I have signed up for mbrace. I have an appointment with Phoenix Motor Company tomorrow morning to have the upgrade from Tele-Aid performed.
I’ve already downloaded the mbrace iPhone app.
This will be interesting.
Archive for the ‘Avionics’ Category
Several options exist if you want to integrate your iPod into your W211. Here is a list of the ones I have found:
Factory iPod Integration Kit.
My local dealer (Phoenix Motor Company) can install this. Your MIleage May Vary.
iTronic™ Audio iPod Connection, $549
http://cartronics.com/MBMost.html?MBClass=E&VIM=1
Dension Gateway 500
http://www.dension.com/index.php?pageID=11
oPi-M MB-MOST, $699.99
http://www.icarkits.com/product_info.php?products_id=3334
mObAudio-MB, $624
iPodCarPros.com
Yesterday Apple announced the new iPhone 3Gs, and I’ll bet that a bunch of people will suddenly have the need for instructions for pairing their phone. Here they are:
- Enter the vehicle in the driver’s position. Vehicle must be parked outside in a safe place with the engine running. Be sure you have your approved wireless phone and your wireless phone owner’s manual.
- The Bluetooth Interface Module should be attached to the connector, located in the center armrest.
- Locate the Mercedes-Benz emblem on the front of the Bluetooth Interface Module and push down on it for 3 seconds. Blue lamps on the front of the module will begin to blink rapidly, then release.
- Pick up your wireless phone and set up your phone to pair to a Bluetooth device as per your wireless phone owner’s manual. During this process your phone will ask you for a code, enter 62872 on your PHONE’S keypad. Attention S and CL customers, 2 Bluetooth devices will appear as found on your wireless phone. Be sure to select MB Phone System.
- Your phone should give you a confirmation message the pairing is complete.
- Test phone by making a call through the vehicle.
- Turn off the engine, be sure to take the key with you, exit the vehicle.
Here is one-half of my Electronic Counter Measures System.
If you live in the Phoenix, Arizona area then you know about the speed cameras. They are usually referred to as Photo Radar but actually they employ piezoelectric sensors buried in the roadway and do a simple time-speed-distance calculation.
It’s not that I am a speed demon. For me at least, what happens is that I am going along with the flow of traffic, keeping a watchful eye out for hazards while rehearsing the points I need to make during the meeting at my destination, and ZAP!
Since the cameras don’t use radar, I needed something else. Some research on the Internet turned up several devices and the new Cheetah C100 looked like it would be the best choice. Cheetah has been around for a while, embedding the electronics in a rearview mirror. This new C100, about the size and shape of a pack of cigarettes is pretty new. Essentially, it is a GPS receiver. In it is a database of the locations of all speed cameras known to man.
It comes with a CD and a USB cable and can be updated over the Internet. Cheetah recommends updating the database once a month.
The C100 comes with some interesting features, some useful and others not-so-useful.
It can also warn you about the known locations that the mobile cameras like to use. Since they use actual radar, my ValentineOne should take care of those nicely and I turned that feature off.
It has a programmable ‘Overspeed Alert’, a speed at which it bitches at you no matter what. (It also knows the posted speed limit at each camera location and warns you if you are exceeding that speed.) What I would really like is this: We all know that the cameras around here will allow up to 10 mph over the limit so what I would really like is to have it sound the overspeed warning only when approaching a camera at least 10 mph above the posted limit. Alas, it can’t do that.
I also knows how to connect wirelessly to may popular radar detectors and verbally announce the radar warning. My V1 does an excellent job of that on its own.
It will tell you the time - big deal. It displays the direction of travel and your speed calculated from the GPS. Now you can know how fast you are really going. My speedometer appears to be about 1mph off.
Installation:
You can see that I ran the power cable down the side of the dash between the A pillar and the dash, stuffing it under the weatherstripping (The V1’s power cable is in there too). The C100 comes with a little rubber matt much like a thin version of a mousepad. I cut out a section of it the size of the C100 and siliconed it to the bottom of the unit.
How well does it work?
Perfectly. I’ve had it in the car for about a week, travelling the 101, I-17, and I-10. It has never missed a camera and always gives me plenty of warning. The C100 is smart enough to take my direction of travel into account so that when I am eastbound it won’t try to warn me about cameras designed to catch westbound traffic. (Some competors, I noted, don’t have this feature.)
When I was at the dealership (Phoenix Motor Company) a few weeks ago having the Tele-Aid activated, I noticed that they can retrofit the cellphone integration and Voice Command options into some older cars. I really wanted the bluetooth hands-free cellphone integration. If I were ordering a new E350 that is one option that I would include.
I searched the web. I found this site and with some installation instructions for the 05 model but not the 06. In short, I found no source of ‘Order this and install it like this’ help that was definitive.
When I had my 300E I was pretty much a DIY guy. The E350 is a different animal. Complicated and lots of interdependent systems - systems with very expensive little boxes (those boxes run on smoke ya know: Let the smoke out and they quit working.) I decided to see what the dealer could do.
I asked for a quote: a little over $2400. wow. My Sweet Lady Wife said. “Get it! I’m tired of seeing you swerve all over the road while digging your phone out of your pocket!”. I didn’t ask her twice.
A little about my car:
2006 E-350
COMAND installed
Navigation Installed (Nav DVD player in the trunk)
Harmon Kardon Sound System
6 CD Changer in dash
Here is the list of parts copied from my invoice:
| Q-6-82-0965 | Core Kit | |
| Q-6-82-0950 | E Class Install | Elsewhere I have seen this referred to as the Completer Kit |
| 6-7-87-5878 | MHI Adap | |
| 211-540-66-33 | Cable | |
| 000-545-11-44 | Lever | |
| Q-6-82-0929 | Control | Voice Control System. Elsewhere I have seen the same part number except ending in 0928 |
How does it work?
It works very well. Fantastic, as a matter of fact. Sound quality is much better than my friend’s Lexus. The dealer paired it with my iPhone for me and it immediately copied my entire phonebook from the iPhone into the COMAND system. The voice-response works really well. I don’t have to raise my voice for it to understand me. (The system works much better than the one I had in my 2008 Honda Accord).
A couple of final notes:
- In the end, the dealer’s labor was only $360. While they charged me List for most of the parts, they gave me a huge discount on the Voice Control module. Even if I had known exactly what to order, I’m not sure I would have saved much on the parts, and the dealer’s charge for labor was very reasonable.
- The part numbers in my invoice were different (and there are more of them) than the list of part numbers found on the best source I could find on the internet.
Follow Up:
I’ve been using this system for several weeks and am still amazed. The Voice Command works wonderfully. In addition to controlling the phone, I can control the radio and CD changer as well. Flick the lever on the steering column and say ‘Frequency 107.1″ and the radio instantly changes frequency, for example.