Plugged In: Marine Electronics
Text by Dave MacKinnon, Photos by the Manufacturers
I’ll be straight up about this issue of Plugged In – we aren’t going to talk about anything related to cars. When I started writing Plugged In, it was my goal to never beat any single topic to death, and to expose the readers of RPM to as many diverse aspects of the mobile electronics industry as I could. So, given that Mother Nature is doing her thing and warming things up, we thought it might be fun to take a look at marine audio.
A few decades ago, there were very few companies that offered products designed specifically for the marine environment. The first marine-specific product I recall seeing was heavy aluminum-cone subwoofers from a company called BABB in a shop in Ft. Myers, Florida when I was in high school. Things have changed, and now almost every major car audio manufacturer has a line of marine products. In this issue of Plugged In, we are going to look at the electronics behind entertainment on the water.
You might think that almost any source unit would do when it comes to enjoying your music on your boat, and in essence, this is very true, but the marine environment poses its own special challenges on an electronic product, many of which are amplified ten-fold when you expose these electronics to salt water.
Now, if you happen to be able to spend your weekends on a 100-foot yacht, your needs may vary a little, but for us normal folk, our boats are weekend toys or week-long vacation destinations for the summer. Quality marine electronics take into account that devices may be exposed to very harsh conditions, not just in terms of water exposure, but also heat, humidity and vibration. If you are looking at marine electronics, look closely at the design of the chassis, wiring connections and mounting. It’s often more than just regular use that challenges these products. For example, water dripping on the rear of a source unit behind the scenes can wreak havoc.
Source units don’t differ much when it comes to features – AM/FM receivers, CD playback with MP3 and WMA compatibility, iPod and USB connections and what is important for marine applications, the availability of satellite radio as an option. Many boaters travel well out of range of their favourite radio station on a good cruise, so having Sirius or XM on board means you can enjoy your music almost anywhere. Given some of the geographic challenges our terrain imposes, make sure the satellite radio provider you choose for your boat will work where you want to use it.
Entertainment systems on boats often need to be operated from multiple locations. A radio may be installed up at the helm or down in the galley, so most radio manufacturers offer various options in terms of remote controls. Many include an IR remote that functions in a line-of-sight application. You also have the option of wired and wireless remotes. Some of these remotes have displays on them, so you are essentially looking at the same information as is being displayed on the face of the radio.
Marine amplification is a necessity and a challenge at the same time. Amplifiers are historically large and inefficient, but recent advances in high-speed computer processing has allowed digital amplifiers to dramatically shrink in size to that of a textbook, while providing great efficiency. While my personal preference is for purely analog amplification, digital amps sound better than they ever have and the increase in efficiency, especially on a boat, is worthwhile. I mention that amplifiers are a necessity, because the background noise level on a power boat can be very high. Combine that with wind noise and the spray of the water and you will easily need several hundred real Watts to ensure you can hear your music loud and clear. The paltry 18-20 Watts built in to a radio is fine for eating dinner when you are docked or at anchor, but when you are pounding the waves, it’s just not enough.
There are standards for everything in life, and when it comes to marine entertainment products, manufacturers spend lots of money to test their products before they sell them to make sure they will be reliable. The design stage of any product helps to ensure reliability; for example, most quality marine electronics will feature a conformal coating on the main circuit board to prevent humidity from corroding the tiny connections between components on the board.
Another consideration on a boat is safety. There are standards for devices installed in environments that may be exposed to fuel or cooking gas vapours. You don’t want your boat to blow up when you turn your radio on, do you? Look for marine electronics (including battery chargers, inverters, battery switches and so on) that are Ignition Protection Certified. These devices have been tested to ensure they will not ignite a flammable air-fuel mixture, ensuring your safety.
One thing that is hard to address on a boat is security. Really, you could just back a trailer up to a loading dock, undo some ropes and steal almost anything. BlackLine GPS has a solution for boat owners called Harpoon GPS. This is a GPS-based tracking system that uses cellular communication to let the boat owner know instantly should the boat be moved without the provided key fob present. You can even track the boat’s location, speed and heading via a dedicated website that uses Google Maps, so if the kids are out playing, you know where they are and what they are doing.
I’ll stop somewhat abruptly at this point, but in the next issue, we are going to look at marine speakers and accessories, as well as touch briefly on some installation issues specific to marine installations.
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