Raymarine GPS "NO FIX"

[ayms]

Raymarine GPS \"NO FIX\"

My farther recently bought a 2nd hand boat with all the Raymarine bells and whistles, by this I mean Chartplotter / Radar, repeater on deck, auto pilot, depth, wind speed... all connected by sea talk and professionally installed a little over 2 years ago.

About 2 weeks ago the GPS started to show loss of fix together with some very odd behaviour ie reported SOG of up to 80 knts. Looking at the charted pos it was flicking from one side of the Solent to the other. Anyway the NO FIX problem got increasingly worse during the RTI race so we spoke to Raymarine, removed the GPS and dropped it off for testing.

10 days later and they have confirmed the GPS is unable to acquire a fix. As it's a sealed unit there is no report as to the reason why this piece of kit has developed the fault.

Their letter then goes on to inform the reader of the price of replacement (not sure if they have given a discount) and if no replacement is purchased there will be a fee for the investigation carried out.

I have heard nothing but praise about Raymarine support but this seem to contradict.

The part that bugs me is if the GPS was ok they would charge us, and if it was faulty they would force us to purchase a new one or charge us, talk about lose lose.

Although it's outside of it's 2 year period according to your statutory rights I thought if a product fails through no damage or incorrect use the manufactory is liable for up to 6 years.

My question is should I go back to Raymarine and push the issue ? Has anyone else had similar experiences ?

<hr width=100% size=1>Doing the Arc ? Me to on http:// www.makathea.co.uk

 

[Talbot]

Re: Raymarine GPS \"NO FIX\"

Simple, it is outside normal warranty. Therefore they charge for the investigation to see if it is repairable. I took an old analogue 3000 autopilot in recently to them with a similar dilemma, I set a maximum repair charge based on if it was more, it wasnt worth repairing. The problem ended up as a loose wire, but the whole system had been pulled apart and checked thoroughly, (i.e. was serviced for the first time in 20 years!) It apparently still has a few more years of use!

so recognise what they are doing, and set reasonable and acceptable limits to the investigation.

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[Sunnyseeker]

Re: Raymarine GPS \"NO FIX\"

I had similar problems with Garmin units, over two years old they didn't seem surprised that moisture had got inside and damaged them, they didn't even take them apart. So life expectancy for marine electronics is ? ??? 2 or 3 years?
one unit I took apart found some damaged tracks due to water salt moisture etc repaired them and it worked fine. We also found corrosion in a gps antenae repairable but time consuming. If I'd paid someone at £35/hr it would've been cheaper to buy a new one..

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[ayms]

Re: Raymarine GPS "NO FIX"

The impression I got was they never take these units apart as the GPS technology is all part of the aerial so has been sealed against the elements.

I take your point about the trade off with repair vs replace, I'm just not very impressed with it failing after 2 years and just outside the warranty.

I still think I have an argument as

"both warranties and guarantees are in addition to your statutory rights under either the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) or the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 (as amended). "

and one of the statutory rights is

"of a Satisfactory Quality, i.e. of a standard that a reasonable person would consider to be satisfactory - generally free from fault or defect, as well as being fit for their usual purpose, of a reasonable appearance and finish, safe and durable; "

This contact appears to last for up to six years see <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/cgi-bin/calitem.cgi?file=ADV0043-1011.txt> trading standards </A>

<hr width=100% size=1>Doing the Arc ? Me to on http:// www.makathea.co.uk

 

[jfkal]

Re: Raymarine GPS \"NO FIX\"

Just buy any GPS and link it up through on of the NMEA IN connectors within the Raymarine realm of instruments. same experience here. They normally do not bother to check and just quote a replacement. That might be sensible for some sealed and often unserviceable item (Your GPS may be one of them). But often they just try. I sent an ST50 radar to them for checking. They said its a total loss and offered a replacement. I took it back and repaired the loose connection inside in 5 minutes myself.
LCD screen of a MAXI broke. They claimed it was external force (which it wasn't) and offered a replacement for a ridiculous amount. later I negotiated them down to just changing the innards and later down to just replacing the LCD only (mind you, only that was broken anyway) and I ended up installing it myself (no warranty subsequently of course since I am not qualified ;-)).

Since we all are rich blokes we deserve to get seperated from our money.



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[steve28]

Re: Raymarine GPS \"NO FIX\"

I makes me wonder if its something to do with the aerial, maybe its got water in it. And before anyone says they are sealed units, when i bought mine the o-ring seal was not even fitted so it was inevitable that water would get inside in time.
This did produce the same fault as you are describing.


steve

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[Sunnyseeker]

Re: Raymarine GPS \"NO FIX\"

You probably have a good case as these units are designed for use on board vessels capable of circumnavigation which on average takes people 3-5 years I guess, so a 5 year serviceable life would seem reasonable, maybe I'll write a nice letter to Garmin again? I used to work on MTBF (mean time before failure) for IBM, someone at raymarine should be able to quote you theirs, if failure is less than the mean it should be repaired or replaced, and this figure should be known to you when buying.
Is anyone from Raymarine or Garmin reading this though?

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[Cheeky Girl]

Re: Raymarine GPS "NO FIX"

Your link to the web as too many spaces in it.

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[ayms]

Re: Raymarine GPS \"NO FIX\"

Interesting. Think I will ask them what they expect the MTBF on their GPS is. So far they have offered 25% discount on purchasing a new one. Will let you know how I get on.

<hr width=100% size=1>Doing the Arc ? Me to on http:// www.makathea.co.uk

 

[ayms]

Re: Raymarine GPS \"NO FIX\"

Thanks. That's what you get for trying to be clever Should be fixed now.

<hr width=100% size=1>Doing the Arc ? Me to on <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.makathea.co.uk>http://www.makathea.co.uk</A>

 

[omega2]

Re: Raymarine GPS "NO FIX"

Raymarine-

..world leaders in marine electronics

Raymarine Limited Anchorage Park Portsmouth Hampshire PO3 STD England +44 (0)23 9269 3611 +44 (0)23 9269 4642 www.raymarine.com

24/06/04

-~-:--~--------

~~w. ~ Number: 55238 Your Ref: LETTER 10/06/04

Following receipt of your unit returned to us for inspection, please find details of the estimate for repair shown below:

RMA Number: 55238 Line: 1

Produc t Number :
Serial Number:
Problem Reported:

M93536 (RAYCHART 620) M935360280024 INTERMITTANT NO POWER UP & CORRUPTED PICTURE, SEE LE

Our enqineer's report: CORRUPTED LCD DISPLAY.
ON INSPECTION THE RC620 WAS SEEN TO HAVE A CORRUPTED LCD. THIS IS DUE TO COMPONENT FAILURE (LCD DRIVER) ON THE PCB. DUE TO THE AGE OF THE UNIT & LACK OF SPARE PCB'S AVAILABLE WE HAVE USED A SERVICE EXCHANGE PCB TO REPAIR THE UNIT. THIS CARRIES A 90 DAY RETURN TO RAYMARINE ONLY WARRANTY. THE UNIT HAS BEEN REASSEMBLED, BENCH TESTED & PASSED.

Parts & labour estimated:
Part Description MISC MISCELLANEOUS LAB Service Labour CITYLI~~-UK CITYLINK-UK

Quantity 1.00 0.75 1.00

Price 46.56 40.00 8.50

Value 46.56 30.00 8.50

--------
--------

V.A.T. Total:

85.06 GBP 14.89 GBP 99.95 GBP

Please would you confirm whether you wish us to proceed with the repair, and quote the RMA nwnber on all correspondence.

If this estimate or part exchange offer is not accepted,a minimum labour charge and postage charge (if applicable) will apply if the unit is to be returned or scrapped.

Yours sincerely

JUl~

for and on behalf of Customer Service Administration Opening Hours:
Raymarine Ltd Mon to T " ,,: am Te~!'ari~Med.~eG)s~rJIJ1EnJ~9361~ Ext: 2029~i. . 1!00' R~ 8~ am Company no.04578449 ~ I\~ i! V" Registered Office. Anchorage Park. PO3 5TD. British Marine ~~ .~~~\t~, FederatIon 001

5.00pm 1.00pm
No complaints here

<hr width=100% size=1>J HAMER