Garmin GPS Map 192C - Repairer?

[djyacht]

I bought this new 7 years ago, but changed boat and only recently got round to fitting. It worked ok for a week or two, but now it seems to keep shutting itself down. Ive removed from boat, checked cables and bench tested, with same result.

Inevitably it is now deemed obsolete by manufacturer and another firm I contacted said the same. Anyone know , from experience, whether there is anyone who undertakes plotter repairs on a Garmin this old?

Or should I give up, use it as a paperweight and start saving up fo something else?

David

 

[[70521]]

That is a super paperweight you have there

 

[prv]

You could try asking http://theservicecentre.eu - they regularly work on Raymarine kit of similar vintage (and older). May or may not make economic sense compared to a new unit though.

The website is rather basic but they seem to know their stuff and gave good service the couple of times I've used them.

Pete

 

[Shearwater]

Mobilerepaircentre.com has my 178C unit. They advise a 5 day turn round, they've had mine sine June 22 so at the mo I will not comment on their abilities but they seem OK.

 

[djyacht]

Thank you - the website doesn`t indicate Garmin, but I`ll try to ring them tomorrow.

 

[Fantasie 19]

Mate of mine had a plotter that kept shutting down and that turned out to be a power issue... Worth checking??

 

[Shearwater]

Mine was a power problem, the 12v 'in' pin in the socket was shorter than the rest...possible arcing or erosion. Unit became v. unreliable. Company advises today a replacement socket is now difficult to source.

 

[quark-elec]

Yes, for me it sounds like power supply issue. But maybe not the cable connector. Since you have leave it for long time, the circuit in the case maybe a bit damp. Simply leave it under the sun get it dry for couple of days and see if you are lucky.

 

[Fantasie 19]

Or your battery is dropping below some "critical" level...

 

[djyacht]

Thanks for all the inputs. I certainly agree that it seems to be a power input issue, but have tested off the boat on newly charged battery, and in two different cars also. Still the same symptom. Unfortunately the repairers mentioned have been unable to help. I intend therefore to use my bog standard car sat nav for lat and long positioning, accepting for the time being that I will need to transfer that info manually to DSC radio when needed. Not going far this summer so will start saving now for replacement chartplotter.

Thanks again

David

 

[mickywillis]

Could it be a fault with the battery on the PCB used as a memory backup?
If the unit hasn't been used for 7 years, then assume that the backup battery is faulty/not charging.
May be worth dismantling the unit and removing battery off the PCB and check with a voltmeter.
Very much like a BIOS battery on a computer motherboard, they generally last between 5 and 10 years (depending on battery quality and amount of usage)
Nothing to lose if you have a go at repairing yourself and a backup battery shouldn't be any more than a fiver.
Let us know how you get on.