Sailboat Ipod Stereo

[nwdiver]

I use a Bose SoundDock below deck and Bose waterproof speakers in the cockpit, very good sound not much juice.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

+1

Unmarinized car stereos don't last long in the marine environment.

I have an Alpine IDA something marine stereo with no built-in CD player. It is made especially for use with an IPod or MP3 player. It has astonishingly good sound and is ruggedly built.

I'm just wondering if you had a car stereo in your boat that didn't last long or you're guessing.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

I'm just wondering if you had a car stereo in your boat that didn't last long or you're guessing.

Yes, I did, and more than one. They die when water condenses inside and corrodes internal contacts. The marinized ones have some protection against this. They also do not live forever (what does in the marine environment) but I know people who have gotten 10 years out of marinized stereos.

[Celestialsailor]

Good information to know

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Yes, I did, and more than one. They die when water condenses inside and corrodes internal contacts. The marinized ones have some protection against this. They also do not live forever (what does in the marine environment) but I know people who have gotten 10 years out of marinized stereos.

I am asked to look at a lot of electronics on boats and problems with car stereos are rare. I did have a CD changer that developed problems but that was due to a slipping belt after 10 years.Probably wear rather than the salt air.

I also saw one that gave up after only 3 years, but that had 1/2 a cupful of water in it from a leaking chainplate.

My experience is they are pretty reliable. They are also cheap to replace and unlike other marine electronics the standard DIN size means a new one will fit in the cut out for the old one.

[wdkester]

Originally Posted by Excalibur5

Well, I figured out a solution. I bought the parts to make myself a homemade version of a "Left Coast" Stereo.

Parts Express had everything I was looking for. Total to do everything the "Left Coast" unit does, plus add a pair of marine grade cigarette lighter sockets, was $56 before shipping. (not including a couple feet of patch wire and about an hour to assemble it when it gets here)

Class D 2X25W amplifier board, utility case, switches, belken charging kit, etc.

If anyone wants the exact parts list, let me know.

I for one would like the parts list. A good winter project. Also let us know when it's working.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by noelex 77

I am asked to look at a lot of electronics on boats and problems with car stereos are rare. I did have a CD changer that developed problems but that was due to a slipping belt after 10 years.Probably wear rather than the salt air.

I also saw one that gave up after only 3 years, but that had 1/2 a cupful of water in it from a leaking chainplate.

My experience is they are pretty reliable. They are also cheap to replace and unlike other marine electronics the standard DIN size means a new one will fit in the cut out for the old one.

They are cheap to replace, so it's not a big deal. But I have had a lot of regular car stereos die. They typically last 2 or 3 years.

[David M]

At $300, this unit is not exactly cheap but it is waterproof and houses the iPod inside the unit which protects it as well. I am happy with mine.

Fusion (MS-IP500) iPod Marine Stereo Unit

[Excalibur5]

Here is my order list.

QTY PartNumber Product
2 090-250 RCA Plug Black Plastic
1 090-317 3.5mm Stereo Panel Mount Jack
2 265-274 Marine Grade Cigarette Lighter Socket 12 VDC
1 240-097 3.5mm Stereo Male To Male Cable 6 ft.
1 139-006 Belkin Universal Charging Kit for USB / Mini USB Devices
1 060-554 DPDT Medium Duty Toggle Switch
1 060-774 SPST Automotive Round Rocker Switch w/Red LED 12V
1 320-304 2x25W @ 4 Ohm TPA3123 Class-D Audio Amplifier Board
1 320-492 Plastic Utility Case w/Mounting Tabs 6.14" x 2.64" x 1.57"

First is the quantity, six digit is the PartsExpress part number. This included two cigarette lighter sockets and a belkin USB charger (so I can charge the phone in the V-berth or in the main cabin). The SPST switch will be a power switch on the outside of the case (with LED to indicate it is on). The DPDT switch will be to switch between my two pairs of speakers - outside and inside - as the amp is only capable of running one pair at a time. I am also electing to install a 3.5mm jack on the outside of the case (or somewhere else on the boat) to plug into, you don't have to do that.

You will also need some rubber grommets, silicone, connector wire, plastic circuit board spacers, and a soldering iron and solder.

I wouldn't attempt this unless you have some experience assembling electronic components and know how to solder. Also note that this amp ACTUALLY puts out only around 3 watts RMS of power per channel drawing off of 12V, but with normal speakers should be fine, and pleasant to listen to - comparable to a standard car stereo, but should draw less than 0.2 amps from the batteries.

No guarantees here, though, I haven't even gotten the pieces yet. I THINK it'll work pretty good, as long as you are pushing pretty efficient speakers (which most car-style speakers are) I also have no intent of bursting eardrums with this, just want to be able to have music while sailing or anchored in the middle of nowhere.

[Excalibur5]

Well got everything and put it all together and tested it. Works awesome!! I did have a couple problems, though. The box I ordered was too small (didn't check that too close) and I needed to buy another along with some circuit board standoffs from Radio Shack.

Hooked up to a temporary 18V supply, and at full volume (plenty loud on my home stereo speakers) it draws .2 amps. It'll be a little less powerful with 12V. I would say an excellent purchase, and a fun assembly (took a little over an hour).

[ozskipper]

its relevant to how many watts you are consuming.. If you just have a pair of 25 watt speakers you wont draw much regardless of the type of amplification source -ipod amp or traditional amp. But if you have a pair of 400 watt speakers and matching power source (amplifier- built in or independent), you will draw considerably more as you turn it up.

Total power consumption
50 watts divided by 12 volts = 4.1 amps
800 watts divided by 12 volts = 66 amps

Of course these figures are based on each system at continuous peak power, which would be unlikely, as you will simply destroy the voice coils in the speakers first But it gives you an indication all the same.

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by ozskipper

its relevant to how many watts you are consuming.. If you just have a pair of 25 watt speakers you wont draw much regardless of the type of amplification source -ipod amp or traditional amp. But if you have a pair of 400 watt speakers and matching power source (amplifier- built in or independent), you will draw considerably more as you turn it up.

Total power consumption
50 watts divided by 12 volts = 4.1 amps
800 watts divided by 12 volts = 66 amps

Of course these figures are based on each system at continuous peak power, which would be unlikely, as you will simply destroy the voice coils in the speakers first But it gives you an indication all the same.

Typical listening levels are less than 1w per channel (an amplifier will consume more than 2 watts to generate this as they not 100% efficient).. The peaks are much higher, but they are very short and do not have much impact on power consumption.
800 watts refers to the speakers power handling. 800w speakers will not consume any more power than 50w speakers. The speakers sensitivity (listed as 90DB per watt for example) will give you some idea of the power consumption, but not the power handling figure
.

[Boracay]

I put a Sony car stereo into Boracay, and it works well. However it does use noticeable amounts of power. The back gets quite warm.

I've always blamed the stereo but thinking about it as I read this thread maybe the culprit is the sealed bookshelf speakers.

They're small and easy to install but something more vented would use less power and could sound better.

Problem is the install.

[hellosailor]

Ex-
"10W @ 4 ohms <0.08% THD+N, 25W @ 4 ohms <10.0% THD+N "
You'll note the 25 watt rating is with up to 10% harmonic distortion, which is really lousy distorted sound. The ten watt power rating is probably more accurate, so you're going to need efficient speakers and not expect a lot of volume from it before things get outright fuzzy.
Might be worth hooking it up temporarily just to see if that's enough amp power for you. Kept below, all sorts of "land" electronics do last for a long time, including laptops and tvs, so the durability of a car stereo (and they're cheap prices) might not be such an issue. Especially if you want to listen to something like local news not just your own jukebox once in a while.
If the amp does work for you, look for a "conformal coating" product in spray or can. These are usually plastics, similar to liquid vinyl, but designed to be applied to circuit boards to totally seal them from moisture. The material itself can 'detune' some equipment and traps some heat, so it isn't a perfect solution, but on a simple amp that doesn't need heat sinking, it might just make it last forever on a boat.

[Ex-Calif]

I use a pair of logitec computer speakers with woofer box powered through a 12v usb plug. My 8 year old ipod nano supplies the tunes via the 3.5 plug. Plenty loud for the boat.

Speakers cost 19 bucks...

The previous setup was a $90 altec lansing ipod dock that lasted in the marine environment for 5 years. The 3.5 input still worked but the 30 pin plug was intmittent.

The ipod does double duty in the car. I haven't listened to a cd or broadcast radio in about 5 years.