I installed a car radio below deck. The receiver works and the wires are conntected to the main fuse panel. So far so good. Anyway, when I turn off the panel at night and return the next day, the presets are lost. There is a third wire that I saw that should be hooked up directly to the battery - should I do that - is the drain noticeable and the question is will it drain my battery over a long time? Is there anything else that I can do?
losing radio presets
- Thread starter Tony5898
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Perhaps
Tony - Yes, a mobile stereo (car or marine) will have 2 + connections: one powers the unit and the other (sometimes a yellow wire with a red stripe) provides a low supply of power for the clock and memory. It depends on the state of you batteries and how often they get recharge to say if it matters if you leave the latter connected. At the end of the weekend and if I know I will not be using the boat for the next weekend I disconnect it knowing I will need to reset the presets. Good Luck - ROb
Tony - Yes, a mobile stereo (car or marine) will have 2 + connections: one powers the unit and the other (sometimes a yellow wire with a red stripe) provides a low supply of power for the clock and memory. It depends on the state of you batteries and how often they get recharge to say if it matters if you leave the latter connected. At the end of the weekend and if I know I will not be using the boat for the next weekend I disconnect it knowing I will need to reset the presets. Good Luck - ROb
OK...
if your battery is good. Think about leaving your car parked for weeks and it starts up. Your boat's house battery is larger than an automobile battery.. IMO you should be ok. If it drains your battry, yoiu have other issues to deal with. Marc
if your battery is good. Think about leaving your car parked for weeks and it starts up. Your boat's house battery is larger than an automobile battery.. IMO you should be ok. If it drains your battry, yoiu have other issues to deal with. Marc
In mine...
I had the same concerns when I installed my stereo. It has the same 2-positive lead system. I installed it over the winter, when I upgraded a lot of the electrical system, including adding an ammeter to measure power going into/out of the batteries. I found that with EVERYTHING ELSE IN THE BOAT OFF, my batteries were still drained about .2-.3 amps per hour, or about 35-50 amp hours over 7 days, which seemed like an awful lot just to remember the stations, but that's what it was in my case. It's enough to drain a battery to less than 50% in a week. So it's a judgement call whether you want to reset the presets everytime, or can maintain it via a battery charger. You can test your drain by inserting an ammeter in the circuit of the "third wire", and seeing what the draw is.
I had the same concerns when I installed my stereo. It has the same 2-positive lead system. I installed it over the winter, when I upgraded a lot of the electrical system, including adding an ammeter to measure power going into/out of the batteries. I found that with EVERYTHING ELSE IN THE BOAT OFF, my batteries were still drained about .2-.3 amps per hour, or about 35-50 amp hours over 7 days, which seemed like an awful lot just to remember the stations, but that's what it was in my case. It's enough to drain a battery to less than 50% in a week. So it's a judgement call whether you want to reset the presets everytime, or can maintain it via a battery charger. You can test your drain by inserting an ammeter in the circuit of the "third wire", and seeing what the draw is.
Start of a good trend
is happening with a new model from Jensen marine. I have recently installed a newly release model of CD/stereo that uses non-volatile memory (several implementations of this technology have been available for 20+ years) in place of the current designs which require non-switched power to the yellow wire to hold presets. This model, as available from WM, is Jensen model CPM505 which includes two speakers. The stereo model within the package is MCD50550 which, as far as I can research, is not available outside the boxed set. So far, works as advertised with respect to non-volatile memory. I am, however having a problem with station lock, looks like a defective tuner module. Anyone have one of these with similar issues? Anyway, my point is that this is good for those of us without shore power maintained systems and I hope the stereo manufacturers will follow the trend.
is happening with a new model from Jensen marine. I have recently installed a newly release model of CD/stereo that uses non-volatile memory (several implementations of this technology have been available for 20+ years) in place of the current designs which require non-switched power to the yellow wire to hold presets. This model, as available from WM, is Jensen model CPM505 which includes two speakers. The stereo model within the package is MCD50550 which, as far as I can research, is not available outside the boxed set. So far, works as advertised with respect to non-volatile memory. I am, however having a problem with station lock, looks like a defective tuner module. Anyone have one of these with similar issues? Anyway, my point is that this is good for those of us without shore power maintained systems and I hope the stereo manufacturers will follow the trend.
Removeable face plate radio
I have a Sony that allows me to remove the face plate when I am away from the boat. The station pre-sets remain in the face unit all season; however, I do lose them over the winter. No draw on the battery with the face plate removed.
I have a Sony that allows me to remove the face plate when I am away from the boat. The station pre-sets remain in the face unit all season; however, I do lose them over the winter. No draw on the battery with the face plate removed.
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