First_Mate wrote:
How did you do that? I'd like to make that mod as well. Was it a pain to get behind the panel to put the patch cord in?
Getting things wired wasn't too difficult.
NOTE: if you're going to be working in these areas it's a VERY GOOD IDEA to unplug yourself from shore power! There's live 110vac up in the panel. You do NOT want to risk shorting it out and electrocuting yourself!
When working with the radio/dvd you may want to remove the whole panel's door to allow better access. There's one screw on each hinge, use a marker with a fine point to note the position of the screws. Their position controls how far in/out the door is set.
To remove the radio you need to pry the 'ears' off the front of the radio head unit. You open the CD door and the side plastic pries off outward. Under there are four screws, once they're removed you can pull the head unit out. There should be "just enough" slack to make this possible. You need to find the aux input cable, it has two RCA jacks on it. This is where you'd plug a patch cord in from the DVD player. You cannot see this area from behind the panel, it's too far up and inside.
The DVD player had "just enough" room along the sides of it to allow me to find and connect the patch cables. The cables are labelled. There's a round hole behind the DVD player. There's set of RCA inputs that will be free. Also note the left/right/video out connections.
If you want to share the DVD audio between the TV and the radio you'll need to get an amplifier. I tried it and if you just use a plain splitter there won't be enough signal to drive them both. I added an audiovox video amp to handle this. I put the video amp up inside the access hatch beneath the stairs. I put the amp upside down, right next to the Sirius radio module. Next time I would have put it vertically along the back of the panel wall that faced the stairs. Putting it in upside down leaves the chance that a lot of wave pounding action might let the RCA connectors work loose. For mine I just made sure the cables are plugged in securely and FIRMLY held in place with tie wraps looped through hold-down pads (with their own screw).
Then I ran an RCA extension to the iPod's cable. The iPod cable has left/right/video RCA connectors. It also has positive and negative leads to allow charging the iPod. I ran this cable to the outside bulkhead. I cheated and just ran it between the panelling and the vinyl. If you open the locker at the aft end of the sofa and feel along the outside port edge you'll notice the gap. Next time I'd do this "better" using the holes that the wire for the thermostat run through. But that would've require me to remove the back of the sofa and I didn't want to get into that at that time.
If you're going to remove the back of the sofa you HAVE TO use a power screwdriver. The screws they used are 2" long and you'd have a sore wrist and blistered palm if you tried removing them manually. For me it was a good time to purchase a DeWalt *right angled* power screwdriver. The right angled head will help you remove the access hatch under the stairs too.
So my cabling runs from the iPod, down inside the sofa locker (between it and the vinyl) and then likewise behind the aft bulkhead. From there it connects to an RCA extension cable and runs through the round hole behind the DVD player and into the RCA input on it. From there I ran an RCA patch cord (left/right/audio) from the outputs on the DVD player to a video amp just inside the access hatch. From the amp I ran two patch cables, one back to the cabling feeding the TV (which I pulled back out through the backside of the hole behind the DVD player) and another one to the AUX input of the radio.
I used silicone tape around where the extension cables connect to maintain both a firm connection and help keep them sealed. Make sure you securely attach all cables. You'll see how the other stuff is secured, follow their lead. Use used tie-wraps into screwed-down square mounts (not just their adhesive). You could also use tie-wraps with the screw-eye built into them.
If all you want is iPod audio then just run right to the radio's AUX input. But I find being able to have both the iPod AND the DVD audio to be quite nice. I really improves watching movies on the TV. And since the DVD player automatically handles passing iPod signals it's easy to use on a regular basis. Just play DVDs as usual and it automatically shuts off the iPod input. Likewise, just turn off the DVD player and it passes the iPod through.
When running this wire it really helps to remove the stairs. The access panel will come off without removing the stairs. If you have the vacuum option you remove it first and then remove the access panel. Removing the stairs is easy but there's a lot of screws. Remove the four bolts up top and the all the screws in the pedestals. You'll have to remove the treads in order to reassemble the stairs, so you can start by taking them off to start with. Depending on your size there might be enough room to work by just removing a couple of the treads. Putting the stairs back is a bit of a chinese puzzle. Put the metal pole back first, loosely reattach one side of the treads and then reconnect the shorter pole. You'll have some pulling and repositioning to do. But when ou get the main pole installed first you can use it for leverage.
Removing the stairs is also a task perfectly suited for the right angle cordless drill. DO NOT attempt to use some cheapie 'stick type' of cordless screwdriver. Those don't have enough torque or battery life. Get the 18v DeWalt unit, you won't regret it.
So while it sounds like a big job it's not all that difficult. Just plan on it taking the better part of a whole day. I learned how to do it along the way and it ended up taking me several days.
It's best to start by removing the door to the radio/breaker panel. Remove the stairs, open the access panel, lay an old pillow over the edge of the access hatch. Mount the video amp. Detach the DVD video out cables, attach a Male/Male patch cable to them. Attach a Male/Female extension to the leads running to the TV. Feed both the patch and extension back out that round hole behind the DVD player. Run them to the amp. Video outputs, obviously, into the amp input and then the extension off one of the amp outputs. Run a power and ground wire from the video amp back up to the breaker panel. Attach it to the breaker feeding the radio. You could 'steal' power/ground from the audio amplifier instead of going back up to the panel. But you're going to have to power the iPod's cable too and that's closer to the breaker panel. Now run a Male/Male cable from an amp output to the AUX input of the radio.
Next, since the iPod cable has a wide connector it's best to run the cable from that end. Feed the power and RCA cable down from the shelf, behind the blinds. If you're removing the back of the sofa then run the wires down through the same hole that the thermostat uses. Otherwise 'cheat' and run the wire between the aft cabinet bulkhead and the vinyl on the hull. From there use an RCA Male/Female extension to get you enough length to reach the back of the radio. Most iPod cables aren't long enough to make this distance and still leave enough slack to let you use the iPod's click wheel controls. Feed that extension into the round hole behind the DVD player and into the input on the DVD player. Then attach the power/ground to the breaker for the radio.
It *may* be easier to feed the iPod extension through the hole from the front first and then reconnect it to the iPod cable. But since you'll want to securely wrap the extension with tape that may not be practical. Reaching up to this hole will make it clear why you need to remove the stairs. There's just not enough room to get yourself in there to make the reach if the stairs are still in place. The pillow saves your back.
Finally, secure all wiring to prevent it from flapping around.
There, that explain it? And no, I don't have pictures to post.
Login
FAQ
Search
