Another boat stereo question.

[Oscarpop]

Now that I have decided on the speakers (with your collective advice), I am moving on to the head unit.

I am again deciding between a conventional car stereo or one of the new Fusion ones.

My question today relates to a car stereos need to have constant power in order to retain its memory settings.

Is this still the case, that you need a small amount of power permanently wired in or am i still in the 90's?

If this is the case, have you wired directly to the batteries or do you just let the radio memory lapse each time you isolate the batteries?

many thanks.

 

[Lucky Duck]

My current boat has a connection between the battery and the stereo which is independant of the domestic/engine switches so it keeps the settings when the main ones are switched off.

On the previous boat the stereo would lose all power when the battery swithes were in the off position but as I never bothered pre-programming radio stations, etc it was only a minor inconvienance.

 

[noelex]

They can be wired with or without the memory function (and therefore battery drain)
Most unis only draw a very small amount which is only significant if leaving the boat without charging for long periods, but they do vary and some draw an annoying amount of power to retain the memory.
When installing them consider wiring the "headlights on" feature, it often uses a reasonable amount less power and usually the display is still fine indoors on a yacht. As always measure to see the effect on your unit.

Fusion make some good units with sensible features for boats, but the equivalent from a car stereo company like Alpine is cheaper and better sound quality.
Be careful of some of the non standard sizes in the Fusion units. The car units are all the same size (Din ). If it breaks in the future it can be replaced with hundreds of other Identically sized units without having to patch or recut holes.

 

[nigelmercier]

I just let it forget stuff, only takes seconds to retune.

 

[lw395]

I just let it forget stuff, only takes seconds to retune.

There's a lot to be said for that.
It needs to retune anyway if you've sailed down the coast.
But it may also forget balance/fade etc that you might like to keep.
Measure the current it draws, it shouldn't be much?

 

[lw395]

Another point, is look at units with no CD or tape deck.
There are some good USB/SD card MP3 units around now.

 

[Oscarpop]

Another point, is look at units with no CD or tape deck.
There are some good USB/SD card MP3 units around now.

Thats exactly what i'm after. No CD, tapes, DATS,Minidiscs.

I have shortlisted a couple on the internet, but I wan't to whizz down to halfords and see what the wring loom looks like. I worry that there are now no longer a set of wires hanging out the back that you connect with choc-blocks but standardised adaptors that plug in to the car and would give me a headache trying to fit.

 

[prv]

I worry that there are now no longer a set of wires hanging out the back that you connect with choc-blocks but standardised adaptors that plug in to the car and would give me a headache trying to fit.

The Fusion ones have a nice traditional bundle o' wires.

Pete

 

[Oscarpop]

The Fusion ones have a nice traditional bundle o' wires.

Pete

I can imagine that the fusion ones are exactly what i need. However as £400 there are many features I won't use; waterproof casing, NMEA 2000 link.

I can get the wireless streaming and USB link in a machine for sub £100 which ( as posted on here) is a standard DIN e and can be changed for another if it breaks.

My boat is new and dry so I have little concern about moisture.

 

[prv]

I can imagine that the fusion ones are exactly what i need. However as £400 there are many features I won't use; waterproof casing, NMEA 2000 link.

£400! Mine was £110 including postage. OK, I guess if you add some of the fancier features the price goes up fast, but I just wanted to plug in an iPhone, my parents wanted FM and LW radio, and that's all we needed.

Pete

 

[Oscarpop]

£400! Mine was £110 including postage. OK, I guess if you add some of the fancier features the price goes up fast, but I just wanted to plug in an iPhone, my parents wanted FM and LW radio, and that's all we needed.

Pete

Pete,

which one did you get? And does it connect with an Aux or a USB?

The 600 doesnt seem to work with the iphone. I don't know much about the 200 and the 700 is a lost of buck for what i need it for, plus its a big unit

Ta

 

[noelex]

Thats exactly what i'm after. No CD, tapes, DATS,Minidiscs.

I have shortlisted a couple on the internet, but I wan't to whizz down to halfords and see what the wring loom looks like. I worry that there are now no longer a set of wires hanging out the back that you connect with choc-blocks but standardised adaptors that plug in to the car and would give me a headache trying to fit.

I have got an Alpine Ida-x200.
No cd or tape. Will play mp3 via USB stick. (This is actually the best way. The head unit can search the stick and play songs from a particular artist etc) or iPhone etc.
Remote control, but only IR which limits the range.
A wire leads to a nav draw which is where my iPod and USB sticks are plugged in.
Simple wiring just a matter of joining wires for speakers etc.
It seems to have lower power consumption presumably because it only plays solid state media.

 

[Marine Reflections]

If you are off to Halfords, have a look at the Alpine 133bt they sell.

You can bluetooth (no wires) your iphone/other devices, it also has a USB connection on the front panel, cheap for what it is and with fairly good sound quality for sub £150, it's no Mcintosh but very good, no point in paying for features you wont use.

Most have connection blocks that plug into the standard loom of your car, but snipping this off and wiring will be very easy as they will all be coded.

 

[Oscarpop]

If you are off to Halfords, have a look at the Alpine 133bt they sell.

You can bluetooth (no wires) your iphone/other devices, it also has a USB connection on the front panel, cheap for what it is and with fairly good sound quality for sub £150, it's no Mcintosh but very good, no point in paying for features you wont use.

Most have connection blocks that plug into the standard loom of your car, but snipping this off and wiring will be very easy as they will all be coded.

Many thanks.
All suggestions for "mechless" car stereos that will work with iphone 4 gratefully received.

 

[Marine Reflections]

Well if it has to be 'mechless' no moving parts, cd, tape etc, then for the money I would go with Noelex and rec the Alpine ida-x200.

Not sure that offers bluetooth though but will connect through a iphone/ipod cable.

 

[prv]

which one did you get? And does it connect with an Aux or a USB?

I have the MS-RA50. It has three input modes - tuner, aux, and iPod. The auxiliary input is a standard pair of RCA sockets, so you could plug anything in here. The iPod input (also works with iPhone) is a dedicated plug, not USB or analogue audio. When you plug it in, the stereo takes over control of the phone and you use the stereo controls to select playlists, tracks, etc.

It all works quite well, but that takeover behaviour isn't always ideal because I often use my phone to check on tides etc. So as well as the dedicated phone plug (which also charges the phone) I used the aux input for a simple 3.5mm jack on a long lead that pulls out the back of a locker above the chart table. So I have a choice of plugging in the "proper" plug and driving things from the stereo, or plugging the wandering lead into the headphone socket and still having control from the phone, albeit without charging. If someone else brought along some other kind of music player I could also use the long lead for that.

The unit seems well-made, and generally well designed for boat use. It doesn't need continuous power to remember your settings, and it remembers what it was doing (mode, volume, etc) when the power disappears so you can easily turn it on and off from the main electric panel if you want to.

Pete

 

[Oscarpop]

Cheers Pete,

Thanks for that.

Nice piece of kit, I do however need a zone control or a fader as I have 2 sets of speakers to power.

 

[Cardo]

I have the good ol' MS-RA200. I think it's fantastic. I also have the iPod dock for it (though not required if you are happy with a cable dangling about).
Two volume zones (saloon and cockpit), good iPod control, aux-in for the TV, and a regular aux-in for non iOS devices (good heavens!).

When I first got the unit earlier this year, it would not work with any iOS 5 devices, however Fusion supplied a firmware update that fixed this.

 

[noelex]

Well if it has to be 'mechless' no moving parts, cd, tape etc, then for the money I would go with Noelex and rec the Alpine ida-x200.

Not sure that offers bluetooth though but will connect through a iphone/ipod cable.

No Bluetooth on mine, but I imagine the new version has this. Has Bluetooth enough bandwidth for good audio quality ?

I still think USB sticks are the best option. I can fit hours (probably even days) of music on a 15GB stick. They are cheap enough you can have one for soft music, one or party music, one for classical etc.
If you want from the head unit order just some folders or artists to be played from the stick. You get all the versatility of an iPhone ( for music playing) I thout any power consumption and the sticks can be easily replaced if lost, or salty hands damage them. The only thing you miss out on compared with an iPhone is the pretty coloured display and Internet radio (which is great away from English speaking countries)

 

[Marine Reflections]

No Bluetooth on mine, but I imagine the new version has this. Has Bluetooth enough bandwidth for good audio quality ?

I still think USB sticks are the best option. I can fit hours (probably even days) of music on a 15GB stick. They are cheap enough you can have one for soft music, one or party music, one for classical etc.
If you want from the head unit order just some folders or artists to be played from the stick. You get all the versatility of an iPhone ( for music playing) I thout any power consumption and the sticks can be easily replaced if lost, or salty hands damage them. The only thing you miss out on compared with an iPhone is the pretty coloured display and Internet radio (which is great away from English speaking countries)

The short answer is no.
Bluetooth doesn't really offer the best audio quality, it does introduce some unwanted noise if you are listening out for it. There is also the issue of the unit not being able to charge the iphone with bluetooth HU's.

Outside of the audiophile world, it is more than good enough and most will not notice any difference in quality.