Dension Gateway 500 iPod Adapter Arrived Today
 

I just received my Dension Gateway 500 iPod adapter for my '05 987S (w/PCM).

I've only had a chance to unbox it, but will attempt installation this weekend.

Here are the pics for anyone interested.

Congrats :) How much was it?

It was 386 euros, which worked out to be around $500.

iPod adapter for car = cost of 2 video iPods! :eek:

Wow, for that price you could have bought a new CD player with an AUX hook up.....but that is not classy

no joke... on my MP3 player i have total of 12 songs :)

i just dont care much for music in car, so im not that interested in 500 dollar additions to already expencive car.
but please do post pics when u get it installed

I'm *very* interested to see how this install goes. I've been waiting for something like this since I bought my car. I've got tons of music on my iPod and I take long trips on a regular basis. It sure beats having to hunt down good radio stations ass I pass through 3 states or 2 provinces.

I'm interested in this as well.... but I must say I'm almost pissed off at the price of admission. 2X the cost of a very nice ipod, just to connect said ipod to the car. Makes me want to rip out the entire MOST bus and replace it with something simpler, or just use the silly FM solution.

12 songs? Ive got like 7,000 lol. I got my Ipod like 4 years ago and its still limping strong. But for my purpose its perfect (battery sucks). I bought the panasonic CD player with the Ipod feature and cable, so I control it all through the CD player and its great. It charges my Ipod while its on so my crappy battery doesnt matter. I bought a similar piece for my jeep, but it was an interface adapter. If anyone has a jeep liberty and wants to hook up their MP3 player, PM me.

987 owners, I just installed sirius in my wife's 4 Runner. I went the FM transmitter route (the one that goes directly in the antenna) and it sounds great! The unit I bought even has a MP3 player input. I am going to do the same thing in the Box. I thought the sound quality was good and there was no interference whatsoever.

A wired FM gizmo (not the transmitter type) is the next thing I'm going to try. I'm just trying to figure out which one to get and where to get the antenna adapters. All the modulators I have seen have the standard antenna connectors on them; our cars use something different. I've read the Scosche adapter is one of the better ones, so I might try that one. Of course the sound still won't be the best, going through the FM tuner of the radio, but at least the intermittent static will subside.

Here are some pics of the PCM display when playing the iPod.

Overall, I haven't seen any glitches but I've only taken it for one drive.

I wish the navigation of the menus were better integrated with the PCM rather than utilizing various audio commands (CD #, next/prev track, etc.) but that would have required new firmware for the PCM (which would be difficult to do without Porsche). Despite this, its not too difficult to get use to, although it is a different paradigm than navigating the rest of the PCM screens.

So far it looks good. Audio quality is great, as well as the extensive song selection! :cheers:

Rick

Can you post more details on how you installed the unit, routed cables, etc?

I'm interested in sourcing one here in the UK but want to judge hwo much hassle the installation is.

Thanks.

Do you know what the interface would look like/how it would work in a car without the PCM? The radio has only one line of visible text so I'm curious how the controls might work. Does them manual give any indication?

Thanks,
Berj

To tell you the truth, I think it would be more intuitive on the CDR23/24 without the PCM display as you don't need to mentally shift user interface paridigms when using the unit.

Operation is quite simple:
CD 1-4 correspond to the first four playlists on your iPod. You can name the playlists with the first character as '1' - '4' to guarantee a match. This is a quick way to access your favorite playlists
CD 5 corresponds to playing all tracks on your iPod.
CD 6 corresponds to accessing the menu.

In the menu >| (skip next) and |< (skip prev) send a command to the CD changer to switch to the next track/prev track. In response the gateway 500 displays a track name on your 1 line display corresponding to the menu item (i.e. playlists, artists, podcasts, albums, etc.). On a given menu item (cd track - as your head unit would see it), pressing >> (fast forward) selects the menu item and << (rewind) exits up one menu level.

So, suppose you wanted to play a playlist called "My Playlist", assuming this is not one of the first four playlists, this is how you would do it:

1. Select CD 6
2. Press >| until you get to the [Playlists] menu option (this happens to be the first option). Press >> to select this menu option. (On the PCM, you need to hold down >| to perform a fast forward)
3. Press >| until you get to the Playlist "My Playlist". Press >> to select.
4. At this point I get a little confused as I've only been on one drive with the unit. I believe it then shows the name of the first song in the playlist. Pressing >| will display the next song, and so on. Pressing >> will select the song in the playlist to begin playback.

Rick

I have attached a picture from before cleaning up the installation. In this picture, the cables still need to be organized and the front trunk plastic covers need to be reinstalled.

I connected the Gateway 500 by tapping into the connectors going into the back of the NAV drive.

The optical connection was very easy - the instructions in the Gateway 500 were clear and all required parts (couplers, optical cables, etc.) were included. It entailed unplugging the optical connector from the back of the DVD drive and unfastening one of the optical cables from the connector followed by inserting one of the included optical cables back into the connector. Basically, the cable that was unplugged from the DVD drive goes into the Gateway 500, and the new cable goes between the Gateway 500 and the DVD drive connector.

If your car doesn't have a DVD drive, you will need to perform this procedure on some other MOST component (head unit, amplifier, etc.). The DVD drive was convenient because it is very accessible. The amplifier is hard to reach with the optical connections hiding behind the speaker wires, and the head unit requires removal from the center console.


The only other thing to connect is power. You will need to find some location to connect the included power cable to get +12V and GND. I soldered the power wires onto the power connector pins the DVD drive.


That is all there is to the install! Pretty simple if you have NAV.

Many thanks Rick.

Car doesn't have PCM (and hence no DVD drive) so my installation sounds more complex, though the car does have the optional CD changer.

I think I will try to find an audio installer with the product and seek further advice.

Your install should be easy as you can tap into the back of the CD changer. (or just remove it). You just need to make sure that the Gateway 500 is 'upstream' from the CD changer on the MOST bus.

Only one of the CD changer or Gateway 500 can be used at a time. There is a switch on the Gateway 500 to select which device is active. Changing the selection requires waiting until the MOST bus is restarted (i.e. the next time you start the car)

Excellent! Thanks Rick. Looks like I'm going to be talking to the car audio guys here sometime soon.

How about USB connection?
 

Did you get a chance to try the usb connection? Also the other audio input. I dont want to use an ipod, I have a creative mp3 player with 120gb hdd (which I replaced the original 40gb). Therefore, I am curious how it will work.

I have PCM with CD changer. If I understand correctly, you can change between cd changer or the dension with a button on the dension unit? So that means I have to get out of the car open the trunk and change it? Wish there was a way to do this inside the car.

Thanks a lot for your post about this product. My last question is, is there a company that imports them to here? Or should we get them from UK web pages?

I've only used the iPod connector so far, and don't really intend to use the AUX in or USB input.

You can switch between the Gateway 500 and the CD changer using a bypass switch on the Gateway. The change only takes effect the next time the MOST bus is turned on. You can mount the cables inside the main cabin. I choose the front trunk so the install would be easy enough to do myself, and because I plan to keep a dedicated iPod up front.

Eric @ Bumper Plugs will be doing a group buy (http://www.bumperplugs.com/DensionGroupBuy2.html). I ordered from maxcount.de where I paid 361EUR + 25EUR for shipping.

The more I read about these convoluted and expensive iPod integrations the more annoyed I become with Porsche. My annoyance had settled for awhile and become sullen resignation, but now I'm just feeling verklempt.

And the most asinine aspect of the Dension solution is that they would release the PCM version first. If I had PCM I'd be fine just burning songs in data-format. My playlists are really not that sacred to me.

Seriously, this calls for a big WTF and maybe a little ass-kicking. Now where did I put those Lufthansa tickets...

That's not true. The Dension unit has DIP switches to select whether it is used with the CDR23/24 vs. PCM. The operation of the Gateway 500 on the CDR23/24 was discussed earlier in this thread.

Save Some Money!
 

Check out this link to save $50-100 on the iPod adapter:

http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=12290&hl=

So HOW did you get it to work? I have an 05 987 with BOSE and no CD changer. I have the GW500 and took the unit to a very reputable audio house (recommended by BH Porsche, etc) The installer flipped the dips to Porsche mode and installed in the front trunk downstream from the amp. He also tried as first unit on the bus as there's only a BOSE amp. Oddly enough, whatever was downstream from the GW500 failed (the bus wouldn't recognize it.)

BH Porsche was kind enough to verify MOST bus for me (verified that the Head Unit had CDC enabled as well...) The end game was this unit DIDN'T work on my bus. It kept killing the BOSE or the head unit.

Any thoughts????

Also, the Porsche documentation / fiber packet that comes with the kit says the GW/CD bypass switch doesn't work on Porsches... yours does??

Hmmm - I didn't get the notice about the bypass switch not working, but that explains why I couldn't get the configuration menu to come up (it requires 3 cycles of the bypass switch).



Does your car have NAV?

With the Gateway 500 installed, do the rest of the devices work? I.e. Can you hear the radio and/or CD? This would indicate that your installer didn't reverse the input vs. output, and that your Gateway 500 is getting power.

What I'm trying to get at is that I've read that the CDR23/24 requires recoding using the dealer's PIWIS system when adding a CD changer. The PCM can, however, auto-discover the addition of a CD changer. I'm no expert, I just read this somewhere about installing a CD changer.

Since the Gateway 500 emulates a CD changer, a CDR23/24 head unit would need to be re-coded using the PIWIS system by your dealer.

I've also attached the install notes for Porsche that were provided to me by maxcount.de - I just received this yesterday. Note that there are two different DIP switch settings for Porsche, depending on whether you have a PCM or CDR23/24 head unit. It also mentions whether the Gateway 500 should be up or down stream from the head unit.

Rick

After reading the install notes a second time, it sounds like the 987/997 need the Gateway installed downstream of the head unit, whereas the Cayenne needs it installed upstream. Based on your description, it sounds like your Gateway 500 is installed downstream of the AMP and upstream from the head unit which differs from the requirements in these install notes. You may want to change this and give it a try again.

Rick

We tied both downstream and upstream and definitely checked the direction. I didn't get the insert that shows two dip settings. This is new! I'll take it in today and report results

Thanks

I'm with SD987. I was seriously considering this gizmo but all this complexity and $$ just to plug in a simple player is starting to border on the bizarre. Porsche could have just provided an AUX IN socket on the face plate and be done with it. Sheesh.

Z.

my take
 

just something I find funny is how we all can't believe Porsche didn't make accomodations to hook up the iPod. I for one have been really mad about it but the reality is that when I went shopping for cars, the only car on the short list that had one was the new IS 350 and it is located in the glove box I think??.....none for the infiniti, BMW(same glove box option?) I think had it as an option on one of the models.

Now most recently I had a friend purchase a Toyota Matrix, 07 and it had no iPod connection, I was floored, I mean this car is marketed to that technology generation and they still missed the mark. Unreal. Thumbs down to all automakers who haven't stepped up......

RESULTS: The unit is going back. We've set the dips properly. We've verified the fiber direction and locations in the loop (with Dension on the phone.) The distributor upgraded the firmware. I give up! It may be a faulty unit... I haven't ruled that out. I will say this: The folks at Haas Entertainment in Los Angeles (Culver City) are top notch, very professional, and there's a reason why BH Porsche and Pacific Porsche recommend them. They really stand behind their work.

That's too bad - I'm sorry it didn't work out for you. My experience was much different - the only installation issue was due to me not finding the correct +12V to connect to. Other than that, it worked right out of the box.

Out of curiousity, do you have the CDR24 or PCM head unit?

Also, do you know if your car had the Yazaki or Tyco/AMP optical fiber connectors?

I take it back... we're hanging tight. The folks from Bumperplugs are really helpful, and they've put me in touch with some Dension folks. My installer doesn't want to give up just yet. I have a CDR24, BOSE, no CDC; not sure about the fiber type.
The saga continues.

Here's my contribution. I reinstalled from scratch today and it took less than fifteen minutes, I took pictures and compiled them in to a PDF, hopefully this will help reassure people that this thing can be installed easily without any great technical know-how.

Download the PDF here: http://www.radarrack.com/boxster.html

Chris.

NOTE - If you do not already have a CD Changer the system must be updated with a PST2

Phil - have you had the MOST configuration updated to tell it there's a CD changer?

Are you using a PC or Mac? It looks fine on mine, WinXP / Acrobat

If you want PM me an email address and I'll send you the Word original to see how that looks.

Chris.

I created the PDF with CutePDF rather than Adobe, maybe that's why. I'll try the full Acrobat if I get chance.

I don't think you *have* to install it in the trunk but with PCM you can if you want to as you get a much better display for navigating the tracks and so on. If you install in the trunk you can use the same connection method but hook in at the Amp or CD Changer (if you have one). You'll need to find a constant 12v supply, I wouldn't run straight to the battery (especially without a fuse). I read that there is a 12v constant to the audio components in the trunk so you should be able to tap in there or run through the firewall to the fuse box.

Yes. I went to the dealership and they set the head unit to enable the CD changer. Position 1 was the Bose (factory), position 2 was the CD changer (the next available open position added by dealer.) An interesting point on your PDF is the positioning in the head unit. Does it matter if the CD changer is first or does it have to be CD changer, then BOSE?

Also, I noticed the DIP setting in your PDF shows for PCM configuration. The original manual is correct for PCM. On the CDR23/24 it needs DIPS 1-3 off, and DIP 4 on, as you stated.

And thanks, the PDF is helpful, but unfortunately I gave up and sent the unit back. I'm waiting for the group buy to happen and some other CDR24 (not the CDR23) non-CD Changer with BOSE folks to take a stab... I'm down about $350+ on this experiment. :ah:

I hadn't fixed the dip switches when I took the pic, although it seems to work both ways, I guess there are some obscure functions that vary.

I added the CD Changer in position 2 but then when I reviewed it it shows in postion 1, I suspect it displays them in the order they are on the loop or something. I had the Amp in position 1 and added the CD Changer in position 2.

When you had the Dension in the loop did the head unit still operate (even though the Dension didn't)?

In the PCM DIP configuration, the head unit would come up, but the Bose amp wasn't recognized on the loop -- hence no sound or Bose menus on the head unit.

In the CDR24 DIP configuration the head unit would just hang on 'PORSCHE' and not come up at all.

On both configurations, if I bypassed the Gateway, the both the head unit and the amp worked fine.