Antique AP Navigator help.

[Quandary]

Most of you will be astounded to learn that I am still using an AP navigator MK5 (the one with the big keypad and display) circa 1990 modified by Comar using a Leica NZ GPS receiver around the millenium, it feeds the GPS position to the VHF and to an almost as ancient Yeoman which lies unattended beneath my paper charts while I plot our course on a laptop. It is comforting to have an independent back up.
I changed the internal battery in the navigator yesterday and now it is asking for the security code after start up. When I have changed batteries before it was happy to accept a code of 00000 and carry on working. Now it is asking me to 'enter new code', then 'repeat new code', then 'repeat new code' again and again and again. The handbook says if he code is lost it has to be returned, some chance of that now!
I would like to keep my old friend working, does any one know of a way to persuade it that it has a code or is this just not possible.

I know many of you will want to make suggestions about finding a skip but I have known my old friend since he was just a Decca and he has never failed before.

 

[corinthmistral]

Sorry can't help with a solution but I also am still using one and acquired a spare head unit and antenna so I can keep it going. Having said that, the original unit has never let me down. They are great units with a big display and, back in the day, were incredibly well built. I had an AP navigator on the first commercial ship I worked on in 1993. So ... If you can fix the code hopefully you get many more years service out of it(!)

 

[typhoonNige]

I'm still using the "modern" mk 10 navigator that came with my current boat. When I was after a replacement antenna my search eventually ended with BT Marine at Falmouth. Perhaps they can advise you. I eventually gave up on the new antenna idea and rebuilt the casing of the old one. Three years and many thousands of miles later it is still OK!

 

[Birdseye]

When a gps comes built in to every mobile phone, you guys amaze me! Any of you still using hemp rope and cotton sails?

 

[typhoonNige]

When a gps comes built in to every mobile phone, you guys amaze me! Any of you still using hemp rope and cotton sails?

Give me a free replacement and I'll use it! My recent experiences with new electronics have reinforced my opinion that if it ain't broke, don't fix / replace it. The navigator is our secondary GPS - I have a Standard Horizon plotter at the helm and althoough it works well I'm not too impressed with the build quality.

 

[Hydrozoan]

My Mk9 (I think!) continues to function very happily, having had no more than an internal battery transplant about 8-10 years ago when, IIRC, a marine electronics specialist (in Southampton?) was offering software upgrades for them - if they're still in business they might be able to help, but unfortunately I cannot remember any further details.

PS This Westerly Owners Association discussion thread (http://www.westerly-owners.co.uk/woaforum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=105 of 2006!) says Comar of the IoW were the British agents for AP Philips/Leica GPS, and mentions a Peter Cotton as a contact. Comar (if it's the same company) now seem to be AIS specialists, but perhaps worth a call?

 

[Quandary]

Thanks Hydrozoan, and the others, even young Birdseye, his intervention was not unexpected.
I do have phones, a laptop and a tablet on board but my old friend was happy to provide the DSC vhf with its position unasked or attended day after day while his fiddly modern gadgets have come and gone. It had that ancient and no longer valued quality 'durability'. Shame that particular value went out of fashion.

 

[Mrnotming]

Same goes for my quirky MLR gps, which although only 8 channel, never gets lost compared to the button gadgets latterly on sale such as BU353.It also currently feeds the DSC info to the VHF.Is there a limit to the number of tries for the code in your AP navigator.
No doubt you have tried other combinations such as your trusty email password etc.
Or perhaps add one more zero, but as you will quickly point out the box is filled with five zeros.
you have tried 12345?

 

[Quandary]

Yes Paul, I have, however for safety reasons the manual advises that 'Position' and 'Man Overboard' functions are not disabled and it appears to be happy to continue to tell the vhf where it is, which is really all I want from it these days.
The puzzling thing is that it is asking for a new code to be entered and repeated but then after changing to a green light it just repeats that process.