[Rhodes22-list] Radio antenna

[Roger Pihlaja]

Russ, Will,

The following was written for the FAQ website about 7 years ago:

I got my stereo in August of 1989 by mail order from West Marine. For whatever the information is worth this many years later because of the speed of change in the electronics industry, the stereo is a Maxim Marine model CSC-705WB.  My unit developed a problem in the cassette drive mechanism & was replaced under warranty in the 1st year.  The replacement has been absolutely bulletproof for 8 seasons & counting. 

The 4 speakers are Maxim Marine weatherproof wedge speakers model CSS-5575W.  The cabin speakers are mounted by thru bolting to the trim piece just below the deck on the port & starboard side at the rear of the V-Berth.  The cabin speakers utilize the entire wedge housing assembly. 

The cockpit speakers utilize only the front panel of the speaker assembly & are mounted on the cockpit side of the transom, port & starboard side facing towards the cabin.  Note that all 4 of these locations get the big powerful speaker magnets about 8-10 feet away from the cabin bulkhead mounted ship's compass! 

The stereo itself is mounted under the starboard side deck just above the ice box. I used a Maxim Marine model 273789 radio installation housing + a Maxim Marine weatherproof opening cover model 273771 for for the mount.  The speaker wires are 18 gage shielded twisted pairs. 

Remember to connect the shields on the speaker wires to ground at the RADIO end only, or you may introduce ground loops!  I use my ship's Metz Manta masthead mounted VHF radio antenna for the AM/FM/WB radio antenna. This gets the antenna something like 28 feet above the water. 

I use a VHF signal splitter switch & a small "rubber ducky" style antenna to share antennas with the ship's VHF radio.  The signal splitter switch allows the operator to connect one radio to the VHF masthead antenna & the other radio to the rubber ducky antenna & instantly switch both antennas back & forth.  I installed the system myself.  This antenna switching system allows relatively private, low power, local VHF radio communication & longer range 25 watt distance communication while still allowing the AM/FM/WB radio to have an antenna.   

My stereo plays cassettes.  If you get a cassette player, be sure to get a model with autoreverse.  It's a real pain to have to pop your head below deck to flip the cassette at the end of each side.  As far as CD's, they seem a little too delicate for use on a small boat.  Even the high priced Sony Discman personal CD players with buffer memories can be made to skip by a hard jolt.  I have an adapter to play my Discman personal CD player thru the cassette player on the ship's stereo.  At the dock or in calm weather, it works all right; but, in rough weather the CD player skips a lot.  The cassette player can take an incredible amount of rough weather without missing a beat & the cassettes themselves seem more robust as well. 

The nice thing about built-in stereos is that you can get the speaker separation required for good stereo effect.  Plus, being built-in, you don't have to find a place to safely stow it when you put to sea.  The good marine stereos use components which are either waterproof to begin with or can stand up to the harsh marine environment.  I would imagine most boom boxes wouldn't last very long aboard a small boat. 

We enjoy the music at the dock, sometimes under sail, & very much swinging on the hook in some deserted cove at sunset.  I like to listen to the radio or music when I'm working on the boat. 

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium 

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <R22RumRunner at aol.com>
To: <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2005 6:58 AM
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Radio antenna


> Russ, Will,
> I like the base loaded VHF antenna's from either Metz or Shakespeare. The  
> base loaded units are compact, easy to install and come with their own mounting  
> bracket. Once you have the wire run to wherever you decide to mount the VHF, 
> it  is very easy to use a splitter and install a converter for the FM part of 
> your  radio. I have this setup on RumRunner and it has been goof proof now for 
> many  years. The VHF does not interfere with the FM and vise versa.
> Some of the newer VHF units give you the option of mounting the radio at  the 
> NAV station and then use a hand held repeater which transmits from the unit  
> inside. I can punch out 12 miles without any problems.
>  
> Rummy
> __________________________________________________
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