VHF Extension Speaker

[gandy]

Hi,

Has anyone found a bulkhead mounting speaker to use in the cockpit for VHF? Our boat originally had one fitted, but it's knackered.

I don't want to cut a hole to mount a flush speaker. I'd rather have something mounted on the surface.

Ta in advance, as always,

 

[MoodySabre]

I have been looking without much success. Our local chandler has an external speaket on a small base that just screws to whatever and it has a lead with a small jackplug. I can't remember a brand name. It wasn't quite right for me but was neat and about £25. Unfortunately for you he doesn't do mailorder or take cards. So these things do exist.

You could worse than ring Waters and Stanton on 01702 204965 who are very clued up on these things. In fact I must ring them too!

 

[MoodySabre]

Or there is this (you have got me focused). plenty more on google

http://www.sailgb.com/p/waterproof_vhf_e...amp;country=GBR

 

[ggt9]

I've got one like this. It seems a popular model and is available from lots of places though it's perhaps not as big and as loud as I'd hoped.

 

[chamac]

Maplin have them. The one I got has a mylar cone which would help a lot in a marine environment.

 

[gandy]

Which Maplin product did you get? I find it impossible to find stuff on their site.

Our existing (broken) speaker is a flat box mounted onto the bulkhead, and that's really the configuration I'm looking for. A bit like this would be if it didn't have the bracket. Anything on a mounting bracket looks too vulnerable to getting a line round it.

 

[ShipsWoofy]

did you look at ggt's link?

 

[billywilliams]

I have had a flush fitting speaker outside my wheelhouse for about five years.
Cost about three quid from a local security firm. Its an external speaker for a door entry/security system.

 

[gandy]

[ QUOTE ]
did you look at ggt's link?

[/ QUOTE ]That's a bracket mounting one as well, although it's nice and small. I may need to settle for something like that in the end, but I haven't yet worked out can't think of an easy place to fit it where it will do some good without getting lines caught round it. I'd prefer to find a like-for-like so I don't need to drill new holes or run the wiring to a new location.

 

[gandy]

[ QUOTE ]
I have had a flush fitting speaker outside my wheelhouse for about five years.
Cost about three quid from a local security firm. Its an external speaker for a door entry/security system.

[/ QUOTE ]Good tip, I'll follow that up.

 

[ShipsWoofy]

whoops sorry, I did not see your no bracket comment, just breezed through and saw the photograph and wondered why the nasa would not suit.

Do you have a limiting price, you may have to buy a pair..

cpc link

Or does it need to be square?

 

[ggt9]

Fair cop but I didn't know about the bracket constraint at the time of posting. It does seem, on a quick Google, to be difficult to find a bulkhead mounted speaker without a bracket...

If you do resort to the Nasa one, rest assured that if you wrap a rope around it, the speaker will easily break off before any real damage is done /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Seagreen]

I'm not clued up with modern VHF radios, but the last NASA VHF I had either led the sound output through the radio speaker, or via the cockpit speaker - I had to jiggle the jack plug for the cockpit speaker out of its socket to use the radio. Is there an easy way round this problem these days?

 

[ShipsWoofy]

On older radios that is indeed the case, on modern sets the sound is not switched off within the set when you plug the speaker in, in fact you can on some turn off the internal speaker via the menus. At least on the navman sets this is the case.

On my old aquastar set (RIP) I disabled the switch inside that killed the internal speaker and added an external 2 way switch so you had external or internal at the flick of a switch. I got fed up feeling behind the set to locate the plug and socket.

I never tried just having them both on all the time, I think at the time I saw it as useful to turn of the saloon speaker.

The newer well thought out sets do appear to have fixed this bug, if you think about it, as many are now aimed to be mounted outside in a flush fitted position, it would be a serious flaw if you needed access to the rear of the set regularly.

 

[ditchcrawler]

Force Four have several speakers.I had one which I fixed with Velcro.They sell it for £16.95 www.force4.co.uk