Dension Gateway 500 Ipod Installation - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

r9i8c7k · 05-10-2007, 08:15 PM

Installed a Dension Gateway 500 Ipod interface in my 987 today. It works with my CDR24 stereo. I have no PCM or Nav. Once installed you have to take it to the Dealership to activate the CD changer.

It runs through the CD button on the stereo. The first five programmable buttons play your playlists. The 6th programmable button allows you to control what you want to play directly on the Ipod.

Sound quality is that of a cd. Very happy!!!

Jonesy08054 · 05-11-2007, 09:13 AM

that looks great! so glad to finally see someone that has something for the 987 with the standard radio. how much did it set you back, and who did it for you? PM me with any extra info that you might have.

r9i8c7k · 05-11-2007, 03:32 PM

The unit was $500 including shipping. Jaimy @ Rawlings Audio installed it for me. The main reason I did not do it myself was actual uncertainty whether or not the unit worked with a CDR24 non PCM and non nav system. Reading the message boards there was a bit of conflicting info whether it would or not. I also got no help from Dension's web site. So I wanted to take myself out of the equation. Jaimy was the only Tech guy I spoke to who said he done one and believed it would work. All the other guys either never had done one or had done one and it did not work. I actually considered returning the unit until someone else got it to go. I am glad I didn't. The sound quality is great.

The average quote for install was 2-3 hrs @ $85/hr. I would not hesitate to do a Dension install myself now. No harder than any other Ipod, stereo or GPS install I've done on my cars myself. I installed an EVO Swift Shifter the other day and I think that was more difficult than the Dension. Good luck!

gunny · 05-11-2007, 03:51 PM

What kind of ipod holder is that?

r9i8c7k · 05-11-2007, 06:03 PM

It is a "Dice".

http://enfigcarstereo.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/DICE_CRADEL.html

laphil · 05-12-2007, 08:08 AM

Maybe you can help me here -- I really want to make a go of this unit as well.

What year is your 987?
What firmware version is in your Gateway 500?

Cheers

williamsF1 · 05-12-2007, 10:21 AM

can this be done on a 8bit PCM (986) car ?

Looks amazing... congrats!!

r9i8c7k · 05-12-2007, 12:43 PM

My 987 is a 2007. The software version is 1.05

I do not know for sure if it would work on an 8bit PCM (986) car. Bit I think as long as you have the fiber optic cables it should. Try emailing Dension with the question. Maybe you'll have better luck than I did getting info from them.

05-12-2007, 02:31 PM

Thanks for posting this. This is exactly what I have been looking for in other posts. Unfortunity, the price seems hard to justify.

r9i8c7k · 05-12-2007, 03:46 PM

I am glad to be of help to others. I agree it is a bit expensive. I just could not live with the poor performance of the FM modulator in such a nice car. I also got tired of reaching for CDs to change out.

I myself had to justify it to myself before I went and did it. I can actually afford to do it but I like others still don't want to waste money. I just said to myself that some people spend $4/day at Starbucks for coffee and that adds up to about a $1000/year.

I have to admit after having it my car for 3 days now, no regrets what so ever.

mamout · 05-16-2007, 10:35 AM

Hi there, i have been waiting to fit the gateway 500 for a while now, But have been putting it off due to the uncertainty of whether or not it would work ! Do you know exactly what your installer did to get it working ? i have seen on a couple of sites that people have got them working, but no one has posted how they have done it..........hope you can help !!

laphil · 05-19-2007, 05:37 PM

FINALLY I got this thing to work.... FINALLY!

I got the unit as well; bought it from Eric at Bumperplugs. Props to him as he's been working with Dension and really pushing to get these units out there to us non-pcm people. I took the word of advice above and went to see Jamey at Rawlings as well (in Monrovia, CA -- they also have a west side location.)

While the install seems straight forward, there's no substitute for doing it right the first time. You can go through prior posts I've put out on the subject, as this was a second attempt at installing the unit (this one was the newer unit -- the upgrade helped.)

Not only was Jamey's group professional and detailed, Jamey followed me down to the Porsche dealership to program the CD-Changer correctly. That made a huge difference. I can't recommend these guys enough, and I'm digging the iPod.

FYI, my 987 is MY05, non-nav CDR24, Bose amp. The Gateway 500 is downstream from the head unit and before the Bose amp. DIPS 1-3 were off (or down) and DIP 4 was on (or up). The PIWIS seemed to detect the unit on the MOST bus; it simply had to be properly provisioned.

Also, on an aside, if you have to wait around for the install, he and his other installer Chris are a freakin' sitcom -- hillarious.

ukchris · 05-20-2007, 08:30 PM

The Dension works well but as has been said it's expensive. I installed mine myself, it isn't that difficult, all you're really doing is unlatching a couple of fiber connectors to jump it in to the loop. While there's probably no substitute for having a pro do it you can do it yourself in an hour or two. I did a bit of a write-up on my install here http://www.radarrack.com/boxster.html happy to answer questions if anyone has any. If you have PCM the interface from the head unit is good enough that you can install it in the front trunk and put the ipod in there, if you have a CDR23 (and I'd guess the CDR24 is the same) the control interface is poor so you'd want the ipod in the car with you so you can use it to access music.

Chris.

Andrew Fawcett · 05-21-2007, 10:00 AM

As the title says I'm in the process of order a new Boxster S, and I've got my heart set on integrating the Denision Gateway 500 into it when it arrives. The big question I've right now is do I really have to order the CD Interchanger to ensure I can fit this device when it arrives? Looking at some of the posts on this thread it would suggest not, rather I just need to convince my dealership to enable the CD Interchanger facility on the PCM for me.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated as I'm in the final phase of freezing my spec. with the dealership, and amazingly fitting the CD Interchanger when it arrives is almost double the price!

Thanks all!

ukchris · 05-21-2007, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew Fawcett

As the title says I'm in the process of order a new Boxster S, and I've got my heart set on integrating the Denision Gateway 500 into it when it arrives. The big question I've right now is do I really have to order the CD Interchanger to ensure I can fit this device when it arrives? Looking at some of the posts on this thread it would suggest not, rather I just need to convince my dealership to enable the CD Interchanger facility on the PCM for me.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated as I'm in the final phase of freezing my spec. with the dealership, and amazingly fitting the CD Interchanger when it arrives is almost double the price!

Thanks all!

My understanding is such that you should not order the changer as you wouldn't be able to use it with the Dension in place, you would need a friendly dealer with a PIWIS tester to set the options for you. You might want to consider PCM as the ipod control is superior...

Andrew Fawcett · 05-21-2007, 10:43 AM

Thanks, I am order with the PCM, I'm not good at DIY, so hopefully I can find someone in the UK that will install it and mount in glove box.

ukchris · 05-21-2007, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew Fawcett

Thanks, I am order with the PCM, I'm not good at DIY, so hopefully I can find someone in the UK that will install it and mount in glove box.

If you have PCM I'd put it in the trunk, easier install and you don't need to be able to see the ipod / USB drive as you can control it from the PCM.

laphil · 05-22-2007, 11:38 AM

Ok, I'll call it a minor annoyance. As it stands, I'm happy to have a proper sounding iPod in my 987...

BUT, anyone else with a CDR24 notice that when you connect your iPod and the head unit takes over the iPod, the iPod goes into repeat mode (one song) and random shuffle? This happens even if the GW500 is set for control from the iPod. Seems to be happening pretty consistently.

Now I've read the doc's and apparently you can control some of that behavior from CD controls (using cd 6) -- unfortunately on a CDR24 the CD FF/RW controls don't show up, just disc selection and skipping songs from the dial.

Is this just happening to me?

ukchris · 05-22-2007, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by laphil

Ok, I'll call it a minor annoyance. As it stands, I'm happy to have a proper sounding iPod in my 987...

BUT, anyone else with a CDR24 notice that when you connect your iPod and the head unit takes over the iPod, the iPod goes into repeat mode (one song) and random shuffle? This happens even if the GW500 is set for control from the iPod. Seems to be happening pretty consistently.

Now I've read the doc's and apparently you can control some of that behavior from CD controls (using cd 6) -- unfortunately on a CDR24 the CD FF/RW controls don't show up, just disc selection and skipping songs from the dial.

Is this just happening to me?

Funnily enough I've been discussing this today with another Dension user, apparently it's a known bug, they suggest going back to V1.0 of the firmware or waiting "a couple of weeks" for V2.0 ( you probably have 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 or 1.4).

ukchris · 05-22-2007, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by laphil

Now I've read the doc's and apparently you can control some of that behavior from CD controls (using cd 6) -- unfortunately on a CDR24 the CD FF/RW controls don't show up, just disc selection and skipping songs from the dial.

IIRC on the CDR23 you press another button to get the other functions on the "soft" buttons, control from the head unit still sucks though, stick with ipod control!