Nickthegreek

hey, it's been a while since I've posted, but a few months back I was looking to get the MB goodies such as navigation, video, and voice control etc. When I found out the price my pocket seemed kinda empty, so I looked and looked at what my options were.
After quite a few months of researching, I ended up installing a carputer with a 7' xenarc touch screen on my sun visor. I was wondering if anybody else has done it on a later model benz. I thought it'd be a good place to get ideas. I'll give you guys the details in a sec. It took alot of ripping the inside of the car apart because I initially wanted to take the COMMAND unit out, but I found out that it is not a good idea. This is definitely not easy to do and on a scale of 1 to 10 i'd rate it a 9 so don't do it unless you understand that you need to take apart alot of things.

the computer consists of:
xenarc 7" touchscreen monitor
Via epia micro atx motherboard 1.3 Ghz w/on-board sound
1Gb ram
80gb notebook hardrive WD
Opus solutions atx carputer case w smart power supply
compusa bluetooth adapter
linksys usb wireless adapter
garmin GPS 118 usb gps sensor
sony FM modulator
LG notebook dvd writer

the computer runs independent to the MB system. After alot of reconciling, I didn't want to screw with the electronics. Buying the computer took me only a matter of five days, but what took me about four months was figuring out what the configuration I wanted was going to be, how to route power to the computer, where sould everything be put so it does not hinder or get in the way of other parts, how to take apart pieces so that I could hide all the wires so it would look seemless etc. It was a big pain in the neck all of this, but in the end iam very happy. My computer can do everthing the MB can do accept maybe show info on the led and be controlled by the steering wheel but hopefully that'll change in the future.

The layout of the computer was as follows:
-the monitor was put on the sun visor, which I had to cut out and make a mold in (PITA). Then prolly the hardest wiring job was getting the input/usb wires to the back of the car where the pc was and getting power to the monitor. it came with a car adapter, so what I did was I took the adapter apart until I had the two wires, power, and ground. then i bought shrink tubing andmade wires out of them. then i hooked the power wire to the main power wire on the fuse box on the driver's side of the car ( I took it out with a torx screw driver) and the ground wire was wound around a screw that belonged to the dash mount that so happen to be a ground. the input was then routed out of the sunvisor into the A-pillar which I had to take off, then routed it between to the grove where the weather molding sits. then from the weather molding it was routed under the floorboards and snaked it under the c-pillar (which were all a PITA to do), then from the back floor board on the driver's side, it was routed to the trunk via taking off the side leather shoulder piece (also a big PITA). It took me prolly about a month to figure out how I was carefully going to do this and it ended up working.... next was the power to the pc

-the power to the pc involved a power, a ground, and an ignition wire.... this was where I got stuck for a while. The ingnition on a mercedes is not something you would want to screw with. I went from dealer to dealer asking how to connect it to the ingnition and they all said it can't be done cause you'd fry it. So I had the choice of either giving up and buying MB or thinking through a different route. so I took a look at all the wiring schemes from startekinfo and after another month and a half, i figured out that the cigarette lighters draw 12v and they turn off when i turn the key to takw it out so that would be a perfect wire for the ignition and it was not voltage sensitive. so now comes the second pita that took me about another month to figure out.... how to route an ignition wire from a cigarette lighter to the pc. i ended up takin apart the center console and using an easy connector connected the ignition wire to the power wire of the rear cigarette light which we never use. after this I wanted to route it back making it inconspicuous... which looked dam near impossible because i would have to figure out a way to take out the carpet... (or in my case lift up a small section of the carpet). right under the console was the carpet which I could run the wire under, but it was very tight with the floor and once it reached the back chairs, there were fasteners it would have to get around. So I loosened the fasteners and pulled a section of the carpet up (big big big big big PITA!!!!! ... next i had to get the wire through... so i took a coat hanger, undid it so it was straight as possible, wrapped the wire around it, and pushed it under the carpet... VOILA!!!!!!! then I crossed my fingers cause the moment of glory was hopefully coming.

-then i connected the ignition wire to the comp, along with the power and ground wires directly to the battery, and the info/usb cable to the comp. and a hooked up a PS2 key board. this was the moment of truth, and it worked exactly as planned. evertything started up properly and then after i took the key out, the computer shut down into hibernation mode.

-the assembly of the computer was kind of a PITA but not nearly as bad as the routing of the wires. I bought the opus solutions atx case cause it was huge and there was a lot of room to work with. on the computer the case had a front face plate with holes at the sides so that it would look clean. i installed the bluetooth dongle, the gps sensor, and the usb wireless sensor, and the FM mod using a Y-cable. for the FM mod, i tapped into the ignition wire and the ground wire so that power would only be fed to it when I turn the computer on. then i packed everthing and put the faceplate over and it just looked like a big black box with afew wires coming out

-the gps sensor had a long cable and i tried to make it look seemless by routing it to the side trunk compartment, then took off the rear side panels (another PITA) and shoved it under the rear board that houses the speakers

-i did the same for the wireless sensor as the gps but it sits on the passenger side so they are both inconspicuous.

....and then I was finally done. the next PITA was installing all the software and getting it to work properly but I won't get into that.


all in all I think that it was alot of work that paid off, I ended up spending about $1200 a lot less than mb. but i took alot of risks and they ended up in my favor.

So now i can flip my visor down and see directions to where i wanna go, while a women talks the directions to me, i can listen to mp3's (not the best quality but i can live with it), i can surf the internet if I'm parked at a hot spot, when my phone rings it ends up on the car speakers via bluetooth, and I can do countless other things. Also, i put the visor up and nobody can even tell I installed a compjuter in my car. I made so it was as inconspicuous as possible. The only complaints I have are that the visor is not the most convenient place, I would like to hook up a mic and get voice control so I don;t have to type on the virtual keyboard, and I hope that someday a company comes up with an optical adapter that lets you integrate your computer into a MOST network, letting me ditch the command unit.

I'll post some pics of it up soon...
figured this would give some ideas for those want the cheaper route

if you did a similar install but were able to ditch the
COMMAND then please post ... i would really like to toss it

Benz-o

omg... you gotta post pics, i would love to see that.

Nickthegreek

hey, if anybody is interested, i found two solutions for people who want to integrate a car pc in with a MOST network.... a company called SMSC bought out the company called oasis silicon that originally created the MOST network. And they just so happened to help mercedes develop theirs. You can buy either one of two products. there's an audio interface that will let you use your computer as an aux-in for audio or there's a pc-to-most interface which will let you control things in the most network. I'm looking into buying the pc-to-most interface to see if I can ditch my APS-50 unit. I'll post the updates on how I installed my comp and if this ends up working and is affordable. here's their website:

www.smsc.com

http://www.smsc-ais.com/AIS/content/view/208/262/

smb7420

What you've done so far sounds great and difficult to install...but is this stuff really price effective for those solely interested in a Nav install?

Didn't all those computer parts and install costs add up to more or close to the amount needed to get a Comand and ditch the APS?
I'd have a ball in your car with all the stuff ya installed...but I'm confused as to why you ditched the OEM comand and nav install...were you not pre-wired for nav? It seems you'd be able to install a Nav system easily...it'd be even cooler if ya added a 15" or bigger screen in the back for real computer use...talk about a mobile computer.

Nickthegreek

it was actually alittle cheaper, plus it can have much more functionality. the command unit alone costs almost 2k new, plus throw on 700-800 for the navigaition module. And you still haven't added on as much functionality as one computer can. the possibilities are endless with a pc, but with mercedes stuff it's only made to one thing pretty much

rayjoe

Were you able to get the INIC adapter and if so what was the cost of the adapter?

Nickthegreek

hey, no luck. SMSC will only sell it if you are a developer... there is a company called xilinx that has a inic controller but they will not sell it to a consumer either... but in a few years i'm sure that they will come out with an adapter for your computer... it's prolly just that the technology is young and developers need to be more convinced that it's the wave of the future then they'll start designin.

rayjoe

Well, I sent a request for information on purchasing the adapter under my company. I’m the CTO for the company and told them I was interested in designing software that integrates into their system. They never responded…

rayjoe

By the way "Nickthegreek”, I sent you an email asking about the GPS splitter being needed for the E320 retrofit you did. You never responded to my email, fortunately I was able to determine where the splitter went and got it working. The only problem I’m having is not being able to change the region code because the command unit I have was built in 2006 and I can’t get into the engineering menu. Any ideas?

Nickthegreek

hey rayjoe sorry, i've been working non-stop lately and haven't checked my messages... on another note, I've ordered a possible solution to the audio AUX problem with an aps50 unit.... dension makes an auxiliary unit for the
MOST system now and it is called the gateway500... anybody have any experience with it???? i'll find in a few weeks

mspaul

I am excited to hear your experience.

How much did it cost you?

Nickthegreek

$499 big ones

Nickthegreek

YESSSSS finally, I was able to have an AUX input for my APS50 head unit in my '03 e320!!!!!! the dension gateway 500 gives me the ability to feed an aux source into the mercedes system by fooling headunit into thinking it's a cd changer, and better yet it let's the original cd chnager work!!. It also has a usb port and an ipod port to sync a thumb drive and an ipod. the sound quality is just as good as when I put in a CD. the only thing to watch out for is if your analog source has a bad ground loop which I found out my computer did from the whining noise that would go up with rpms. but i put a ground loop isolator and the problem was solved.... now i can control the mp3's from my computer and get good quality sound!!!!! To install it I had to take the head unit out and snake some cords to the fuse box on the drivers side and splice into the MOST ring but they give you all the equipment for it, was about a two hour job but would be a half hour job if I had to do it again. Then the ipod and usb extensions i put in my console. Now I not only have more funcionality than a mercedes system.... I have just as good quality sound!!! Was definitely worth doin rather than paying mercedes.

if anybody wants i can post pics on how i did it

mspaul

Please post some pictures.
And also, Can I get the controls in the instrument cluster??

Thanks

Nickthegreek

it depends on if you're unit has text capabilities. also, if you hook up the analog source, then no, you only can control he volume through the steering wheel, but if it's a thumb drive or a ipod then yes if you have a head unit the will recognize mp3's so you may have to take it to a dealer to flash update it... i will post pics in the coming week when i have time off from work

nickthegreek

rayjoe

Hey Nickthegreek, did you have the SDS to reprogram the MOST ring to pick up the new device or did it automatically detect it.

P.S. Thanks for the late reply on my prior post but as you can see I’ve been away for a while as well so no big deal. I ended up locating the splitter and ended up purchasing the Star Diagnostics system to program the car mostly due to the number of components I’ve added and reluctance from MB to program a EURO command and update the MOST network.

lawrdent

Yasou, Nick the Greek, I just purchased the gateway 500 (d2b mercedes) and was wondering if you did have the pics for installation that would be great. Was going behind the head unit difficult?....I have a 2001 430 CLK and love this option. My CD Changer was starting to have problems opening and keeps saying Magazine empty. I have read on the forum that some were starting to have problems with their cd changer. Would love to have an IPOD in the car that can be controlled from the steering wheel.