Stereo Installation this weekend

skyking · Post by **skyking** » Fri May 04, 2012 3:48 am

Well with the nice weather I'm finally getting around to adding a sound system to the old girl..

I have a small nav station that I'm working on so what better addition than a pioneer stereo..

What I'm looknig for is your thoughts on speaker placement. I was considering two external speakers on the transome which would go just below the stays in order to allow access for future use if needed...

The other two would be below decks and I'm not sure where to place them..

John K · Post by **John K** » Fri May 04, 2012 4:56 am

I cut a hole in my table all the way to the port side and installed a 5 1/4" three way speaker there. I installed an airtight box underneath for sound quality reasons. I also cut a hole in the table and installed the actual deck right there next to it. It is enclosed in a flip open door marine enclosure. It came out well, does not interfere with anyone sitting there because it's so far to port. I dressed out the wires so they don't snag on anything. I'll post a pic of it soon. I have no intention of using the table for a berth in the near future, the staroard settee and v-berth suit my needs. If that changes, I will just make a new table top, no problem there. I installed the other speaker in the cockpit to the left of the companionway. I backed it with a box as well. Looks great, sounds great.

DiverDarren · Post by **DiverDarren** » Fri May 04, 2012 5:21 am

I am interested in installing a sound system also. I have been assuming that the whole system would be a major drain on the batteries though. How many batteries are you running in your system?

CaptainScott · Post by **CaptainScott** » Fri May 04, 2012 5:44 am

I recently installed a system on Lady Jo.

I do not have any photos yet but will try and get a couple up tomorrow.
I mounted my speakers into the side panel behind where the seat cushions would be inside the boat. I reall like how they came out and how they sound!

Here is a photo of my power panel. invision a 5 1/4 inch speaker mounted just to the right of the panel and one opposite of the boat on the other side. Yes a seat back cushion will cover them but I do not have the original cushions so no problem!

IF you enter the companion way this is immediately to the left or port side.
To the left you can see the white vinyl shelf. I mounted the head unit in the shelf by cutting a standard din sized rectangle in the viyl and wood.

Sounds great! No cockpit speakers. Do not need them.

FYI, a standard stereo playing the radio does not really draw that much. It is when you start adding amplifiers or playing CDs when the draw goes up dramatically.

Scott

John K · Post by **John K** » Fri May 04, 2012 5:51 am

I second what Scott said. The power drain on a decent deep cycle battery is not very much at all. I just put LED's in the cabin, so that helped as well.

By the way, these are the ones I used in the cabin. They are very bright, very cheap, and fit the OEM fixtures. They ship from China, so it takes a couple of weeks. I paid less than $8.00 for the PAIR, shipped.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-x-Car-41mm-16 ... 8e&vxp=mtr

Capt. Bondo · Post by **Capt. Bondo** » Fri May 04, 2012 9:02 am

The PO had installed the sound system, and the speaker placement is both out of the way and sounds good both in the cock-pit and down below.
[img][img]http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad138/rbakersacres_photos/Sailboat/th_IMG_4376.jpg[/img][/img]
[img][img]http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad138/rbakersacres_photos/Sailboat/th_IMG_0406.jpg[/img][/img]
I updated the "dashboard" that the PO installed to handle another power panel and some lights for the dining/nav table.
The radio does have a USB plug to plugin the ipad and it can all be controlled via a wireless remote from the cock-pit

[img][img]http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad138/rbakersacres_photos/Sailboat/th_Electricpanel.jpg[/img][/img]
This little solor panel in the window tops off the deep cycle battery during the week.
[img][img]http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad138/rbakersacres_photos/Sailboat/th_Solarpanel.jpg[/img][/img]

skyking · Post by **skyking** » Fri May 04, 2012 9:26 am

Thanks for the ideas & pictures...I was considering 2 batteries but maybe I will go with the solar panal in the window as did Capt Bondo.

John K · Post by **John K** » Sun May 06, 2012 9:03 am

Ditto on the solar panel. Mine is bungeed to the mast laying flat on the deck and only plugged in at the slip though. I stow it when the boat is in motion.

Capt. Bondo · Post by **Capt. Bondo** » Mon May 07, 2012 9:17 am

I can't take credit the solor panel in the window, I took that idea from Alan. Also my old Sailor 280 does charge when it's running, but the stereo spends a lot more time playing than the motor spends running

Alanhod · Post by **Alanhod** » Mon May 07, 2012 12:50 pm

This year I stepped up to a Solar Panel in both aft windows. I've set up for a second battery but have not put one in. I've been told to get a bigger battery instead of 2 separate batteries by a guy who sold solar/batteries/electrical panels and such. He said you got more power over a longer period of time off a bigger single battery.

I've also been concerned about the weight of the second or larger battery. To date my single Deep Cycle DieHard and solar panel have handled my meager power needs. I converted everything to LED's as my first and biggest upgrade to my boat. With everything turned on I'll bet I'm under 60 Milli Amps. No Wait my 1976 depth finder of antiquity likely draws a lot of power but I don't think I've ever used it more than 30 min. at a time.

Here's my antique power hog. I have no data on it at all other than it works.

I have no connection with this company in any way. I just use there product and have loved it. One panel has provided my boat with 100% of it's power now for 3 years. The Solar Panels are Sun Force, Solar 12v Battery Maintainer, up to 1.8 watts/125mAmp under ideal conditions. It has a blocking diode to prevent reverse discharge, 1-888-478-6435, www.sunforceproducts.com

You can see my panel held in place by my very high tech aft window curtain. Wow, I've lost a lot of weight since this photo was taken in 2009.

Captain Scott used this same solar panel I have and did not get the results I have gotten. He went to a bigger panel for his power needs. He straps his bigger panel to the deck when needed. I believe Captain Bondo has had results more like mine.

Thanks
Alan

skyking · Post by **skyking** » Tue May 08, 2012 4:24 am

So far here is what I have..
I still need to connect the speakers and an antenna...will the VHF for the radio work as an FM antenna ?

John K · Post by **John K** » Tue May 08, 2012 4:49 am

That looks great! I believe that would be a big negative on the VHF antenna question. You would run into impedance issues when doing that. I recommend installing something like this (I have no affilliation, but it worked great for me): http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dl ... OU:US:1123

You just need a wire antenna running in there. No need to have a protruding antenna like for the VHF, which is line of sight. Your stereo is not.

skyking · Post by **skyking** » Tue May 08, 2012 6:01 am

John,

Thanks a bunch, I just ordered the antenna off of E-bay

Thanks Alan, As I just ordered my solar panel too...28.00 from Target including shipping.

mcrandall · Post by **mcrandall** » Tue May 08, 2012 5:08 pm

Here you go, Tim:
http://www.thegpsstore.com/Shakespeare- ... -P990.aspx

I got one of these the other day. Allows you to use your VHF antenna dual purpose. Doesn't affect VHF operation while isolating your stereo from transmitted RF energy. Great solution, improves your FM reception by putting the antenna way up (typically) on the mast.

No association with product or distributor, other than being a satisfied customer.

skyking · Post by **skyking** » Wed May 09, 2012 5:56 am

Mark, thats really cool...I already ordered the antenna that John mentioned earlier, But I may need to get one of these in the future.

I dont have a VHF radio on my boat but I do have the antenna on the mast head.

tgentry · Post by **tgentry** » Thu May 10, 2012 7:14 am

I also use that Shakespeare band seperator. It seems to work just fine.

I originally planned cockpit speakers but found they aren't necessary. I suppose they might be nice if you have someone in the cabin a lot while you're underway, but that's not an issue for me.

John K · Post by **John K** » Thu May 10, 2012 7:43 am

I could definitely see how some might not want a speaker in the cockpit. I did put one there because one of the crew that is pretty much always in the boat is deaf in one ear. Plus, we swim in the summer when there's no wind, and I figured it we could hear it from the water, and lastly, I had a gigantic hole already there.

tgentry · Post by **tgentry** » Thu May 10, 2012 8:14 am

If I did install cockpit speakers I was planning to enclose the back side with either wood boxes or stainless steel bowls.

Mostly for safety, in case a wave hit and breaks out the speaker cone, leaving me with a 6" hole in the cockpit. Secondarily, it stops out of phase sound waves from going into the cabin, which can greatly effect bass response.

John K · Post by **John K** » Thu May 10, 2012 8:49 am

Yeah, I backed it with a small box that is stuffed with insulation. Works great, no front to back cancellation, and plenty of bass.

skyking · Post by **skyking** » Mon May 21, 2012 5:11 pm

job complete, thanks everyone for the tips..

pictures to follow..

Noenth · Post by **Noenth** » Tue Mar 26, 2013 6:20 am

skyking wrote:Well with the nice weather I'm finally getting around to adding a sound system to the old girl..

I have a small nav station that I'm working on so what better addition than a pioneer stereo..

What I'm looknig for is your thoughts on speaker placement. I was considering two external cheap speakers on the transome which would go just below the stays in order to allow access for future use if needed...

The other two would be below decks and I'm not sure where to place them..

Oh man I am looking for some speakers installation tips. I need to install front end speakers so please help me as I don't have any knowledge.

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Stereo Installation this weekend

Stereo Installation this weekend

Re: Stereo Installation this weekend