BBB Sponsor

Bass Tackle at Guaranteed Lowest Prices

BBB Sponsors

Authorized AMSOIL Dealer

Your best choice for the Primary Tackle you need!

Fishing Tackle With Guaranteed Best Price!

Garmin Marine Electronics

* Who's Online

  • Dot Guests: 196
  • Dot Hidden: 0
  • Dot Users: 0

There aren't any users online.

Author Topic: Nitro Z7 Stereo Installation  (Read 11748 times)

Offline Treeman12

  • Largemouth Bass
  • *****
  • Posts: 545
  • Thanks: 0
  • BassBoatBoards.com Rocks!
  • Referrals: 0
    • Private Forest Management in PA, WV, OH, and MD
  • My Biggest Bass: LMB 5 1/2, SMB 6, Musky 56 1/2 inches
Nitro Z7 Stereo Installation
« on: January 24, 2015, 10:25:50 AM »
NITRO Z7 STEREO INSTALL EXAMPLE....Hope it helps!
STEREO INSTALL, DUAL CONSOLE NITRO Z7:
Jensen MS 30 Compact waterproof stereo w/ USB for MP3 input (EBay $139)
Two 6.5" round Jensen Marine waterproof speakers (EBay $89 /pair)
Speaker boxes are pre-wired golf cart boxes (Ebay $79 / pair)
16" Rubberized antenna (EBay $12)
Marine grade speaker wire, 30 feet (Home Depot, $14)

--all connections soldered and shrink tube wrapped
--marine grade speaker wire, hidden under carpet and rod butt panel under passenger console
--8 x 1" stainless screws and washers to attach speakers to fiberglass under consoles. When drilling the gelcoat always start the drill in reverse to keep from chipping it. Once you have a divot reverse the drill and make your hole

Speaker boxes (designed for golf carts) came pre-wired with a tweeter and sub-bellows, I used my Dremel to make the hole slightly larger to accommodate the heavy magnet in these marine speakers. The speakers came with two colored grate options, I went with the silver to match the striping on my boat.

First, I removed the passenger console and installed the speaker just above the bottom edge. This section is double walled fiberglass with a hollow between the walls. I used four screws to fasten the bottom/ sides of the speaker, it is very solid. DO NOT put screws in the top of the speaker, they will go through and be visible from outside !

Once the speaker was installed, I loosened the screws on and ran the wire under the rod butt panel, and then under the carpet. Anywhere the wire came in contact with metal I wrapped it with black electrical contact tape. I used a coat hanger to pull the wire under the carpet so I didn't have to lift and re glue it.

I installed the second speaker against the back wall under my Lowrance equipment. The taper of the speaker box made for a great fit. I used 6 screws to secure it in place. While sitting I the drivers seat I cannot touch the speaker with my leg fully extended. If you have a Hot Foot there is still room for this location.

I removed the (worthless) speedometer and used the two wires that illuminated the gauge as my positive and ground wires to the stereo. And, I plugged the water pitot tube with a finishing nail and electrical tape and zip ties. I wanted to have quick access to the USB port, so I used my Dremel to make a small hole next to the gauge. This allowed me to position the USB next to the stereo and the hole is loose enough that I can slide the USB cable out for use and push it back against the dash to store.

Note: For an antenna (one is not necessary for the unit for strong local signals, but I wanted to reach out further) I bought a 16" rubber marine antenna from EBay but rather than mounting it anywhere on the boat (which I thought would look tacky) I zip-tied it up out of the way under the driver console. The reception difference was very noticeable, I went for four to eleven stations.

Once I double checked all my connections I turned the stereo on, checked that everything worked, and then zip tied the wires to secure them out of the way.

Note: Because I used only two speakers I made sure to shrink tube the ends of the speaker wires I didn't use so they wouldn't corrode and/or come in contact with other wiring or each other.

I used the supplied "L" bracket to secure the stereo unit, which worked great when the bracket bit into the fiberglass upon tightening and wouldn't move.

Final install Photo:



Detailed photos available, PM me anytime.  Hope this helps !!
Last edited by Treeman12; 01-17-2015 at 09:54 PM.
« Last Edit: January 24, 2015, 03:38:21 PM by Treeman12 »
Semi retired forester, USAF Veteran
2010 Nitro Z7, 150 Opti, 6" CMC Jackplate, Talons, LEDs
....."throw 'em all back and catch them again tomorrow!"

Jimmy RodandReel

  • Guest
Re: Nitro Z7 Stereo Installation
« Reply #1 on: January 24, 2015, 01:54:00 PM »
Very good read!   Thank you posting this.

Offline Curt

  • BBB Admin
  • Administrator
  • Largemouth Bass
  • *****
  • Posts: 5894
  • Thanks: 10
  • Fish On!
  • Referrals: 264
    • CurtSnow.com
  • My Biggest Bass: LMB - 9 lbs. 2 oz. (RI) 9 lbs. 14 oz. (California Delta) - SMB 5 lbs. 10 oz. (CT)
Re: Nitro Z7 Stereo Installation
« Reply #2 on: January 24, 2015, 04:04:39 PM »
Great post! Thanks for sharing the process :)

Professionally Designed Websites Starting at Just $99 http://www.ProWebsitesUnlimited.com

Offline Jignpig

  • Guppy
  • *
  • Posts: 9
  • Thanks: 0
  • BassBoatBoards.com Rocks!
  • Referrals: 0
  • My Biggest Bass: 9 lb 15 oz at Lake Falcon. Terminator T1 spinnerbait.
Re: Nitro Z7 Stereo Installation
« Reply #3 on: January 25, 2015, 10:32:07 PM »
Give us an update on the performance! I've been thinking of using that Jensen stereo on my boat. My boat has the older sonar Lowrance 1240A mounted. So I was going to replace that hole with the stereo.
1996 Bass Cat Eyra
2012 Mercury 175 Pro XS
2005 Nissan Titan LE 4x4 CC

Tags:
 

* Recent Posts

No posts were found.

* Forum Staff

Curt admin Curt
Administrator
admin Jive
Administrator
Mitz gmod Mitz
Global Moderator
SimplePortal 2.3.6 © 2008-2014, SimplePortal