VW OEM in BMW with DSP- No RCA or power?

[gomichaelkgo]

I'd like to put a phatbox in my BMW.  It has a DSP radio, so I'd need the DSP kit to get this to work.

The DSP kit requires RCA audio and Power out of the back, and the VW units seem to lack both of these interconnects on the back.

I have one in my Passat and opened it up.  I see the space on the Printed circuit board where the RCA and Power connectors go.

Is it possible to solder these connectors onto the board?  

Does anyone know if the wire traces are there on the board and they just didn't solder the connectors on when they were made? I can see wire traces going to 2 of the four holes for the RCA connector and one of the four holes for the power connector.

Has anyone done this?  Anyone know the part numbers from Mouser or Digikey to make these connectors?

If I solder wires or connectors to the blank spots on the board, is it sure that there will be a power/ audio signal going to the blank solder hole posts?

Thanks,
-Michael

[S80_UK]

Hi,

For sources of the connectors see this thread....

http://forum.phathack.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1142026825/1#1

To get the audio from the VW box, you can just add in the RCA connectors, or add wires to the pads.  The same is true for the power connection.  Or you can use the pins on the 26way connector as VW do - see this write-up on putting the VW box in a Volvo for the pin details - the audio signals stay the same on all boxes, but the control signals do change, so you need to wire those correctly for your new installation).

http://wiki.phathack.com/VW_Phatbox_to_Volvo_Transplant_%28How_To%29

Audio is on 4th diagram, power on 5th and 6th diagrams.

See also here for more pinning information

http://www.phathack.com/pinouts.html

Good luck.

Les.

[gomichaelkgo]

It looks like I could fabricate a harness to go directly to the phatnoise DSP kit.  I'd want it to receive power only when the car is on.

Does the VCar wire have 12volts all the time or only when the ignition is on?
What is the ACC wire for?

[sbingner]

VCar = always on

ACC = accessory power, ie when car is on

[S80_UK]

Hi,

Just to clarify - the +12V (VCar in your message) should be a permanent fused connection to the Phatbox.  The ACC signal commands the box to start up or close down, and the fact that the +12V is there permanently allows the software to shut down in an orderly fashion.  When the box is fully shut down the idle current from hte car battery is very low indeed.

Les.

[gomichaelkgo]

My BMW has a digital amplifier and requires PCM digital input.  For this, phatnoise sells an analog to digital converter.

I'm guessing that the DSP kit that phatnoise sells gets the ACC wire. Else, it would be powered on all the time.  Or, at least until the car's battery drained.

Does this sound right to you?

[S80_UK]

Sorry - I don't know anything about the DSP kit.  

Les.

[gbradley]

My BMW has a digital amplifier and requires PCM digital input.  For this, phatnoise sells an analog to digital converter.

I'm guessing that the DSP kit that phatnoise sells gets the ACC wire. Else, it would be powered on all the time.  Or, at least until the car's battery drained.

According to the install guide for the Phatbox DSP kit, the A/D converter draws its power from the round, 4-pin connector on the back of the Phatbox. The top two pins output 12vDC, but I'm not sure if it's always hot or switched with the ignition.