Joe S

I have a 2007 S600, bought it used last year. Don't drive it much. When I do mainly use Sirius radio or CD's in command. I apparently had the wrong
accessory manual which called for a SD memory card. The command requires a PCMCIA memory card. I am familiar with smaller memory cards but not
PCMCIA card. I also read there are PCMCIA adapters. So my question is
what do I need, and can I buy it on the net anywhere or must I use MB components? Is the adapter something I can use other smaller memory cards with or not?
Prior to this car I had a Lexus LS which had a Hard Disk, and made it easy to copy CD's from the player onto the HD. Am I able to do the same with the memory card and record from the command CD player?
Thanks,
Joe

ExoticToysNyC

Are you sure it's asking for pcmcia card? Reason i'm asking is because pcmcia cards are mainly used for wireless internet carriers or for converting laptops without serial ports rs232 ports to rs232 ports. If it really does require a pcmcia card, you can look for adapters on ebay which should work just fine. If you can't find what you're looking for msg me the info and i'll look it up for you.

drawde

Not 100% about the S-Class but..

My C uses a PCMCIA card, where I have an adapter plugged in, where I have my SD card. You should be fine getting it off ebay or something--I did..

I believe you can record/copy from CD but only to the hard drive on the car, not to the SD card.

Joe S

The slot is much larger than a SD card. Apparently I read an accessory brochure that called for an SD card, but it was too small. I than read the manual and it called for a PCMCIA card. The command system does not have a hard drive. I guess the earlier 07 S had some stone age technology. I'll check with the dealer to see if there are alternatives.
Thanks,
Joe

fbracer

Do a search for PCMCIA and you'll find that there are actual adaptors which you can stick your sd card in.
As far as understand you're not supposed to leave the card in the slot while leaving the car due to heat conditions.

listerone

What you want isn't a PCMCIA *card* but a PCMCIA *adapter* which come in at least two varieties and can handle at least 3 kinds of cards (that I know of...I'm no expert).MB sells one,which is a multi-card adapter (SD cards and Memory Stick and a few others) and I recently bought one at MicroCenter (a national chain that has a website) that handles just Compact Flash cards.I've had good luck with both MB's adapter and MicroCenter's...but mine is an '11 and it seems possible that what works with mine might not work with an '07.Here's a link to the adapter that I bought from MicroCenter.

link:http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0328797

fbracer

Do you know if they have any that incorporates a USB port? And if so can a usb flashdisk be used?
I know that there's supposed to be a usb port in the glovebox compartment but thought this might be an option.

listerone

I'm no expert in computer stuff,I know a little bit but not that much but...I have the USB glovebox cable as well (paid $55 at an MB dealership) and have connected a basic 32GB flash drive to it (loaded with about 30GB of MP3's) and it worked perfectly so that could be an option as well,IMO.

fbracer

Thank you
Anpther WILD idea... Would a movie recorded on a USB drive (in DVD format) play on the command? Or does Command classify those connections as audio/mp3 only?

listerone

.

Haven't the foggiest...I know literally nothing about the video capabilities of my Bluetec.Sorry.

fbracer

Shame on you then

Can anybody answer these questions?

HiTach

I loaded the contents of a DVD onto a 32GB Compact Flash card and tried it in the PCMCIA slot of my S550 2008 model with telematics upgrade for video. It says No video detected, even after selecting the MP3 device using the "Changer" option. Videos play normally from DVD disks when stationary.

Sorry to disappoint.

fbracer

Thank you very much. Not that I would watch a dvd while driving but maybe the Mrs. would like to. I know we can still do that with Midcity Engineering's module but just wanted to ask.

T0ked

I bought a sandisk 6-in-1 PCMCIA adapter. However, I now realize due to my car being an early 2007 model, I can only use 512MB SD cards. I tried 1GB, 2GB, and 4GB which ended with the whole COMAND system freezing. It would start up again after shutting off the car, but freeze after trying to access the card again. It will only play MP3s with the smaller card. I was originally upset and looking to possibly upgrade my COMAND system, but then realized I didn't even fill up the 512 card with music... guess I just listen to a few songs over and over again. LOL.

fbracer

Sorry to hear that.

JonMBZ

For the best compatibility I would try using PCMCIA compact flash cards/adapters. SD cards and adapters are hit or miss since they need to support HC (high capacity) to run anything over 2GB. toked I never heard of a 512 MB limitation only the 2 GB with standard non-HC cards. It could be possible that the MP3s on the card was not formatted correctly or the file name was too long or directory tree was too long on some of the files causing the command to have issues. Try renaming some of them with shorter file names and see if that helps. The only cars that support USB are ones equipped with UCI (universal communications interface) which I think is around 2010 and up you can check with the dealer for this code on your VMI (vehicle master inquiry) if it is present you would just purchase the adapter in parts and plug it in the glove box in place of the cable that is already there.

Diesel Benz

I don't think it is your car limiting SD cards to 512 MB. My build date is from 2006 and the car reads all memory cards I've tried (it reads 32 GB cards but is not able to use all the space, only up to 4000 songs and some other limitations).

I'm afraid it is your Sandisk adapter that is one of the earlier models that does not support SD HC memory cards (1 GB and 2 GB cards usually are SD cards though).


Try with a CF adapter or make sure the PCMCIA adapter states it supports SD HC cards (should be printed on the adapter if it is from Sandisk).

famous550

Whats the function of the pcmia card? I noticed the slot but never ever paid attention to it since i used my ipod and make Mp3 cd's

T0ked

The card says SDHC compatible and It was able to read my 2GB card in an older laptop with PCMCIA slot, so the adapter is good. I was ready to return it to the seller if it was not compatible. With the larger cards, my car plays several songs, then craps out. So it seems that it is able to read it initially, but then something happens, maybe incompatibility. I tried moving everything into a folder, thinking perhaps there were too many entries in the root directory. Also tried formatting in FAT, FAT32, even NTFS (which obviously didn't work, LOL). No problems at all with the 512MB card.

Diesel Benz

Strange, as you say it should accept FAT16 and FAT32 but not NTFS. There is a limit on the number of files per folder, the number of folders and the number of nested folders plus the number of total files (explained by the manual) but you should not get hit by the 512 MB limit unless you put all files into one folder.

I wonder if your Comand could be somehow faulty, it really should read more files from an SD HC card on your SD HC capable adapter.

T0ked

Who knows. But figuring I use only about 200-300MB on the card as of now and my COMAND has been working flawlessly until now, I'll just use it as is. Maybe bring it in to the dealer later but as of now I'm content.

listerone

It gives you the ability,with the proper accessories,to store music on certain types of memory cards (SD,CF,MS and,IIRC,others) and play it through your COMAND system.

famous550

Thanks for explaning bro.

dannieboiz

I just got my w221 a few days ago, today I dug up an old 2gb toshiba PCMCIA hard drive. I loaded up the entire drive and plugged it into the slot on the command and it played everything perfect, even WMA files.

But 2gb isn't enough to store all my music. If anyone already got a card reader and tried an 8gb or more memory card and works please report back.

listerone

So far I've tried 4 types of high capacity memory (16GB-32GB) in my Bluetec....SD,CF,MS and a high capacity flash drive.I've had very good luck with all but the SD cards....couldn't get get them (well,one actually...I only tried one) to work.I've read that SD are hit and miss...they work fine for some but not for others.