sirdir

Hi!

We have (amongst other cars) an E430T year 2000. (Comand 2.0?).
I had a Dension Gateway 500 installed a few weeks ago. Firmware Version 1.05 was installed and everything worked with my 5G iPod (but not with my new Classic, so I had to keep the 5G).
Today I had the missing USB Cable installed and upgraded to Version 2.05.
Still the Classic doesn't work correctly, but even bader, I can no longer access the Gateway 500 menu. Before, when I switched to playlist 6, I was able to browse the menus directly on the iPod (i.e switch charging on etc.). But now, with version 2.05, that doesn't work anymore.
I can chose track 1 (aux) or 2 (enable the iPod menu interface), but all the other options don't work, it just jumps back to playlist 5!
Is it possible that a wrong 'text mode' is active? But how do I switch back? when I toggle the service switch 6 times, nothing happens (never did). I guess the comand 2.0 isn't even capable of showing that... and the iPod doesn't, either.
How can I reset that? And am I right that the Comand 2.0 only supports 'NO TEXT'? Can I somewhere download another FW Version? I could only find the 2.05, nothing else. Maybe I'd prefer to go back to 1.05

And another question: We also have a late 2004 SL 500 (50th anniversary version). Is it correct that no Gateway 500 exists for that car? (What is it, Comand APS?)

Hope anybody has a good idea.

Regards

Patrick

mike82y

Patrick,

I cannot help you with the problems, however I want to know if you have the dension Bluetooth installed as well?


Mike

sirdir

Hi! No, don't have the Bluetooth installed (didn't even know it existed before I read the new manual for 2.05...)
I found out some things by now - the device just works totally different with 2.05 than with 1.05. Has to be really cool if you can see anything on screen, but without, that's not sooo funny (of course one can learn by heart that you have to skip to track 99 and then again to 50 because your favourite singer is artist nr. 149 but I'm nut so sure wether I like that )

Just stays the question wether there is no more possibility to browse menu options on the ipod, i.e. to control charging (by the way, the iPod Classic still doesn't get charged on the Gateway 500...)
.. and wether there is a way to maybe allow +paging text mode on a comand 2.0 ... and if so, how.
Is there a possibility of a firmware update (of command) and where can I find that ,)

Skylaw

sirdir,

You are correct that the version 2.0x firmware menus operate entirely differently from 1.0x. I hope you downloaded the new owner's guide when you downloaded the new firmware. It explains the differences. However, without text, it's still challenging.

You can, however, scroll to and select the "iPod UI" option; use button 6 to get to those menu selections. Activating the iPod UI allows you to use the iPod itself for music selection (by any of the normal iPod sort schemes - song, playlist, artist, album, etc). In this mode once you have selected a playlist, album, or particular artist, you can still scroll to the next song and control volume through the steering wheel controls. This is the best option, I think, for non text capable HUs.

Activating the "+paging" option will do nothing for you in a D2B system, because D2B COMANDs are not text capable. That's a limitation of COMAND, not the Gateway 500. The Audio head units (10, 30, 50 etc.) are also not text capable, regardless of whether D2B or MOST.

Dension has begun shipping hardware version 3 (version # is on the label on the device itself) for both MOST and D2B. For MOST, the v3 hardware can tie into the CAN Bus and display song titles and other text on the instrument cluster as well as COMAND. Dension is awaiting cables for the CAN Bus tie-in, and may market them soon. They have not decided whether to pursue this capability for the D2B units (text display would be only on the instrument cluster for D2B) but they hold it out as a possibility - I hope they do. It would be particularly valuable for non-text capable units. Hardware versions older than v3 do not have this capability.

Dension disabled the charging options menu in v 2.0x firmware. The option to continue charging after the car was shut down was causing the fiber optics bus in some cars (Audis and BMWs in particular) to remain on indefinitely, discharging the car's battery. By default now, charging is done only while the head unit is on.

c.panero

Hello,

I'm having the same problem, the iPod classic won't work for the moment. Dension is working on the new firmware in order to solve the problems. They send to me by email the 2.07 version, but it don't work...

The big, big problem is the video. It seems much more difficult to solve the problem in order to make it work in any car... Just because Apple has secured the outputs on their new iPod models...

Good luck,
Carlos

Skylaw

Thank you, Carlos.

Apple has indeed installed a chip that disables video output on its generation 6 iPods (Classic, etc) unless a cable provided by an Apple-licensed vendor containing some sort of "decoder" component is used. Apple has done this, I understand, to require 3rd party vendors to pay royalties to associate their product with Apple. A cable/connector that has the "decoder" (whatever it is) will pass the video.

Disabled video on new iPods is not a problem unique to the Gateway 500; anyone not using the "approved" cable will experience it with the newest generation iPods that have video output.

However, the restriction is on video output only; audio should not be affected.

Please update us if Dension sends you firmware that resolves the audio problem. That has nothing to do with whether the cable is "approved."

DaveBk

I've just completed an installation of the Gateway 500 in my 2004 E320CDI - works great! I have also added the bluetooth module to allow handsfree calls from my iPhone. Everything worked as expected, but it is a shame that as my Audio 20 head unit is not text capable so the menus can be a bit difficult to navigate. I noticed from Skylaw's post that Dension are planning CAN Bus integration - does anyone have any more details on this? I built a CAN Bus interface for the steering wheel controls a few years ago, but never got as far as updating text on the instrument panel; I think this would be possible - and a great add on to the Gateway 500. Any views?

XJ9

It is indeed possible: there is a company out there that is currently building a number of different devices that put text on the instrument cluster. If you do a search there are a couple threads with pics and video of this in action. AFAIK the dension interface for CAN is already built into the newest gateway version so you would only need an interface if you have the older module. Otherwise you would only need the adapter cable to run from the gateway unit to the CAN distribution block.

I agree with you on the overall text issue... The gateway is an excellent piece but the interface has always been an issue for anyone who does not have a CD text capable command. You just really need to be able to see the track info to make the kit work to its full potential.

DaveBk

I do have the latest Gateway - I checked inside and can see the CAN controller (MCP2515) and tranceiver (MCP2551) ICs. I used the MCP2515 in my original design. The question I have is when Dension intend to provide the firmware and cables to allow this to drive text onto the instrument cluster for the E320.

XJ9

now thats interesting... i had not checked the chipset inside the dension: the issue is that *all* mercedes models with the exception of the new S (221) and C (204) use fault tolerant can and not standard CAN 2.0. They would need to replace the 2551 with the TJA1054 transciever which would then allow the dension to drive the CAN B network which the cluster sits on.

They will probably end up building a CAN to CAN-FT converter and build them into an interface cable.

DaveBk

Interesting indeed, I had not bothered to pull the datasheet on the 2551 so assumed it was the same as the 1054 despite only having 8 pins! Brain not fully engaged... That explains why the 'cable' is taking some time to source as it 's got to handle all the fault conditions the 1054 does.

Skylaw

Indeed, correspondence from contributor GW500, one of the Gateway 500 developers, has indicated that the Gateway 500 Version 3 hardware for MOST is CAN Bus capable, and awaits "availability of the cable" to connect to CAN. My guess is, that's just what they're doing.

He held out hope that something similar would be made available for the D2B versions, but was clear that a decision had not been made. While text readout on the instrument cluster for the D2B version would be a big improvement, it is obvious that the D2B market is a much smaller one in which to recoup their investment.

The improvement for COMAND-equipped MOST bus models would be welcome, but the real improvement is for MOST bus cars equipped that have no text-capable head unit (the entire Audio series) - a much larger market involving more than the Mercedes brand.

I did some searching (including the Web) for a good CAN interface that might be usable with the Version 2 hardware for MOST, but did not come across anything as promising as what you mentioned; do you have a link bookmarked?

XJ9

Theres even more to it than that... The big issue is that FT-CAN is much more difficult to develop for than regular CAN; The bus itself is totally different with different voltage levels, different differential levels, different resistance depending on the overall number of modules in the vehicle. The problems come when you try to do more than just read a CAN frame; to put text on the cluster you need to do a succession of reads and writes of different frames all within a set time. To add to this the CAN-B bus is running at full capacity so higher priority messages often hold up the text messages to the cluster.

Right now there is another company that is doing some development with the dension... Word has it that its something to do with text output.

dgsowers

Any headway on D2B text display to the dash with a CAN cable? I would purchase a GW500 today if this was going to happen.