Volume controls in cockpit

cagey

cagey

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I'm fitting some music speakers in the cockpit and need advice please, music source is car radio at nav desk.
2 speakers 1 per channel , Speakers are Vidsonix waterproof transducer mounted behind bulkhead either side of the wheel. Ideally I would like to control them independently from a sheltered but not waterproof position also an instant off switch to monitor VHF, be nice to put control on that speaker as well
1 what to buy and where have looked but cant find reasonably priced waterproof control
2 how to wire them and controller.
I know s.d all about electronics but once I get going some of it makes sense.
Its the supplier thats causing me the problem at the moment thats before I start threading cables etc
Thanks
Keith
 
I have a 2-zone Fusion system, with the main unit in the cabin and a wired remote control fitted in the cockpit. The cockpit speakers make up one zone and the cabin ones the other, and you can configure it so that the volume knob in each position controls only those speakers.

Also means that when I run the music from my phone on random shuffle, when a song comes up that I don't want to listen to, I can easily press the button to skip it without clambering down below.

MS-RA205-Elevated-500x500.jpg

(or an older cousin thereof)

and

MS-WR600_700x700-433x433.jpg


Pete
 
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The top end option is the Fusion kit. Not like prv suggests though, with their remote. Instead, the Fusion has a NMEA (and Ethernet) interface, and can be remote controlled by software on most current generation chartplotters. If you have money for Fusion audio kit, you certainly have money to upgrade your chartplotter too!

Raymarine_Rockford_Fosgate_PMX5_integration_closeup_aPanbo-thumb-465xauto-12948.jpg


If not, the cheap option is a standard IR remote for your car radio (my Panasonic has one for £15), waterproof inside a ziploc bag - aim down the companionway.
 
I use a Sony car radio next to the nav station that has a remote control so I can zap it from the companionway.

I also more frequently now use my UE Boom speaker hung up in the cockpit, bluetoothing toons from my phone (offline saved spotify tracks).

The UE Boom survived a thorough soaking down in the Southern Ocean when helming last autumn.
 
If your radio is a modern car stereo with the ISO connectors, then it is also reasonably simple, assuming the radio supports it, to put a toggle switch on the phone mute wire (A2) so the toggle switch grounds it. Mount the toggle switch somewhere in the cockpit.

OR, you could use the external HF radio speaker output jack (or a T on the external speaker) as a feed to a low current relay that switches the same "mute" wire to ground. I found this circuit

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and this link http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/86466/trigger-alarm-with-relay-from-pc-sound-output

May even build it myself.

BTW don't be put off by not being an electronic whizz - you could get all the bits from a local Maplins.
 
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Yngmar said:
The top end option is the Fusion kit. Not like prv suggests though, with their remote. Instead, the Fusion has a NMEA (and Ethernet) interface, and can be remote controlled by software on most current generation chartplotters. If you have money for Fusion audio kit, you certainly have money to upgrade your chartplotter too!
Click to expand...

My plotter is far too old for such trickery, hence the proprietary remote :)

The top end stuff is probably quite pricey, but I don't remember my basic unit being too steep. Certainly nothing like new chartplotter territory anyway :)

I do like the suggestion of a silence button via the telephone mute line though. Might have to add that.

Pete
 
I play music from my iPhone, blue toothed through the stereo so the phone controls column, track, skip ec etc. The phone,is,in a waterproof soft plastic case and still touch control.
 
Simplistically you want a variable resistor in series with the speakers. Acrually 2 variable resistors ganged together one for each channel. You typically need about 50 or a100 ohms max resistance to give a fair bit of muting. These are sometimes or used to be sold as a speaker fader. Though often these are complicated by controlling botyh front and read speakers in a car.
Now largely superceded by controls on the modern radios.
Anyway your real problem is the water proofing and I really can't suggest any thing except those little water proof boxes let into the bulkhead. good luck olewill
 
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