CD player

RookieHunter · #1 (**permalink**) 11-28-2002

If you were replacing a CD player in your boat and it were inside the cabin, would you use the marine variety? The one that I am replacing looks old but has some corrosion on the rear. The boat will be on the water but will remain relatively low-humidity inside.

Irwin32 · #2 (**permalink**) 11-30-2002

I do not buy "marine versions" for the inside of my boat. I have never had any problems with stereos that could be connected to the "marine environment" I think this is a marketing ploy. What could be worse than the interior of a car, with all the windows closed, on a 100 degree day after it has been shut up for 8 hours? Most of our boats have some type of ventilation when they are closed up.

RookieHunter · #3 (**permalink**) 11-30-2002

Before I saw your message I bought a CD player for an auto (non-marine). It had an additional wire for accessory that I have seen before when wiring cars but didn''t make sense on the grounding bar for the boat. I tried to install it from 9pm to 1am this morning. I spent 2 hours on the phone today with the manufacturer (most of it on hold). Long story short, I went back and bought a marine CD player by a different manufacturer and hooked it up the same way and it worked first time.

Question: Does a marine CD player have anything special that allows it to be used with the grounding bar? Or is a boat identical to a car installation since you ground car radio''s to the chassis instead of the block?

BYW: The second CD player also had this additional wire called accessory.

Thanks again for your help.

coast to coast · #4 (**permalink**) 12-01-2002

You should check out Sirius Satellite Radio. The web site is www.sirius.com
You receive 100 channels for a small subscription, the music is totally commercial free and there''s also news, sports, etc... The signal works over 200+ miles offshore too. You can freeze the subscription if you lay up for the winter- very convenient. Beats listening to old CDs. West Marine or Boaters World sells the hardware.

duffer1960 · #5 (**permalink**) 12-05-2002

The accessory wire is for connection to an ignition switch. This is what lets the radio turn on when you turn on the key. All you need to do is tie this wire to +12V and the radio will work fine. If you ground it or leave it unconnected the radio will never turn on.

From our competitive research (Viseton Corp, formerly Ford Electronics), it seems the only difference between a marinized stereo and an automotive stereo is the bezel may have a UV coating to keep the sun from destroying it while it sits in the dash of a boat. If your installation is inside a cabin, you don''t need it.

Irwin32 · #6 (**permalink**) 12-05-2002

25 years boating and 25 years using 12V car stereos with no problems related to the "marine environment". To repeat earlier posts, what could be worse than a car - all glass solarium in the summer and brutal cold in the winter, yet they keep working.