[C320-list] Pedestal ICOM command mike

[Irving Grunes]

Joe,
We had it there when we got #851. It was a pain in the a--, to get to it.
We had it moved to the pedestal, starboard side of instrument pod.
Had it done professionally.
Can't imagine how they did it but its so much more convenient.
Irv Grunes #851


On Tue, Mar 4, 2008 at 11:05 AM, Joe Barrett <joe at dolphinmortgage.com>
wrote:

> 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.
>
>