NASA instruments

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JohnnyG818

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Hi all,
I have just bought an older boat that has navico wind, depth and speed logs. However the MHU is missing, as is the paddle wheel. I can't find replacement parts that make it even worth trying to get them going again, so will have to replace them.
On my old boat I had a clipper duet that served me well. That unit was a gift so I wasn't involved in the choice, so researching this now is new.
Can anyone tell me what the difference is between the Target, Clipper and Cruiser ranges, other than the cost?
Has anyone used the target range with any reliable success?

Thanks
 
Interesting topic, as I am also looking into those... all I can see it's that the price for these used units comes close to buying new... and there aren't many available, so they can't be all that bad, even though they are clearly the cheapest options on the market. I'll be watching this thread closely.
 
JohnnyG818 said:
Can anyone tell me what the difference is between the Target, Clipper and Cruiser ranges, other than the cost?
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Target and Cruiser are basic standalone instruments and are essentially identical, but the Cruiser looks a bit more modern. Clipper has bigger display and some units have NMEA output.

Nasa masthead transducers have a poor reputation for reliability.
 
Cookie Jar said:
From what I've been reading it's the cups that have a tendency to be "gone with the wind"... But other than that I couldn't find many voices against them... hope someone who has them comes forward with their opinion as well.
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There'll be loads of people who'll say they haven't had a problem, and loads who'll say they have had a problem. But the main problem with the masthead transducer is that it's up the mast; not everyone wants to climb the mast to sort things out everytime the cups decide to fall off and, if you don't want to go up the mast yourself, the only option is to pay someone else to do it.
 
pvb said:
Target and Cruiser are basic standalone instruments and are essentially identical, but the Cruiser looks a bit more modern. Clipper has bigger display and some units have NMEA output.

Nasa masthead transducers have a poor reputation for reliability.
Click to expand...

Agreed - it is the NMEA output that's important if you ever want to link to something else.

Having said that I had a mismash of instruments including NASA and Navico on the boat I bought last year. I replaced them all with a set of Raymarine ST60's that had been removed from a boat being "re-fitted" --- goodness knows why as the instruments worked perfectly all talk to each other and to the Raymarine autopilot that was also part of the package. Ask your local marine electronic fitting company if they ever have sets for sale , either they will have or can put you in touch with their next customer who wants to rip out perfectly good instruments to replace with latest colour versions!!
 
Agree, have nothing whatsoever against my Clipper instruments BUT the masthead units are dire & must be costing NASA countless sales. Surely with the number of instrument manufacturers who are no longer with us but who built fine and long lasting masthead units, there must be lots of tooling going cheap & which NASA could put to very good use.
 
Thanks for the feedback.

Stowe marine say they can supply a navico WD 200 compatible MHU for £440 and a DL 200 paddle wheel for £145 ex vat.

In your opinion, is this a good investment? Or are there better value modern units that I should spend my money on. Its not that I'm trying to scrimp on these, just that the budget is being eaten up by Yanmar.
 
I have a NASA target set of instruments including the wind one. It has no nmea connection so can't display apparent wind which might be a disadvantage. I'm not a fan of electrical wind displays and wouldn't replace mine if it broke. A bit of wool on the shrouds is just as good, more reliable and a lot cheaper.
 
There's a saying about NASA instruments, " the ones with no moving parts - ie depthsounders, NOT combined with logs - are great "

In the name of all that's holy avoid the masthead jobs - I've had two as gifts and their lives could be counted in hours / days, the anemometer cups are far from U/V resistant and they run on a particularly crappy needle spindle.

I'd happily use the the Target / Clipper depthsounders ( avoiding the Duet combined paddlewheel log, I've known a lot of people have trouble with these ) but I'd avoid other NASA kit, you get what you pay for - no instruments are wonderful, I agree 100% with wool telltales on the shrouds being the best wind instrument, they are also in line of sight like a fighter aircraft's Head Up Display.
 
A masthead Hawke / Windex may be hidden by a bimini but instruments will be what is known as ' head down ' in aircraft terms and not that visible even in a hatchtop pod unless with extra large digits ( I've tried this ); may I suggest there's something wrong if you can't see ahead, including shroud telltales ?
 
Seajet said:
A masthead Hawke / Windex may be hidden by a bimini but instruments will be what is known as ' head down ' in aircraft terms and not that visible even in a hatchtop pod unless with extra large digits ( I've tried this ); may I suggest there's something wrong if you can't see ahead, including shroud telltales ?
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Telltales low down on shrouds will show different wind direction to one in clearer air about 60ft asl. I have no problem reading the instruments over the hatch and will be replacing the bust Stowe with a wireless NASA wind.
 
MikeCC said:
The NASA wind cups are massively less prone to loss since the design was changed to a threaded spindle with retaining but rather than the previous star washer. That was some years ago.
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Know if that's available as an upgrade?

Though saying that, I ran up the mast steps today and the cups replaced about 5 years ago are still fine despite the near constant sunny days.
 
Kind of related - a question I was going to ask: are NMEA MHU's compatible with other NMEA instrument/displays? Eg a Stowe MHU with Clipper display.
Thanks
 
mogmog2 said:
Kind of related - a question I was going to ask: are NMEA MHU's compatible with other NMEA instrument/displays? Eg a Stowe MHU with Clipper display.
Thanks
Click to expand...
It depends. Some have proprietary output from MHU and the NMEA bit is done at a databox or in the display head. The Clipper display outputs NMEA but the interface to MHU is not NMEA. They also have an NMEA output MHU though.
 
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