I agree that the FM transmitter attachments for the IPod sound awful. Back in the day when stereos still had cassette tape players in them you could get a gizmo that would play your Ipod through the tape, but no such animal exists for CD players.

I've wrestled with this problem on my car, a 15 year old SAAB with a built-in non-standard CD player that's not amenable to a simple replacement with an aftermarket IPod compatible stereo. I eventually found through googling around a DIY guide to wiring in an input jack. It was not for the faint-hearted -- involved a major dis-assembly, cutting internal connections on circuit boards and soldering onto them. And it worked, by the way. But other than that, I don't think there are any kits out there for most stereos that accomplish what you're trying to do.

My boat as well came with a perfectly good CD player but, alas, no IPod connection ability. But in that instance it was easier to just replace the thing with a new one; I picked up a good sounding unit (with remote control -- which never made sense to me for a car stereo but is a nice feature on the boat) for maybe $110 or so. So that's my advice; the time and effort you'll spend trying to figure out how to hardwire an IPod input onto you existing system will probably not be worth it.

I agree with Matthew. Our boat had a JVC unit on it that the first owner had installed at a cost of almost $2K, the bill was in the docs we got with it. But it was 16 years old, took up a ton of space and compatible with very little. We put in a new unit with an IPod/MP3 player USB plug in it and it works like a charm. Cost $115.

I tend to agree that a new unit might be the easiest route; however, you'd need to get something that is compatible with your CD changer, if you wanted to continue to use it. That might not be easy unless you stay with Sony. As far as I'm aware, most CD changers use a proprietary multi-pin connector, that both controls the changer and passes the audio signal back to the player. It probably doesn't have a line level audio output, so I don't think there'd be any way to tap into that with an 1/8" stereo jack.

I've used an FM adapter for my Zen mp3 player; I believe it was a Belkin. I can't see why you'd have to use an Apple FM adapter, any of them would work, connected to the headphone output of the iPod. My XM receiver has a built in FM transmitter, which works quite well. Even with that, I've found that the station used has a big influence on how well it works. The higher the station number, the better it seems to work; I'm using 107.something. When I was using a station toward the lower end of the band, things didn't go so well. No idea why.

Btw, I have a JVC unit that's old enough to have CD and cassette, plus the AUX input, which is where I plug in my XM, Zen and TV/DVD player (thru a radio shack multi-input selector). Paired with a pair of Polk bookshelf speakers that sit on top of the forward cabinets on both sides of the cabin, it sounds pretty good.

Didn't read all the posts, but...

If you are going to hook an iPod to the stereo, you should not need a CD changer anymore. Pretty much every CD you own is likely stored on your iPod. My recommendation is to replace the stereo with a single CD slot and an Aux jack for the iPod. I got a nice Sony unit for just over $100.

I only wish I had a remote volume control. The music volume levels vary greatly, and there are times it would be nice to just kill the music without dashing below.

Good luck.

Bud mentioned a stereo with a USB port in it. I have not seen that yet, but it would make great sense to be able to recharge/power the MP3 player or iPod directly from the stereo.

I have been known to bring my laptop aboard for the sole reason of recharging the mp3 player. I can do without a PC or TV much of the time, but I like my music. So, I just bought a $15 item that plugs into the 12V outlet and has 2 USB ports on it for charging. That will save having to pull out the AC/DC charger and turn on the inverter (with its inherent inefficiencies).

I replaced the Stereo about three years ago with one that had a USB slot. I thought that would solve my problem however it was not iPod aware and turned out to be more of a hassle to find music than I expected. Even a USB thumb drive was a problem. Fortunately, there was an extension outlet on the rear (aux output) so I found a place where I could run a small extension cable for plugging into the iPod. I also use a longer cable so I can plug the TV in for better movie sound. The lesson is; first test the radio you plan on buying to ensure it works the way you want and expect. An unexpected benefit of the USB port is that I can charge those things that need to be plugged into a USB for this purpose should I not have a laptop on board.
John Meyer
Hilbre 2135:)

For those interested, the unit we bought is a JVC KD-R520. It knows how to talk to and display song information from an iPod (and of course play the music from it) and it has a remote. Got this at a Canadian Best Buy, not sure if they would have them south of the border.

[url]http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/jvc-jvc-mp3-wma-cd-car-deck-with-aux...

I'm not near our boat, but I think the unit I installed was the
Pioneer 3300, which we bought here:

[url]http://www.jr.com/pioneer/pe/PIO_DEH3300UB/[/url]

I have a cassette unit, a Sony, with a 10 disc CD changer. I only have an iPod nano, old 1.8 GB, too small for all my music that's on my computer, and I have a ton of "great" (to me) mix cassette tapes. I am aware of the new software that'll convert cassettes to MP3 files, just like the software that comes with turntables to convert vinyl. (Not too sure I have the time left in my life to make those conversions!) We use a cassette plug in for the iPod, which is way better than the FM plug-in, but the downside of that is that the iPod doesn't get charged when connected.

[url]www.crutchfield.com[/url] has a very good array of car stereos with helpful selection guides for the newest iPod plug-in options. That's where we got our rig.

My boat stereo has RCA inputs in the back for an AUX channel, so I just got a headphone jack - RCA adapter cable and plug the iPod in that way. I can also play music straight off my laptop through this cord, and the laptop is already in the nav desk anyways.

My car stereo has a front USB port. This is the way to go in my opinion. For like $10 I got an 8GB USB memory stick, filled it up with music, and away it goes. I can take the USB stick home to change the music, I can get ten more of them if I want to, and if it gets damaged who cares? Plus if someone takes pictures of the boat or something while out cruising you'd always have a stick kicking around to transfer them, or whatever other use you can think of.

Like Stu, I have several dozen cassettes I made during the 70's/80's. A couple dozen are of a radio show, "The Sunday Night Alternative" (out of Philly) which I'd tape on Sunday evenings on a reel to reel, and copy to cassettes during the week. I've copied a few over to CD, but it is time consuming, even with a good software package, like BIAS Sound Saver. The lousy formats change faster than you can keep up, and I refuse to repurchase 500 vinyl albums. Though playing a record on a boat would be a good trick:rolleyes:

My problem is even worse, I have some really old discs I play in my audio machine. See photo.

Somewhat related...

I am a new owner and the PO 'left' a stereo for me in one of the cabinets. One of the wires in wiring harness was missing so I ordered a new one. Spent sometime trying to hook it up this weekend and I get no power to the unit. I suppose it never worked and that is why he left it.

I am faced with buying a new radio now and will get one with an iPod input. Anything else I should look for? (The remote control is a good idea). How many watts should I get? I am concerned that I won't be able to hear it well if I 'under-buy.

Thanks
Tim

The link above to Crutchfield is a good starting point.

Keep in mind that overall volume is a combination of the number of watts and the speakers. If you supply more power to a speaker than it's rated for, you can blow the voice coil, destroying the speaker. Be sure to use the RMS power rating; things like 'music power' are meaningless. "Program power" is roughly 2x's RMS, 'peak power' roughly 4x's.

Crutchfield seems to list RMS for most components, so that's a good thing.

For loudness, compare the 'sensitivity' in db. The db scale is logarithmic, so a 93 db speaker is twice as loud as a 90 db speaker (more or less), though you'd need to know at what wattage it produces it's rated sensitivity.

I use a pair of Polk Audio bookshelf speakers, which sound great, but aren't all that loud. I can hear them fine underway, unless the engine is on. I don't particularly enjoy it when people blast me with their stereo in an anchorage, so I've never installed speakers in the cockpit. You'd need outdoor speakers to do that.

Tim,
The PO installed two decent speakers in the cabin and two 5"or 6" speakers in the aft end of the cockpit side about 4" off the floor on side. I replaced the radio about 5 years ago with a basic Sony auto radio from Best Buy for about $100. It has a CD slot and a front IPod jack. It also fades the sound right and left and inside and out. Since the speakers are low in the cockpit sound stays contained without disturbing my neighbor. The outside speakers take a beating from water, but have kept on working all these years. I also have about a 12' IPod cord so I can make changes from the cockpit. Nothing fancy about this system.

I am of the belief that an automotive unit will work just fine. That's what I have used for some 5 years now, and only lately have I become 'suspicious' of the CD player; although today the CD player was working perfectly. With iPods and MP3s it's time for CD's to be consigned to the home library (or ripped to iTunes and then donated to Goodwill or other charity for a tax write-off).

An automotive with no CD player ought to work great. Check with Best Buy or your favorite electronics supplier and go with that.

[QUOTE=LCBrandt;9051]I am of the belief that an automotive unit will work just fine. That's what I have used for some 5 years now, and only lately have I become 'suspicious' of the CD player; although today the CD player was working perfectly. With iPods and MP3s it's time for CD's to be consigned to the home library (or ripped to iTunes and then donated to Goodwill or other charity for a tax write-off).

An automotive with no CD player ought to work great. Check with Best Buy or your favorite electronics supplier and go with that.[/QUOTE]

At West Marine the other day, I noticed a Sony (DSX-MS60) unit they are refering to as a AM/FM/MEDIA player. It doesn't contain a CD player but has fold down face with a drawer that can hold several different models of iPods or MP3 players though a USB connection. It has a USB to iPod adaptor that will keep the iPod charged while playing and has a wireless remote.

It really looks like a neat solution for a boat since there are no wires cluttering things up and your media player/iPod is in a secure place. According to the box it even alarms to remind you to take your iPod out when its turned off so you don't forget and leave it.

Downside is the best price for the unit I can find is about $200.

Bill, the general consensus is that "marinization" and WM prices are absolutely unnecessary to pay. The prices compared to auto stereos, which work for years and years for all of us, make buying "marine" grade simple car stereos wasteful. Always better $$ to spend for your boat.

[QUOTE=stu jackson c34;9058]Bill, the general consensus is that "marinization" and WM prices are absolutely unnecessary to pay. The prices compared to auto stereos, which work for years and years for all of us, make buying "marine" grade simple car stereos wasteful. Always better $$ to spend for your boat.[/QUOTE]

I agree that marinized really isn't needed for a unit installed below decks on boat like a C36. In this case though, the other features make this unit attractive.

That said, I'm not convinced those features are worth $60-$80 more than a similar non-marinized model that lacks the built in iPod storage/connector.

I checked the price for the marine unit at Crutchfield but didn't look to se if there was similiar "car" unit for a lower price. I'm going to look into that right now.

Edited to add, I just checked Crutchfield and they have a non-marine Sony unit with all the same features for $140. That's pretty reasonable.