[C320-list] Pedestal ICOM command mike

[Joe Barrett]

Soooo much easier to mount it just under the lid for the propane tank.
Straight run down to the interior VHF. Very accessible from the helm and a
much easier install. If I remember correctly I did not need a cable
extension though I could be wrong on that.
Joe Barrett 


-----Original Message-----
From: c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com
[mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On Behalf Of Bill
Culbertson
Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2008 10:09 AM
To: c320-list at catalina320.com
Subject: [C320-list] Pedestal ICOM command mike

You'll definitely love having the command mike at the pedestal and as others
have said it is definitely more complicated that other locations.  IMO it's
worth it.
 
What I did was somewhat less complicated than Allan. I'd read his first and
decided to see if I could try the engine pod.  It worked so I stuck with it.
What I did the same as Allan is to buy the extension as well as cut the
cable.  I bought a terminal block same as he did and reconnected the cut
ends via the terminal block except that I mounted mine under the aft berth
next to the fresh water pump.
 
What I did differently was run the cut cable end through the tube to the
engine pod and mount the connector on that small flat section of the pod on
the port side.  I clip the mike up high just under the sailing instruments.
I had hoped that cutting the cable end would allow me to thread the cable up
the engine pod stainless tube without further ado.  Turns out, it just won't
go.  So I disconnected the engine wiring pulled it down into the aft cabin
while messengered from the pod.  Then I inserted the cut cable end from
inside the engine pod and threaded that down the tube into the aft cabin.
When I ran out of cable, I had the connector end ready to mount into the
hole in the pod I'd already drilled for it.
 
Disconnecting the engine wiring sounds scary but actually there is a
terminal block inside the pod connecting the incoming cable harness to the
various engine instruments.  So you are really just undoing the wires from
the harness side of the terminal block.  With one exception, they are all
uniquely color coded and the color code of the harness wire exactly matches
the color code of its mate on the terminal block.  I labeled the one which
didn't match its mate.  So for reassembly, you need only match the cable
harness wire color code to the wire left attached to the instrument side of
the terminal block. 
 
Once the harness wires are disconnected, I gathered them together, tied the
messenger line into place with a series of half hitches spaced an inch apart
and then spiral wrapped the whole thing with electrical tape.  There was
probably an 8" length that was taped.  My son helped me with him below in
the aft cabin gently pulling the cable (I'd removed the access cover from
the aft cabin roof) and me up in the cockpit pushing/feeding it into the
tube.  I can't remember if I sent the command-mike cable down as part of
this operation or if I fed it down separately after the engine cable harness
was removed from the tube.  
Regardless, you end up with the engine cable in the aft cabin and the cut
end of the command mike in the aft cabin.  I secured the radio cable and my
son and I fed the engine cable back into the tube him pushing on the cable
and me pulling on the messenger.  I think I slathered joy dishwashing
detergent on the engine cable harness to ease the process since it was now
rubbing against the command mike cable on its way back into the pod.  Once
it was in the pod I unraveled the tape and messenger and reconnected each
wire to its mate on the terminal block.
 
For the mike cable, I ziptied it every 12-18" or so to existing wiring that
was exiting the pedestal guard and fed it under the aft berth (easy).  As I
said before, I mounted a terminal block to the board on which the fresh
water pump is mounted and connected the free wires to that block.  I
connected the other end of this cut cable to the terminal block and
connected the connector to the 2nd intact 10' command mike cable from ICOM.
I ran that one under the fridge and under the stove (access by removing the
teak "thingy" under the
stove) and fed up to the navpanel.  I've run lots of cabling from the
navpanel to the under- the-stove area so that part was pretty familiar
already.  One of those was a cat5 cable that I had managed to squeeze into
the port-side of the pedestal as Al Ahlman recommends.  
I'd done that in an earlier wiring project.  That cable brings seatalk from
the pedestal instruments back to an ST60 Multi unit on the navpanel
 
One last note.  For mounting the mike itself to the pedestal I borrowed an
idea either from this list or from a dock mate or from a sailing magazine.
I bought a broom handle mount at the hardware store.  These clips expect
something about 1" in diameter.  I screwed the broom handle clip to a small
piece of plywood and screwed the mike connector to the opposite side of the
plywood.  Now you just clip the mike to its connector and clip the broom
handle clip directly to the 1" pedestal tube anywhere you like.  I tend to
keep it just below the instruments.  But if I later put another navpod below
the instruments for radar, I'll just clip it to another part of the pedestal
tube.
 
I have a bunch of pics of the process.  I should upload them to the website.
 
 -bill
 Harmony #859
 
----- Original Message ----
From: Chuck and Kathy <katchu at chartermi.net>
To: c320-list at lists.catalina320.com
Sent: Monday, March 3, 2008 6:38:39 PM
Subject: Re: [C320-list] C320-list Digest, Vol 27, Issue 1

Thanks for all the help.  Allen - I particularly appreciate knowing that the
Icom cable won't fit without cutting it.  That will save me a lot of time.