External Regulation Conversion – Leece-Neville 8MR Alternator
The Stock Alternator Many boats, both power and sailboats, come equipped with, or have have used, the 5" small-case Motorola/Prestolite/Leece-Neville style [...]
Rebuilding & Inspecting a Westerbeke Alternator
Remove The Pulley This article takes a look inside a typical Mitsibishi/Westerbeke 50A alternator. These are tiny little work horses that [...]
Making Your Own Battery Cables
Pick Your Crimp Tool I own both the Ancor hammer crimper and the FTZ 94284. The FTZ 94284 makes a beautiful 360 degree [...]
Easy VHF Terminations
If You Don't Know How to Solder..... If you really don't know how to solder a VHF PL259 connector there are other options as you'll see below. This one is laughable, except that when this owner needed his VHF it was no joke or laughing matter that it failed to transmit. The previous owner or perhaps even a boat yard employee decided that solder on the shield for the VHF cable was optional. It worked for a short while, rather weakly, and then failed all together. Those holes are where the solder would go to contact the shield or braided portion of the coax cable.
New Depth Sounder With an Old Transducer
Old Transducer Coax Cable Preface: This article assumes you're vessel is not yet into the 21st century with regard to your [...]
Shore Power – SmartPlug vs. 1938
A SmartPlug Kit DISCLAIMER: I consider this article is very serious in nature. I believe so much in the safety aspect [...]
Voltage Transients in Marine Electrical Systems
A Look at Voltage Transients in Marine Electrical Systems I had been meaning to put this together for a while and [...]
Marine Wire Termination
Marine Wire Termination - The Tools PREFACE: This article is long and rather detailed. It is written in two parts and [...]
LiFePO4 Batteries On Boats
LiFePO4 On Boats The base of this article was written a number of years ago but this does not mean the [...]
Do I Need A Solar Controller?
Do I Need A Solar Charge Controller? I get asked this question quite often and the answer is almost always a resounding, yes. [...]
Installing A Battery Monitor
Battery Monitor Diagram The battery monitor is a very useful tool for a boat-owner who has to survive on battery power. [...]
Making Your Battery Monitor More Accurate
Program The Ah Capacity WARNING: This article is quite long and in-depth. Please do not misconstrue the points here and think [...]
MPPT vs. PWM Solar Controllers
Solar Testing MPPT vs. PWM In the spring of 2014, early May to be exact, I set up a series of [...]
Solder and Poor Trouble Shooting = $$$$
The Wire That Caused Years Worth Of Expenses So I get called to winterize a new customers boat and it has [...]
What is a Deep Cycle Battery?
Light Cycle vs. Deeper Cycle NOTE: This article deals with FLOODED marine batteries, not AGM or GEL batteries. The Problem: The problem, as [...]
Alternators & Voltage Sensing
Regulator Sensing Voltage at Alternator End The topic of wiring a high performance alternator regulator, and doing it correctly, comes up a lot. [...]