Re: Ipod - Denison 500 Gateway
Here is a review of an add on to the Dension 500 Gateway, a bluetooth module that I posted on the Porsche forum. Its supposed to work on BMWs' with the fibre optic iDrive:
I just got Pin Liang to install the Dension BT1500 bluetooth kit. I had imported it from eBay for S$180 incl shipping because Pin Liang told me that they were installing Parrot kits. However, when I got there yesterday, they said they had gotten a shipment in of the BT1500 so you can get it directly from them now. My Cayman was the first BT1500 they ever installed.
The BT1500 works with the Dension 500 gateway and simulates an original Porsche Phone Module (PPM) on the Porshe MOST fibre optic network. Because I have the PPM already, it had to be disabled. Pin Liang removed the drivers seat to extract the PPM unit located underneath. Its not sufficient to just unplug the power to the PPM as it creates an open fibre optic network. However, Pin Liang was able to fashion a fiber optic loop cable to send the light back and close the network kind of like a termination plug. If you don't have a PPM, then installation is more straightforward. After disabling the PPM, the BT1500 was daisy chained to the Dension 500 Gateway, we fired PCM up and it went into Bluetooth pairing mode straight away. I paired it with my iPhone.
The reason I wanted to replace the original Porsche phone module with the BT1500 is that PPM (for Gen 1 Caymans) doesn't support Bluetooth and I've become tired of constantly switching my Singtel multi-SIM back and forth between the car phone and my iPhone every time I get in and out of the Cayman. Often I forget and get a call on my iPhone while driving or forget to switch it back and lose all calls and SMS for awhile. With bluetooth, all is solved as the BT1500 pairs with my phone when I start the engine and unpairs when I turn the engine off.
The BT1500 works almost identically to the Porsche phone module in function and functions well with the multi-function steering wheel and the same PPM messages show up in the multifunction display underneath the RPM meter on the dash. It mutes the radio or pauses the iPod when calls come in or when you make an outgoing call. The standard TEL menu works and it identifies your phone on the PCM 2.1's main display. The keypad on the PCM 2.1 headunit also works to dial numbers. It downloads all the contacts from the iPhone to the PCM 2.1 directory. However, navigation is a bit complicated if you have 600 contacts like I do as it breaks it up into groups. One tip to remember is that DIAL often means ENTER when you are navigating through the contact list. You can choose 6 quick dial numbers.
Although Dension's website says that the Bluetooth A2DP function - which allows you to play music wirelessly from a phone - doesn't work with the iPhone, it actually does. So if I set the Gateway 500 to A2DP, it can actually receive high quality music in Stereo from the iPhone via bluetooth and play it through the car's speakers. The sound quality is excellent and as good as when the iPhone is plugged into the Gateway 500 via a cable.
Pin Liang charged a hefty $120 just for installation, which was a little higher than normal because they had to remove the seat. and $65 to create the fibre optic loop. My overall cost would probably have been lower if I had bought the BT1500 from them as they would likely have factored the installation into the cost. If you don't have an existing Porsche Phone Module, then you don't need the fibre optic loop. According to Dension, in rare cases, you will need the workshop to "enable" the standard PPM using their diagnostic tool. I'm sure Stuttgart or Eurohaus is capable of doing this if needed. It wasn't in my case
. Looks like you'll probably enjoy figuring out how to connect fiber optics.