I finally got around to adding the GPS and MP3 player to my minimal companion way nav station.
The light for the compass is passed through the teak board and goes to a standard 2 pin car-hitch connector that I picked up at Lordco for about 3 dollars. I ran a lead off the house lights switch and it’s secured just inside the companionway.
Once I drop the board in, I just have to plug-in and I’ve got a lovely green glow from the compass for night passages.
The MP3 player plugs into a standard mini plug that goes to the house stereo system, and there’s a charger if needed. It plugs into a standard ‘cigar lighter’ plug I mounted inside out of the wet, just to port. that I usually run the GPS on its rechargeable batteries, but also have a DC plug I can use that goes to the same charge plug.
I had wanted to mount my handheld Icom VHF (IC-M72) on the board, but its electronics cause a huge amout of compass deviation when it’s within 8 inches or so, so it’ll stay in my lifejacket pocket.
I had thought about adding a bungee strip to hold my cell phone, but mostly I turn it off once I leave the dock 😉
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