Need help coding Radio to support European frequencies [Solved]

[BuLoOoSki]

So as some of you might have realized, radio tuners in the US only tune to channels with an odd numbered khz frequency(the decimal part), e.g. 99.5Mhz or 102.7Mhz

Radio tuners in the rest of the world (mostly) have the ability to tune to channels with any khz frequency, odd or even numbered e.g. 88.8Mhz or 95.4Mhz

Now I plan to be relocating outside the US sometime next year and would like to be able to tune to even numbered khz frequencies. So what I need to be able to do is have the radio jump in steps of 0.1Mhz rather than 0.2Mhz which is what US cars currently do.

I did some search online and apparently it is possible. The coding I found online was for a 2012 BMW X3. These are the codes that I managed to find:

HU_CIC/NBT Module:

• RADIO_COUNTRY = ece
• FM_DEEMPHASIS = 50us
• ANZEIGE_FREQ = nicht_aktiv

Source: http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=636814

I'm a newbie to coding and trying to figure out how to code in the first place. However, I know some of you guys are more experienced with coding, so can someone confirm if these are the right codes to do such a thing?



***Update 09/18/2015
I was able to get some help with coding, it turned out to be much simpler than I thought (I was very intimidated by it for some reason). Anyway, I started off by coding those two:

HU_CIC/NBT Module:

• RADIO_COUNTRY = ece
• FM_DEEMPHASIS=50us

and it worked just as it should. I was able to tune to channels with even numbered decimals e.g. 89.6.



Some other BMW models apparently would display "Mhz" after the channel number e.g. 88.8Mhz, causing the description line of the channel to get distorted because it becomes too long. With the case of my F80 I did not have "Mhz" added in front of the channel number after coding. In case you do, to fix that you would need to eliminate displaying the channel number completely by using this code: ANZEIGE_FREQ = nicht_aktiv

The only difference after coding is the channels are no longer sorted by ascending order (numerically), they are sorted alphabetically now. This is normal as even European spec'd cars come standard that way, confirmed by user Railgun with his UK spec'd car.






***Update 11/19/2015

A problem seems to have surfaced for some users trying to do the above codings on their 2016 F8Xs (NBT2 hardware). While they are able to tune to all frequencies after the coding, all channels were completely muted. A solution to this problem has been found thanks to dmayo305

Rather than code RADIO_COUNTRY to "ECE", coding it to "Australien" seems to fix the problem.

PS. You still need to code FM_DEEMPHASIS = 50us in addition to RADIO_COUNTRY = Australien

[aboulfad]

You did most of the homework, it looks promising but you need to try it! now post in this thread http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1040141 and you shall receive some instructions and goodies to get you started. If you are overwhelmed with what needs to be done, then best find someone to do it for you! Good luck. It's lots of fun and you can code many other useful things. Read through the threads in this sub-forum.

[BuLoOoSki]

Yeah I've seen the thread, but 50+ pages!! I wish there was a video of a screen recording showing how to do it step by step.

[BuLoOoSki]

Maybe shawnsheridan or dmnc02 can chime in?

[aboulfad]

Originally Posted by BuLoOoSki

Yeah I've seen the thread, but 50+ pages!! I wish there was a video of a screen recording showing how to do it step by step.

you post in that 50+ pages thread that we all read, and ask for the goodies. And Santa Claus will send you by pm what you need assuming you have the cable and a PC. There may be videos, but it's all over the place. The instructions you'll get are good enough. So post in that long thread asking for what everyone else asked for ! I would send it to you but Santa Claus has the latest always
And here's a useful thread to get you started: http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...ing+it+forward

[dmnc02]

Originally Posted by BuLoOoSki

Now I plan to be relocating outside the US sometime next year and would like to be able to tune to even numbered khz frequencies. So what I need to be able to do is have the radio jump in steps of 0.1Mhz rather than 0.2Mhz which is what US cars currently do.

I did some search online and apparently it is possible. The coding I found online was for a 2012 BMW X3. These are the codes that I managed to find:

• HU_CIC / 3002 AUDIO_TUNER_TRAFFIC / RADIO_COUNTRY = ece (changed from US) / Werte=00
• ANZEIGE_FREQ = nicht_aktiv / Werte=00
• FM_DEEMPHASIS=50us (changed from 75)

As far as I can tell, those codes should be all that is needed for a 2015 F8x too. The only difference is that they are under HU_NBT instead of HU_CIC.

Of course, the only way to be sure is to try them once you are in Europe. But if you get comfortable with coding your car before you leave, you will be able to make additional changes (if needed) in a matter of minutes.

[BuLoOoSki]

Originally Posted by aboulfad

you post in that 50+ pages thread that we all read, and ask for the goodies. And Santa Claus will send you by pm what you need assuming you have the cable and a PC. There may be videos, but it's all over the place. The instructions you'll get are good enough. So post in that long thread asking for what everyone else asked for ! I would send it to you but Santa Claus has the latest always
And here's a useful thread to get you started: http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...ing+it+forward

Thanks, just did that. I'll try to spend some time learning my way around it over the weekend, hopefully I wont need to tow the car the dealership!

[BuLoOoSki]

Originally Posted by dmnc02

As far as I can tell, those codes should be all that is needed for a 2015 F8x too. The only difference is that they are under HU_NBT instead of HU_CIC.

Of course, the only way to be sure is to try them once you are in Europe. But if you get comfortable with coding your car before you leave, you will be able to make additional changes (if needed) in a matter of minutes.

Thanks for the heads up dmnc02 . Would there be a down side if I tried doing that while I'm still here in the US? I mean if all its doing is just allow me to change radio frequencies in 0.1Mhz increments, I don't see why the radio shouldn't function normally here in the US correct?

[aboulfad]

You should be able to test it out, my bro's pioneer does 0.1mhz and you may still hear badly a station on the 0.1Mhz increment next to its broadcasting frequency (although not supposed to...)

Although one of those parameters (Freq Modulation de-emphasis) makes me wonder why to change it ... I need to dust off my communications book : worst case you code it back to US specs if it affects your reception in the US.

Given you will be coding HU_NBT, the worst that could happen is you need a new one. Just being silly give us a shout if you are stuck. Read and follow the instructions to the letter and code one feature at a time until you are comfortable. thumbsup:

[dmnc02]

Originally Posted by BuLoOoSki

Thanks for the heads up dmnc02 . Would there be a down side if I tried doing that while I'm still here in the US? I mean if all its doing is just allow me to change radio frequencies in 0.1Mhz increments, I don't see why the radio shouldn't function normally here in the US correct?

As aboulfad said, you can definitely try it here. The ANZEIGE_FREQ code is only going to affect your radio display, while the FM_DEEMPHASIS will just mess up a bit your frequency response. This link (from the thread on the other forum you originally mentioned) explains FM de-emphasis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FM_bro...nd_de-emphasis.

[aboulfad]

Originally Posted by dmnc02

As aboulfad said, you can definitely try it here. The ANZEIGE_FREQ code is only going to affect your radio display, while the FM_DEEMPHASIS will just mess up a bit your frequency response. This link (from the thread on the other forum you originally mentioned) explains FM de-emphasis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FM_bro...nd_de-emphasis.

I missed the original link, thanks now I don't have to dust off my old book 75microsec in U.S. And 50us in ECE and rest of the world.

[BuLoOoSki]

Originally Posted by aboulfad

I missed the original link, thanks now I don't have to dust off my old book 75microsec in U.S. And 50us in ECE and rest of the world.

Thanks for the response. So then I assume changing RADIO_COUNTRY from us to ece is what changes the increments from 0.2Mhz to 0.1Mhz?

[aboulfad]

Originally Posted by BuLoOoSki

Thanks for the response. So then I assume changing RADIO_COUNTRY from us to ece is what changes the increments from 0.2Mhz to 0.1Mhz?

Most likely a good guess, but just noticed that it was Shawn that replied to the referenced thread in 2012, so he'd definitely know. I have not coded this setting so I can not comment from experience! FYI, when you get to coding HU_NBT, it's useful to export your profile so you don't lose some of your settings, some of which reset after coding HU_NBT, like the 1-8 memory presets in the HU.

[BuLoOoSki]

Originally Posted by aboulfad

Most likely a good guess, but just noticed that it was Shawn that replied to the referenced thread in 2012, so he'd definitely know. I have not coded this setting so I can not comment from experience! FYI, when you get to coding HU_NBT, it's useful to export your profile so you don't lose some of your settings, some of which reset after coding HU_NBT, like the 1-8 memory presets in the HU.

Thanks aboulfad, you've been very helpful.

[BuLoOoSki]

dmnc02 Any idea how to fix the sorting issue? (see update in original post)

[aboulfad]

Originally Posted by BuLoOoSki

dmnc02 Any idea how to fix the sorting issue? (see update in original post)

Good work I'd be very curious to see how he goes about it. I searched for you in HU_nbt cafd looking for anything with the German or English words: sort, display, frequency, alpha but I couldn't find anything relevant I am not that good with searching! There could be a workaround for the sort issue, store your favourite European channels in the order you want in Presets?
Btw, my car doesn't display the "MHz" by default and anzeige_freq is akitv.

[dmnc02]

Sorry, OP: I could not find anything relevant either. Since the sorting order changed after you only changed RADIO_COUNTRY and FM_DEEMPHASIS, it is likely to be bundled with the country and to not have a separate parameter controlling it.

[BuLoOoSki]

Originally Posted by aboulfad

Good work I'd be very curious to see how he goes about it. I searched for you in HU_nbt cafd looking for anything with the German or English words: sort, display, frequency, alpha but I couldn't find anything relevant I am not that good with searching! There could be a workaround for the sort issue, store your favourite European channels in the order you want in Presets?
Btw, my car doesn't display the "MHz" by default and anzeige_freq is akitv.

So what changed for you once you set anzeige_freq to akitv?

[aboulfad]

Originally Posted by BuLoOoSki

So what changed for you once you set anzeige_freq to akitv?

It was already set to aktiv, I never coded that! FYI, some of us have a secret power that allows us to browse/compare and do other stuff offline with the cafd files. This is how I knew the value of that parameter for my car and searched for you.

[BuLoOoSki]

Originally Posted by aboulfad

It was already set to aktiv, I never coded that!

My bad, some confusion there.

I don't think anybody by default displays "Mhz". It is only models after coding radio to ECE will they display "Mhz". In that case they need to do that third code.

[aboulfad]

Originally Posted by BuLoOoSki

My bad, some confusion there.

I don't think anybody by default displays "Mhz". It is only models after coding radio to ECE will they display "Mhz". In that case they need to do that third code.

To be honest I never noticed until today when I checked I thought it always displayed the unit "MHz".

[aboulfad]

Originally Posted by Railgun

If it's any help, I can look through mine and compare notes to find the differences.

Better even, if the OP and you share your HU_NBT cafd files, the tool can automatically diff them. Is your radio set to ECE and displays the stations in ascending order by frequency?