Here's the article in July 2000 Motorboating mag:
Here’s the install:
Mount a 4 or 2 channel marine amp in the inside of your console and run 4 or 2 speakers in the boat. If you want to go high end, Get the JL amp. If you want to go a bit less, get the Clarion amp and Infinity speakers. But the JL amps are well worth it, you can hear the difference. Or get a Clarion refurbished unit off eBay – search for “Clarion Marine amplifier”. They usually are about $150 for the 4 channel and $100 for the 2 channel. I have bought 8 for friends they a place called “Bass Sales”. The main amp power wire should run straight to the battery, I suggest you used heavy marine 8 gauge wire – you want to use FUSED, (30A) big gauge wire to run from the amp to the batt. The same size for the negative wire too….The green “turn on” 12V small wire should go to a switch on the dash or if you have a battery switch you can wire it straight to it, which will leave it on all the time that the switch is on. This is not the desirable way, but when the ipod is disconnected or not playing, the amp draws virtually no load from the battery, it is just energized. Your then turn it off when you leave the boat and shut off your battery. I like the dash switch, as it’s a quick mute when for an event happens where you need your wits about you, like a fish strike or docking. But the batt switch is fine if you don’t want another hole in your dash. A simple toggle switch with rubber boot will work. Remember, amps can drain the battery so either add a battery in parallel or just watch blasting it when you’re anchored. A batt can go down fast using hi-volume and an amp. Also, Poly Planar just came out with a neat kit like this – they owe me royalties! It is a very small 2 ch amp, all the wires and a pair of not so hot speakers. It’s called the “MP3-KITA”. But I stress this is for small boats and the like as it has very little power. I’d rather mount a clarion amp as the Planar unit will not be heard well while running and the speakers are cheap.
Apple sells a nice cable that puts a very small hole in your dash for the connection to the ipod. It’s called the “iPod AV” cable and made for the video ipod – you can just hook up the L+R audio jacks, forget the video part to the amp and it’ll work fine….Here’s a pic:
looks like this when you are done – other end is reg jacks that just connect to the amp like a VCR. Get it off the apple website. Drill the hole so it slides thru perfectly and then slide a piece of heat shrink on it (see black piece in pic below) to keep it from going back thru….when pushed into the hole, it seals it from leaks, too.
There are 2 amps available from Clarion, a 2 channel and 4 channel. That just means either a 2 speakers or 4-speaker system. You will see that the inputs on the amp are the same as the back of your home stereo, Left and Right for 2 speakers, and 4 speakers for L and R but also front and back inputs. These are called RCA jacks. Buy some cables at Radio Shack to go from the headphone jack on the ipod to the “front” RCA male jacks that go to the input on the amp. Set the switch to “2 ch”, if you bought the 4 channel amp. If this seems confusing, take the amp and ipod into Radio Shack, they will know what cables you need. Show them the ipod headphone output and the amp inputs and tell them “I want to go from here to there”…
That’s it –Mount the iPod on your dash. Best case I’ve seen is the “showcase” model @.
http://www.contourcase.com If you need a fully waterproof design, ask Mike, he’s got one. Mount with 3M dual Lock…it’s like super Velcro…3M dual lock avail at
www.aerostitch.com - part # 2250. There is really no need to run power to the iPod now that the battery lasts 15 hours or so. Simply pull it off the dash at night when you’re thru and charge it at home from a 110 ac outlet. You’re ready to go again the next day.
MP3 Player Sound System Review
Linear Mode
