Marine CD Player? - Please Help

[scottb34300]

Hi,
I have been looking for a CD player for by sailing cruiser. However, finding the marine CD players in several catalogues has shown that they are quite expensive.

What about a car CD player? The only thing I am concerned about is the connections that come with CD players.

Can anyone help?

Regards,
Scott.

<hr width=100% size=1>Scott.

 

[tcm]

most cd players fitted in powerboats are identical to those found in cars. You just need wiress to the battery, and that's about it? have a look at Halfords, see which has an easy install kit? Some even include fitting!

The bigger probelm is speaker for outside - the sony waterprrof ones are quite good, or Bose or Linn is you want to wake everyone up in the next marina but two.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[sailorman]

Hi
buy a 12v micro system price range from £80.00 > £150.00
jvc do one also awia
i fitted the latter 18 months ago complete with remote control its still as new
ps. you can still use car type speakers
<hr width=100% size=1><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by sailorman on 10/06/2003 21:50 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[Gunfleet]

You can install a Tivoli for minimal wiring and big sound. THen all you need is to play your Sony minidisk through it.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[vyv_cox]

Many car shops do deals on Sony radio/CD players. I have a ten-disc changer and radio in the car and an almost identical unit on the boat. Both perfectly reliable and the cost was hardly more than that of the radio alone. Considerably less than players listed in marine catalogues.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[frilaens]

If the car CD includes a radio and is at the cheaper end I suspect it will need a permanent 12v on one of the wires to remember the preset stations. Marine ones have an internal memory for this that functions when all power is removed.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[vyv_cox]

There are several options for this. As you say, you can install a permanently live wire to the set, this is what I did, with a 5 amp fuse, but it's not my preference. It is possible to buy a little gizmo that consist of a small rechargeable battery that plugs into a cigarette lighter socket for saving presets. I have seen it advertised on several American websites but never found one this side of the Atlantic. Someone once said that Halford's sell them but I never found one.

I suspect that the demands of the CD player may be too much for such a small battery. Loading the cassette causes several solenoids to operate and these seem to be permanently live even when everything is turned off.

My Blaupunkt set doesn't have this feature, don't know whether this is standard.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[poggy]

I would buy a car stereo and a couple of decent speakers in the cabin, you can even by some good flat panel technology now for reasonable money. If you buy a face off stereo this will also reduce the risk of theft.

I have Webasto heating so the clock is permanently connected to the battery, I would not be unhappy to connect the +ve memory lead from the stereo to the battery. After all this is no different to a car anyway and the current draw is tiny.

Connections should not be a problem if you use good fittings. You can even buy boxes to mount the stereo in with a splash proof cover.

Poggy



<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[steve_cronin]

VDO make one...

with long wave AND short wave too. I've only just found this out otherwise when ours was fitted (Pioneer) in 2001 I would have had a VDO so that I would have been able to get BBC World service.

Steve Cronin

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[steve_cronin]

VDO make one...

with long wave AND short wave too. I've only just found this out otherwise when ours was fitted (Pioneer) in 2001 I would have had a VDO so that I would have been able to get BBC World service. Now I don't know how useful the inbuilt "Parking Distance facility" might be though!

Steve Cronin

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[steve_cronin]

Yes.....

I saw the very thing in Halfords earlier this week.

Steve Cronin


<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[jollyjacktar]

you can make your own waterproof speaker. Open up the speaker housing take out the speaker and wrap it in a polythene bag seal the bag tightly around the speaker wires with several layers of good long lasting waterproof tape, pulled tight. Costs any a few pence does not affects the sound noticably and lasts for ages. Any car CD is ok and if in a dry area say inside the cabin will have no problems. If you are really concerned about moisture, you can spray the circuits etc with a silicon waterproofing spray [most likely done by the manufacturer already] but you will have to be carefull and know what you are entering into. Unless you have the knowledge or casn get a friend who knows then leave this step alone, you are not likely to have any problems for an awful long time and by then you will probably want to update it with the latest technology. Isnt this throw away economy wonderful?

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Gunfleet]

Power on all the time

Vyv,
The Fox 350 solar regulator - which you kindly recommended and I bought for my photovoltaic panel - has a connector on it for stuff that needs to be live all the time - bilge pump, radio memory, whatever up to about 10 amps, I think. The clever bit is it cuts out at about 12.1 volts, so you never flatten your batteries. With this and a small solar panel you need never worry about flattening your batteries. As it happens I connect the NASA LCD Navtex through it too.
John

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[John7]

Re: Power on all the time

We have a car CD player and found it worth spraying a circuit board water proofing over the circuit and the case as well. There are two types one that can be soldered through the other you can’t. The latter was used as repairs are most unlikely to be done on such sets. I used this after the casing started to rust in some areas of ventilation slots. On disassembling it I found other small areas of rust inside the case and on some components so I treated the whole thing. In the 18 months since I’v seen no further signs of rust.

The only recent problem is the cables fitted to the speakers was flimsy and the wires corroded. What I would do again would be fit marine cable and cover all joints with silicon.


<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[vyv_cox]

Re: Power on all the time

Well, I didn't know that! My Fox unit is the I-90, now obsolete and it doesn't have that feature. I have been thinking about updating it and this might be good justification. Thanks.

Vyv

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Gunfleet]

Sounds good.

Perhaps with all this expertise John you could nip over and fix that crackly vhf of mine! The marina are having no joy - they seem to want to blame me. It worked, then they installed a new ariel, now it's crackly and 'I've' done something?

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[vyv_cox]

Re: Power on all the time

After many years of experience of ordinary car radios/tape players in camper vans and boats, I would say the ones in the van corrode far more than those in the boat. A VW van cab runs with condensation when four people are living, eating, cooking and sleeping in the accomodation, especially on a surf beach in late autumn or early spring. Despite this, none has ever failed on me, just been updated for newer technology. I think I still have a quad 8-track player somewhere, although no tapes.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[ArthurWood]

I don't know if Clarion are available over there, but we have one of their radios and 6-CD player fitted on our boat. Same factory installed CD changer as in our SAAB, as it happens. Sea Ray fit Clarion radios as std. Has remote so can control from helm - cd, radio, cassette, volume. Clarion make marine spkrs, too, but I would go for Bose marine ones if starting from scratch and you have enough space to accomm them.

<hr width=100% size=1>