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The Ultimate iPod Info Thread

543K views 1K replies 361 participants last post by  Fharper2431 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I wanted to connect an iPod to my car and decided that waiting for the BMW iPod connector might take a while...or never happen, so I got the aux input installed ($64 part + $140 install).

This is what the aux input looks like--it's typically installed in the glove box, next to the flash light:


Here's the aux input install directions:
click here

I decided to have the iPod in the center arm rest (to be out of sight, and also have easy access).

For a power source, I went with the Monster iCarCharger, since it has a direct line out (not through an amplifier like the Belkin adapter, so you have a clean output), which I hardwired to the switched power lines of one of the power outlets in the rear center console (below the A/C vents). You definitely don't want to use the headphone jack, since it is filtered and tailored toward headphone use and the quality & volume level of a headphone simply cannot compete with your car stereo. The headphone jack sound quality and bass levels are greatly reduced. The bottom dock connector (which transfers audio out of the iCarCharger's 3.5mm port) generates pure, unfiltered sound.

Here's a list of parts you'll need--on a difficulty scale of 1 - 5 with 1 being the easiest, I'd say this DIY is a 3--once I had all the parts, it took me half an afternoon to complete:

Monster iCarCharger--$40 from BestBuy:

http://www.monstercable.com/computer/produ...pple%20Products

Monster MP3 MusicConnect shielded cable with mini-stereo connectors (1/8" mini jack on each end)--$20 from BestBuy:


http://www.monstercable.com/productPage.asp?pin=3258

Griffin AirClick remote control for iPod--$40 at Apple Store:
http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/airclick/index.php

Wire connectors--$4 at RadioShack:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2104016&cp
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2104018&cp

18 gauge wire--you***8217;ll need about a foot--I bought 4 feet to have extra ($0.12 per foot)

In-line fuse holder & fuses--$5

With this set up, when you have the audio input on aux input and the iPod playing & you turn off the car, the iPod pauses and shuts itself off after a few minutes. When you start the car, the iPod turns on and is still paused (at the point in the song when you turned off the car), and I use the Griffin AirClick to resume playing, by pressing the play/pause button (actually, pressing any button will work). I keep the AirClick remote in the drivers door storage area, so it's easy to press the play button. You don't have to open the center arm rest to access the iPod, except when you want to select a new playlist.

I first removed the coin holder in the center arm rest--there are 4 torx screws (red circles)--you can see the coin holder on the seat (yellow circle):


Next remove the panel that holds the 2 power outlets at the back of the rear center console--I used a metal spackle knife to wedged it out from the bottom sides--you need to use a bit of force, and it will eventually snap out on both bottom sides. Here's instructions :
click here

The 2 clips on the bottom sides (red circle) fell into the center console so you need to find them with a flash light and replace them for reassembly. The pic also show the 2 clips from the bottom edge of the A/C vent (yellow circle--see next instruction).


Next you remove the A/C vent--instructions:
click here

There are 2 clips (yellow circles) at the bottom corners, which you use needle nose pliers to pull down and out, then you pull the assembly toward you and down to remove. The red circle shows a blue female connector which I connected to the green wire in place of the stock connector, to fit the harness I made:


To hardwire the Monster iCarCharger, I used the metal spackle knife to wedge open the part of the adapter that would slide into the power outlet, to reveal the spring in the center, and one of the metal pieces on the side. I attached a female connector to each and crimped to secure (red circle). The pic also shows the line out connection (yellow circle):


I assembled a harness to tap into the power and ground wires from one of the rear power outlets. The blue male connectors at the far right connect to the female connectors that originally connected to the power outlet (the red circled connection is unnecessary--you can use a straight wire here). The orange female connectors (yellow circles) connect to the power outlet:


Wrap all exposed connections with electrical tape, and reinstall A/C vents and power outlet panel.

Once you have the aux input installed in the glove box, you need to run the mini-stereo cable from the glove box to the rear center console. First remove the trim at the side of the rear center console, using a metal spackle knife and pushing towards the rear of the car--instructions here:
click here



Remove screw (red circle) from side trim panel and pull panel toward you and down. After plugging cable into aux input and fishing through back of opened glove box door, run cable into top of panel and behind it:


Run cable along side of rear center console, and into rear section:


Run mini-stereo cable and coiled wire from Monster iCarCharger into center console compartment below the coin holder--this pic has a white wire for easy identification showing location. You'll need to enlarge the opening, using a Dremel or similar tool, so the iCarCharger plug will fit through:

Install coin holder.

Here's the iPod in the armrest:


You can remove the iPod from the armrest to change playlists, etc.:


I ripped my CDs using Exact Audio Copy w/ LAME eocoder http://users.pandora.be/satcp/tutorials.htm at 256 kbps VBR, then volume normalized using MP3Gain at 94 dB http://mp3gain.sourceforge.net/ , and the sound quality is excellent. Anybody want to buy a CD changer??!! :)
 
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#886 ·
Just the facts, Ma'am….

Hi everyone,

I'm new, so go easy on me. I'm not new to automotive forums, and so I actually realize there are some that will get exasperated with my post - so be it.

I have read through the 36 pages of this thread and, not feeling like I've gained a lot save for shared frustration, I think that the direct question, plus the addition of a curveball, may make my question post-worthy.

Some background first.

I recently recognized the need to buy a new/another car to use for work. Over the last 5 months since this realization, I've been doing my research and made the decision last Monday which car to buy. That Friday, I bought it.

To commemorate the noteworthy milestone that an additional to my fleet would represent, namely, having now owned one car for every year I've been alive, (37) I purchased a 08 535xi, in Platinum grey and black leather. It was delivered in excellent condition replete with the factory navigation system, 2 slots, but no changer or sat radio. As I listen to Pandora or music from my iPhone, neither seemed important.

(For those interested in the process, I did consider the new 5's, specifically the 550/535 GT xDrives, but my wife suggested that might be her next car, so I demurred…)

Moving on… as mentioned, i have the factory Nav. I have the factory bluetooth as well, which integrates with my phone effortlessly and is clear. I also have the usb and 3.5mm jack in the center console, which are nice but useless as neither my iPhone 4 or my iPod Video are recognized. They charge fine, but the car tells me they are incompatible. The iPod acts like it's connected to iTunes, so it can't be charged and used as a player at the same time. and the iphone charges, but the car says I'm SOL.

Despite having been on a number of forums besides this one to discover the answer to this oft asked question,Ii've yet to get a straight, definitive answer of how to appropriately pair my iphone 4 with my car.

I'd like to be able to leave the phone in the console or the glovebox, access the menus from the iDrive unit, and control tracks and playlists from my steering wheel. There is much allusion to this ability, and I've even attached videos of people doing it, but there still seems to be a great mystery on how it's actually been accomplished. Many times the solutions provided are specified, but either the links provided are dead or the unit can't be purchased, is discontinued, etc.

Closest I have to an answer is the 6FL cable from BMW ( which seems awfully simple for $350 and doesn't give a tremendous amount of detail), the Denison 500 unit (which Denison doesn't sell), and the Becker cable.

It seems to me that the easiest fix would be the CD changer emulator. I assume though that there is some programming involved - perhaps that's the reason for the $350 charge converter and audio/usb cable?

After all that, though here is the reality: Ideally, I'd like to play music through the bluetooth (A2DP), which was possible on the last Kia Sorrento I rented for work. In that case, iId quickly forego iDrive compatibility for the convenience of actually being able to use my phone wirelessly.

TIA,
Rob

2008 535xi, 2010 ML350, 1990 RRC
 
#888 · (Edited)
Hi everyone,

I'm new, so go easy on me. I'm not new to automotive forums, and so I actually realize there are some that will get exasperated with my post - so be it.

I have read through the 36 pages of this thread and, not feeling like I've gained a lot save for shared frustration, I think that the direct question, plus the addition of a curveball, may make my question post-worthy.

Some background first.

I recently recognized the need to buy a new/another car to use for work. Over the last 5 months since this realization, I've been doing my research and made the decision last Monday which car to buy. That Friday, I bought it.

To commemorate the noteworthy milestone that an additional to my fleet would represent, namely, having now owned one car for every year I've been alive, (37) I purchased a 08 535xi, in Platinum grey and black leather. It was delivered in excellent condition replete with the factory navigation system, 2 slots, but no changer or sat radio. As I listen to Pandora or music from my iPhone, neither seemed important.

(For those interested in the process, I did consider the new 5's, specifically the 550/535 GT xDrives, but my wife suggested that might be her next car, so I demurred***8230;)

Moving on***8230; as mentioned, i have the factory Nav. I have the factory bluetooth as well, which integrates with my phone effortlessly and is clear. I also have the usb and 3.5mm jack in the center console, which are nice but useless as neither my iPhone 4 or my iPod Video are recognized. They charge fine, but the car tells me they are incompatible. The iPod acts like it's connected to iTunes, so it can't be charged and used as a player at the same time. and the iphone charges, but the car says I'm SOL.

Despite having been on a number of forums besides this one to discover the answer to this oft asked question,Ii've yet to get a straight, definitive answer of how to appropriately pair my iphone 4 with my car.

I'd like to be able to leave the phone in the console or the glovebox, access the menus from the iDrive unit, and control tracks and playlists from my steering wheel. There is much allusion to this ability, and I've even attached videos of people doing it, but there still seems to be a great mystery on how it's actually been accomplished. Many times the solutions provided are specified, but either the links provided are dead or the unit can't be purchased, is discontinued, etc.

Closest I have to an answer is the 6FL cable from BMW ( which seems awfully simple for $350 and doesn't give a tremendous amount of detail), the Denison 500 unit (which Denison doesn't sell), and the Becker cable.

It seems to me that the easiest fix would be the CD changer emulator. I assume though that there is some programming involved - perhaps that's the reason for the $350 charge converter and audio/usb cable?

After all that, though here is the reality: Ideally, I'd like to play music through the bluetooth (A2DP), which was possible on the last Kia Sorrento I rented for work. In that case, iId quickly forego iDrive compatibility for the convenience of actually being able to use my phone wirelessly.

TIA,
Rob

2008 535xi, 2010 ML350, 1990 RRC
Hey Rob -

There' a lot of information in here and my iPod compatibility competency is losing currency fast - but I do have a few key ideas that may help or disappoint you, maybe both at the same time:

Bluetooth streaming of music is not possible in an E60. They did not outfit the car with the right electronics to do that, even though the Bluetooth certainly works for the phone. Yes, that is silly when you think about how ridiculously good the Ford system is and that you can get Bluetooth streaming in a Kia. Yet, here we are.

Your car may have a USB input but not have the iPod interface - all iPod interfaces look like USB inputs in BMWs, but not all USB inputs are iPod interfaces. The best way to check is to plug an iPod - not an iPhone - into it and see if the system recognizes it as an Pod. If it does not, you can add the iPod interface to your car, which is not inexpensive.

If it does recognize an iPod, you have the iPod interface. But it's not exactly an iPhone interface. I have heard some stories about what it takes to get an iPhone to play music through the BMW interface. Some say that it's necessary to put it in Airplane mode and perhaps follow a couple other steps that make it unusable as a phone, which obviously is a showstopper.

So, if that is the case, or if you don't have the iPod interface and don't wish to add it, you have some other options.

You can move your auxiliary input to the glove box, and you can do that yourself if you are comfortable taking apart your console. I believe that very near the beginning of this thread, Stream posted the schematic and instructions to remove it. I've done it several times and it's not too hard.

Or, you can move it to the ashtray area and invest in a Spec Dock, which is a very tidy OEM-looking iPhone mount that replaces your ashtray. Check out that link. If you were to do that, I would suggest you buy the Spec Dock that carries the auxiliary interface (not the iPod interface; you can buy either). This will provide you with a line-out quality audio output from the Spec Dock into your auxiliary input.

Your iPhone will send whatever audio output it has to send through the audio line out in its dock interface. Music, Pandora, Sirius, maybe even phone calls, although I have not tried one. So you will get all of that via the auxiliary. And, while you would not have iDrive control of your iPhone, the Spec Dock mount's positioning immediately in front of the shifter is almost as good.
 
#891 ·
Alos, for those of you using OS X***8230;.this works great for exporting playlists from itunes to your thumb drive. as i have the usb port but no iPod interface, it's an easy way to have access to my playlists. YMMV.

http://www.ericdaugherty.com/dev/itunesexport/#Download

no affiliation, just found it***8230;.

Rob

2008 535xi, 2010 ML350, 1990 RRC
 
#894 ·
Will, I had a 4GB drive laying around, 16 or 32 would be more than enough, but 4 works for me for most of my playlists. THe iTunes exporter worked awesome, though it won't play AAC files. Convert to mp4/m4a/mp3 and no problem.

Rob
 
#895 ·
Hey everyone. Poked around the forum and in other models, does anyone have any experience with the Dension Gateway 500. Other threads ask but not really getting a solid answer. Why would you choose the Gateway over the BMW iPod interface. I have a 04 545i and carry a large number of songs and artist on my 120gb ipod. Also carry and iphone and would really like to use that as well.
 
#896 ·
Potential work around for 500 artist/song limit. We all know it's frustrating not have ALL our songs. So I thought of this workaround. What I did was make a playlist a-z (not a smart playlist) I then added all appropriate artists under their first initial. Assuming you don't have more than 500 songs from your a-z artists you won't have a problem having your collection. * I should note that when you add the songs and you are playing them from the idrive you are going to have to search your song title from the artist. It's not quick if you have so many songs. Well that's it enjoy! Feel free to post if you don't understand.
 
#899 ·
6th generation ipod nano

Can anyone confirm that the BMW ipod interface adapter is fully compatible with the current 6th generation ipod nano that came out last Fall? I would assume so, however BMW's website still lists only the 4th & 5th generation nanos as compatible. I couldn't find this discussed in any other posts.
 
#901 ·
Ok, so I need some help. I have through most of this thread, but i'll admit, i got tired of looking. Lots of great information out there though. I have installed the AUX port in my 04 530. The instructions said to unplug the existing wires from the back of the stereo, and insert the wiring harness for the aux port. When I did this, i lost rear speakers and all bass in the car. Will this be corrected hen I go in to have the car recoded? Or did i do something wrong here. Thanks in advance for your help!
 
#903 ·
After extensive research, I finally got it working. After lots of research and talking with the dealer I got it working. Turns out, the plug BMW provides with this retrofit is USELESS! You have to remove the wires from the plug supplied with the AUX-IN, and add those wires to the existing plug. In the instructions it says to remove the old plug, and just plug in the new one. THIS WILL NOT WORK. In order to get the wires out of the plug, there is a clip underneath, and a hole on the opposite side. You must pry the clip up, and then put like a paper clip or something in the hole to slide out the harness. Then use the same paperclip to release the wires from the harness. Then you add the 3 wires to the existing plug that is going to the stereo. In the instrustions, it tells you the exact holes each one of those wires goes to. I don't have the instructions with me, but they are out there. Hopefully this will help someone out there since no one tried to help me! Good luck!
 
#904 ·
Sorry but I can't read all 37 pages of posts. I just picked up an 04 525, and would like a quick advice on the most recommended Ipod integration.

I've read some pages at the start with the Aux Retrofit, but maybe someone down 37pages of posts might have figured something else better?

Thanks heaps!
 
#905 ·
Sorry but I can't read all 37 pages of posts...maybe someone down 37pages of posts might have figured something else better?
Welcome to the forum. I see that this was your second post. This is a great resource for ideas, answers, and community among BMW owners, and you'll get a lot from it.

But...

What you did there is very poor etiquette on a forum like this. People aren't likely to recount their contributions for you because you can't be bothered to read them in the existing record.

There is a search function, and you can use it to search a certain thread only. That may be the best way for you to find the information you need without actually poring through the entirely of the material.

I mean this constructively - best luck!
 
#909 ·
I will admit that i have now read from page 20 to page 37. I ran a forum search for CD changer to being my reading and started on page 20 then continued to the end. Alas all i have found through my search and reading are people that do NOT have a CD Changer and then tried to add the iPod kit from BMW.

Now for the help that i need, if any kind BMW owner/BIMMERFEST Member is willing to provide:

I have an 06' 550i with NAV, CD, CD Changer, SAT, and LOGIC 7. I just purchased an iPod kit from another BIMMERFEST member with part number 65410411033. My questions are:

When I remove the CD Changer from the glove box and add this new iPod unit in, will it work or will I need to have the dealer recode it?

I have a 4th and 5th gen iPod Touch and a 4th gen iPod Nano. I will be using any of these to work with the car integration kit. I saw that some folks were having charging issues. Came to the conclusion that i should either buy a power adapter or deal with taking it out to charge once in a while :)

I Also have a iPhone 3GS (spare since i upgraded to 4). I will give that a whirl if all else fails in terms of device, but i wanted to know if i have iOS 4 on the device, can I use multitask mode to go to another app such as pandora or even a webpage based stream and have it play over the iPod kit? My initial guess is no, but if others have tried, that would be great information.

Third question, can i have an AUX port installed while iPod integration kit is installed in the car?

Thanks for the help/reply if you provide it. I truly am in awe of the great minds that we have on this forum :) :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow:
 
#910 ·
I will admit that i have now read from page 20 to page 37. I ran a forum search for CD changer to being my reading and started on page 20 then continued to the end. Alas all i have found through my search and reading are people that do NOT have a CD Changer and then tried to add the iPod kit from BMW.

Now for the help that i need, if any kind BMW owner/BIMMERFEST Member is willing to provide:

I have an 06' 550i with NAV, CD, CD Changer, SAT, and LOGIC 7. I just purchased an iPod kit from another BIMMERFEST member with part number 65410411033. My questions are:

When I remove the CD Changer from the glove box and add this new iPod unit in, will it work or will I need to have the dealer recode it?

I have a 4th and 5th gen iPod Touch and a 4th gen iPod Nano. I will be using any of these to work with the car integration kit. I saw that some folks were having charging issues. Came to the conclusion that i should either buy a power adapter or deal with taking it out to charge once in a while :)

I Also have a iPhone 3GS (spare since i upgraded to 4). I will give that a whirl if all else fails in terms of device, but i wanted to know if i have iOS 4 on the device, can I use multitask mode to go to another app such as pandora or even a webpage based stream and have it play over the iPod kit? My initial guess is no, but if others have tried, that would be great information.

Third question, can i have an AUX port installed while iPod integration kit is installed in the car?

Thanks for the help/reply if you provide it. I truly am in awe of the great minds that we have on this forum :) :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow:
Haha, of course I am in the EXACT same boat as you. Just purchased part 65410411033 from someone on another forum and want to make sure that I can bring my car into work and have one of my guys install it without issue.... We'll see, I guess I'll update if I get results first.
 
#911 ·
I've installed the AUX kit and coded it with NCSexpert.

However I only get sound coming from the RHS of the car but if I change the balancer to the RHS I'll get sound all round the car. Also the sound quality is poor, worse than radio.

I've read from the forums that you only get poor quality if you don't recode it so after recoding it should be alright.
Actually...when people say that do they mean recode so AUX INPUT is displayed on idrive or is there more coding to fix the sound?
 
#912 ·
Hey all!

So I got my iPod kit and installed it myself by removing the cd changer. Even found my old 4g iPod 40 gb and it fits like a glove in the space below the kit. I haven't been able to get anything other than playlists to work but that's because I'm impatient and playlists is sufficient.

Now being an apple architect I needed to get my iPhone 4 working with it. Turns out you don't have to do much at all!!! Just by plugging it in you can use the iPod player. Certain times you do have to go to the iPod app but it works generally without doing that. Ofcourse this is great but I also love Internet radio. So I found my favorite station on the Internet ( groove salad on somafm.com) and made a iPhone bookmark on the screen. I opened the app and started the stream while the phone was connected to the BMW dock connector. Low and behold the stream started playing over the car!!

Just wanted to share the experience.
 
#915 ·
Check in the center console. If you have an aux in port AND a USB port, your car has 6FL. If all you have is the aux in mini-jack (like a headphone plug), you do not have 6FL.

I just picked up an E61 that has the BMW iPod cable in the glovebox (i.e., not the 6FL option). It is remarkably worse than the 6FL in terms of ease of use and information displayed, and it also does not scroll as quickly and has control lag--kind of an issue when paging through dozens and dozens of artists. Still, it's better than nothing.

I think I will also pick up a spec.dock to run to the auxiliary input, so that I can use my iPhone for Pandora and other audio apps that aren't supported by the iPod integration.
 
#916 · (Edited)
Does anyone have a link to more info/photos on how the spec.dock product installs? Their website is minimal and I'd like to see the wiring harness, etc.

Also, (possibly dumb question so forgive me in advance) I have read through just about all of this thread and don't recall seeing whether or not a standard AUX port can be changed to BMW's 6FL option. I have an 07 525i with Aux installed, but want to use the "modmynav" backup camera which includes a multimedia interface which precludes something like the Denison Gateway (I think!) I'm looking for the most seamless way to get metadata/control from iPod up to the iDrive screen...
 
#917 ·
I self-installed a Spec.dock in my 545. I've got no iPod interface so mine only uses the aux output. It was pretty simple though, as I recall. Audio-wise, the output was a female 1/8" connector and the power was a normal hot- and ground- wire pair.

Suggestion - If you're on Facebook, find the spec.dock page and get on it. They seem to monitor it often and do respond to posts.
 
#919 ·
Hi, does anyone have recommendations on a good and reasonable audio specialist in the NYC metro area? Basically, the aux-input is a little bit busted due to my kids bumping into the aux-cable, so now sound only comes out of 1 side of the car unless I *press* the cable to one side. I looked into spec doc, but am a little loathe to do it myself, seeing the constant warnings of "be careful, you might chip this or that" and needing tools like a hole saw. I'm happy to pay someone simply to fix my aux jack and move it somewhere closer to the front of the car.

Thanks.
 
#920 ·
Hi, does anyone have recommendations on a good and reasonable audio specialist in the NYC metro area? Basically, the aux-input is a little bit busted due to my kids bumping into the aux-cable, so now sound only comes out of 1 side of the car unless I *press* the cable to one side. I looked into spec doc, but am a little loathe to do it myself, seeing the constant warnings of "be careful, you might chip this or that" and needing tools like a hole saw. I'm happy to pay someone simply to fix my aux jack and move it somewhere closer to the front of the car.

Thanks.
 
#922 · (Edited)
Hi,

If you don't mind, can you share more details please?

- did your car come with a cd changer and/or aux input?
- does your spec dock plug into aux input, which means control only from ipod or can it be controlled thru the car's steering and idrive?
- No need for dealer programming, right?
- what was the model # and cost of spec dock that you chose?
- lastly, can you also share the name of the audio shop you used please?

Edit - I ask the above because my car doesn't have an aux input (dealer quoted $350 to install it).
Spec dock website suggests model SKU: BMWE60V2IMP3PKG for $600! + installation ~ $100
My dealer charges $750 for the current ipod interface - part # 6511 04 39425 - to be installed and mentioned that my car needs to be reprogrammed even though it has a 6 cd changer and can play mp3s. Based on many posts in this thread (all prior to 2011), I was under the impression that this is a plug-and-play. However, considering that the part # has changed, I now wonder if older cars like mine do need this reprogramming.

Given these ridiculously high costs, I am pretty much resigned to keep using the FM for my ipod. :(

Thank you and sorry for the trouble!
 
#923 ·
Hi. My car is a 2007 530Xi that came with the aux input already installed and a single CD player. I simply focused on the aux. input installation after receiving an estimate of $750 from a local BMW dealer to do the OEM retro install. Spec. Dock's site will walk you through all the steps necessary to find the correct dock for your car and your particular IPOD. I, incidentally, put out of my mind any attempt to purchase their unit that is controlled through Idrive. My unit is installed in the ashtray and the ipod is controlled directly by me just as if it were on a dock at home. For long trips, I put it on Shuffle or a long playlist and leave it there, pushing the forward or backward buttons by feel and trying not to look at it while driving. The cost of the spec.dock was $165.00 shipped to Albany, New York. Once it arrived, there were instructions to download a color illustrated installation brochure which I did and printed out. It is very clear and detailed. I took it to an excellent audio installer here in Albany, AUdio Obsessions, and after their man looked over the brochure for about five minutes, he was ready to go. They installed it so that both the power and the sound come through the connection when you place the ipod in the dock. The aux outlet remains the same and they tap into its wire so as to direct the sound into the dock. The cost for this thoroughly professional installation was $105.00 and that was that. Just used it on a weekend trip to Philly and it performed flawlessly--it was really great to have my IPOD so well integrated into my sound system. Simple and functional and I wouldn't have dared do the installation myself! Hope this answers your questions.
 
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