415-0008-036

Name: 415-0008-036
Price: 33.04 USD

t3ddftw · Jun 15, 2020

bobjr said:
Ted and anyone interested. I received my BlueBus last week and installed in my 03 M5. I previously had an Audiovox Mediabridge, then a CHGeek FM-based bluetooth interface. I plugged in the unit and was up and running very quickly. A true 15 minute installation. Pairing was quick and seamless. I'm using the analog interface for sound as I don't have an DSP Coax Digital audio cable. Sound quality, using Spotify, is better than either of my prior solutions and is tuneable via settings in the interface for gain. Integration was 100% in terms of voice control and display. Perhaps a small bug when changing the display from the dashboard view to navigation using the button on the headunit (it switches back to the dashboard view in most situations). I can now keep my factory electronics! The bad news... had a weak battery and was playing around with the car shut off and it killed the battery. Replaced the battery with a new interstate. Also, will now have to replace my Nav unit screen that has dead pixels.

FYI, I had a Samsung Galaxy S9 for the first few days of usage and moved to an iPhone XR. Both worked well and had google assistant and siri control working great. I can recommend this solution to those that are looking to modernize without replacing headunits/wiring/amplifiers/crossovers/etc.

My 03 M5 was wired for phone, but didn't have any phone electronics. I purchased a factory Microphone and connected to the wiring by the sunroof. The aforementioned audio connectors were used from the CD-Changer that hasn't been used in some time anyway. I also purchased the "Blue TCU" cable to interface to the car properly. I'm going to try and source a DSP Coax cable and see if this improves the already great sound quality.

Glad you're up and running!

Let me address some of your concerns:

bobjr said:
Perhaps a small bug when changing the display from the dashboard view to navigation using the button on the headunit (it switches back to the dashboard view in most situations). I can now keep my factory electronics!

This was recently resolved in the following firmware: https://t3ddftw.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/BlueBus/firmware/bluebus_1_1_11_4.hex

Basically, the Navi doesn't notify the radio that the screen state is set to the Navi when using the "radio overlay" button. I now track the button press to get around this.

bobjr said:
I'm going to try and source a DSP Coax cable and see if this improves the already great sound quality.

You will be blown away by DSP digital audio quality. You can get a cable here (do note that I already set DigiKey to "Canada" mode, so price is in CAD): 415-0008-036 Cinch Connectivity Solutions Johnson | Cable Assemblies | DigiKey

Thanks!
-Ted

bobjr · Jun 18, 2020

415-0008-036 Cinch Connectivity Solutions Johnson | Cable Assemblies | DigiKey

Elahmad · Jun 18, 2020

neilb62 said:
Any chance of a link to the cable please, I had it somewhere and lost it.
Ta.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Here’s the cable previously linked

415-0008-036 Cinch Connectivity Solutions Johnson | Cable Assemblies | DigiKey

Order today, ships today. 415-0008-036 – Cable Assembly Coaxial SMB Mini to SMB Mini Female to Female RG-179 36.00" (914.40mm) from Cinch Connectivity Solutions Johnson. Pricing and Availability on millions of electronic components from Digi-Key Electronics.

www.digikey.ca

neilb62 · Jun 23, 2020

Elahmad said:
Here’s the cable previously linked

415-0008-036 Cinch Connectivity Solutions Johnson | Cable Assemblies | DigiKey

Order today, ships today. 415-0008-036 – Cable Assembly Coaxial SMB Mini to SMB Mini Female to Female RG-179 36.00" (914.40mm) from Cinch Connectivity Solutions Johnson. Pricing and Availability on millions of electronic components from Digi-Key Electronics.

www.digikey.ca

The cable has arrived and I now have digital DSP. Awesome. Thanks [emoji4]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

t3ddftw · Sep 20, 2020

SidekickChuck said:
Did that @t3ddftw and while the display shows music info on screen and the phone is playing the file, there is no sound. The FM radio has audio if that makes things easier or harder.

Did you make sure the phone volume is at max and that the vehicle volume is turned up? If yes, you're likely going to need a new coax cable: 415-0008-036 Cinch Connectivity Solutions Johnson | Cable Assemblies | DigiKey

-Ted

t3ddftw · Mar 17, 2021

1nline6 said:
Finally found my car and got an order submitted. Thanks for all your hard work, Ted. These cars are truly the best of both worlds thanks to modern tech integrations like BlueBus.

Thank you for the support!

jlusby said:
Just received mine today and the installation was extremely straightforward. Unfortunately I did find that I don't have the microphone from the factory, so will need to get that. I know that the below part numbers are the ones that are listed as working, but is one a clearly better choice? I have a 2003 M5 and do not have the coax cable (yet) to improve the sound quality so I will be adding that as well. With that in mind, does that change anyone's recommendations?

And one other question for the coax connection into the amp, is the red circled connector below what I need to run connect the coax cable to and then the other end into the BlueBus? I didn't remove the DVD for the navigation so it was hard to see the connectors for the amp, but if this is it, then I am good to go.

View attachment 948950

Really thrilled to finally have bluetooth after having the car for almost 13 years!

Yep, that's the coax input to the DSP! I recommend this cable: 415-0008-036 Cinch Connectivity Solutions Johnson | Cable Assemblies | DigiKey

kei2927 said:
Isn't the coax cable for digital DSP of the older cars?
I thought the analog DSP on the newer cars provided better sound quality. 🤔

In this case, analog is not nearly as good as digital. I highly recommend owners of E39s and E53s who got the analog audio input rather than the digital retrofit the coax cable for improved quality.

The simplest way to explain it is that there is loss in conversion -- you're taking digital audio from the BT stream and converting it to Analog for the DSP Amp, which then converts the analog signal back to digital so it can process it, then it runs it back through a DAC to convert it back to analog so the amplifiers can drive each speaker.

Think about printing a document, then scanning it back to an image, then printing it back out -- the end product will NEVER look as good as it originally did the first time you printed it.

-Ted

t3ddftw · Jan 7, 2022

henrybmw2020 said:
Hey Ted - I'm getting my gauge cluster pixels fixed and it reminded me: any plans to read out the current track to the cluster screen? Currently it sporadically shows a generic CDC message but it would be cool to get track info, temperatures, instant fuel economy, caller ID, or some other info on there

bmwdinan5 said:
I’d second this feature. I’m the early ‘00’s the Dension iPod integration unit gave you an option to scroll music across the MID or OBC. If you have the BMW SiriusXM module installed it also shows the current station, etc on the OBC for the first few seconds.
This would be a cool feature to resurrect if possible.

This is planned. I was thinking of announcing the track, and caller ID. Because I don't have a vehicle with "High OBC", this hasn't bothered me as much as you E39 guys 😬

ckeen74 said:
Hi,

Got my BlueBus in the last batch and it's letting me play music, make calls, etc. with no challenges. That said, I'm still running analog sound since the little coax cable (which the install video says is unused, I think) has one end connected into the black amp and the other end running through the rear bulkhead into the passenger cabin. Disconnecting it from the amp does not seem to change anything in the basic functionality of the stock head unit (car has a 3/2002 build date, and since I'm not the original owner I can't say for certain the whole system remains as-built). Since I've never tried the nav computer (DVD did not come with the car) and the CD changer was removed before I bought it (and doesn't have a cartridge, so I can't even try it out), I'm not sure how to be absolutely certain I'm not taking away something I need. Pics are below in case that helps illustrate things - one of all the in-trunk components for context, and a close-up of my screwdriver pointing at the coax cable plugged into the amp.

I read this whole thread from start to here, and can't find anyone who's mentioned something similar. It seems like I should just buy the recommended coax cable, disconnect that other one, and presto, I have digital sound. Am I missing something, or does that sound right to you all?

Thanks,
Chris

View attachment 958008

View attachment 958009

The coax cable for audio is typically only around 24" long, so no way is it going to run to the front of the car. If it is, then someone just plugged that coax in there assuming it went there. I would inspect the back of the Navigation computer and make sure that there's a coax there (for the GPS antenna), and that someone didn't just poorly reassemble things.

Most E39s with the DSP amplifier after 09/2001 did not even come with the coax cable, so there's also that.

IMO, I'd run the cable I'd recommend (415-0008-036 Cinch Connectivity Solutions Johnson | Cable Assemblies | DigiKey) and then set the DSP mode to Digital.

In your case, I also recommend removing the SES unit (front and lower right with the blue 26-pin connector) and the telephone module directly behind that. Not only will you shed some weight, but you'll gain some extra space to mount the BlueBus

mild said:
Just wanted to check, when will the BlueBus be available again? I ordered it a few months ago on ecstuning and then later saw on bluebus website that it will be redesigned and hopefully be back in production by the summer. Any updates regarding that?

My hope is still for late Spring. I have been hard at work integrating the new BT module, and it's actually to the point where it works identically as the old module.

There are some slight differences though:

1. The new module will only show the phone number for caller ID (at least until I make use of PBAP and pull the contacts onto the BlueBus itself so I can do lookups).

2. The new module supports AVRCP browsing, which means that I can add in functionality to allow you to browse through the playlist you're currently on through the headunit.

Thanks!
-Ted

ckeen74 · Jan 19, 2022

t3ddftw said:
IMO, I'd run the cable I'd recommend (415-0008-036 Cinch Connectivity Solutions Johnson | Cable Assemblies | DigiKey) and then set the DSP mode to Digital.

In your case, I also recommend removing the SES unit (front and lower right with the blue 26-pin connector) and the telephone module directly behind that. Not only will you shed some weight, but you'll gain some extra space to mount the BlueBus

Thanks, Ted. Finally got the cable from Digi-Key, hooked it up (man, that little coax connector on the amp is unreachable without pulling the nav unit!) and as before, I had sound, though it didn't sound any different, even after I made sure the DSP was on. Looking at your message, I see DSP mode needs to be set to Digital, but I'm not seeing any option like that (it's either on or off) - am I missing something? When I disconnect the analog sound cable (the middle one, right?), I get a very weak signal - just some noise, not really recognizable as music. It sounds like other folks noticed quite a significant difference between analog and digital. Thanks again for any help.

t3ddftw · 2022-11-21T14:22:44-0500

Analyte2003 said:
I got home from my business trip so I was able to install the Bluebus in my 540. I removed the Argos box and used its DB25 cable. I also took the power and analog DSP from the cd changer.

I looked all over and could not find a digital DSP cable. I do have a BSW sub with its own amp installed so it might be hidden or already used there.

Nonetheless, the analog cable is working fine and no issues playing music or taking calls. I'll be playing with the options a bit, and it's cool to be able to pull up coolant/oil temps so that's a nice feature.

Great product!!

Glad to hear it! Assuming the 2003 in your username refers to the build year of your car, I would not expect it to be equipped with the coaxial digital audio cable. You can source one here though: https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/cinch-connectivity-solutions-johnson/415-0008-036/457012

Just switch these settings afterwards:

Code:

Settings > Audio > DSP = Digital
Settings > Calling > Mode = TCU

Thanks!
-Ted

Analyte2003 · 2022-11-21T16:27:52-0500

t3ddftw said:
Glad to hear it! Assuming the 2003 in your username refers to the build year of your car, I would not expect it to be equipped with the coaxial digital audio cable. You can source one here though: https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/cinch-connectivity-solutions-johnson/415-0008-036/457012

Just switch these settings afterwards:

Code:

Settings > Audio > DSP = Digital Settings > Calling > Mode = TCU

Thanks!
-Ted

Thanks Ted, it makes sense now why I couldn't find it.

lemoose · 2022-11-22T00:40:41-0500

t3ddftw said:
Glad to hear it! Assuming the 2003 in your username refers to the build year of your car, I would not expect it to be equipped with the coaxial digital audio cable. You can source one here though: https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/cinch-connectivity-solutions-johnson/415-0008-036/457012

Just switch these settings afterwards:

Code:

Settings > Audio > DSP = Digital Settings > Calling > Mode = TCU

Thanks!
-Ted

Hey Ted, I got that cable in today actually and updated the settings (audio set to digital and calling mode to TCU) but there is severe distortion, feedback, crackling etc when in a call (cant hear a thing). To a lesser extent theres similar distortion when using Siri, and to an even lesser extent when not playing anything but with Bluebus mode on. If I play music, however, it sounds great (markedly better than analog even). I tried disconnecting the analog inputs and that didnt do anything.

EDIT: On the drive today, digi audio music playback was fine until i made the mistake of summoning Siri and then the noise and distortion started and continued through the music playback and even after changing modes (am/fm)

Nfs021 · Nov 6, 2020

They did delete it on later cars. No idea why, but here is where you can get one online as per Ted's thread on Bluebus.

415-0008-036 Cinch Connectivity Solutions Johnson | Cable Assemblies | DigiKey

Order today, ships today. 415-0008-036 – Cable Assembly Coaxial SMB Mini to SMB Mini RG-179 36.00" (914.40mm) from Cinch Connectivity Solutions Johnson. Pricing and Availability on millions of electronic components from Digi-Key Electronics.

www.digikey.com

415-0008-036

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