Caution: Matsutec kit on eBay

[JumbleDuck]

There are several UK sellers (actually I suspect it's one seller with multiple names as they are all in Manchester) on eBay offering items like this

Despite the word "transponder", these are Matsutec HP-33 GPS units, not the HP-33A with AIS transceiver. if you want an HP-33A, they cost a lot more from the UK on eBay

So having spotted - rather late, I admit - that the cheaper eBay units don't have AIS, I went for Amazon instead

My last (now dead) one cost me $365 (about £285) from China, plus another ~£60 duty and handling, so the Amazon deal seems pretty reasonable. I understand that prices from China have gone up recently too.

 

[fredrussell]

Your first one died and yet you bought another?

 

[JumbleDuck]

Your first one died and yet you bought another?

I wondered who would be first to ask that.

Yes.

First of all, it died after three years of use and there don't seem to be widespread reports of similar problems, so I am willing to give them another go. Only one, mind. If this one turns its toes up I'll look for another solution.

Second, what alternative is there for an AIS transceiver and GPS combo at anything like that sort of price? The nearest equivalent looks like the Icom IC-MA500TR but (a) it's £250 more and (b) it only has a crude monochrome AIS display rather than a nice colour GPS one. I can't see any other way of getting all I want on one screen at a reasonable price. I don't have or want a plotter.

So Matsutec again it is. Heigh-ho.

 

[Yngmar]

We bought ours in June 2017 from this Amazon seller for £350 just before crossing Biscay. It shipped quickly and the unit included the GPS antenna which some resellers want to sell separately. It's just turned a year old and and very happy with it. Only caused problems once because the antenna connector had vibrated lose - easy enough to fix and now tightened up a bit better.

They also stock the cheaper headless Matsutec HA-102 unit, if you don't need a display.

We've found transmitting AIS very useful. Outside TSS, we noticed ships tend to make small course alterations (visible as a "kink" in their track) to increase CPA while still miles out, where previously they either didn't react and we had to avoid them, or only much later.

For headless units there's a few alternatives, emtrak and Amec Camino, I think, but if you want the display, there's nothing much else around.

If you anchor a lot, the unit is handy, as it supplies and displays a GPS location (much more accurate than our old Raystar), transmits AIS and can do a basic anchor alarm using very little power for all of that.

 

[JumbleDuck]

We bought ours in June 2017 from this Amazon seller for £350 just before crossing Biscay. It shipped quickly and the unit included the GPS antenna which some resellers want to sell separately. It's just turned a year old and and very happy with it. Only caused problems once because the antenna connector had vibrated lose - easy enough to fix and now tightened up a bit better.

That's the people who supplied mine, which arrived in my hot little hands today. Now I have to make up a USB lead and expereiment with downloading my waypoints from the old one.

Which, as I have said elsewhere, first started turning itself on whenever power was supplied, then started losing GPS fixes, then needed a cold start at every power up and now takes upwards of four hours to get a fix. It looks as if the NVRAM is up the creek. I have had it open and poked around inside, but there is no backup battery as I hoped. I will try the new antenna on the old head unit, just in case that's the issue.

If you anchor a lot, the unit is handy, as it supplies and displays a GPS location (much more accurate than our old Raystar), transmits AIS and can do a basic anchor alarm using very little power for all of that.

For the price - when it works, of course - it's a remarkable piece of kit.

 

[paulieraw]

Are you selling your dead one?

 

[JumbleDuck]

Are you selling your dead one?

I will be. PM me if you're interested. The screen is absolutely fine, so it might be useful to someone who has put a foot through theirs.