bluetooth stereo in cabin vs on deck

skennelly

Just recently swapped my old Kenwood stereo for a new Kenwood with bluetooth.  Boat is a 270FV so the radio is mounted in the cabin in the usual place.

I'm having a problem though.  I pair my phone and it's all good when I'm in the cabin...but I can't go any further than the helm before the signal gets shotty and the music cuts in and out.  It's totally useless if I go back by the stern.

I know there isn't much of a fix for this...just wondering if others have a similar problem.  Definitely find it frustrating and not what I envisioned.

Sean

MarkB

Blue tooth should work within 30 meters!  Having said that, either the blue tooth is shot on your system, ground is bad, or something is interfering with it big time.

elarson5757

Mine is sketchy by the back at the swim platform on Bluetooth however I just plug my phone into it in the cabin and use my radio controllers to operate it anyway. 

LaRea

Ditto with mine.  Solid reception at the helm, spotty as I move further aft. 

My BT receiver is an add-on that connects to the RCA inputs on the stereo head.  I'm thinking of moving it closer to the cockpit.  All I'd need is 12V power and an RCA cable from the BT receiver up to the stereo head.

Or maybe I'll just try mounting the BT receiver higher up first.

redlightning

mine bt receiver is in the cabin and will work from the swim platform, no problem.  I would say maybe a bad receiver or interference.

gslpro

It also depends on what type of bluetooth receiver your head unit has.  Just as in usb 1, 2, 3, .etc... there are bluetooth conformities. My first bluetooth earpiece would only work within maybe 10 feet.  now, I can walk around tho house with out a single problem.  It might just be a limitation for you head's system, and all the "boat stuff" in the way is just making it worse.  I am not sure if they make a bluetooh repeater.   

skennelly

Thanks for the input.  My first guess was that all the "boat stuff" was causing a problem.  I've researched the idea of a repeater and they don't seem to exist accept for maybe real expensive commercial applications.

I have some friends in the stereo install business that I'm going to see what they say as well.

jme097

Same with my boat. I ran a separate bluetooth receiver to the deck

craigswardmtb

In my experience with scanning applications Bluetooth is a bit fickle with line of sight.  The old standard was about 33 feet direct line of sight before you got bad signal issues.  The new 4.2 standard is much better and gives you a range of 1000 feet although it is still affected by line of sight.  The important thing to note is if your stereo is the new 4.2 standard and your phone or remote is the old standard, your range would still only be 33 feet.  Both devices have to be the new standard.  As mentioned earlier in the thread one option is to install a repeater by the device that has the limited range and it will fix your problem.

partlowr

Something is amiss with either your stereo or phone. My phone's Bluetooth worked last weekend when I had my boat home for some seasonal prep work, my boat was parked in the street and phone was in my house 125 feet away. I was able to make and receive phone calls with no problem whatsoever.

BigWeekend88

I just installed a kenwood with BT in the cabin of my old fiesta vee 250... i can walk out onto the dock a ways and it will still work.... not sure if this helps you or not...

skennelly

I've given up on the BT.  I've switched to using usb input.  Ran a cable to the helm to plug my phone in.

zaverin1

Installed all pioneer system on my boat but with my injury still can't board the boat to test Bluetooth. I am actually interested how my receiver works from the rear of the boat. It's also mounted inside the cabin.

Cableguy Greg

I got one of the amazon BT receivers. I'm going to install it at the helm to gain the most range.

zaverin1

Can you send a link of the bt receiver from Amazon?

Cableguy Greg

Here it is... It plugs into the Aux input of the stereo.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BYGEVA4/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687502&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00CUMQU50&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1E3A5GYG9AN0E019PBXD

J3ff

Installed a brand new kenwood marine headunit two days ago....... the BT connection is absolute garbage and I can't believe it.

It's 270 FV... if you take my Galaxy note 5 (newish phone!) and put it on the captains seat, it cuts in and out like nobody's business...the only place up top it seems to work is in that glove box/sunpad area to the left of the door. That's no good because friends and I constantly text for finding each other and I'll need the phone near the helm. 

Sigh... this one might have to go back. We're talking less then 6 feet and it cuts out

skennelly

@J3ff - Yes read the entire thread...I stated BT is crap...not sure if it's just with kenwood or what.  I just use the usb input.  You could run a cable to the helm.  I know...not what you wanted.
In my opinion bluetooth is only meant for close communication ie...a few feet.  Otherwise it just doesn't work.

LaRea

That's not true for all BT devices.  My add-on BT is mounted in the cabin near the front of the boat, and my iPhone gets a reliable signal 25 feet away at the transom seat.

Trashman

If you have an iPhone, there's a few things.
1 Toggle Bluetooth on and off a few times. 
2 update
3 Reset Network & Bluetooth Settings, Clear Device Pairing

Go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings

This will clear out all Bluetooth pairing of all devices, including every setting and configuration that has been made on the iOS device. You will need to re-add and re-pair any bluetooth hardware to the iOS device after this has finished. If you do nothing else, do this and pair everything from scratch again, it fixed my Bluetooth issues completely.

I don't get all that great of signal but number three helped    

Good luck, I hope this resolved your issue  

elarson5757

Alswagg said:

We install Clarion systems exclusively.  The M505 primarily this summer.  No issues at all with Bluetooth.  

Agreed.  I constantly had Bluetooth issues in my custom car and my 246.  My electronics guy said the same...use clarion so I switched them over and never another problem. 

Cableguy Greg

I would like to upgrade my Clarion to the new one, but I would have to pull new lines to the remotes. They changed the wire from the old stuff to the new stuff.

zaverin1

No need for remote 
my pioneer works just great from cabin to swim platform via tooth
same goes for the remote that it came with

J3ff

well I guess I'm returning the kenwood and getting the m505... it's just silly that it can't stay connected via bluetooth for more then even 3 feet. It's almost useless. 

randy56

Smart move I have the kenwood, no luck with blue tooth, PO put in in, winter projects stacking up.

MDboater

I have been using this for a few weeks and have been pretty happy with it's BT performance.  The nice thing is that I can use it with other stereos if needed.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MJMV0GU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 

J3ff

Yeah I thought about that option, the other problem I have though is that there's a white noise HISS with the kenwood that I dont think was there with the sony... it's VERY noticeable, so hopefully this fixes both problems.  

Taxman007

Hello everyone, I am new to the group and I am the owner of a 2002 Rinker 342 fiesta vee that I want to change and add new amplifiers too. Can anyone advise me where the wiring path and connection  is located.

jme097

@Taxman007 I cannot advise you as to wear the wire chase is on the 342, but I will say to make sure you install your amps as close to your battery/power supply as possible. Thats the most important thing I learned when installing my 2 amps and speakers when I got my 280. My amps kept over heating and I learned my power run was too long and my ground run was too long

davidbrooks

I have the Clarion 502 in the cabin on my FV 342.  Bluetooth is spotty at best once I leave the cabin.  The Bluetooth antenna on most stereos is just a small 6-8 wire out the back of the unit.  So you pack it into a nice 5/8 in wood case and that cuts down your reception drastically.  I wish there was a way to remote the antenna so that it wasn't enclosed with the radio.  The sound is great on these units but the interface is frustrating as all. 

rinker270nb

I updated the stereo and speakers on my 270FV and then added the remote.  I installed the Clarion M303, it's BT could give me a bit of space on the top deck but has line of sight issues.  The remote can reach from the water off the swim platform, can change tracks,etc.  It's not as "waterproof" as they say it is, don't submerge.  I didn't have to update my cables, I just went with the remote.  

Clarion Remote
https://www.amazon.com/Clarion-MF1-Marine-Remote-Control/dp/B004M4TC86/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1490058537&sr=8-2&keywords=clarion+remote