I am not sure that is the case. Several people (cfr. thread on M5board) backpinned the OE plug near where the nav computer is, connected that to the GROM and lived happily ever after.
Possibly your solution is better - I honestly didn't look into it that much, because the M5board way worked for me. Now, do I have complaints about the GROM? Sure I do. Would it be better if there were a better all-in-one, plug and play solution, with a better DAC and audio path, possibly aptX support and a few other things? Sure. I'll be glad to buy it when it's available.
I have a '97 750il with the tape up front, Dsp, ^ changer in the trunk and factory phone installed. Will this work?
Pleas advise I how utilise the OEM microphone in the front cabin.
I am reluctant to run that long mic cable from grim and rip seats out etc etc.
Please if you can advise exactly how to get this to work, it would be so much appreciated.
Currently when taking calls I need to then Bluetooth off before answering otherwise they can't hear me (because I hadn't ran that from mic from the the trunk to the front)
Thanks
Sent from my Phone 2 using Tapatalk
Somehow I missed your comment -- sorry! It is possible that with enough gain, the microphone can be made useful without being powered. However, the Microphone has a built-in JFET pre-amp that does expect power. Once powered, that microphone can pick up the sound of my finger tapping on the steering wheel!
For what it's worth, you should be able to tell your phone not to route calls to BT (if it's an Android device).
Here's the thread where using the microphone with a GROM is explained: https://www.m5board.com/threads/inst...em-mic.295049/
I've had positive feedback on Rev C, with the exception that digital DSP users are not able to use the unit. I tracked down the source of the issue and I'm waiting on a slightly updated PCB to arrive sometime next week
so that I can ensure the issue has been resolved
Thanks!
-Ted
Just pre-ordered one - been looking for a solution for my e38 for years.
Excellent! You'll have the Digital DSP, so just ensure that you have the coaxial cable from the Amplifier to the CD Changer somewhere in the electronics trunk-box still
To everyone,
I've expanded the beta group from 8 units to nearly 20 as I get ready to call it "good to go" and send it off for production manufacturing sometime in October.
Thanks!
-Ted
"A good scientist is a person with original ideas. A good engineer is a person who makes a design that works with as few original ideas as possible. There are no prima donnas in engineering." - Freeman Dyson
What are the chances this will play well with my intravee II. wondering if i can do a dual spliced connection via the cd input and use this for bluetooth while retaining the features the intravee provides. (auto folding mirrors, live vehicle data, digital speed display etc)
-2000 iL Individual. VF Supercharged at 12psi, Dinan MAF and TB, 6spd 420g swap, Euro under body guards, strong strut, N62 engine cover, Hydro trunk, Full suspension mods, Brembo F+R big brakes, custom headliner/interior, Bi-Xenon headlights, wide screen nav/mk4, Custom splash screen (I make them), coded video module with custom made harness, reverse camera, Intravee II, factory rear screen entertainment console, rear comms armrest, rear blower, seat back tables and writing tablet, all euro options coded on etc.
-1997 iL. Pioneer 8500nex double din/Avic navigation, swc and dsp still functional. Reverse camera, full suspension upgrades, leather dash, console and door cards, rear blower, Re-upholstered seats, facelift sport contour seats, heated steering wheel, 750 front brakes, custom cup holder replacing the front ash tray, all euro options coded, headliner in black, rear headliner MID console.
Unfortunately, my unit and the Intravee II are wholly incompatible. Some of those extra's are going to come to the BlueBus, but the only one that has been added so far is one touch blinkers.
What features, other than auto-folding mirrors and speed/RPM are you looking to get from the car?
Thanks!
-Ted
PDC distance display is cool along with the mirrors folding while locking.
this kit will work on early CD changer DSP cars as well? i believe GROM does not.
Ted,
I am not sure if this has been asked before , but theoretically is it possible to route audio output from the bluebus device into the AUX input on the BMW BM53 radio as opposed to the CD changer input? I know at this point the device has a connector for the CD changer; I'm just trying to think about a way to keep the CD changer and use the currently unused AUX input instead. I don't fully understand how you have implemented your bluebus device, so forgive me if I am not clear if the device is meant to replace the CD changer on the IBus or just act as another device on the Ibus.
From what I can tell the device will have a DSP coaxial ouput, a microphone connector, a 6 pin connector (CD changer), a IBus connector (CD changer), a USB port (for firmware update only; not for MP3 files...) -- correct?
It is almost end of October, I am looking forward to hearing you are ready to start production!
Thanks!
Howdy!
It's not possible to run the BlueBus alongside the CD Changer. Unfortunately, only late model vehicles had AUX support, so building the implementation on top of that would've narrowed the supported vehicle pool dramatically.
The BlueBus does fully emulate the CD Changer as its means of operating.
If your head unit (Board Monitor or Business CD) has a single CD Player, that will continue to work fine.
There is no AUX in or support for MP3s from a Flash Drive / SD Card, on the BlueBus, and I don't plan on building it out because it doesn't fit with the vision of making this a Bluetooth solution, nor is it easy to implement those features.
On the subject of manufacturing: I have good news and bad news:
Good news:
1. I have a good quote for manufacture that fits within the realm of what I was expecting to pay.
2. I have a 3D model of the plastic case for the unit almost done
3. I have quotes for manufacture of the case
Bad News:
1. A couple users discovered some audio issues with the latest revision board and the Business CD system. I have altered the design already and I'll be testing the new circuit next week. I do have to get a couple of these out and tested, so it may not be until the first week of November that I start taking orders. I do not want to have units manufactured with known hardware bugs as that will just cause all of you to hate the product.
Thanks!
-Ted
Perhaps not with the stock C43 nav radio.
But I thought the CD changer's 6-pin output - which uses only 3 of the 6 pins - carries just the audio signal (left/right/ground)? And the BlueBus uses the same connector, right? If so, this could easily be adapted for use in the AUX channel of a BM53 radio, allowing the CD channel to remain open.
Of course, such a set-up would require splicing into the CD changer's power/ground/i-bus wires (3-pin plug) in order to supply both the BlueBus and CD changer (or grab power/ground from the radio).
See BM53 radio "diagram A" of my Nav Radio Upgrade.
So, specifically: pin CD connection cable 61-12-0-140-718 for the BM53's AUX side (see diagram A) and pair it with a black 12-pin quadlock cover. Done.
Last edited by Frankie; 10-25-2019 at 10:54 AM. Reason: clarification
This is exactly what I was thinking. Based on my limited knowledge of Ibus and what I infer from Ted's response is that the BlueBus probably appears to other devices on the IBus as the CD changer. Years ago I started to look into IBus and it seemed that different devices on Ibus had a device identifier. Purely speculation on my part, but I wonder if the BlueBus device might be identifying itself as the cd changer to other devices on IBus. If that is true, and it is configured to do so in firmware, then perhaps there would be a way to change that, and preserve the usage of the CD changer per your comments.
Ted, as soon as your device ships, I suspect you may get lots of ideas/requests for a future "version 2" of BlueBus! :-)
Thus far I’ve passed on this solution due to sacrificing the cd changer. For me anyway, I spend much more time listening to full fidelity music than on phone calls or streaming while in the car. This is starting to interest me as the prospect of having both (CD and bluetooth) may be emerging.
Just to confirm: As it stands today this unit will work with single disk CD head units, but not changers. So, if I can retrofit a single disk head unit to my ‘01 e38 (which currently only has a trunk mounted changer) I could have access to CD playback AND all this Bluetooth goodness.
t3ddftw: please correct me if this is wrong:
sdb999: No. The Bluebus, like so many other aftermarket devices, is designed to operate thru the CD changer channel (wires in the trunk). And all BMW's since 1996 were pre-wired for this ('89-'95 models can be upgraded). Simply select CD mode from your nav/MID to engage BlueBus.
And like other aftermarket devices, BlueBus displaces the CD changer.
However if you have nav, and swap the stock C43 radio (mounted in trunk) with a BM53 nav radio, you should be able to move the Bluebus over the the BM53's AUX channel as previously described. This means the CD channel remains free for use with the original changer.
For E38 7-series without nav (and with in-dash radios), the only way to retain CD playback ability is to install the CD43 radio with in-dash CD player, and then connect the BlueBus to its CD changer input (in trunk). (E39 5-series without nav may install the CD53 in-dash radio with AUX input.)
Last edited by Frankie; 10-28-2019 at 12:34 PM.
t3ddftw: please correct me if this is wrong:
Thresher: I think the labels "CD" and "AUX", which display on your nav or MID to identify the channel in use, come from firmware in the radio and not from the device. Therefore, moving the BlueBus to the BM53's AUX channel won't change what's displayed. So...in this case, you will see "CD" when using a CD changer and "AUX" when using BlueBus.
As an example, I'm currently using an aftermarket mp3 music device on the CD changer line, and yet my nav still displays "CD", while its buttons retain full functionality. And when streaming thru the BM53's AUX channel with an aftermarket adapter, my nav displays "AUX".
Last edited by Frankie; 10-28-2019 at 01:10 PM.
This is what I had initially hoped for, but I suspect sooner or later Ted will chime in with a comment that it is a bit more complicated.
If I had to guess at the internal workings of the radio system, I would say when you press the mode button on the head unit and select the CD device, then further button presses on the steering wheel and/or head unit are received (by radio?) and translated to device specific commands which are then sent to the appropriate device via Ibus. In the case of selecting AUX, that would be a generic line input and other than sending volume up/down commands to the radio, there really isn't anything else you can do like pause, play, track-forward, track-backward, or seek operations that you could do with a CD device. I suspect it is the CD changer device specific commands that the BlueBus is looking for, so that it can interpret and/or forward those actions over the bluetooth connection to the attached device. Then your connected device can be instructed to track-forward, pause, play, etc...
The one thing I would like BlueBus to be able to do and I know it won't based on several confirmations from Ted is to allow me to browse/play MP3 files on a USB. To that end, I noticed when i was looking at BMW tv tuners the other day that some screenshots I am seeing on the updated ATSC (i.e., US) devices show that you can browse USB storage and play media files. I also thought I saw something recently about Sirius configurations; is there a CD-changer by-pass capability with how the wiring harness works? These are areas where I will spend my research time next...
With BlueBus, I will be able to replace the CD changer and TCU. Possibly with an updated/retrofitted tv tuner I can add a rear view camera capability and I might be able to browse/play MP3s.
I remain highly interested in BlueBus. Having someone like Ted pulling all of this together is no small feat and I think this will be a very nice addition to my car. My day job is a software engineer so I can appreciate a good chunk of the work going into BlueBus. Hardware and electrical engineering have always been viewed as a mystery to me. :-) I grabbed a copy of Ted's BlueBus sourcecode from GitHub and will sift through it in whatever spare time I can find, which unfortunately isn't much these days.
Bookmarks