navtex clipper problems

[bikedaft]

when turn on get nothing on screen. if reset by pressing all 4 buttons get a horizontal one pixel line, which goes away when let go buttons. then nothing.

can turn screen light off/on by pressing left most button, but does nothing else, certainly no welcome screen as manual says after resetting.

it mentions about an internal battery which can need recharging, but unit "should work as normal after power on for 10 secs"

any ideas? thanks

 

[jh2005]

I recently had same problem with Nasa Clipper Navtex; I sent it back to them and they were able to repair at a very reasonable cost - just under £26 inc P&P and VAT. They had to replace the internal battery and a regulator.

 

[velo]

this happened to me a few days ago,try leaving it connected to power supply,most likely the internal battery is flat ,this happens to a lot of older gear ,the navtex can take up to 40hrs for full charge,but ten mins will see something light up,good luck.

 

[bikedaft]

thanks

i left it powered up for 12hours last night, the same in the morning

will send it back for repair

cheers for your help

 

[velo]

try taking the battery out,if its a nicad pile get replacement from maplins or web.

 

[Elemental]

when turn on get nothing on screen. if reset by pressing all 4 buttons get a horizontal one pixel line, which goes away when let go buttons. then nothing.

can turn screen light off/on by pressing left most button, but does nothing else, certainly no welcome screen as manual says after resetting.

it mentions about an internal battery which can need recharging, but unit "should work as normal after power on for 10 secs"

any ideas? thanks

I had an identical issue. Like another poster, I sent it back and got a very rapid and fairly priced repair.

 

[Zanziba]

I have the identical problem with the one I got with the boat. Opening her up shows the battery looks corroded. It'll need a soldering iron to get off and refit. I may try that before I send it back for what a new battery will cost.

I'll update this old thread for people if I get it working.

 

[NormanS]

I'm sure that I had something similar a year or two ago, and found that by fiddling with the buttons, I had inadvertantly reduced the screen contrast to zero. Result - nothing visible on screen. I would check on that before sending it back.

 

[Zanziba]

Thanks, but it is definately broken. I fitted a new Maplin batter (£11) to no avail. The single line of dots is now changed to a screen of lines.

I've removed the battery (after an overnight charging to be sure) and contacted the manufacturer. They've quoted about £40 to service it and say they'll ask prior to doing anything more substantial.

I'll send it off this week and update the thread with the result.

 

[misterg]

I had similar - the 'juices' from the leaking battery had also digested the legs of several nearby components. The good news is that after cleaning everything up & replacing the battery & damaged parts it worked fine - Given that you've gone as far as replacing the battery, it might be worth a careful check before sending it back.

Andy

 

[Zanziba]

I sent it back and they repaired it. New battery and fitting (not opened it to check if it was the one I supplied), new bits for board and a screen thingy (can't read the handwriting on the invoice).

£51 - works fine now.

I have managed to set it up so that it doesn;t get all the foreign stuff now and gets the weather for UK daily. Can anyone tell me simply which letters I should have on and which off on international and national, both stations and channels?

Saw that a torpedo was being fired somewhere this morning!

 

[NormanS]

Best thing would be to Google "Navtex", and you'll get all the info you require.
The station(s) that you select depends on where you are, and you have to decide what transmissions you want, e.g. Inshore Forecast, Shipping Forecast, Nav Warnings etc.

Where I am, I've selected Portpatrick and Malin Head, and only the Inshore Forecast.

There's a good page on t'web by Frank Singleton, which explains it all. Haven't look recently, so don't know if it's updated for Malin Head, which is sooooooo much better than PP on the West Coast of Scotland.

 

[Billjratt]

Thread resurectionist that I am, I thought I would add that the next generation of Nasa Navtex has the same problem.

This had a lot of liquid damage on the board which cleaned off with isopropyl.
Temporarily replacing the battery with a big electrolytic capacitor confirmed the fix, and it could be used like that if left powered on.
I'm now on the look for this---->

Looks like this will do the job, and be easy to solder in.
http://www.maplin.co.uk/cordless-telephone-battery-pack-33423

 

[lenseman]

Difficult to guage the size of that battery stack but if they are three batteries about two thirds the length of a standard 'AA' battery, they used to be called 'F'-type but I think the battery designators are all changed.

RS Spares, CNC, or even Maplin will sell them. Get the ones with solder tags already spot-welded onto each end of each battery.

Look here:

http://uk.rs-online.com/web/c/?sra=oss&searchTerm=battery&x=16&y=16

ps: you will also need some heat shrink to hold them all together when soldered into a pile.

 

[Guardamar]

I also had the same problem, only the boat is in Spain and I only get out twice a year usually. Took the offending Navtex (less than 3 years old) back to UK, posted it to them and they repaired it replacing battery, LCD and several electrical components at a cost of £64 including VAT and postage. Took it back to boat next time I went to Spain, only still not working. Apparently an intermittent fault as it worked at their factory when I re-sent it to them when back in UK again. They have replace the PCB and I will be interested to see how working when it eventually gets to the boat.

To be fair to NASA, intermittent faults are the hardest to sort, and they did not charge me the second time.

 

[Zanziba]

I got a replacement battery by taking mine to Maplins but it did not solve the problem. NASA marine replaced a couple of other components when I sent it away though so depends of the damage I guess.

 

[Billjratt]

After fitting the Maplin battery, the screen still came up OK, I reset the values to recieve all stations, connected a piece of aerial wire and left it in the shed overnight. It didn't log anything, so maybe the receiver has gone a bit deaf. I will re-install aboard with the proper aerial and check again.
The next bit of fault-finding may be more interesting.
old battery = NIMH 3.6V 600mAH, new = 3.6V 750mAH, £10 + PP.

 

[Billjratt]

Works fine on original aerial... Incident closed.

 

[Dazedkipper]

Thanks for the info and warning guys, just checked mine and the battery had just started to leak so I caught just in the nick of time.

 

[Twister_Ken]

Andy

Anybody else notice that one A J Mulley claims the circuit board is copyright.

Can you copyright a PCB?