factory stereo problems?

[Miller_Time]

Hey everyone,

Well we just bought an 08 LSV today and took her out for her maiden voyage and had a couple questions. We have the factory CD with amp and kicker speakers and the first thing we noticed is reception sucks. We can maybe pick up 3 stations where our old boat got about 12 stations. Is this common for these boats? Maybe an amplified antenna is needed? Also we are getting alternator feedback in the stereo. We are getting a horrible high pitched squeal especially at idle. Does anyone have any ideas? I think we're gonna take it back to the dealer Monday, but didn't know if there was an easy fix for these things. Thanks

Btw, we LOVE THIS BOAT!!!! Best boat we have ever owned!!!

[Wake Master]

Make sure both the amp and the base unit are both grounded. My base unit was not grounded and I was also getting a high pitched sound. I ran a ground wire from the base unit to the amp so the have a common ground and the problem went away.

[Miller_Time]

Thanks, Wake Master I'll check it out next time I'm in the boat.

[Miller_Time]

Well I talked to the dealer and they had me bring the boat in and after replacing all the cables they found that the amp was bad, so they replaced the amp. Great service and quick turn around. They moved the antenna around but reception is still pretty bad. Anyone got any tips on improving the reception? I'll use an Ipod most of the time, but it would be nice to be able to use the radio from time to time.

[zegm]

Miller,
I see lake Hartwell, where did you buy the boat? We live in Panama City Florida now but grew up in Marietta GA. We ordered a boat from Atlanta Marine at the Atlanta boat show from them, they are Great! Hopefully in a few weeks we will trek back up there to get the LS!

[04OUTBACK]

Miller,
Outside of putting a whip antenna on your tower, I don't know if you'll have much luck.. I run Ipod most of the time. I have Sirius on the boat, but both vehicles have XM and I am hoping the merger goes through so I can put the boat on XM Family plan... I used it 1 or 2 days when i first got the boat and loved it. FM has too much talk, commercials on..

If you plan the Ipod route, not sure what the new stereos have, I think the have an std aux input on front. If you want to put your ipod close to you in driver seat, check this link out:
https://forum.moomba.com/viewtopic.php?t=3806&highlight=ipod
There are some great products out there...

[Miller_Time]

Zeg we bought the boat from Strickland Marine in Anderson, SC. They have been fantastic, they were by far the best dealership we've dealt with. They constantly go above and beyond great customer service. They let us run the boat last weekend then drove down and picked the boat up to winterize it and fix a stereo problem we had. Congrats on the LS, you will love it, these are such amazing boats! I just cant get enough of it!

Outback,

Thats what I was afraid of, looks like maybe sirius or xm is in our future as well as an ipod for the boat. You are correct the 08s have a std aux input in on the front of the unit that takes a 3.5mm jack. So it should be pretty easy to hook up the ipod. but I will take a look at the link you posted. Thanks for the info!

[Sled491]

You know on this Ipod thing why is it such a big deal for everyone to have there Ipod by the driver. Our 07 has the Ipod jack in the front of the stereo and we bought the 12 inch cord. Ipod sits nice and protected in the glove box and a way we go :?

[Miller_Time]

Sled, thats probably what I'll do, I really dont want to fry my ipod by it getting soaked. I figure I'll just make a good play list and let it rip. Where did you find a 12 in cable? I have only been able to find the 6 ft cables.

[Sled491]

I got it at best buy last summer