Clarion NZ502 E

WelshBentleyBoy · Post by **WelshBentleyBoy** » Thu Oct 16, 2014 10:25 am

I have just had a Clarion NZE 502 E fitted.
It is a 1 din unit with a pop out screen. It fits perfectly in the E24 and with the screen down even looks tasteful.

It has all the bells and whistles. Radio, SatNav ,Phone , Ipod, bluetooth, Video, camera etc.

slofut · Post by **slofut** » Thu Oct 16, 2014 11:48 am

Hey that's pretty cool. Does it have a separate satellite antenna?

WelshBentleyBoy · Post by **WelshBentleyBoy** » Thu Oct 16, 2014 1:54 pm

Yes. But not quite sure where the techie
installed it but it is not immediately visible in the cabin. I will have a good look around and report back.

sharkfan · Post by **sharkfan** » Thu Oct 16, 2014 5:14 pm

Definitely one of the tidier large screen headunits - so many seem to be so bling but the one you've chosen seems to look pretty damn good. Any indication of price please?

It's a shame there seem to no units similar to these where the screen would hang down instead of going up.

WelshBentleyBoy · Post by **WelshBentleyBoy** » Fri Oct 17, 2014 2:35 pm

The unit was bought for Â£570 from Amazon. Cost me Â£50 to get it installed, but you do need a separate cable for the Ipod. Clarion sell it for about Â£40 but there is one on Ebay from China for Â£7.99. It is advertised for a NZ501but works for a NZ502. I can probably dig out the links if required.

The beauty of the unit is that you can retract the screen and the unit has all the functions but is relatively unobtrusive.

I cannot find the sat nav ariel. It is not visible but definitely works. I have left a message for the techie asking where it is

WelshBentleyBoy · Post by **WelshBentleyBoy** » Sat Oct 18, 2014 1:54 pm

The antenna is mounted inside the glove box at the top and picks up a great signal

Brucey · Post by **Brucey** » Sat Oct 18, 2014 2:43 pm

sharkfan wrote: It's a shame there seem to no units similar to these where the screen would hang down instead of going up.

I was wondering the same thing. Down would be better for leaving access to the heater controls but worse for glancing at the sat nav I guess. Down might clash with the gearstick when the screen is whizzing in and out though...?

It looks quite neat (and I daresay it wouldn't immediately attract thieving scumbags etc which is a very good thing) but crikey moses that is a lot of dosh if all you want is some choons and a sat-nav.

BTW I recently saw a neat gizmo which is an I-pad cradle; the cradle has buttons on the surround and once the I-pad is running the right app it interfaces with some head units. Presently the interface only works with a restricted range of head units (mostly current generation OEM VAG ones I think) but if the idea works then I'm sure it will become more popular.

Myself, I think there are precious few ICE setups that have an option to control them in a purely tactile fashion; maybe one day they will get the aftermarket head-up display/intuitive tactile control thing sorted out but until then I shudder to think how many prangs there are because people are simply not looking where they are going...

cheers

WelshBentleyBoy · Post by **WelshBentleyBoy** » Sat Oct 18, 2014 4:29 pm

If it opened downwards it would certainly interfere with the gear lever.
Whilst the screen blocks some of the heating controls I only envisage having the screen up in SatNav mode.
As to price, many modern cars charge more for just the on board SatNav
On many older cars owners are fitting Kenwood units at about Â£2000 and Becker one din sets are selling at Â£4k+ on Ebay so if you want SatNav, Bluetooth phone etc then this is not a bad buy.
I also have a Bentley Arnage T which we use every year for continental touring. To update the built in SatNav for which the latest maps available were 2008 costs Â£500+.
Next year I am thinking of taking the E24 now I can find where I am going and get all my wife's clothes in the boot!

Brucey · Post by **Brucey** » Sat Oct 18, 2014 6:00 pm

I know what you mean about the price of maps for built-in car sat-navs; they are absolutely stupid money.

BTW how does it work out when you have to update the maps in the clarion unit?

cheers

WelshBentleyBoy · Post by **WelshBentleyBoy** » Sat Oct 18, 2014 6:14 pm

Both the Clarion System and the Alpine system in the Bentley update by "Navieextras".
Each cost about Â£60 and I am not yet sure if I can update both for one Â£60 but I will report back in due course
The Clarion has a Micro SD card which you simply plug into the computer while the Bentley unit links to a memory stick which can connect to the car system and computer.
The problem in the past has been that Manufacturers abandon their systems after about 5 years and hope you will buy a new one.
These later systems should however be subject to better support as they are so simple for them to adjust, but we will see

sharkfan · Post by **sharkfan** » Sat Oct 25, 2014 3:37 pm

Is there any way this unit can get DAB?

Brucey · Post by **Brucey** » Sat Oct 25, 2014 6:23 pm

with a lot of these systems there are additional modules that plug in and give you DAB functionality. IIRC the Clarion systems support this kind of thing too.

The snag is that you don't need to buy many modules before you are well over the cost of a whole head unit of a different type. It all adds up.

cheers

WelshBentleyBoy · Post by **WelshBentleyBoy** » Sun Oct 26, 2014 10:05 am

The DAB unit is Â£229!!! I don't think I will bother!