Autohelm Navcenter 600 wobbles

[Grumpybear]

Help needed please!

I powered up the plotter today to discover that

a. No marine features (buoys, beacons, soundings etc etc) are displayed on the screen, just the coastlines including piers and breakwaters etc

b. all the 120 odd waypoints have disappeared from the library.

The manual offers no help other than a generalised reset procedure, which I suppose would do no harm unless the waypoint data are hiding somewhere retrievable inside the plotter in which case they would be lost for good.

Does anyone have any tips, experience of these problems? I probably need to get the C-map chart chip updated any way, but no point if the plotter is going to eat the information.

Thanks in anticipation

Giles

 

[RIBW]

My neighbour's AN600 'lost the plot' recently. I changed his hold up battery (readily available from rs-components, but it is a soldering job) and all is now well. He hadn't lost his waypoints (until I changed the battery) but he could not receive GPS via Seatalk. At £4+ it may be worth a punt especially if the battery hasn't been changed in the last 7 years?
Cheers
Bob

 

[Grumpybear]

Bob

Many thanks. That would seem to be my problem, although the chart detail is now back. I do know, just, which end of a soldering iron gets hot, so are there any tricks and pitfalls to changing the battery? It seems to be bedded in a blob of some kind of mastic.

Any advice gratefully received

Giles

 

[RIBW]

Bob
It seems to be bedded in a blob of some kind of mastic.
Any advice gratefully received
Giles

Giles I didn't have to cope with mastic - perhaps the battery had been changed before.

I just side clipped the old one out and solder sucked both tails until I had clear holes. I then soldered the new battery in.

I had read to be careful not to heat the battery - Lithium & heat don't mix apparently .

The RS stock number is 407 899. Cost last month was £4.20 inc VAT.

It is a 2330 Lithium rechargeable 3V.

Good luck
Bob

 

[Grumpybear]

Thanks Bob. I have got the old battery off with the iron, but have yet to clear the holes. Do tell- what is solder sucking!?

The battery in my case is a 2020, so 3mm smaller diameter, and not in stock at RS for three weeks unless I order £500 worth, but they are used in some BMW key fobs so have ordered one via fleabay for £6.15 inc postage.

Come Wednesday it will be fit the new one time.

 

[RIBW]

..... but have yet to clear the holes. Do tell- what is solder sucking!?

A solder sucker is placed close to the melted solder and a trigger is pressed to activate a vacuum that sucks the solder away from the joint. [Sorry, never not had one so its easy to assume they are in everyone's soldering kit]. See http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/de-solder-pump-n40ch

.The battery in my case is a 2020........

That is the battery that is listed in the documentation for the later Raymarine/Raychart version of the product. I just replaced the style I took out - they are both 3V Lithium!

Good luck on Wednesday
Bob

 

[Grumpybear]

Fixed it! Now operating normally, and I took the opportunity to clean the inside of the outer glass window; the picture is ow clearer than it has ever been.

Fingers crossed for the future.....

 

[RIBW]

Fixed it!

Excellent news.
Bob