askieffer wrote:
Installed a new amp Saturday and the platform speakers are working now but I'm trying to figure out how to balance the volume on them with the other speakers. I also wish they came on without pushing the "transom speaker" button on the back of the boat.
When you say balance, you mean you are wanting the transom and in-boat speakers to play at the same volume level? Are the in-boats on an amp also? If so, adjust down the amp's gain dial on which ever speakers are playing the loudest. A 4 chnl amp will have 2 gain dials.
Do you know exactly how Four Winns is controlling those transom speakers? If so, we can come up with a work-around for this. Is the switch interrupting the amp's remote turn-on signal, or is the switch a DPDT thats interrupting one circuit to each speaker. All that needs to be done is remove the switch from the circuit and make a permanent connection to the wire(s) thats being opened and closed but the switch.
How many batteries, or Amp Hours (Ah) you need will be determined by how long you want to play the system while anchored. As noted, its just a calculation based on the current draw of the system and the Ah rating of the batteries you will be using. Upgrading to high efficient amps, like full-range Class-D and G/H, will improve the at rest play time. A typical Class-A/B amp will be 60% efficient at best. So 40% of the battery amps consumed is not being converted to watts for the speakers. Class-D and G/H can be 85% or better. This equals less current draw for the same wattage. If you are adding a battery to an existing house bank, its recommended to stay with the same type of battery, such as wet cell lead acid or AGM. Mixing is not a good idea. Its also a good idea to replace the existing house batteries when expanding the bank. As batteries are used and cycled down and recharged, they do not return what their original at-rest voltage. When a new battery is wired in parallel with an older battery, they will equalize. This brings down the new battery.