[Android Head-Units] brianvic:
Hi, all

For anyone who is interested I thought I would update you on my Android radio quest (and a quick review).

I took the plunge and purchased the Xtrons PA97MTVPL head and having received it I have now fitted it into my car. However, it wasn't as straight-forward as I, perhaps naively, believed. My car is a 2010 SEAT Altea with a RCD310 radio.

I haven't really done any car audio upgrades before so I am pretty much a noob! But with the help of some great folk on this forum, and good 'ol YouTube, I was armed and ready will all the necessary tools and info.

Getting the fascia off and the OEM radio out was as easy as expected. I just did as instructed and took my time. Once the radio was out I thought I would wire up the new unit, without installing it, and check that everything was working and worked as expected (hoped) and I wasn't disappointed! The FM aerial works really well and is extremely clear. That's without any kind of amplifier. Having driven around today there's a slight breakup in the country, which I didn't get with the stock radio, but to be fair I'm nearly in the Highlands of Scotland and radio reception is a bit patchy anyway, especially on Radio 2. Overall I am very pleased with the FM quality. I may add an FM amp later, but I'll see.

I sellotaped the DAB aerial to the windscreen (just in case) and the earth was touching metal, I was able to pick up all of the stations I was after at full power and the quality was great! However, I had to give up trying to run the wire behind the dash as I just don't have the knowhow to remove some of the main panels. I will admit defeat on that and pay someone with better skill and knowledge to do it for me. But at least I had proven that it would work!

The GPS picks uploads of satellites and at really good strength, much better than my phone does! I mounted the GPS antenna behind the main cabin air vents on the immediate underside of the dash.

So, I was happy that this unit was going to perform as well as I'd hoped only to discover that it wouldn't fit! Disaster! Although Xtrons' web site shows that it is compatible with the Altea 2004-2015 I suspect (as suggested to me on another thread) that it may be designed for the updated fascia like the Leon has. I don't know, only that it didn't fit my model! The lower corners of the units front panel were square and not rounded like all the other SEAT models I'd looked at or the OEM radio, they were fouling on the lower left and right fascia clips.

Somewhat crestfallen I thought it was going to have to go back, which was a shame because it had turned out to be everything I had hoped it might be! Anyway, after some sleep I decided I was brave enough to "modify" the mounting space.

On the side of the plastic that holds the clips (internal to the actual space) was a narrow slit that nearly fit the corners of the unit but were a little too short. Perhaps these are intended for this style of head unit? Anyway, I took a Stanley knife and trimmed them appropriately so the corners of the unit would slip into them fully. They did, but then a piece of plastic on the left designed to guide the radio in was just a bit too big (or the radio's slot was a bit too narrow). So again I trimmed it with a Stanley knife. The radio then dropped into place and the fascia clipped back into place perfectly!

Now I just have to get someone to fit the aerial. Oh, and bring the USB ports into the cabin. I couldn't find a suitable join or gap to do it and I didn't feel confident enough to do any visible cutting!

I am, so far, very impressed with the unit. Once I'd adjusted the EQ it sounds amazing! At the very least as good as the original radio. I've connected my phone via BT and used the hands free. The built in mic seems to do all that's required and it functions, with contacts, as expected.

I also used my phones personal hotspot for the wi-fi and, again, it works exactly as expected. I've installed Amazon Music on the head (downloaded from Google Play) and it plays perfectly and sounds brilliant!

I tried Google Maps and it was also flawless. I've downloaded Sygic, but I haven't tried that yet.

The unit switches off when I remove the car key and, more importantly, retains all of its settings. I did have to disconnect the ACC cable though, which was easy as it has an inline plug. The unit powers up in a couple of seconds and returns to the last app in use. The CAN-Bus info works and shows open doors. Initially it showed the passenger door was open when I opened the driver's door, but once I'd found the correct setting in the Factory Settings menu everything is now the correct way around.

All-in-all I am very impressed with this Xtrons head unit (apart from the fitting issue). It works as expected and sounds brilliant. I know the DAB works so once I get the aerial fitted this will be absolutely perfect!