Hi John Michael,

You are correct, the BE0980 is no longer servicable due to parts not being available. The alterative was the Alpine M-Bus changer or the an Alpine I-Bus/M-Bus combination unit. With either one of these you would still need a Mercedes translator made by Alpine part number MX-3192 or Mercedes number Q6820135. Unfortunately, there are no more in the USA. I have diagrams for repairing one if you can find one. I only have one left and I am keeping it so I can have a reference for any defective ones that are sent to me. I hope this information has been helpful to you and anyone else that has wondered the same thing. Please contact me directly if you have further questions via my website.

Cleeve Morrison
La Jolla Audio Repair
www.lajollaaudiorepair.com