M Series with Vessel Control

[Doc2485]

Hi to all! Just purchased a 2026 Bennington M Series Sport Fastback and it has the Vessel command center but I did not include a PMX-1 head unit on the order because I thought why do I need that or spend an additional $1k when Vessel supposed to do it all for me? Well I went wrong so far I think.... the boat has the Rockford Fosgate system (which is very very good!) and the amp and all the speakers installed in it. So I wanted a remote control on the back of the boat when we are all in water to control the radio so I purchased the Rockford Fosgate PMX-BTUR to do that and it will NOT pair with the Vessel at all? It will ONLY pair to a phone? We do not use a phone all the time for music... we use usb flash drive and FM radio some too and this is where I think I went wrong on the order? Can a PMX-1 be purchased and just plug it in under the helm to the Vessel control and make it all work? Or does someone else have a better solution to make it all work like I want it too?

Note: I am getting NO help at all from Bennington on this matter and no solutions to resolve this.

Thx!
D

 

[Seadoorxpguy]

You need to call fosgate

 

[Doc2485]

Yes I did that too and they know nothing at all about a Vessel center in a boat and keep saying contact Bennington.... useless circles as usual with any support anymore.

 

[Seadoorxpguy]

Who makes the vessel command center? If that is your current audio source there is absolutely no chance a head unit will just "plug in" . You will have to do some digging under the helm

 

[Doc2485]

I have no idea who makes it? Cannot get any answers at all from Bennington.

 

[LD50]

By vessel command, are you referring to the Vivid Ux touch screen that controls all of the boat functions? If so, that's made by Medallion. Medallion makes displays and gauges for a lot of marine applications. I'm guessing it's one of their smart displays, because those accept a CAN which is needed for the head unit interface. The problem is that they may not be able to help you much either. I had looked it up before and no longer remember the name of the company, but Bennington contracted with another party to create the GUI and programming for the unit specifically for Bennington.

If you have the Vivid display, your head unit is actually a Rockford PMX-8bb. It's attached to the inside front of the helm and the Vivid display is just a wired remote. The PMX can accept up to 3 remotes. I haven't looked closely enough to figure out if the small Medallion volume knob and stereo control next to the Vivid is a second remote for the head unit or if it wires into the Vivid display and is a secondary control for that. It is Medallion control so I'm guessing it connects to the display, but I could easily be wrong.

Your remote option is the PMX-1r, which is compatible with the 8bb. To run the remote to the rear of the boat, you'd need one of Rockford's 13 pin extension cables. If the Medallion volume control is run directly to the 8bb as remote, you'd also need the 13 pin "y" adaptor to add the additional remote.

I started looking at this stuff before we bought ours because I knew the factory stereo was not going to satisfy me. I've also owned other boats that use proprietary display systems and try to make it a closed system so it's very difficult to modify afterwards. Caveat - I have not done this myself, yet. This is the conclusion I've come to from looking at the wiring and components and doing some research. I've got the PMX-1r and parts, just waiting for the off season to start upgrading.

I think the Vivid display leaves out a lot of adjustability the head unit is capable of. There is the possibility that the added adjustability is there but not visible unless you have the additional upgraded amplifier and M2 speakers though. Once I bypass the amplifier in the 8bb, add amps and a sub, I guess I'll find out. If I don't get the results I'm looking for and can't get support to assist with changes, I'll probably just remove the Vivid display from the loop and run one PMX-1r on the dash and another in the rear.

 

[Doc2485]

Yes it is called Vivid display too. Yes I agree... certain devices will not pair with the Vivid but will pair fine with PMX-1 head unit. I REALLY wish I would have had them add it in to the boat and I would not be having all these issues with it? I am not for sure if I can get Bennington at plant to add it in or try and see if dealership could do it???

If the PMX-1r would work for the remote.... would just have to figure out how to get it back there with wire and where to mount it to access and look good? Uhmmmm

And thank you very much for all this valuable info!!!!!!

 

[agil1215]

I also purchased a L series swing back and realized I wanted a rear remote shortly after owning. The girls love to sit on the back lounger with guys in the water and it’s nice to not need to have your phone or get up to change song or volume. My boat came with a PMX-2 which has the 13pin out for a future remote.

I bought the PMX-1R and a PMX25C cable to have a little extra to get from under the helm to the swing back arm. Worst part was waiting 4months the for Bennington to send me the molded arm panel that fits my boat. I prefer wired connections over Bluetooth all day but to each their own.

 

[Doc2485]

Yes mine does not have a PMX-1 or 2 on it.... that I highly regret not ordering correctly....it only has the Vivid Vessel that does the radio.

 

[Doc2485]

I found out more info this weekend on what my options might be. Under the helm the PMX-8BB only has one open wired remote cable as you can see on the pics. It has other open cables also....just do not know what they can do? I do see 2 cables that are not hooked to anything.... wired Remote and PMX-8DH?

Can I buy a PMX-1 head unit and just plug into what cable in the existing device mounted in the helm to get the PMX-BTUR to pair bluetooth directly to it? I was just going to zip tie it under the helm because I really have no place in back of boat to mount it being the quad layout on the M series or go totally with the PMX-1R wired remote....... If anyone has a great idea where to mount it near the ladder area so we can reach it easily from down in the water.... it seems so limited from what I can see on it... that would be awesome!!!!

 

[LD50]

Here's the link to the 8BB manual. It will tell you what all those cables are for:

https://rockfordfosgate.com/rftech/library/2016/01_source_units/1230-59190-01-c_pmx-8bb-man.pdf

I checked ours today and the medallion physical control does not interface with the 8BB. It is wired into the NMEA distribution block and probably interfaces directly with the Vivid displays, both the vessel control and the main screen.

I don't believe the PMX-1 will be compatible with the 8BB as the 1 is an amplified head unit and not a remote. You might be able to use one of the RCA outs on the PMX-1 and run it to the 8BB's AUX 1 or 2 RCA input. If you're planning to try that route, I'd definitely call Rockford first to get some advice on if it will work and what functionality you might lose. I'm guessing at a minimum, you'd no longer see the song information and ability to control the music selection from the vessel control. The other downside of using the PMX-1 is that you'll have to run power to it, whereas the actual remote units will get their power from the 13 pin cable that ties them to the 8bb. You'll also need to power it on and off as it won't power on remotely when you turn on the 8bb from the vessel control or medallion control. However, the PMX-1 does appear to have a USB input, which should allow you to use your flash drive and BTUR.

I'd still suggest calling Rockford for advice as this would be a very non-standard setup and they'd be the best source to accomplish your objectives in the easiest way possible.

 

[Doc2485]

Thank you!!! Here is what I just got directly from Rockford support:

"Unfortunately the PMX-1 is a standalone source unit not a remote so there is no way to plug it into the PMX-8BB. You could purchase a PMX-1R and bury that but it will not tie directly to the PMX-BTUR. You would need to pair it to the PMX-1R and your phone, and it would use your phone and the in-between to control volume and tracking. "

So I think I will have to go with the PMX-1R with the extension cable and find somewhere nice on the back of the boat to mount it and be able to use it from the water?

Attached is back of boat before engine was rigged. I am very open to ideas for mounting it, I was think underneath the floor someway to hide it a bit but very very easy to get too....

 

[LD50]

You're now in the same situation I'm in. I'd like to add the 1R to the rear deck where it's easy to reach from the water. I like the idea of making a small aluminum enclosure and mounting it just under the deck, centered on the port log. I'm just not convinced that it would live a very long life in that position even though it's IPX6 rated. I'm leaving towards making a small enclosure to mount just left of the ladder grab rail. This might be a good excuse for me to finally get a 3d printer.

 

[Doc2485]

Yes we are thinking so so alike man! This is what I am going to try... buying this IP65 black box to match and try to mount or stick it close to ladder or underneath (which every looks and works the best) and see what happens? I am going to start with very strong 3D two sided tape for a bit until I feel 100% I got the right location hopefully for a long time....

 

[LD50]

lol...definitely on the same wavelength. I was just coming back to post a link to that same enclosure.

 

[Doc2485]

LMAO!!! Lets both do this and see how the hell it turns out!

 

[Vikingstaff]

I was going to chime in about you’d want some kind of enclosure due to water back there. Since you are already thinking along those lines, I might add another addition to your mounting experience. Put a sink sponge in there initially. That way you have a very easy way to access how “water tight” the enclosure is before wiring up and mounting any rear stereo system controls.

Finally, keep us all posted on how this unfolds. It’s a neat idea if it can all be secured against water pressure and water intrusion for easy stereo control when in the water. For us, we switched over to simply taking a Bluetooth speaker with us for those occasions because we could just set it on the aft deck for volume access. This causes us to switch from our boats system to the portable speakers when we hit a sandbar or are anchored and swimming in the lake.

 

[Doc2485]

TY! Yes I am getting some of the stuff today and going to very interesting how it goes.

Just got this from Rockford:

"It is marine ready water resistant but not water proof. As long as the back portion is enclosed in the box you should be good to go."

I just need all the parts and start tinkering with creative ideas to make this all work.

 

[LD50]

Some black abs spacers like these and you can place your mounting points above and below the protruding portion of the rub rail and it will still sit flat.

Amazon.com

The more I look at your picture, the more I think I may mount mine here. Mount the box from the side so it still faces the back. It'll be a little more protected and out of the way, plus the passthrough for the motor wiring harness is just behind it and is an easy way to run the cable. Hard to tell for sure until I can mach it up and see what I think.

 

[Doc2485]

I do not think at first I am going to screw or bolt the box to the rub rail. I will use my Dremel tool on the box to put a small curve in the back of it to allow the box to fit flat over the curved rub rail. Then use 3M double sided tape at first to make sure this is the best location for it? If not I can move it somewhere else and not have drilled holes to look at it.

Since the area is so tight beside the ladder and hand rail... I am going to put it over the chrome device on the end... attached pic