Adding Transom Remote for Alpine CDA-118M

[maxxwell]

At first glance, you wouldn't think adding a transom remote would need a DIY article.... but here is what to do when the surface of the boat is concave and the remote is flat. I have a '08 211 and wanted a transom remote in the center where the area has a slight curve. With a bit of patience and some materials, you can make a trim ring that matches the concave curve of the transom.

Being seriously anal and OCD here is what I did for a perfect fit
I found a PVC reducer at Home Depot for a couple bucks and trimmed the top off
1. tape off the area where you want to mount the remote with masking tape, and draw a circle using a Sharpie and mark the top
2. I used Duraglass, but bondo would work fine. Slap it over the tape using the circle as a guide and make sure it is thick. A bonus is that the Sharpie will bleed off the tape and onto the bondo piece. After it hardens up, gently remove the mold from the transom.... see PIC1
3. Since this is a negative mold, I made a positive mold from it. Trim off and clean up the negative mold and redraw the circle that bled off on the mold. I used a 12" by 12" piece of MDF and laid the tape over it. Drew a circle of the PVC reducer on it and a crosshair marking the top. Wrap the negative mold in sarahn wrap and mix up another batch of Duraglass, and place in the center of the circle on the MDF. Place the negative mold on top making sure to align it to the marks. Gently push the negative mold down squeezing the the Duraglass and making a positive mold from the negative... see PIC2
4. After separating the two molds, begin shaping the PVC to the shape of the positive mold. Make sure to mark the PVC with top, bottom, port and starboard for reference. This will become very important when sanding the curve in the mold. I used a belt sander to get the PVC to the correct thickness and to begin some of the rough curves. I had some self adhesive 5" sand paper which fit snug over the positive mold. Gently move the PVC from top to bottom, back and forth over the sandpaper, and after a bit of time, the PVC will take the shape of the mold.... see PIC3, PIC4 and PIC5
5. I used plastic spray paint, Gloss White and sprayed the PVC trim ring... see PIC6 and PIC7
6. Since the Alpine remotes are wireless, all I needed was power and ground. Run power and ground along the factory harness all the way to the rear of the engine compartment
7. Retape the transom area and draw another circle making sure it is dead center and at the correct height where you want the remote to be mounted. Be absolutely sure you've marked exactly where to cut the hole. The alpine remote required a 2 1/4" hole. After cutting the hole, dremel the edge of the hole and seal with marine sealant ... see PIC8 and PIC9
8. The remote was supplied with self adhesive tape already applied to the back of the remote, so I centered the remote through the trim ring and applied the sealant to the back of it, solder the power wires and test the functionality. Apply a thin bead of sealant on the back of the trim ring and mount the remote and trim ring assembly. Check and make sure the trim ring sits in the curve of the transom then tighten the mount assembly and seal up the back ... see PIC10 and PIC11

PIC12, PIC13 and PIC14 are the finished project

[ski4evr]

You don't happen to have an extra trim ring, do ya?? I chickened out and bought the cheapo black one without all the functionality and poor reception. It does float though. Great Work!!

[maxxwell]

I got, what they called, a PVC reducer from 3" to 4" from Home Depot and cut the thickness down to about 1/4" then sanded the rest of the way down. I wanted to make it as thin as possible so I used the sandpaper in the mold to finish the shape. Took some time, but it is one of a kind, lol...

Thanks for the compliment

[SuperSquirt]

What did you tap your power and ground to in the back of the boat?

[Mikeski]

Hmmm,

In my experience with transom remotes they very often "take on water" or otherwise fail when exposed to direct hits of water. I don't think this location would be my first choice. It's also too low to be function for anybody outside of the water. Before mounting my rear remote I had the advantage of being around a couple guys boats with rear remotes and seeing how they use them. After seeing them often reaching over the rear pad from the inside of the boat to turn the tunes up or down I realized that having a remote near the rear of the boat would work better for me. So my rear remote is near the walk through of my 211 inside the passenger area. I know where it is and can easily access it from outside the boat when I want. I also have my H2Owaves waterproof remote if I do want to control the stereo from the beach or a houseboat or otherwise when I am 50' from the boat.

[ski4evr]

Mikeski,

I have the Alpine keyfob remote (looks amazingly like the h20waves) and is an rf remote also. I cannot get good reception from outside the boat as they advertised. Did you do anything special with mounting or running the little antenna?

Thanks

[Mikeski]

The Alpine remote is made by H2O waves, same thing. My receiver is towards the back of the boat right next to my rear remote. The antenna is stretched out straight toward the back and zip tied up as high as it could be to the bolts holding the grab rail inside the boat. There's not much metal around it and it's about 5' from the motor and about 10' from the dash electronics. It works so so from the end of a wakeboard or ski rope too. I just need to move around until the unit starts responding.

[ski4evr]

Thanks I'll try relocating the remote receiver.

[maxxwell]

Mikeski,
I appreciate your opinions, and I tend to agree that the location may not suit particular situations. My needs for the transom remote may be different from yours in that we tend to hang out on the swim deck and not necessarily in the water. I do agree that reaching over the swim deck to get to the remote tends to be awkward. The placement I chose was well thought out and was exactly where I wanted it to be, taking into account for the negatives (that you mentioned) and the positives. For me, cosmetics is also important and symmetrical placement and overall look is just as important as functionality. As far as 'taking on water', this was designed and sealed to correct any chance of this happening. A water test was also performed by using high pressure water sprayed directly on the remote, which proved a more than adequate seal. Also, since this is a secondary remote, some of the for-mentioned negatives are not a big deal since remote is for while chillin on the swimdeck or choosing music before boarding. Another reason for the remote is to control the I-phone playlists, or specifically, music videos that are piped up to the LCD mounted on the tower, and to control zoning volumes for the tower speakers.

I do appreciate your thoughts and comments, but for my needs, the location where i chose to mount the remote fits me and the boat.