Plotter screen

[freespiritdavid]

For the last four years I have been running a Lowrance 5150c plotter and very happy with it. Last weekend the screen started flashing like a flourscent tube, but still giving pos and data to the radio. I have now been informed there are no parts available and an upgrade to HDS 5m is the best option as I can still use the existing chart. This is at £299 +vat. Has anyone else had similar issues with any of the same or other plotters. The unit is always inside and well cared for.

 

[pvb]

You could always look for a used one on eBay and swap the screens. Failing that, do you need to replace with the HDS5m at £360inc VAT? You can get an Elite 5m for £319 inc VAT (or less).

 

[freespiritdavid]

Thanks for the reply, I have looked on e bay ........ nothing. The elite uses a different chart so more money. I was interested if this is a common problem with plotters after a period of time or mine was an unfortunate blip.

 

[blaggard]

My lowrance 5051c, also 4 years old, has just started to do the same thing, must be a design glitch. I have just bought a garmin to replace it but its not nearly as good as the lowrance.

 

[NealB]

Too many coincidences here!

I posted a couple of weeks ago about my 4 year old Lowrance 5150C with similar symptoms.

I'm now trying to decide whether it's worth sending it away to be looked at, or to replace it (probably with a Garmin).

 

[freespiritdavid]

Screen

Ahh seems like a pattern as you say. The bad news is they have no more spares so nothing can be done with the old ones. An upgrade is the only option or another make. After using the old one and delighted with it other than now I think I will go with the upgrade and as an engineer has said Lowrance has been taken over and revamped........ so give it a go. If it goes zap in four years a BIG post will be here!!

 

[JALDI]

My Lowrance GlobalMap 3500C also developed the flashing screen problem soon after 4 years old and could not be repaired. I went for an up-grade to the Lowrance HDS5m chartplotter which gave me the opportunity to overlay AIS from other equipment on to the chartploter screen in my cockpit. I was able to sell my GlobalMap on Ebay for spares/repair to help offset some of the cost. Like others, I was happy with the GlobalMap and Navionics charts, so decided to stay with similar and get the AIS overlaid. Still, for the cost of the GlobalMap, I was not very happy that it should fail like it did and clearly this is a common failure. If my HDS unit goes the same way, I shall be joining you in a BIG post here too and never have Lowrance equipment again.

 

[Jaramaz]

display

Bad news indeed, also I am the proud (?) owner of a Lowrance plotter. Could be the fact that the display is very bright - better than most others.

OK, electronics doesn't last for ever, but 4 years are short.

I think there are two main options:
1) forget about the old charts, they are more of a commodity now - many new plotters are delivered with maps of about Gold quality. Shop a new plotter, and get new charts.
2) stick with the charts, get a low cost Navionics SD compatible plotter. What about Eagle? (= Lowrance low cost brand). A 5" Eagle should be possible to get for around £250 - 300 (similar to the former Lowrance generation, the GlobalMaps).

/Jaramaz

 

[freespiritdavid]

At Last

For the last four years I have been running a Lowrance 5150c plotter and very happy with it. Last weekend the screen started flashing like a flourscent tube, but still giving pos and data to the radio. I have now been informed there are no parts available and an upgrade to HDS 5m is the best option as I can still use the existing chart. This is at £299 +vat. Has anyone else had similar issues with any of the same or other plotters. The unit is always inside and well cared for.

Just had an e/mail to say the replacement upgrade to HDS 5m is ready for collection tomorrow. It has been great plotting on paper only again refreshing the brain cells, but I have missed the electronics cross checking what I had done was correct. Some tinkering comming up this weekend fitting the new one. It will be interesting to see how it performs with an inbuilt aerial

 

[ProDave]

Have you tried a tv repairer?

It's the backlight tubes or the inverter that drives them.

Often the manufacturer says this is unservicable, but often tv repair engineers are intrepid enough to dismantle the display and source replacements for the tubes.

If you get really stuck, send me a PM

 

[nigelmercier]

Have you tried a tv repairer? It's the backlight tubes or the inverter that drives them.

+1

 

[neilmcc]

Another one for the list

My 5150c screen went at the weekend. I have have it three years, I think and am less than pleased.
i would be grateful to find out if anyone manages to have theirs repaired.

 

[HarryF]

Harry F

I had a Lowrance about 7 years ago can't remember the modell but it did the same thing, apparently un-fixable. Never bought another one.

 

[StugeronSteve]

Just a thought, most of these displays are from mass producers. If you can get the LCD screen out it might be worth popping in to Maplins/RS Components etc. Alternatively, you could Google any referrence numbers that may be printed on it and see where they lead.

 

[freespiritdavid]

Fitted !!!

Happy now the HDS 5m is fitted and working well. What an exercise that was strip out old wires feed in new, fire up and go through the menues to set up the basics.......... with all the bending, banging head and swearing four hours later all completed. I did think the last model was fast, this is quicker even with the inbuilt aerial. The engineer I used did clarify that the old one was not repairable, even Lowrance scrap them when they are sent back. The £150 trade in on the old one I guess is a sweetener against too many people walking away from their products in the future. So far so good, hope for some good sailing weather to give it a real test untill then it will stay in my electronics kit bag at home.

Thanks for all the replies folks.

 

[ProDave]

Holy thread resurection, is 12 years a record?

I am now the "proud" owner of one of the Lowrance Globalmap 5150C plotters mentioned in this thread and showing the same flickering backlight problem reported by others at the beginning of the thread.

It appears from this thread and general searching, nobody ever found a fix. Other than scrap it and replace it. As I have determined my unit was made in 2007 I don't suppose the maufacturer would be the slightest bit interested. but I hate scrapping things that ought to be repairable, so I thought I would delve deeper.

Opening the unit up. it is clear it is old technology, a CCFL backlight tube(s) not LED. For anyone taking one apart, it's the 2 pin connector in the top middle of the board with a white and a pink wire that disappear into the display module.

Almost certainly the tube(s) is failing and the protection circuit of the driver is turning it off. Looking at the LED module I decided trying to dismantle it was unlikely to be successful apart from anything else I doubt you would find a replacement CCFL tube even if you did not break the display trying to get it apart.

The driver chip for the CCFL driver is an MSC1691A1. I found some references to this chip but no data sheet. I wanted to have a look at how the protection circuit worked. No luck there then.

I then had a probe around with a multimeter, and found if just 1 meter probe was touched onto the driver output pins, it stopped tripping. Intriguing, that very slightly altered the load characteristics and stopped the driver tripping. That then sent me down a path of experimenting.

I first tried connecting a resistor in parallel with the tube. That never yielded any results, too high value and it does nothing, too low value and the tube just goes off completely.

So I then tried a low value high voltage capacitor in parallel with the tube, and found even a very low value capacitor stopped it tripping.

So I have ended up with a 6.8pF ceramic capacitor now soldered in parallel with the tube output socket and my backlight is now staying illuminated.

I doubt this is a permanent fix, clearly the tube is out of spec and as it ages further that will get worse, but it will buy a bit more life out of this plotter and who know it might get a lot more life out of it.

I hope this might be useful to someone.