Fitting Nasa Clipper Wind instrument.

[mickshep]

Some time ago I bought the above to fit to Wraith. The cable is installed into the masthead unit from new. at the other end is fitted a bonded on plug approx 19mm dia'. The supplied instructions just tell me to fit the masthead unit and feed the cable to the display unit. My concern is that whilst drilling a 19mm hole in the flat plate at the mast head to take the plug is not a problem, doing the same in the side wall at the base of the mast may weaken the mast, /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif. Has anyone cut the cable at the display end and then re-joined it or is this asking for trouble? Cheers all, Mike.

 

[whipper_snapper]

I also asked NASA exactly this question. They replied:

Dea Sir

You can cut and shorten (or lengthen) the cable without issue, remember to join the screen also as this is used.

Regards

NASA Marine

 

[steve6367]

Yes - have cut and joined on several boats. No problem.

Steve

 

[mickshep]

Thank you both. I really didn't fancy cutting a hole that size in the mast. Mike.

 

[RestlessL]

The cable used by Nasa is quite fine, and it may take several attempts to get a good join.

The 19mm plug is a standard 5 pin (180degree) audio "din" plug, available at Maplins etc, and I have found the most successful way of joining the wires is with a pair of these. They are not waterproof, so you will need to bring the wire through a deck gland, and connect in a dry spot inside the boat. Alternatively, if you do not need a join at the mast, just cut the existing plug off, and put a new one on once the wire is in place.

John