run out the back of the drawer, into the dash somewhere.

Thanks

Jono

[jonokimber]

I'll answer my own question!

After a bit of further analysis it appears that a bit of wiggling and pulling and twisting gets the drawers out.

The mechanism of how they work is then exposed. On one side of each drawer a rack and 'sticky' pinion provide the resistance to the coiled roll spring which always wants to push the drawer out and two slotted guideways that small spiggots on the drawers ride along to guide it through the curved path it takes when opening.

Anyway, its all back together so when i get the chance at the weekend i'll remove them again and try my magic with the tomtom holder.

Jono

[Quatrelle]

Nice one! Pictures?

[james_tiger_woo]

Concur - how does this look??

[jonokimber]

Well i can safely say the TomTom 'mount' is pretty damn cool. It's a tiny bit wobbly due to the play in the hinge but when driving it doesn't wobble at all and pressing the screen is childs play. The slightly angled towards the driver stance is perfect for me and the top of the unit doesn't impede my view through the windscreen at all.

I had my Parrot hands free professionally fitted at work today and the bloke that did it was nice enough to advise me about the fitting of an 'in dash' power supply from the fuse box to the area behind the radio, through the back of the drawer and into the tomtom.

The only thing I probably won't do is permanently epoxy the socket in a vertical position as i am worried about the repeatability of the main mount but opening the drawer, pulling out a cable that has been stashed there and plugging it in isn't going to worry me at all.

I got burgled at home the other week and my digital camera was stolen (amongst a lot of other things) so i don't have the ability to take photos at the mo, but when the insurance pays up maybe i'll test out the replacement and show you guys my handiwork. WHo knows, by then i may also have the ipod link into the back of the neighboring drawer and another 'stashed in the dash' cable to charge my phone, protruding in to the unused ashtray area.

This would then make my car complete as far as i am concerned. No annoying cables and gubbins when not in use but fully equipped when necessary.

Watch this space...

Jono

[james_tiger_woo]

Now you're just showing off with the iPod :-)

I'm impressed though - perhaps you could drop round my way and fit my satnav, ipod and phone too Lol

I look forward to seeing your handiwork...

How easy is it going to be to undo all this work when the car's got to go back?

JTW

[Quatrelle]

.....I got burgled at home the other week and my digital camera was stolen (amongst a lot of other things) so i don't have the ability to take photos at the mo.....
JonoThat is a bummer :( - we were done a couple of years ago (crime-free France, ha, ha) fortunately not much was taken - there sure are some pond scum about. Hope you get it sorted to your satisfaction.

Your 'installation' sounds good - look forward to the pictures.

[RIDGMONT61]

HELP!:1zhelp:

I have removed one of the draws as suggested by a bit of wiggling and pulling. No great force was required and no nasty noises.

Unfortunately on removing the drawer a quite large coil spring was left in the empty space. I can't seem to find out where this comes from - I don't want top remove the other drawer to find out - in case it happens again!

Without it the draw does not spring open when pushed.

Can someone please explain where the coil spring should be attached to so that the draw will open.

I am concerned at the moment as I have a large gaping whole in the dash!

Help would be greatly appreciated.

[Trapper]

Well Jono it looks like you've just done what I've been toying with for a while, I opted not to go for the SatNav options list as I was sure it was possible to use a draw and save myself a couple of thousand quid :D . After all how many updates and units can you buy for that money!!

I would like to know how and where you routed your power feeds, and look forward to some detail shots of how you did it, I too have the SatNav, phone and portable Bluetooth (£30 instead of VW's £575) that all need power, and I hate leads draped all over the dash plugged into adaptors that are plugged into the one 12v socket. I suppose I could plug one in the front, one in the rear passenger compartment and the third in the load area but that's is a bit messy!!

I had thought of gluing a small vanity mirror to a piece of wood that would be screwed through the base of the draw from the underside so as not to damage the draw too much, the Mirror would be for the suction mounting.

I was wondering how much flexing you would get on an open draw with the weight of the SatNav sitting on top but this does not appear to be too bad?

Having another mount location removes the tell tale circle from the middle of your screen so the scum will not hurl a brick through in the hope the unit is stashed in the glove box.

There was a post on here some months ago that may have given a good idea of the draw removal without problems, I'm sure James will remember it;)

This is the one I think:

http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=26776&highlight=coin+drawer

There are further links within the thread so you should find what you need here.

[RIDGMONT61]

Drawer now back in place and working - phew relief. That will teach me to fiddle! I was hoping to put a small DAB radio in there - but have settled for the glove compartment.

Sound from the DAB radio via a Connects2 unit to an RCD500 is excellent - and can now listen to more football and cricket on 5Live Sports Extra.

[james_tiger_woo]

I don't know everything you know! :D

Do you suffer when you go under / under cover the DAB by the way?

[RIDGMONT61]

The DAB has only been in for less tha 24 hours - so it is perhaps a little early to comment on reception.

I would like to get a RCD510 at some point with the built in DAB but at £600 for the occasionaly unit on eBay this will have to wait, possibly until the next car.

The Connects2 unit was very easy to fit, and fairly easy to get a cable through to the glove compartment using a coat hanger. The Connects 2 unit was bigger than I was expecting at about the size of a cigarette packet but there is plenty of space behind and below the radio. I put some padding around the Connects2 unit to eliminate anoying rattles.

[mrmitch]

Hi Ridgmont61,

Is your DAB unit the Pure Highway ??

I've been wondering how well this unit works with its stick-on windscreen aerial - has anybody tried one??

If it works, it is a mean bit of kit for £89 as it gives you an aux-in facility as well if you havent got one already.

...and you can listen to the cricket in stereo during the day and Planet Rock in the evening

'57 SEL TDi 170 DSG Est, Reflex Silver, 9k, "The Silver Machine"

[RIDGMONT61]

My little DAB radio is nothing so posh, it was bought for taking to football matches to listen to the half time scores!

The one I have is made by the well know manufacturer of DAB radios Morphy Richards ! - and no it is not a toaster! I bought it from eBay about a year ago for £40 see link below:

http://www.trustedreviews.com/multimedia/review/2005/11/09/Morphy-Richards-29200-DAB-FM-MP3-Player/p1

It works fine and also has a small mp3 player - but as I said it was not bought for use in the car - but with no external aerials it is a very compact solution. It normally runs of AA bateries but I have found that it can be powered by the charger I have for my ThinkNavi Sat Nav PDA holder.

[mrmitch]

What do you use as an aerial for your DAB?; presumably your unit usually uses the headphone lead as most portables do.
I already have a Pure PocketDAB 1500 which is excellent in 'normal' portable use but I have never tried it in the car - will do today to see how reception works.

You said in an earlier post that the RCD510 has built-in DAB - is this right?. If it is I might want one. Some parts of the country have poor/no DAB reception, but then you can just use FM - London area and most of the motorway network I would imagine is OK for reception. I have always wondered how good it works 'on the move'. Will try today just with the headphones.

The beauty of the Pure Highway unit is it has a built-in FM transmitter to send to your RCD 300/500 - no wires;), and like I say it also gives you an Aux-In:D, all for £89. It runs off 2 x AAA batteries I believe but I think you can get a 12V adapter - just more wires:mad: or use rechargables perhaps. DAB's have notoriously high power consumption but my PocketDAB 1500 has a standard rechargable pack which has approx 12 hrs life when fully charged.

It comes with an aerial lead which you 'stick' to the windscreen - sounds a bit M Mouse but who knows it may work.

VW used to show an option of a Blaupunkt Woodstock DAB Head Unit on their Options/Accessories List, but I have noted recently that it is no longer there. Have never sen a car fitted with one. I wondered was it as well as the RCD 300/500 or if it was instead of. VW wanted nearly £500 for it I recall!!

Has anyone else got some DAB experience to share???

'57 SEL TDi 170 DSG Est, Reflex Silver, 10k, "The Silver Machine"

[RIDGMONT61]

The portable DAB unit has an aerial built in - I thought that it was the headphone lead but when this is removed the strength of signal on the display remains the same. Signal strength is fine - but going under bridges etc it is lost - but it can't work miracles.

The unit I have is battery powered normally but can use the car 12v - but I too am not keen on the wires. On batteries the DAB lasts for 20 hours.

I prefer to connect directly into the rear of the RCD500 using a Connects2 type device routed to the glove compartment as sound quality must be better.

The Connects2 I bought cost £15 from eBay - just after I bougtht it there was another listed that did not sell for 99p!

There is a good video review of the Pure Highway on the Gadget Show Website.

The RCD510 was listed on eBay with DAB but cost approx £700, the picture of it showed a DAB button.

[11Riviera]

I never have a pocket DAB out of my ears and er...pocket I suppose. The Mrs. claims I have developed some sort of OCD with it.

Anyway, is used a Bush for about two years. No problem whatsoever on foot. In the car I could only used headphones as they provided the ariel. I have now replaced with a Phillips. I'll have to check if the ariel works in the same way.

I can't use the RCD in the Passat as I have a dealer fit IPOD socket.

I'll try the new DAB to see if it works without headohones via an FM transmitter.

UK coverage is pretty good. I drive all over the place and tend to find that it's local position that affects signal strength rather than where you are in the country. i.e. in a valley it's crap. On a big hill it's great. Pretty much all over the country.

I hope this helps.

Mark

[mrmitch]

Thought you would like to know I tried my Pure PocketDAB 1500 in the car today using headphones and it works perfectly!:D I dont even have to hang the lead in line of sight with the sky or anything - it just works fine. I am mad with myself :zx11: for not trying this ages ago, I dont know why but I just did not think it would work on the move.

I have a Panasonic RF-D1 'shelf-standing' portable DAB which I use at home on mains-power with a telescopic aerial and it is very sensetive to location within the house. On the telescopic aerial I get 2-3 bar signal strength, but if I plug it in to my rooftop radio aerial:p I get 10 bars!!! - hence my worry over the aerial in the car.

I am now very tempted by the Pure Highway as it will give me an Aux-in as well for MP3, or I could go the Connects2 route but this would involve prising bits off the dash to get to the back of the RCD500. I know loads of you guys have done it but it makes me nervous in case I get nasty rattles when it all goes back together (If it aint broke don't try and fix it).

I am concerned that it may all getting a bit congested in the cabin as I already have a 12V charger lead for my phone, a 12V charger lead for my Plantronics Voyager 510 bluetooth headset, and may invest in a DAB giving MP3 connectivity; and although I am not a fan of Sat-Nav it can have its uses - ('safety' camera alerts).

Perhaps the 2 grand that VW want for the full spec integrated DVD sat-nav with Dynaudio etc package doesnt sound too bad after all - I don't believe I said that!:Blush2::confused::1zhelp::aargh4:.

Enough of this, I'm off to watch the footie now:beerchug:

[db123]

I can recommend the pure highway, had mine about a month and 3k miles, no problems at all. £59.99 delivered from Amazon.

Display is a bit small, making it awkward to change stations on the move. At the moment it is 'installed' on the passenger seat, sometimes the aerial is on the dash sometimes on the floor, reception is very good, even works when I've left it under the seat. I've only found 2 places where reception is poor/lost; M6 in cumbria(none, where even MW is poor) & M5 in Gloucestershire(cuts in & out).

The Fm transmitter is very good, with a strong enough output to override weaker stations, on longer journeys retuning is necessary every hour or two (it finds free FM frequencies for you), but its quite easy, also the sound quality of stations using DAB and FM is fractionally better using DAB.

Now I just need to get it connected to the aux input, and find a permenant location for it, maybe a Brodit dash clip.

__________________________________________

'08 170SEL Estate

[Trapper]

Any luck with taking the shots Jono? I would really like to see how you did it and what was involved, where you hooked into the power etc.