OK M5 Guys: MiniDisc to Tape Deck Conversion! Who's gonna be the Guinea Pig?? - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

Chris Foote · 10th April 2002, 03:02

Hi All, I posted this on the E53 board at bimmer.org as well, I am curious to see if anyone is interested in doing this.

I have been perusing the NAV Yahoo Chat group, and we all realized that European customers have the option of an available MiniDisc player behind the NAV Screen. I don't know about you, but even though MiniDisc never got accepted in the U.S., it would be a major improvement over the damn casette deck.

I have a part # for the MiniDisc unit, part # 65506911012. HOWEVER, this part # was for a E46 3 series, which MIGHT or MIGHT NOT use the same part # as the E53. I can tell you one thing -- the E53 has a different screen part #, so I don't know if the electonics behind the screen are the same.

Also, '02 X5s (all '02 BMWs) have different electronics for the stereo, so it's important you get a part # thats model specific.

The guy mentioned the unit was about $500 (retail). So, if anyone wants to be a guinea pig (I have no $$$ right now) and find out some more information, I think it would benefit all of us with NAV and the ancient casette deck.

-Chris

EDIT: LOL, I just realized I screwed up the topic

Oh well!

atomic80 · 10th April 2002, 03:08

Don't you mean...from tape deck to Minidisc? In your subject it's the other way around?

This could be an interesting project...my brother's '02 X5 has the navigation option and if it possibly works there then it might work with the '01-'02 M5 as well.

tfung · 10th April 2002, 03:08

haha.. I was wondering why anyone would want to change their minidisc to a tape system... :p

tfung · 10th April 2002, 03:09

by the way, isn't the E39 nav system screen a lot bigger than the E46 and E53?

atomic80 · 10th April 2002, 03:18

Quote:

Originally posted by tfung
by the way, isn't the E39 nav system screen a lot bigger than the E46 and E53?

Nope...about halfway through 2001, they switched the nav system over to the same one used in all 2001+ 5 series with the 16:9 screen. For 2002 all the 3 series has the 16:9 screen as well although it is slightly different in design then the ones we have.

Chris Foote · 10th April 2002, 03:34

As far as I know, the E39 and E53 share the same NAV parts...E46 is a different beast for the screen -- not sure of the unit behind it (Cassette or MiniDisc)

Yea, yea, I know I screwed up the topic :p

-Chris

tfung · 10th April 2002, 09:57

hmm.. are you sure? even though the newer E46 and E53 have the 16:9 ratio screens, I always thought that they were different.. maybe it's just the position it is on the dash, but I thought they were more curved and were a bit smaller.... :p

atomic80 · 10th April 2002, 10:47

The E53 has exactly the same navigation system but the E46 is different.

10th April 2002, 14:49

I believe the mnidisc can't be combined with the nav screen in the U.k but not so shore about the rest of Europe.

Thats when the options are ticked off when you buy the car from the dealership.
I have a panasonic portable recorder/player and the sound quality is much better than CD but not to shure about the sound inside the car but it should be just as good.

Interesting topic i find

Best Clint,

UKDeeJay · 10th April 2002, 15:17

Absolutely right. You CANNOT mix the MD player with the Nav Screen. MD (and single CD) player is only available as an option if the Multi Information Display (MID) is fitted - which is the base fit out in UK. Any screen combination, Sat Nav, TV, OBC, etc. is a costed option.

If anyone out there knows of a proven, working solution to this inherent problem, I (and a whole bunch of others) would like to know of it. As has been said many times on the board, when did anyone last actually purchase a cassette tape??

UKDeejay
2002 Le Mans/Silverstone