USA-Spec PA12-BMW Full Video Review and Pictorial Installation Guide

Originally Posted by xaviman

will this work on 1999-2000 radios?

yup. They also make them for BMW 3 series back to 1995.

(added and tested Auxiliary Input cable)

Another awesome video !!!

btw - with my parrot and audicom SW101, my ipod does not pause when i am on the phone like it does with your connect2 cable

I just purchased a USA-SPEC PA12-BMW yesterday (found a place here in Phoenix that sells them for $100 out the door). I replaced my DICE with this, and I have to say the sound quality is night and day. The USA-SPEC has no sound quality issues at all, no buzzing, no tics, wider sound spectrum, and isn't that really the most important thing about a music device? I am really liking the sound!

I do have one minor issue with it, and that has to do with text display when it is on AUX. I like having the iPod displaying the text, but I don't see any reason to continually display P 06-01 and AUX the whole time the AUX channel is selected. It would have been better to display AUX to show that you are on it, and the let the clock display, that is something the DICE did, that I liked.

I had to change my OEM Sirus to my plug and play, since my Sirius internet access ran out on my account, and I need to listen to Stern at work :-) So, I will be using the AUX about as much as the iPod, and if it isn't displaying song titles, then it should display nothing and allow the clock to display. Other than that, I am really glad I made the switch, so far so good. Assuming I won't have to a battery reset every month or two, I will stay a happy customer.

Originally Posted by homerbrew

I just purchased a USA-SPEC PA12-BMW yesterday (found a place here in Phoenix that sells them for $100 out the door). I replaced my DICE with this, and I have to say the sound quality is night and day. The USA-SPEC has no sound quality issues at all, no buzzing, no tics, wider sound spectrum, and isn't that really the most important thing about a music device? I am really liking the sound!

I do have one minor issue with it, and that has to do with text display when it is on AUX. I like having the iPod displaying the text, but I don't see any reason to continually display P 06-01 and AUX the whole time the AUX channel is selected. It would have been better to display AUX to show that you are on it, and the let the clock display, that is something the DICE did, that I liked.

I had to change my OEM Sirus to my plug and play, since my Sirius internet access ran out on my account, and I need to listen to Stern at work :-) So, I will be using the AUX about as much as the iPod, and if it isn't displaying song titles, then it should display nothing and allow the clock to display. Other than that, I am really glad I made the switch, so far so good. Assuming I won't have to a battery reset every month or two, I will stay a happy customer.

Yeah. The USA-Spec is 100% better than the DICE for sound quality.
I mean I prefer sound quality over Playlist management any day.

I think it displays the P 06-01 and AUX intermittently on the display to let you know where you are in terms of the location within the USA-Spec.

It still displays AUX with the P 06-01 on the display so its no big issue in regards to performance

I have had the USA-Spec in my car since April/09 ... not once have I even thought about doing a battery reset -

On two occasion I have had the HU display NO MAGAZINE when I switch to iPod mode. BOTH time where right after my wife borrowed my car. I have NO idea how she did it but ...

Both time i was able to correct the behaviour by pulling either #7 or #41 fuse ... I don't remember which one but I know it was the 5A one, not the 30A.

Delmarco - wrong BMW part number for the aux cable. Well kinda of. The part number you show will work, but it was the original part number released in Europe (and in Canada for some reason even today). It costs like 70 dollars US.

A newer part number 82110149389 came out that is typically 30-39 dollars US. That's the one to get (for NON-nav).

Or better let make your own as in the "Let's DIY Aux cable" thread for 0-5 dollars!

looks good, but the whole 5 playlists thing is a deal breaker for me... Need access to all my music on the fly.
I'm still a fan of navigating from my ipod. Since i still have a 5th gen ipod it does not lock when plugged into the DICE, which is great.
Only reason i havent bought a new, larger ipod is because i want to be able to navigate from the ipod itself.

Originally Posted by Bimmaniac32

looks good, but the whole 5 playlists thing is a deal breaker for me... Need access to all my music on the fly.

It is nice to have all the functionality of the DICE, but sound quality was my main concern. I had a DICE for about 2 years, and the sound (dit-dit-dit and the constant engine noise) drove me nuts. I was able to reduce the noise by quite a bit, but no matter what it was always there. Then the battery resets were also a pain to have to do periodically. It is a shame they didn't spend too much time engineering the hardware to eliminate those problems, it would have been a great device. But, ultimately it is a sound device, so if it can't do that right, then it isn't doing its job.

I had to finally sell the DICE and get the USA-SPEC and am happy I did, the sound quality is excellent. For me, I normally listen to all my music in random mode, so losing all the other navigation options really didn't bother me.

Does the iPod turn off, or do you manually have to turn off the ipod every time? I'm unaware if these iPod hook ups turn them off, especially this one since it continues playback from where you left off. Thanks

Originally Posted by DSeyf

Does the iPod turn off, or do you manually have to turn off the ipod every time? I'm unaware if these iPod hook ups turn them off, especially this one since it continues playback from where you left off. Thanks

It stays powered on, with backlight off, in pause. For the flash based nano / itouch this is not an issue.

I assume for the harddrive based versions that the HD powers down when in pause. Can anyone comment?

The iPod is being fed power from the USA-Spec so no worries about battery power.

Only gripes I have so far:

1. When I disconnect the ipod, plug it in in the morning and start the car, it starts on playlist 5, but it's not really playlist 5, it's just a mishmash of all the songs on the ipod. Kind of annoying

2. Sometimes the playlist numbers will get mixed up (i.e. if I navigate to playlist 2, it will play songs from playlist 5, and vice-versa)

3. You have to hit the random button every time you switch playlists, rather than it just staying on.

All these things are minor and I like the kit so far.

Another quick demo video showing that the USA-spec works with the parrot ck3000/ctppar007 integrated bluetooth AND BMW integrated Sirius Satellite Radio on an Alpine BMW Business CD53 head unit:

It seems customers indeed have a preference for sound quality, ease of use, sleek and simple interface over playlists and catergorizing song play back in their car. The Sponsors need to LISTEN to what the people WANT and start pushing this product either over the Dice or alongside the Dice!

Steve325i has been saying it. I have been saying it....

delmarco, you rock man!!! Awesome demo.

The best part is where your girlfriends tells you not to shout

Thanks for the write-up delmarco.

That was a massive amount of info you posted. I've done a few DIY's (not car-related) and I know how much work goes into pictures and write-ups. Props for the instructions.

That said, I spaced out completely when it got to the data link screenshots. The sirius-specific and firewall wiring, pull through, glovebox, etc. was a tremendous amount of overkill for me.

I really wish that the DIY was posted in a more linear manner for readability's sake.
Something like:

• Here are the precautions. Disconn your HU and batt. If you don't, you will fry your shiz. (this kind of needs to be first, in red, and not 3/4 of the way through a 50 step install, IMHO)
  
• Here is the main install. Take data link cable from here, plug this, this and this into your USASPEC. Plug in your ipod here. Test. If it works, and you don't mind your ipod in the trunk, you are done.
  
• Here is what you want to do if you have Sirius also.
  
• Here is how to locate your front wiring / ipod.

I'm not trying to slight your DIY because, again, I know how much effort goes into these. There is a ton of excellent info there , just for me it was a very difficult read. Halfway through I was wondering what Sirius had to do with it (which you explained later). Does anyone have a link to just the plain jane installation instructions?

It's real simple. Start in the trunk on the drivers side where the CD changer controls are. Plug the data cable into those two changer cables (impossible to get wrong), route the data cable up into the glove box as delmarco showed, plug the data cable into the USA Spec box and mount it somewhere behind the glovebox, then route the actual iPod cable from where ever your iPod is located to the USA Spec box and plug it in. That's pretty much it.

Thanks Hartman.

So it sounds like if I want to leave the iPod in the trunk, this should be a 15 minute install.

I have an old iPod Mini that no longer plays from the headphone jacks, so I don't bike or work out with it. I'd prefer to not pull the radio/glovebox. This is exactly what I wanted to hear and I can piece together the pics of the changer harness. Thanks!