DAB retrofit ntg 4.5 comand online DIY-DONE IT

[dariod]

[FONT=&quot]hi MB chaps, I am new to Mercedes its my first post in MB forums.
having mercedes for couple moths I was looking how to fit DAB radio. dealer quote 1350£ its a "bit" too much i think

I was searching how to retrofit DAB tuner to w204 with command online DIY, but could not find anywhere, so fited it myself
(if there was somewhere how to fit it - I missed it )

parts needed for NTG 4.5 or 4.7 command online :

1. DAB tuner A1669003407 (must be with connectors and with cutted wires, if buy without connectors, will be a trouble to connect MOST optical link) DAB tuner picked from ebay 110£ delivered) price varies from 100-350£ (or new 720£)
2.DOW-10 Aerial Connector for DAB radios with Fakra connector Price: £6.99 from dabonwheels or similar
3. any DAB III aerial 74 to 240 MHz for use in UK, internal or external of your choice depending on area and signal strength. price 10-50£
4. Car MOST Digital Media Audio Plastic fiber optic Cable plug & play, third device connector price 18-100£
5. put it all together and enable in engineering mode (no cost for "DIY coding" ) no tools needed. or "proper" coding from well known guys in this forum cost I think about 120£. tuner works fine in both occasions.


all parts for me cost under 150£ from ebay and aliexpress, and now I have MB genuine OEM DAB tuner fully working and fitted by myself . this is about 1/10 of stealer price[FONT=&quot]...

i[/FONT]f there will be interest in this [FONT=&quot]retrofit[/FONT] will post more details about fitting.[/FONT]

 

[SLKGirl]

Talk to the guys at Comand Online, Richard and Alfie on here, am sure they could help you

 

[Del80y]

He doesn't need to talk to Command Online he has fitted it himself

A good "how to" would be good and links to products you used

But well done to you

 

[Giantvanman]

Good bit of work! Welcome to the forum. A blow by blow how you did it would be useful, please.

 

[alzieboy]

Good bit of work! Welcome to the forum. A blow by blow how you did it would be useful, please.

+ 1.

 

[Mrhanky]

Top job and we'll done for having a go yourself.

 

[KoFidee]

excellent should be a lot more of this for confident DIY
MB =££$$ for everything when it could be a fraction of the cost

well done!

 

[alzieboy]

Its a pity the OP did not post this in the Electronics section, reckon it would have received a load more attention

 

[dariod]

hi, here is some pictures. its a bit weird because only 3 pictures max allowed to upload and they should be max 100KB. this really small size. no good

Fiber optical cable is located in passenger footwel pillar. so I connected there.

other 3 cables Ground, +12, and media wake up cable, can be found in main unit, or in any other MOST device. (I soldered into media control unit-iphone control unit, located over glove box, to get to it had ro remove glove box).

 

[dariod]

need to disconnect MOST cable in passenger footwell pillar and connect this cable in picture. so its adds another device into MOST ring.
DAB receiver I placed into passenger footwell, under metal grid under carpet.
when all connected, need to set to DAB "installed" in engineering menu.
hope this helps

 

[dariod]

hello. little update on my DIY DAB project :
DAB radio still works fine, with even more radio stations as in UK launched DAB+ broadcasting, and this DAB tuner supporting this. also if its looses DAB signal its reconnects back to FM and once traveled to DAB signal again, its switches back to DAB. in many posts I was reading about "poor" dab signal, but in my opinion its not DAB signal fault but not sensitive aerial if used with factory original aerial which is AFAIK integrated in back window and /or windshield (or both together not sure ). I connected cheap DAB aerial from ebay with magnet so I stick it outside on roof top and very rare loose DAB reception. So I would recommend use some kind of external aerial if u live in poor signal area.

I am getting emails with requests "how to do it step by step".

well I do not have instructions. I think I covered everything in my posts.
will explain in a bit more detail if this helps

Easiest and cheapest way to do it in my opinion is simply buy DAB receiver on ebay. and MOST fiber optic cable for 3rd device as in picture in my previous post. (I bought it from china Aliexpress for 18£ delivered. any MOST cable will work they are standard for BMW, MB and etc ). If u buy DAB receiver with no connectors (black) this will cause problem how to connect MOST optical cable to DAB tuner. Sure u can buy DAB wiring kit from https://www.commandonline.co.uk/Mercedes-DAB-retrofit-kits/ but its too costly (349£ at this date) in my opinion for something U simply do not need. (I was told I must have this kit to make DAB to work in Mercedes but this is not true).
problem with MOST (Media Oriented Systems Transport) (blue and orange cable in our case) we can not solder it as we do with "normal" cables. It must be interconnected by proper connectors otherwise optical signal will not work.
I was lucky to get DAB receiver as in picture in previous posts with connectors.
MOST cable should be connected in "series" like star (if this make sense)
receiver can be connected (added) anywhere in car as long u can find MOST connector ( I think original place for it somewhere in MB boot). other 3 "normal" thin cables (brawn blue and yellow/red) can be simply soldered "parallel" into same color same cables (can be found in all MOST devices on same car). what devices instaled in your car u can check in Engineering meniu in MOST section.
in my opinion easiest way just remove glove box in my case in w204 and look up to see "thicker" orange and blue (might be both orange) cables and trace them to "Media Interface" control box, u can not miss it . there will be all 5 cables needed for our project. disconnect MOST cable from media interface, remove one cable from connector and insert one cable from your MOST cable from ebay, and then repeat other way round with other connector. then u get "serial" or "Star" connection to DAB and Media control box. then place dab unit in passenger foot-well under metal grid. after installation of DAB unit do not forget to "enable" in engineering meniu as MB system WILL NOT recognise it automatically. it has to be done manualy. then needs to reboot system. remove ignition key. then restart MB media system. in my case will took some time to start it work. if all connected and enabled correctly then U will see DAB unit appear in engineering meniu in MOST section. once system rebooted go to Radio section on screen and u will see DAB appear with FM AM LW together. Select DAB and project completed
Hope this helps

other my MB project was to retrofit parking camera, and this was done also easily with "sony" sensor based reversing camera, works fine also even in low light. cost under 50£

 

[Alfie]

hello. little update on my DIY DAB project :
DAB radio still works fine, with even more radio stations as in UK launched DAB+ broadcasting, and this DAB tuner supporting this. also if its looses DAB signal its reconnects back to FM and once traveled to DAB signal again, its switches back to DAB. in many posts I was reading about "poor" dab signal, but in my opinion its not DAB signal fault but not sensitive aerial if used with factory original aerial which is AFAIK integrated in back window and /or windshield (or both together not sure ). I connected cheap DAB aerial from ebay with magnet so I stick it outside on roof top and very rare loose DAB reception. So I would recommend use some kind of external aerial if u live in poor signal area.

I am getting emails with requests "how to do it step by step".

well I do not have instructions. I think I covered everything in my posts.
will explain in a bit more detail if this helps

Easiest and cheapest way to do it in my opinion is simply buy DAB receiver on ebay. and MOST fiber optic cable for 3rd device as in picture in my previous post. (I bought it from china Aliexpress for 18£ delivered. any MOST cable will work they are standard for BMW, MB and etc ). If u buy DAB receiver with no connectors (black) this will cause problem how to connect MOST optical cable to DAB tuner. Sure u can buy DAB wiring kit from https://www.commandonline.co.uk/Mercedes-DAB-retrofit-kits/ but its too costly (349£ at this date) in my opinion for something U simply do not need. (I was told I must have this kit to make DAB to work in Mercedes but this is not true).
problem with MOST (Media Oriented Systems Transport) (blue and orange cable in our case) we can not solder it as we do with "normal" cables. It must be interconnected by proper connectors otherwise optical signal will not work.
I was lucky to get DAB receiver as in picture in previous posts with connectors.
MOST cable should be connected in "series" like star (if this make sense)
receiver can be connected (added) anywhere in car as long u can find MOST connector ( I think original place for it somewhere in MB boot). other 3 "normal" thin cables (brawn blue and yellow/red) can be simply soldered "parallel" into same color same cables (can be found in all MOST devices on same car). what devices instaled in your car u can check in Engineering meniu in MOST section.
in my opinion easiest way just remove glove box in my case in w204 and look up to see "thicker" orange and blue (might be both orange) cables and trace them to "Media Interface" control box, u can not miss it . there will be all 5 cables needed for our project. disconnect MOST cable from media interface, remove one cable from connector and insert one cable from your MOST cable from ebay, and then repeat other way round with other connector. then u get "serial" or "Star" connection to DAB and Media control box. then place dab unit in passenger foot-well under metal grid. after installation of DAB unit do not forget to "enable" in engineering meniu as MB system WILL NOT recognise it automatically. it has to be done manualy. then needs to reboot system. remove ignition key. then restart MB media system. in my case will took some time to start it work. if all connected and enabled correctly then U will see DAB unit appear in engineering meniu in MOST section. once system rebooted go to Radio section on screen and u will see DAB appear with FM AM LW together. Select DAB and project completed
Hope this helps

other my MB project was to retrofit parking camera, and this was done also easily with "sony" sensor based reversing camera, works fine also even in low light. cost under 50£

The genuine kit we sell contains all the proper looms, antenna amps etc. Sure you can fit a non standard aerial and bodge it into the MOST bus but to do the job properly you need the kit. Yes it will work wherever you put it on the MOST bus but you will get MOST errors unless its installed in the correct order. If the car goes into an MB dealer then the DAb will almost certainly stop working if they do anything to the firmware of the comand.

 

[dariod]

The genuine kit we sell contains all the proper looms, antenna amps etc. Sure you can fit a non standard aerial and bodge it into the MOST bus but to do the job properly you need the kit. Yes it will work wherever you put it on the MOST bus but you will get MOST errors unless its installed in the correct order. If the car goes into an MB dealer then the DAb will almost certainly stop working if they do anything to the firmware of the comand.

oh sure. absolutely. if people happy to pay dealer prices they go to dealer and will get "proper" installation. so I am sure they not gonna bother to read this anyway.
my post is for people who like do stuff by themselves DIY and save £.
yes there is "error" in system as its there is new unit connected , but this not affecting media system in any way or shape. I can disable unit from engineering meniu and/or disconect it physically from bus if dealer would like to do some updates. no need to scare people with "mystical" or "potential" dangers.

 

[Alfie]

oh sure. absolutely. if people happy to pay dealer prices they go to dealer and will get "proper" installation. so I am sure they not gonna bother to read this anyway.
my post is for people who like do stuff by themselves DIY and save £.
yes there is "error" in system as its there is new unit connected , but this not affecting media system in any way or shape. I can disable unit from engineering meniu and/or disconect it physically from bus if dealer would like to do some updates. no need to scare people with "mystical" or "potential" dangers.

I do these installs day in day out. Its not mystical, I assure you. Its not scaring people either. Its making them aware of the 'cons' as well as your 'pros'.

What you risk is many NTG4.5 cars are still under warranty. If you add a DAB tuner to the car without doing it properly then you risk failures. For instance, if the car goes in to Mercedes and there is a routine update for the Comand/audio system then the DAB isnt going to work afterwards. Plus when a firmware update is done to the comand all other devices that are on the MOST bus according to the datacard are also updated to keep them all in sync! By disconnecting your DAB before it goes in, or not installing it properly you risk it not getting updated with everything else.

So you add a DAB tuner to the car. Car goes in for a warranty issue with say the HK amp or the comand and they spot in Xentry that the MOST bus has been played with or there is a component on the ring in the wrong place. Bye bye warranty claim for the failure.

As Ron Dennis says, 'There are two ways of doing something. The right way and the wrong way.'

 

[Tiim533]

I think it's only someone who really enjoys this sort of stuff would attempt such an exercise, and being that "switched on" (no pun intended) would only blame themselves if anything went wrong with updates later on down the line, and likewise if it did affect their warranty.

I'd never attempt any such thing (though I am fairly "handy"). But as for Ron Dennis, did he ever do anything the right way?

 

[dariod]

I am buildig computers from scrath, long while ago was installing car alarms, do remaps and engine upgrades now ( not MB yet). Probably all of it wrong way its my passion achieve things my self and not to pay someone do it for me. I love it.I must be do everything wrong way but strangely enough pepole keep asking me to things "wrong way" for them. Not sure how to explain this... This dab install was jus little exersise.
As I can see some people not even happy to read my post.
When I asked about how to do it here was no answer. So I gathered all info myself and done it, then posted info. And this seems to be bad choice as seems some readers not happy to be this info here. Well in MB world its big money around and probably I should keep my info fo my self. Is it not?
Its no warranty on this car. Its been for regular service in MB they never mention anything. Not a problem for me anyway. If something will go wrong thats will be another exersise to put it right.
If I will jump in to mb world (not yet as other car make I am interest in now) will get Star and so on to play with and sure all "wrong way " he he. Regards

 

[dariod]

BTW can I ask where in MOST ring this dab tuner should be in "right" place ? Thanks everyone for input.

 

[Alfie]

I am buildig computers from scrath, long while ago was installing car alarms, do remaps and engine upgrades now ( not MB yet). Probably all of it wrong way its my passion achieve things my self and not to pay someone do it for me. I love it.I must be do everything wrong way but strangely enough pepole keep asking me to things "wrong way" for them. Not sure how to explain this... This dab install was jus little exersise.
As I can see some people not even happy to read my post.
When I asked about how to do it here was no answer. So I gathered all info myself and done it, then posted info. And this seems to be bad choice as seems some readers not happy to be this info here. Well in MB world its big money around and probably I should keep my info fo my self. Is it not?
Its no warranty on this car. Its been for regular service in MB they never mention anything. Not a problem for me anyway. If something will go wrong thats will be another exersise to put it right.
If I will jump in to mb world (not yet as other car make I am interest in now) will get Star and so on to play with and sure all "wrong way " he he. Regards

Well done you!

I have no problem with your posts at all. I simply point out the cons as well as the pro's. At the end of the day, its the customers/individuals choice.

 

[dariod]

Well done you!

I have no problem with your posts at all. I simply point out the cons as well as the pro's. At the end of the day, its the customers/individuals choice.

Thanks for Your time reading my posts. Could I ask where in MOST ring this Dab tuner suposed to be in 'proper' install? As my knoledge limited here. Cheers

 

[Tiim533]

Thanks for Your time reading my posts. Could I ask where in MOST ring this Dab tuner suposed to be in 'proper' install? As my knoledge limited here. Cheers

I think the answer is "we know where it's supposed to go as this is what we do for a living", which IMHO is the right answer.