DAB retrofit to 2010 E91

[eatontrifles]

After much searching, reading and speaking to various different people (retrofitters, suppliers, BMW parts guys and BMW genius guys) I've finally ordered a module to retrofit DAB to my E91 with CIC professional nav; http://www.kufatec.co.uk/shop/en/fistune-dab-solut...
It's only been available for a week or so, the suppliers told me a few months ago that the delay was due to the development of a USB coding dongle which programmes the head unit to accept the module (bit vague this bit).

It uses the cabling for the CD changer and emulates the changer itself as a media device - each disk is the DAB ensemble and each track on the disk is the DAB station. There's a quick vid here of one installed in an Audi; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CminyQbpqq4

My next step is to find out how to get the signal into it - ideally I want to use the BMW aerial which if I'm lucky just requires an amplifier - part number 65206933328 @£75 or so plus some cables. If I'm unlucky I may need the amplifier plus a new aerial. I suspect the factory DAB aerial is in the rear side glass so if that's the case I'll be looking at other options, probably an internal glass mount aerial to fit instead.

I'll keep the thread updated and would appreciate any info that others may have to add.

[eatontrifles]

Nobody on PH is bothered then?

To update - I have now fitted the DAB module and it's all working fine.

The MOST fibre factory prewiring for the CD changer is not connected and is on a loopback - I had no idea where that cable went to so I ended up using the connections at the combox under the boot floor instead. I installed an Autoleads DAB-001 glass film aerial on the rear side window and ran the cable from it to the Fistune module - the SMB connection of the aerial fits in the Fakra connection on the module.

A few pics below;

[eatontrifles]

Moily said:

Nice! That looks a better solution than the official BMW retrofit which doesn't even integrate with the iDrive. Not to mention cheaper, if fitted yourself.

How long did it take you to fit? I have an E93 so would need to run the aerial all the way to the front windscreen, which sounds like a ballache.

You could quite easily fit the Fistune module at the front of the car as there's a MOST cable to the head unit as well as a break point in the chain under the glovebox that you could use. The Fistune comes with fibre cables which allow you to insert the module in series into the MOST bus. All you need to do then is find power (I used the CD changer power but finding ignition switched +12V at the front shouldn't be a problem) and run the aerial up the A pillar, which is pretty much the same as I've done but at the front of the car instead.

The most difficult bits were working out that the CD changer cabling was on a loopback and then working out how to take off & put back the trim properly - gap openers really helped! The rest was a doddle and pretty much plug & play.

Edited by eatontrifles on Tuesday 15th July 16:12

[eatontrifles]

Moily said:

How do you tune the module via iDrive, by the way?

When you first select the module in the CD changer menu, one of the folders at the bottom of the ensemble list is Autoscan - select it and the Fistune goes off and does a full scan. The stations are saved to its internal memory so you only need to do this once. The only drawback is that if you travel across the country to a different region then you would need to rescan to get the new regional ensembles and since you can't pick up your 'home' ensembles any more, they would disappear until you got back within range and did a new scan - the National ones are as the name describes and you can pick them up anywhere there is coverage. A full scan takes about 30 seconds.
I could do a quick video if you want?

[eatontrifles]

Moily said:

That would be sweet, cheers.

So you only have 1 regional ensemble and the national one? I know the factory-fitted DABs have a collection of regional ensembles but it's not a major issue if you have to rescan with this.

When you do a scan it picks up all the ensembles it can receive at that time - it displays in the same way as the factory fit DAB with the exception that the factory DAB will automatically scan and add a new ensemble as and when it can be received.

There are two 'National' ensembles - BBC National DAB and D1 National, a list of channels in each is here; http://www.wohnort.org/dab/uknat.html
The 'Regional' ensemble map is here; http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archive/rau/radio-s... and the list of channels in each is here; http://www.wohnort.org/dab/uknat.html#Regional
To confuse things more there are 'Local' ensembles as well; http://www.wohnort.org/dab/ukloc.html

If (like me) you only ever listen to BBC 6 Music, BBC 5 Live or 5 SportsXtra, TalkSport and occasionally Absolute which are all in National ensembles then you won't need to rescan.

I'll try and remember to do a quick video later.

Edited by eatontrifles on Tuesday 15th July 18:07

[eatontrifles]

REALIST123 said:

Does it continually drop the signal, like the DAB radio on my 2014 F10 does? Sometimes I find it easier to leave it on FM, though it does seem worse in some areas than others.

Comparing it to my previous car, to which I fitted a replacement Kinetic DAB aerial it's the same if not better. I've had it drop totally once for around half a second on a BBC National channel when driving past a local taxi firm. The audio has gone 'bubbly' for a second or so once on a Local channel when on a heavily wooded and steep sided road. Both situations to be expected really.

A lot will depend on location, topography and local coverage but on my fairly regular drives across the Pennines and up & down the M/A1 I never experienced a full dropout in the old car so we'll see what happens with this. Certainly on the drive to and from work where I used to get signal loss in a shortish tunnel I now just get a short blip rather than the 2-3 seconds I used to get.

[eatontrifles]

A quick video of it working and how it scans. Notice that after I scanned the 'Sheffield' ensemble appears as the last time I scanned (home) it was out of range and that scan was done at work which is a bit closer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0h2YvdDdydk

[eatontrifles]

It is pretty good - I'm very happy with it so far. As long as you can find the MOST cables (two cables together, one green and one in a ribbed black cover) and power then it should be fairly simple.

[eatontrifles]

No problems at all from me. The only major dropout I've had was on a trip to Cornwall and when leaving the A39 and heading to the coast it all went a bit squiffy - a better aerial might have prevented that but the film version I have was easy to install, is fairly discreet and about as OEM as you can get without mucking about with the sharkfin.

As far as the unit & interface goes, it currently displays the DAB ensemble in the disk (or folder) field and the station name in the artist field but the track field is left blank. It would be really nice if that field could be filled with the info that is broadcast with the DAB station that often includes now playing or show info etc etc.
The other minor drawback (for me it isn't a problem) is that it doesn't do an automatic scan for new ensembles as you move around the country, meaning you need to manually scan which overwrites the previously saved channel list. The reason it isn't a problem for me is that I very very rarely listen to any stations which aren't broadcast on a national ensemble and they - obviously - can be picked up nationwide without needing a rescan.

Edited by eatontrifles on Wednesday 4th March 00:08

[eatontrifles]

If you can find the MOST (fibre) cables in the boot - usually where the CD changer would be, or possibly the combox then you can add the Fistune module there with just power and a cable to the antenna, no need to remove the head unit. However, and if you can't find the MOST cables then my experience of removing head units in two BMWs (E91 and F11) was actually quite simple.

What I discovered during fitting of the Fistune in my old E91 was that the CD changer MOST cable was on a loopback so wasn't actually connected to the head unit and I couldn't find where the loopback was so I ended up instaling inline with the combox instead.

[eatontrifles]

823 said:

Thanks for reply eatontrifles,

I'm unable to see in my trunk the box that is on your car!

Please see the photos I've just attached.

Can I connect the fistune from the back (trunk) of my car ?


thanks

I'd presume the location of the MOST fibre cables and/or the combox has moved from the E to F series cars. I can't help any further than that as your car is different to the one I did this installation on.