1998 230 Signature BR : Original Radio Replacement Suggestions

D

dr.j

New Member
Oct 31, 2006
135
Portland, Big Rideau Lake, Ontario, Canada
Boat Info
230 BR
Engines
7.4 BIII
I have a 1998 230 Signature BR and wish to replace the original dash mounted radio with a SAT / AM / FM / CD unit. Any suggestions of a make and model that will fit the original location. Where do you suggest mounting / hiding the SAT XM Sirius antenna?
 
Is your head unit mounted in the glove compartment and do you have a Clarion with the little round remote mounted on the dash. This is the set up for my '99 210BR..........it's not if the head unit will fit in the same location, it's if the remote will work with the new head unit. I found a Clarion on ebay a few years ago that did. The small size of the remote and the way they are sort of recessed in the dash make replacing the remote with a bigger one nearly impossible.
 
Your radio is a standard, industry-wide (both automotive and marine) size. So, picking a new one (as far as size goes) is easy, like Raven said. Also, like he mentioned, it's the remote that's a pain. I haven't found a way to use it - have always had to replace (or, more often than not, just leave it there disconnected). It seems Raven may have found a possible workaround, but I imagine that avenue is getting shorter and shorter as the years go on.

Since you're up north and on a lake, you could realistically get away with an automotive unit - although I still prefer a marine, myself.

There's plenty of room under both the driver's side and passenger's side dash to mount "extras".

On the back side of the head unit, there a few small metal "tabs" that are bent inward. Flip them back up and the radio will slide out. If it doesn't, you either missed a tab or didn't bend one up far enough.
 
Dave,

Lots of choices for radios. I thought about the Clarion M309 (DIN mount, which should slide right into the factory location to the left of the steering wheel and above the ignition switch) which is Sirius/XM capable, can stream, has Ipod capability and etc. However, it does not have a CD player. A couple of options for the antenna. If you go with a permanent flush mount, you could mount it on the horizontal surface between the midship cleat, just aft of the bow railing and under the 230 logo. If you do not wish to mount it permanently, just use the mobile mount. I would run the antenna wire out of the forward corner of the helm storage door and position the antenna between the base of the windshield and w/s support. The portable antennas may be be magnetized. So, you may want to run the wire along the base of the windshield farther away from the compass and mount/tape the antenna farther right near the windshield wing. You may want to see what BOE has for marine radios.
 
Last edited:
I will get the model # of what I installed.........now like Dennis said the window for replacments is closing (if you want to use the existing remote) and this was a couple years ago. I do remember sliding the old one right out and sliding the new one in, the wiring harness plugged right in the back of the new one as did the cable for the remote.

Instead of SAT radio, I just do my ipod or Pandora thru the front aux input, no antenna needed, just a thought.

John
 
Last edited:
Guys, just to be clear, he is looking for a replacement that will slide into the original mount, which is panel mounted just above the ingnition switch. So, a panel mounted remote would be of no use unless he wanted to move the radio to the glove box or helm storage locker.

For what it's worth, i wouldn't mind hearing a few radio suggestions (same type as dr.j). Thanks.
 
Last edited:
SeaRide said:
For what it's worth, i wouldn't mind hearing a few radio suggestions (same type as dr.j). Thanks.
Click to expand...

i just ordered this Kenwood unit earlier this week....the front mounted USB and AUX input should come in handy...and it is ipod compatible which means it will play all of my downloaded itunes songs in .m4a format without having to convert them to .mp3 format if i transfer the itunes songs to a flash drive or burn them them on a disc.....

http://www.kenwoodusa.com/Car_Entertainment/Marine/KMR-550U

cliff
 
Last edited:
Like I mentioned above, because the unit is a standard size, there are a ton of units available that could work. It really just comes down to the exact features you need and personal preferences in terms of brand or styling. Start with a place like BOE Marine (owner of Club Sea Ray) and maybe some other reputable, local places or even a place like Crutchfield.
 
I know you said you were hoping for original speaker and power connections which means that the only option that will possibly do that is to buy a radio from the same manufacturer as your current radio like Clarion. If you ever decide this is no longer important than you can buy a head unit from anyone with the features you are looking for.
 
Thanks guys. Looking at Cliff's suggestion, the Clarion M309 and the Jensen MS2013BTR. Also,looked at a couple of Fusion units, but the face plate does not appear as though it will fit in my opening.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,193
Messages
1,428,280
Members
61,104
Latest member
Three Amigos
Back
Top