W221 radio upgrades?

[FBF]

Well it would seem my s63 has the dreaded amp rot, stereo and phone options say unavailable and despite how beautiful the car sounds im missing mr vine, its got so bad im even missing the awfully annoying Zoe ball!!
So i dont want to invest in a new kardon amp, is there any other aftermarket options at a cheaper rate?

 

[Botus]

the amp dying (which is std) doesn't cause the error you describe.... (with a dead amp everything works but there's no sound anywhere), yours sounds more like the fibre optic MOST circuit is driving the issue

this might be because one module died.... if its got 7 digit postcodes then you have the NTG3.5 and I'd guess its the comand harddrive has done its usual trick. If before 2009 with only 5 digit postcodes then NTG3.0 I'm not sure

you can try and link out each module one at a time with a fibre optic link cable (of course can't link out comand nothing will work)… but there could be a TV and DAB unit in the boot that's dead, link them out one by one and see where you are

 

[Botus]

you can swap the comand and its screen for a 300 quid android thing....

expecting it to last as long or sound as good, would be like swapping out a £1000 pre amp on your home hifi and trying a £20 biniatone/ebay special

the other fly in the ointment…. the AMP is an integral part of the car and is STILL needed when you go for an android head unit

 

[FBF]

the amp dying (which is std) doesn't cause the error you describe.... (with a dead amp everything works but there's no sound anywhere), yours sounds more like the fibre optic MOST circuit is driving the issue

this might be because one module died.... if its got 7 digit postcodes then you have the NTG3.5 and I'd guess its the comand harddrive has done its usual trick. If before 2009 with only 5 digit postcodes then NTG3.0 I'm not sure

you can try and link out each module one at a time with a fibre optic link cable (of course can't link out comand nothing will work)… but there could be a TV and DAB unit in the boot that's dead, link them out one by one and see where you are

i should add that im a knuckle dragging groundworker, i dig holes in the mud for a living.. you lost me on this one will have another read and see if i can understand what you kindly took the time to write

 

[Botus]

Cars are not the simple things they were...

the days of a small reliable single (radio) unit rammed in a hole with a tangle of wires, one of which was 12v. And on the front you had a proper knob that turned it on and did the volume, has gone.

In fact the world of car wiring was transformed some time after 2000 with some spooky weird beard lightweight wiring, all controlled by the CAN bus (Controller Area Network) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAN_bus

Alongside that oddity, car manu then decided what they really needed was a fast simple in car entertainment solution that was flexible and configurable to add toys on posh cars and leave them out of the cheaper ones. So they used MOST, (Media Oriented Systems Transport - a fibre optic cable link) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOST_Bus

With most cars running a hideous high voltage spark fest and a bunch of other (electrically) noisy stuff under the bonnet, placing a high end Hi Fi solution 2 foot away in a small space that's ever vanishing with more sophisticated AC systems, and with the need for it all not to jump out and hit you in the face when you crash, they moved much of it to the boot !!!

I guess much of it is a bit like posh home HiFi. If you can separate out individual components with baby low noise power supplies, each unit can have its own well shielded intricate circuitry. Thus you should get better sound quality, and you can add posh versions of these "separates" and or extra units, for additional features on higher spec cars.

Using a combination of CAN mostly for control, and MOST for the noise and picture transfer, they daisy chained all the separate bits together and wiz it to the front of the car at the speed of light.

Thus on your car the radio is not One thing, its up to Eighteen separate components. Not counting all the speakers which is at least 7 on the std car and 14 with the big amp ... (each bold bit is a physically separate unit all but 2 with their own software)

so turn the key with the "radio" selected to an FM station, then using either the Steering wheel buttons,
user input goes via the SCM, (steering column module),
with the same info reaching the COU, (central operating unit - the Comand knob and switch pack)
they both process user requests to control the COMAND Unit, that sits in the dash under the heater buttons.
in turn that feeds the picture you see and the changes you are making on the ZAN(central display)
or a cut down version in the IC (instrument cluster - third menu to the right using left steering button arrow).
A user input like Vol adjustment, I guess goes via the Central Gateway, CGW (the CAN master controller for everything on the car),
to the AGW, audio gateway in the boot (actually called the TTU on an S class, its an Amp with integral AM FM tuner to thelayman),
that in turn is connected to the ANTENNA module in the roof and the cars loud speakers.
The OCP (overhead control panel) holds a microphone (might be for the phone as well) that takes ambient noise readings,
together with vehicle speed data from the ABS,
signals are processed in the Rear SAM and speed dependant volume control automatically adjust source (radio) volume,
and feeds TMC or SAT NAV voice overlay from the comand back to the TTU.

But then you can select other choices on the comand to do other stuff via additional optional extra modules
CTEL Phone
TV Tuner
DAB Tuner
Bluetooth Module
Media interface Module
GPS ANTENNA for the SAT NAV goes in the back of the Comand which also holds the Map data on a harddrive inside


The Steering wheel buttons and both antenna's are the ONLY ones without their own operating system and control software !!!
All are updateable with later software releases, except the steering wheel module that can't be flashed, but a later software iteration is on a new part

Depending upon which source or feature is in use, the ANTENNA module inside a posh Shark Fin module on the roof of most modern cars can do DAB, AM, FM, PHONE and SAT NAV signals to the car

Earlier cars like w211 can have another Nav unit on the MOST in the boot)
NTG3.0 you have an orange fibre cable loop between the Comand, the TTU, the DAB, the TV, (an iPod kit is only on the CAN)
NTG3.5 you have an orange fibre cable loop between the Comand, the TTU, the DAB,the TV, the Media Interface

where fitted, if one plays up they all play up