When I bought my Mini in August, one of the first things I did was buy a new radio... Only to find out that swapping it out with the Harman Kardon system already there was a lot more of a challenge than with the Harman Kardon system in my 99 M3. So I found that to do it you replace everything, or you buy the HK Enabler from the UK. Of course they weren't in stock... and it seems they only made them twice a year so if you missed the window, you were stuck. This was not going to work for me as I have almost no CD's anymore and the radio in my area quickly grates on my nerves. The cost also was exorbitant in my mind for what it did. Sure it saved you from replacing all of the speakers, wiring and amp, but at the end of the day, it was a micro controller that sent serial commands.

I also want to document this for others in the future as I dug for it and it took me forever to find: WHEN YOU HOOK YOUR NEW RADIO UP, WIRE THE SPEAKER OUTS FROM THE RADIO TO THE SPEAKER OUTS IN THE HARNESS. DON'T WIRE THE LINE OUTS TO THE HARNESS


So... I made a version for the Arduino micro controller that does what the HK Enabler does but allows you complete control over what it sends. I have a barebones version and one still in progress that has buttons, LED's, and connections for an IMU, LCD and other stuff...

The barebones version can be built easily for under $50.It has all through hole components other than the TH3122. I have a full BOM with parts links and numbers. It HAS to be connected to a switched power source (Preferably the amp power line from radio... I connected a 3 pin cable to the connector on the HK Amp)

 

The PC board can be ordered here (http://oshpark.com/shared_projects/8oOUdedo) for about $11 for 3 PC boards

The TH3122 can be ordered from eBay

It uses the Sparkfun Arduino Pro Micro (Or equivalent... cheaper on Ebay)

The BOM and schematic are here (https://github.com/jemmicat/HK_Enabl...%20PC%20Boards)

The barebones program can be tailored to your needs is here (https://github.com/jemmicat/HK_Enabl...bler_Barebones) (You should check the checksum on the DSP modes as I didn't log all of them)

Thanks to :

Idea From https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-r53-mfsw.html



I get no money from this and don't want any. Just trying to help out others who were stuck in same boat as I was with no HK Enabler stock and a need for a new radio ASAP.

The TH3122 chip is a surface mount chip. If you don't know how to solder don't attempt hand soldering this chip.

And I provide this information to use at your own risk. I WILL NOT be responsible if you fry the electrical system, catch your car on fire, burn down your house, etc. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK

I have been using this in my car now for nearly 2 months. Every now and then it flakes out and you have to turn radio off and back on, but that has been few and far between (and oddly enough both times were in the exact same place)


HK Enabler PLUS is still in process. First PC boards should arrive tomorrow and programming and all will follow.

I will help if I can... BUT IF YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY ELECTRICAL EXPERIENCE OR EXPERIENCE WITH MICROCONTROLLERS I WILL NOT!!! ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS. Do some research and learn... I'm a mechanical engineer and not a teacher.

 

Subscribed.

 

Is there any chance that I can buy a HK enabler plus from you?

 

I honestly could not sell it to you for a reasonable cost when i factored in my time to build up the board. I also only have 1 th3122 chip left and don't want to give that up. I could sell you a bare pc board, though of the barebones version. You would have to solder everything yourself still and buy all the parts

 

I have added retries in the hk_barebones folder. When it got cold here, i was having problems with the codes going through as there was more traffic on the bus (although i couldn't log anything extraordinarily different). This is still in progress but seems to have fixed the problem