BMW E46 Integrated Bluetooth and Voice Command for Less than $100 Pictorial DIY

Originally Posted by sna77

If you then want to integrate the picture to not be a tumbnail, click the attachment to expand it, and copy the properties into the thread with img tags as such:

Thank you Steve.

Originally Posted by steve.325i

Can anyone tell me how people do their posts with thumbnails of the pictures & then when you click on them the go full size? I can't figure it out.

On another note - I have been having experiencing eratic behaviour with the whole system since installing it. It will work fine for a while & then I hit the steering wheel phone button and instead of hearing my blackberry prompt "say a command" over the speakers, the phone seems to be in discrete mode and is not sending the audio to the system.

When I initiate a call with the phone keypad, everything is fine.

I called the place where I bought it & they said that it sounded like a parrot/bluetooth problem - not the quick connect / steering wheel control box so they helped me open a support case with parrot. Of course the first thing parrot wanted me to do was to disconnect the steering wheel control box & use there controller until we got things sorted. The problem still existed. I spent a few days making sure my 8110 BB Pearl had the latest OS then I gave up.

ACS agreed to send me another parrot kit but instead I borrowed one from futureshop and it was still glitch. So now it's actually looking like the phone. My IT department had a go with it (and Rogers) since it' s an Enterprise phone, etc, etc.

I broke down & asked to my wife (nicely) to borrow her 8310 curve & I could not repeat the problem.

Soooo, now I have to wait until January to swap the phone through work.

So it turned out to a problem with the Blackberry Pearl phone connected to the bluetooth parrot ck3000. This is good to note for future reference in terms of troubleshooting issues with the system.

Originally Posted by steve.325i

Hi guys, sorry I've been offline for a while & haven't chimed in lately.

I popped off teh A-pillar cover (screws were long) and clipped the mic wire in the four or five clips that run along the airbag like synE46 did.

As I have PM'ed with delmarco, for some reason I was not able to get quality mic response when I positioned it inside the headliner as he shows in his DIY. A bit of a bummer really because I really wanted it to be a 'stealth' install. It sounded like I was talking with a mouth full of cereal or something. I also found that the mic was clipping at normal voice levels but sounded much better when I whispered. So like was discussed earlier in this thread I started to play with a series resistor to reduce the sensitivity of the mic. Since the youtube video suggest 10 ohms, I started with 20 ohms, then 75, then 200, & I stopped at a 300ohm.

And as I have already hinted, my final mic position is below the headliner.

Uhm...what was the ultimate result with the adding of the resistor? Is it a noteworthy addition for the DIY.

Also I should call you to see what you mean about the mouth full of cereal distortion.

My mic is so clear that I moderated a conference call with my cousin in London and my girlfriend who was walking and shopping around midtown Manhattan and everyone heard each other clear like if we were all in the same room. My cousin said she could hear the taxi horns honking in the background as if she was sitting in the car with me.

I also think or I'm beginning to think that only variable between all the kits we've put in and cars we've been installing them in is OUR PHONES.

Some of us are using various generation iPhones, Blackberries, etc....
on the same kit.

So I'm wondering if that has to be a big factor if not the BIGGEST factor in kit performance.

Can I still use my icelink? (glovebox version). Not trunk

Originally Posted by delmarco

Uhm...what was the ultimate result with the adding of the resistor? Is it a noteworthy addition for the DIY.

Also I should call you to see what you mean about the mouth full of cereal distortion.

My mic is so clear that I moderated a conference call with my cousin in London and my girlfriend who was walking and shopping around midtown Manhattan and everyone heard each other clear like if we were all in the same room. My cousin said she could hear the taxi horns honking in the background as if she was sitting in the car with me.

I also think or I'm beginning to think that only variable between all the kits we've put in and cars we've been installing them in is OUR PHONES.

Some of us are using various generation iPhones, Blackberries, etc....
on the same kit.

So I'm wondering if that has to be a big factor if not the BIGGEST factor in kit performance.

Dropping the mic to this position has cleaned up the "mouth full of cereal" problem. Adding the resistor has reduced the mic's sensitivity so I don't have to whisper. NOW it sounds very good.

You are right, it could be the cell phone being used. I do have the Echo Control on my BB 8110 set to Automatic.

Additionally, they may have shipped the parrot kits with different mics with slightly different characteristics. Especially if the mics are from different manufactures.

Phenomenal write up man. I'm thinking this will be the next mod on my e46 since now that I have it on my E90, I can't live without it.

amazing write up i want to do this.

Quick queston. How do you pop off the cover with the sunroof button an empty mic spot.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by ZZen330

Quick queston. How do you pop off the cover with the sunroof button an empty mic spot.

Thanks.

Pry it open with a butter knife.

Originally Posted by delmarco

Pry it open with a butter knife.

Yup, & start @ the edge that is closest to the rear of the car.

Great DIY! Any suggestions for mic placement on a convertible

Originally Posted by dyarstraits

Great DIY! Any suggestions for mic placement on a convertible

I think I read on the Parrot site that they recommend the rearview mirror. The distance is good & it will point the mic in the correct direction.

I'm not sure if you will be able to hide the mic wire down the window side of the mirror or not. Does your convertible have the bulge for the rain & sunlight sensor? That might make it easier.

can u confirm u can still use the icelink and this setup?

Originally Posted by Born Again

can u confirm u can still use the icelink and this setup?

works fine. I have the icelink and the parrot setup. the icelink is seutp using the cd-changer connector in the trunk. not sure if that makes a difference.

I all four screws and the radio no prob. Tried pulling vent out, even with hand inside to push from behind and it won't budge. Anything I missed? Thanks

Originally Posted by BruceJ

I all four screws and the radio no prob. Tried pulling vent out, even with hand inside to push from behind and it won't budge. Anything I missed? Thanks

pull harder.

Originally Posted by sna77

pull harder.

Yup. Delmarco told me the same thing. I was scared of braking the vent.

I tried VERY hard to do the install without removing it. Waste of time!!!

The two vents have the foam sticky stuff (how's that for technical lingo) & well, it gets stuck.

As I pushed from behind I was pulling and wiggling up & down from the front. I finally felt some movement on the driver side vent & it finally came.

my man great work!!!!! simply amazing!
BUT CAN YOU PLEASE DO THE DIY ON A VIDEO?
that would help sooooo much....
Again thanks for taking the time and doing this...

also about how long did it take you to do the whole thing?

ur friend in your youtube video sounds like she was raped

Originally Posted by DADON4SHO

my man great work!!!!! simply amazing!
BUT CAN YOU PLEASE DO THE DIY ON A VIDEO?
that would help sooooo much....
Again thanks for taking the time and doing this...

also about how long did it take you to do the whole thing?

As an avid IBM Lenovo T60 user I suck at creating videos and my pictures and video clips are done on a 2004 5 megapix Nikon Coolpix 5200 camera that literally looks like it been thru war. I can't imagine shooting a 10-20 minute video on that thing.

The Bluetooth DIY took about 30 to 40 minutes with the bulk of that time spent trying to remove the upper centre vent and get the C/A connection thru to the upper vent area (its a tight space to work with if you have big manly hands-having someone with tiny hands to help will shave off about 10-15 minutes). The rest of the DIY is as easy as connecting Lego blocks.

For the value, performance and ease of this DIY I don't think there is a better thing you can do for yourself and your car right now.

Originally Posted by Born Again

ur friend in your youtube video sounds like she was raped

That would be my girlfriend who was bored at work and I hope not or I'm looking at 8 to 10 years