Clipper Navtex

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brians

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Not normally a great fan of Nasa instruments. However the Clipper Navtex looks quite a neat piece of equipment. Also recent posts on the Furuno Navtex concern me a bit. Any experiences, good or bad? I am based Hamble if that makes a difference.

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I fitted one a couple of seasons ago, and love it. Have used it across most of northern Europe, and its only not picked up the forecast on five occasions (out of about 8 months of use)- in all cases when surrounded by high buildings. My recievers only mounted on the pushpit, so mounting it higher up the mast might help. But I'm not bothered- if there's tall buildings around, there's also normally a posh marina office with the forecast on display.

I've found it vital in parts of the world where the forecast isn't broadcast in english (or broadcast at all). In the UK its helpful rather than vital, but I wouldn't be without it.

The Clippers very easy to use- far simplar than many. The screens easy to read, and pleanty big enough. Given all the main electrics are down below, it should last well.

I did look at the more expensive Navtex's, but they didn't seem to have useful enough extras to justify the price. If buying again, I'd still go for the Navtex.

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i'm not a fan of nasa in general but i had used the clipper navtex on a friends boat and i like things with minimum number of buttons, also the price is good. so far i've had no problems with it.

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i'm not a fan of nasa in general but i had used the clipper navtex on a friends boat and i like things with minimum number of buttons, also the price is good. so far i've had no problems with it. pretty much does exactly what it says on the box.

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Excellent bits of kit. I fitted one last year then used it sailing round the South coast. Going over to Alderney this year again it proved its worth. Very easy to use, low power consumption, good backlight when needed and reliable.

There is a graph in the setup screen which enablesd you to optimise the signal. We set it up on the east coast where signal strength can be weak, so I suggest you do as we did and leave the aeriel unmounted and try it in a few locations before finally fixing. Since it has strongest signal strength when not mounted parallel to other metallic objects we ended up with it on the pushpit but mounted off of one of the diagonals - result has been a consistently reliable signal.

It's wonderful to be able to leave it on permamnently when aboard cruising (wired direct to battery) and know you don't have to worry about waking up to catch 5.35am weather forecasts!

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i have the nasa pro
its very good except in hot weather when the screen gots hot. it is when difficult to read. it could also be due to sunlight but i realy think its the former. it uses so little power ( 40m/a) that its on all the time.

<hr width=100% size=1><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by sailorman on 11/11/2003 19:35 (server time).</FONT></P>
 
Fitted one on my new boat. Wish I had bought the old navtex pro plus! Reception is patchy. For example on my berth in Mayflower marina Plymouth I rarely get a forecast from Niton but I do get a forecast, with errors, from the french station on 480Mhz. On holiday this season it proved almost useless, on both frequencies, once south of the channel du four. It is also very much influenced by spurious signals from the mains battery charger. Not my best piece of equipment!

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we almost never get niton unless offshore, i tune into Oostende, Nederlands C.G.
we are Harwich area.
on another point we have once recived St Peter Port on v.h.f now thats quite a long way with a few hills thrown-in to boot

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Installed one at the beginning of this season, replacing an older Navtex Pro. It's a better unit than the Pro, easier to set up and with more information on the larger screen. Internal lighting is a big improvement over the externally-switched Pro. The mounting bracket is very poor and has no locating grooves, so that every time you press a button the whole unit swivels.

In July it stopped working. I opened the antenna housing to find about 10 mm of water. Dried this out and it worked again for about a week, then packed up altogether. Returned it to Nasa via Compass and got it back 8 weeks later. They have sealed the antenna housing with some sort of adhesive, but not all that well. I added to their efforts and hope it is now completely watertight. I suspect that, in addition to condensed atmospheric water vapour, my unit was probably leaking through the top. It is a "Blue Peter" type construction of plastic tubing, apparently cut by a total novice who forgot his square.

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That's odd. The only place in the Harwich area where I've not picked up Niton is in Ipswich. I wonder if the antenna's very sensitive to mounting position- StephenW says it doesn't like being mounted parallel to metalic objects. Could that be it? My antenna is mounted at a very strange angle (due to an odly shaped pushpit) so is defianately not parallel to anything.

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I've had one for a while and it has been fine. The tubular antenna looks a bit Heath-Robinson but has never leaked. One place I couldn't get reception was in Portpatrick harbour, directly below the transmission aerial for that bit of the coast. Radio waves must have been too big that close to the transmitter. Or something.

It occasionally mis-spells words. Drizzle came out as 'drozzle' once, and has been known as that ever since.

<hr width=100% size=1>One day, I hope to own a real boat.
 
I installed Clipper Navtex while becalmed in Loch Nevis and didn't get any responses for a day. When I left the Loch I got superb reception of practically every transmitter in Europe apart from Portpatrick. I still get very poor reception from Portpatrick, although Malin invariably comes through without an error. It does seem that the initial code letters from Portpatrick often become corrupted and the set then doesn't bother recording the rest of the message.
Apart from the fact that I can't pick up the most appropriate transmitter, the Clipper seems excellent, using practically no power and in my case unphased by engine starts and low batteries.

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In Greece

I get Croatian, Italian, Greek & Cypriot messages well enough.

Fit and forget, it hardly uses any power at all. My antenna is located in a saloon locker and we miss the odd forecast in a high sided bay but that's all.

Steve Cronin

<hr width=100% size=1>The above is, like any other post here, only a personal opinion
 
Re: In Greece

Steve

Are you saying you can mount the antenna internally within the boat? Sounds good as it avoids water and physical damage.

Is it horizontal or vertical? I assume it must be above the water line.

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