iPod integration for MOST bus now ready.....

[Eric (Plug Guy)]

iPod/MOST bus integration

[wross996TT]

Eric, Are you the official Dension spokes-person...I've seen your post on 3 forums.

BTW...thanks for the update!

[CJC]

I have done a good deal of research on many forums and nothing compares to what this product "claims" to do.

There is a huge interest in iPod integration so, if someone comes up with a solution, someone will make a lot of money.

I cannot find out how much this will cost (Eric ?) as the Dealers listed on the Denison site do not actually have this product on their own web sites yet.

Anyone bought one ?

Does it work ?

Anyone seen a review ?

Tell me how to get one and I will post the results myself.

[CJC]

Mmm...Denison site says "Porsche available end June" ?

[Eric (Plug Guy)]

Mmm...Denison site says "Porsche available end June" ?

The product is now officially in release. We are not their spokesperson, just a distributor. But we have a large standing order that should be to us within a couple of weeks, three at most.

To get on the list for the group buy, just email me your year/model, whether you have nav/bose/cd changer, and your name. I will add you to the list and when we have the actual product in hand, the order site will list it.

First models are for '03 to present, MOST bus, NAV only cars. Next model in about 30 days for non nav.

eric@bumperplugs.com

[mffarrell]

Mmm...Denison site says "Porsche available end June" ?

The product is now officially in release. We are not their spokesperson, just a distributor. But we have a large standing order that should be to us within a couple of weeks, three at most.

To get on the list for the group buy, just email me your year/model, whether you have nav/bose/cd changer, and your name. I will add you to the list and when we have the actual product in hand, the order site will list it.

First models are for '03 to present, MOST bus, NAV only cars. Next model in about 30 days for non nav.

eric@bumperplugs.com

Eric,

What is the cost of the unit? Is this a DIY project?

Thanks,

Mike

[rickhuizinga]

Eric,

Your link shows the Gateway 500 from the Dension (europe) site, however your posts on other forums indicate that the model you are selling is not the euro model, but rather the US model (presumably from DICE electronics, distributed by Dension USA).

Which model are you selling?

Thanks

[peterw]

Hi All,

It's been a while since the last post on this topic. I am considering taking the plunge and buying a Gateway 500 for my 996 PCMII.

It would make me feel so much happier if someone had already fitted one and could let me know how it went! :-)

Thanks

Peter

[tobias]

I have a Cobalt Blue Targa-04 with PCM2/BOSE

I just got my Gateway 500 yesterday. I was planning on having the shop install it, but in Gotheburg, Sweden where I live, there is currently snow and salt on the ground, so I'm not going to be able to drive to the shop until it clears... I'm considering installing it myself instead, but I have never attempted any prevoius DIY jobs on this car, I'm not even sure how I will get the PCM-unit out...

Is there a guide on the net or a book showing how to get the PCM-unit out and where I can connect the power?

(The manual says "non-switched", I suppose Denison wants the GW500 to have power also when the ignition is out???)

By the way, the documentation in the box also says that the "mode switch" is not used for Porsche installations, meaning that it will be difficult to get both a changer and the GW500 to work together - not a biggie for me, I don't have a changer.

I would be greateful for any useful advice - if you want pictures of the GW500 and the stuff in the box, I could do that.

I guess, if there is interest, I could scan all the docs and post them somewhere.

/Tobias

[SoCalC4Cab]

Here is a thread detailing install of the Gateway 500 in a MOST car, which should answer most of your questions:

http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/show...ad.php?t=322234

It looks like removal of the PCM 2 is not necessary.

Please post your impressions of the device when the install is complete.

[tobias]

Thanks! That helps I think, but the install in the pictures is of a 997 with a CD-changer, my car is a 996 without one, so I guess I'll have to poke around a bit...

/Tobias

[SoCalC4Cab]

Hmm. I thought it did not have a CD changer. True, it's not a 996 (I actually think it's a 987), but it's my understanding that the fiber optic connections are similar. Good luck regardless, and I look forward to hearing how it goes.

[rickhuizinga]

Thanks! That helps I think, but the install in the pictures is of a 997 with a CD-changer, my car is a 996 without one, so I guess I'll have to poke around a bit...

/Tobias

The pics are from my install. It was from a 987S with PCM & NAV. The pic shows the NAV drive as oppossed to a CD changer. It should be very similar to a 997 front trunk (unless its a C4).

[tobias]

Thanks rickhuizinga, I also have Nav & Phone, so it should be very close to your install then!

So, there was no need of doing anything to the PCM2 to get it to recognize the GW500 then, even though you did not have a CD Changer installed previously?

(A pro installer told me he failed to install the GW500 in a mercedes and blamed it on the headunit not recognizing the GW500 because it was not set up to recognize a changer, but he could just be rationalizing...)

I'm planning an attempt this weekend!

[john in lb]

Thanks rickhuizinga, I also have Nav & Phone, so it should be very close to your install then!

So, there was no need of doing anything to the PCM2 to get it to recognize the GW500 then, even though you did not have a CD Changer installed previously?

(A pro installer told me he failed to install the GW500 in a mercedes and blamed it on the headunit not recognizing the GW500 because it was not set up to recognize a changer, but he could just be rationalizing...)

I'm planning an attempt this weekend!

The installer is probably right. I added a CD changer and it had to be "recognized" by the PCM2. Porsche dealer took care of it and it was not a big deal. Since the GW500 is just a substitute for the changer, I assume you would have to do the same thing.

[rickhuizinga]

Thanks rickhuizinga, I also have Nav & Phone, so it should be very close to your install then!

So, there was no need of doing anything to the PCM2 to get it to recognize the GW500 then, even though you did not have a CD Changer installed previously?

(A pro installer told me he failed to install the GW500 in a mercedes and blamed it on the headunit not recognizing the GW500 because it was not set up to recognize a changer, but he could just be rationalizing...)

I'm planning an attempt this weekend!

The PCM will automatically recognize a CD changer (or Gateway 500) when it is added to the MOST ring. The CDR24 needs to be recoded to recognize a changer (or Gateway 500).

Rick

[tobias]

Rick is right!

I just finished the install and mostly it went well, here are the pictures:

I broke into the MOST-ring at the connector to what I think is the amp (there is no text on it that indicates what it is, could be the NAV-unit, exept I think that is in the cabin)

First I just connected everything to see that it worked, taking power from the battery...

It worked on first try! This pictures shows tracklist from USB-stick (only one song with a good ID3 tag though...)

I looked at the big connector for the "amp" and found what looked like the power feed, it was.

A soldered in a couple of short wires for the power connection

I added some heats-shink tubing to repair any heat damage to the insulation from the soldering

I crimped on cable shoes to enable easy disconnection of power, and added a large heat-shink tube, shrunk a little on one end for removable insulation.

I had a large piece of foilprotected clear plastic laying around the garage, so i cut a 26 x 27 cm piece of this and started trimming it until it fitted.

I ground down the heads of four bolts to less than a millimetre, so they wouldn't stick out to much on the back of the plastic

I drilled holes for mounting the GW500 and one in the corner for the amp-mount bolt and removed the protective foil.

This is what the platicc looked like with holes and bolts in place

And with the GW500 mounted on it...

Test fitting...

A cable hose was routed under the "amp", the power cables were cut to match the optical fibres in length.

Adding cable shoes to GW500-power feed cables

Power connected and removable tubes slid over connection from both sides

I wrapped the fibre optics and power cables in cloth before taping over with black weave tape.

I managed to lose the washer on one side if the amp, and coud not recover it from the narrow compartment, despite fishing with hooks, magnets etc. I decided to leave it for now and machined down a plastic wing expander to take its place (the kind you use for hanging things from plaster boards)

This is what the install looks like with the cloth taped over

And with the spare and first-aid kit back in place

And a final closeup.

So in summary, not so difficult but beware of losing washers in hard to access spaces...

I will keep the install as is for now and then see if I can make it more elegant when/if I buy and Ipod. I want the playlists, but I don't like the Idea of adding an extra D/A - A/D stage unnecessarily, sound should be better with a USB-stick. I might just buy a 16GB Corsair Voyager USB-stick or something. The Archos 605 is also an audibly better player than the ipod's and it's got s/p-dif on the dock and can act as a low-power USB-harddrive also... But I guess the playlists may still be more important!

I hope this helps everybody who want's to install the GW500 in a 996!

/Tobias

[john in lb]

Rick is right!

I hope this helps everybody who want's to install the GW500 in a 996!

/Tobias

Congratulations - looks great. Obviously, my memory was faulty about having to update the PCM (I did have to go see the Porsche dealer at the time).

Too bad, it definitely takes the place of the CD changer... and I have one... and I don't want to give it up...

John.

[Popolou]

Tobias,

Thanks for the post; it's very informative.

Have you compared the performance to that of a HD based player? I won't be using an iPod however would like to know whether the GW500 will re`ognise regular PlayForSure devices and allow the extended abilities of the player rather than reading off the HD.

Do you intend on running the switch for the changer inside the cabin?

Also, i haven't heard much feedback from users on the running temperature of the unit. If indeed it does get a bit hot under there, you may want to keep an eye on that.

Cheers,

Popolou

[tobias]

Popolou,

The GW500 can only integrate ipod devices (so no plays-for-sure). When using USB-devices, the GW500 itself is the player. Other than this, GW500 can accept AUX-in, but then you only get line-in, no control from the PCM-unit.

At least in theory, using an USB-device should give the best sound, since both the ipod- and aux-ports feed the GW500 an analog signal that is then digitized and transmitted digitally over the MOST-bus. When using a USB-device, the digital files are just converted to MOST-bus digital audio format (probably uncompressed 16-bit digital audio) and sent to the BOSE D/A converter optically.

I would be surprised if the GW500 generates any significant heat, in the manual the maximum current draw that the GW500 is capable of is rated at 1.5A, which means 12x1,5=18W, which would hardly be enough to keep a cup of coffe warm...

Cheers /Tobias

[Popolou]

Thanks for the info.

Yes. i was of a similar opinion on the inputs and also intend on using either a bunch of USB sticks or a miniature HDD as the source. As i understand it, with a large library of MP3's, the PCM would see this as being one large 'CD' and hence allow for simple playback. I suppose (and do correct me if i get this wrong) this would mean that there is no playback from specific lists such as that filtered by genre, without a pre-defined playlist.

It's interesting now to see the number of installations happening and hope to be up and running soon too.

Regards

Popolou

[tobias]

Popolou,

Download the manual from

http://www.dension.com/download_icelink.htm

and you can see exactly how it works.

(BTW there are usb sticks up to 32GB, whích is enough space for 370 hours of music at 192kb/sec)

/Tobias

[evil2219]

Rick is right!

I just finished the install and mostly it went well, here are the pictures:

I broke into the MOST-ring at the connector to what I think is the amp (there is no text on it that indicates what it is, could be the NAV-unit, exept I think that is in the cabin)

First I just connected everything to see that it worked, taking power from the battery...

It worked on first try! This pictures shows tracklist from USB-stick (only one song with a good ID3 tag though...)

I looked at the big connector for the "amp" and found what looked like the power feed, it was.

A soldered in a couple of short wires for the power connection

I added some heats-shink tubing to repair any heat damage to the insulation from the soldering

I crimped on cable shoes to enable easy disconnection of power, and added a large heat-shink tube, shrunk a little on one end for removable insulation.

I had a large piece of foilprotected clear plastic laying around the garage, so i cut a 26 x 27 cm piece of this and started trimming it until it fitted.

I ground down the heads of four bolts to less than a millimetre, so they wouldn't stick out to much on the back of the plastic

I drilled holes for mounting the GW500 and one in the corner for the amp-mount bolt and removed the protective foil.

This is what the platicc looked like with holes and bolts in place

And with the GW500 mounted on it...

Test fitting...

A cable hose was routed under the "amp", the power cables were cut to match the optical fibres in length.

Adding cable shoes to GW500-power feed cables

Power connected and removable tubes slid over connection from both sides

I wrapped the fibre optics and power cables in cloth before taping over with black weave tape.

I managed to lose the washer on one side if the amp, and coud not recover it from the narrow compartment, despite fishing with hooks, magnets etc. I decided to leave it for now and machined down a plastic wing expander to take its place (the kind you use for hanging things from plaster boards)

This is what the install looks like with the cloth taped over

And with the spare and first-aid kit back in place

And a final closeup.

So in summary, not so difficult but beware of losing washers in hard to access spaces...

I will keep the install as is for now and then see if I can make it more elegant when/if I buy and Ipod. I want the playlists, but I don't like the Idea of adding an extra D/A - A/D stage unnecessarily, sound should be better with a USB-stick. I might just buy a 16GB Corsair Voyager USB-stick or something. The Archos 605 is also an audibly better player than the ipod's and it's got s/p-dif on the dock and can act as a low-power USB-harddrive also... But I guess the playlists may still be more important!

I hope this helps everybody who want's to install the GW500 in a 996!

/Tobias

im think of get 1 gw500 iwas wondering on usb port if i use the usb can i see all the track name or just 1 by 1

[tobias]

Evil,

You can see all the tracks, but there are limitations.

Read the manual before buying, see the link in my previous post.

/Tobias