NASA Marine

OGITD

OGITD

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NASA Marine provide the best customer support/service I have ever experienced in decades.

Re: Head-Unit (Direction & Speed).
Phoned Wednesday, posted Thursday, received the tested and repaired unit the following Tuesday.
Couldn't be more helpful & cost was exactly what they quoted (minimal) + Vat & Postage.

Very happy customer.:D

OG.
 
My head-unit did not break "per-say" ..... but was destroyed by a neighbors halyard wrapping itself around the unit and causing damage during the winter storms.
 
AngusMcDoon said:
My MHU cups broke in the first big gale. Nasa refused to send me a replacement making me pay. Unit was 13 months old. No Nasa products again. Ever.
Click to expand...

I guess that their warranty cover is only for 12 months .... and many people have many years of reliable service from their NASA instruments (as what I had). So for them to provide an extremely fast repair service for a nominal (looks like cost to me) fee ...... in today's market is just outstanding!
So if the worst case is once every 7 - 10 years having to return one of their instruments or components of for a repair at roughly 1/5th the cost of a new unit ...... I'm buying NASA every-time!
 
I have a full house of NASA kit - can't afford pricier. I'm happy with it.

Echosounder - gets a bit confused sometimes with a squidgy bottom but tweaking the threshold sorts it out.
Log - paddle wheel gets grunged up, but clean it reads pretty accurately.
Fluxgate - no problems ever.
Navtex - works perfectly unless surrounded by a forest of metal masts in the marina.
AIS "radar" - mmm not a friendly functionality, but now I am used to it I can cope. Got us out of Dover in the fog in the dark last year.
Wind instrument - accept that the masthead unit needs a refurb every few years, otherwise OK.
BM1 battery monitors - in my hands wonderful - I have two, one for each battery. Wired according to the book and never faltered. Many people on the forum don't seem to be able to get them to work, which baffles me.

On the occasions where I have had to call them they've been fantastic. Not perfect, but I know users of equipment at three times the price who have just as many problems.
 
I was given a NASA windspeed/ direction Clipper job so felt I had to fit it, though I was perfectly happy judging wind direction by telltales and Windex, wind strength by how frightened I was.

The thing packed up at 11 months old, and NASA refused to honour the guarantee; this was years ago and I read here their service is much better now.

Fool that I am, I later bought another Clipper Wind unit, mainly to fill the square hole on the bulkhead !

That lasted just over a year, when it packed up I asked a NASA rep' at the London boat show, he said ' definitely the masthead unit '.

Then when I phoned to order it and explained, the chap said ' definitely the display unit '.

I decided to bin the lot, and am much happier with wool telltales on the shrouds and a masthead windex vane.

The only thing I've had from NASA which works as it should is the Clipper Depth, that is fine.

Their Navtex was a disaster and instant refund; I wouldn't buy their stuff again, very sad as I try to support nominally British companies.
 
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My NASA Navtex has provided years of messages - very happy with the product. I also have a BM1 Battery Monitor - that works fine too. Maybe I've just been lucky so far.

I'm hoping that NASA satisfied customers far out weigh the disappointed ones and that its just a case of the failings getting more press.
 
Seajet said:
I was given a NASA windspeed/ direction Clipper job so felt I had to fit it, though I was perfectly happy judging wind direction by telltales and Windex, wind strength by how frightened I was.
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That's excellent stuff! I've always wondered about the wind instruments –*do you really need them? Speaking of NASA, replacing the inexpensive cups every other year wouldn't be a problem as I need to take the mast down every year anyway.
 
The only thing I have from Nasa is their Navtex. Took care to install properly. It's on all the time we are aboard. Works well, no problems.
 
I too have very positive experience with NASA marine.

BM1, Clipper depth, Target Log, Meteo man + mast head unit still working fine after 5 years, great customer service (as per the OP) when I bought a new paddle wheel a few years ago. What's not to like?

It's budget kit, some of it a bit clunky, yes but reliable, affordable and British, with good service to boot.

When the MHU eventually breaks, I'll not be asking NASA for an FOC replacement and blaming them for the poor weather, I'll stump up the few quid it costs for a new one and accept that these things happen. Even with top of the range expensive kit.
 
Trundlebug said:
When the MHU eventually breaks, I'll not be asking NASA for an FOC replacement and blaming them for the poor weather, I'll stump up the few quid it costs for a new one and accept that these things happen. Even with top of the range expensive kit.
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I'm pleased that you have had good service, but, in my opinion, wind breaking a 13 month old wind sensor is a fault. There are countless reports on this forum of this transducer being sub-standard. It sounds like even the salesmen realize this. Maybe their customer service has improved, but a decade ago it was shockingly bad.
 
Re NASA wind anemometres,' the spares are cheap ' but why does one need to replace the things so often; because while fixed to a masthead NASA kit seems surprised to get wind and sunlight, and whatever genius designed/ thought they could get away with it came up with a windspeed sensor on a very basic needle spindle instead of a bearing and a plastic vane which in my case was bent by sunlight before it even got to me !

On a 22' boat climbing to to the masthead, preferably with a Big Hammer, is not feasible.

Wool tufts on the shrouds and a Windex for me, if night sailing it's largely by feel anyway but reflective strips under the windex vanes lit by the masthead light might help.
 
Seajet said:
Re NASA wind anemometres,' the spares are cheap ' but why does one need to replace the things so often; because while fixed to a masthead NASA kit seems surprised to get wind and sunlight, and whatever genius designed/ thought they could get away with it came up with a windspeed sensor on a very basic needle spindle instead of a bearing and a plastic vane which in my case was bent by sunlight before it even got to me !
Click to expand...

I take your point, but I remember reading a previous thread on this topic a year or so ago and it was clear this problem wasn't confined to the NASA units, some of the more expensive makes also had mast head failures. Yet everyone seems to pick on the NASA unit and say it's unacceptable.

Yes, design improvements could be made with better bearings etc, but this would come at a cost. It has to be questioned if this cost would be worthwhile (read commercially viable). NASA have obviously concluded not, although I accept others may disagree having experienced inconvenient failures.

I think the main problem is that the plastic cups get degraded by UV and go brittle. Beefing it up would make it heavier, so it wouldn't work in light winds (which customers would also moan about). UV degradation is common to all plastics (admittedly to varying degrees) and can't be eliminated.

There isn't really the easy fixit that some seem to think is obvious.
 
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