Raymarine ST6002 repair

[Cardinal]

One of the buttons on my autopilot control/display head has been accidentally hit (probably by a booted foot) and the neoprene or whatever the soft material is, has split.
Has any forumite experience to share of mending a similar breakage or of dismantling the device and replacing the soft material successfully or otherwise, before I start? I believe that Raymarine no longer repair this model and even if they did, the service would likely be rather pricey. Perhaps someone has an old unit to offer for martyrdom?

 

[dehlerdave]

If you take the bezel off you will find the buttons come off easily and can be replaced without impacting the integrity of the unit. Second hand units appear on eBay regularly.

 

[Cardinal]

Thanks Dave. That is useful to know. I have been looking on fleabay but generally the units offered are said to be working so significant cost would be incurred in acquisition. There must be plenty of broken units about, one of which would be ideal in view of what you have reported as to the ease of repair.

 

[Cardinal]

If you take the bezel off you will find the buttons come off easily and can be replaced without impacting the integrity of the unit. Second hand units appear on eBay regularly.

A source of replacement buttons (other than scavenged ones) would be useful. Has anyone here knowledge of such?

 

[Cardinal]

K

If you take the bezel off you will find the buttons come off easily and can be replaced without impacting the integrity of the unit. Second hand units appear on eBay regularly.

I have removed the back plate but short of levering the pub which seems firmly fixed in place, it is not obvious to me how the bezel can be removed. The unit is a surface mounted one in case you assumed otherwise!
Please can you explain the procedure for removing the bezel (by which I take it you mean the outer case).

 

[Cardinal]

K
I have removed the back plate but short of levering the pub which seems firmly fixed in place, it is not obvious to me how the bezel can be removed. The unit is a surface mounted one in case you assumed otherwise!
Please can you explain the procedure for removing the bezel (by which I take it you mean the outer case).

Surely someone here has dismantled one of these before and can give me or perhaps tell me where to look for guidance before I do the unit damage please.

 

[RichardS]

Surely someone here has dismantled one of these before and can give me or perhaps tell me where to look for guidance before I do the unit damage please.

The manual for my ST6001+ says:

CAUTION:
The control unit does not contain any user serviceable parts. It should be serviced only by authorized Raymarine service technicians.

The control unit is a sealed unit. As a result, user maintenance is limited to the following checks:
• make sure all cable connectors are firmly attached
• examine the cables for signs of wear or damage – replace any damaged cables

The installation instructions for both the raised and the flush mounted versions show that the bezel does not require removal to fit the instrument so I suspect that it might be glued and bezel removal might involve some cutting.

Richard

 

[Cardinal]

Richard, thanks for that. In fact I have just looked again at the unit sans back and spotted two little screws which turn out to be the retaining screws removal of which have enabled separation of guts and bezel. This has shown that the soft silicone or other button material is a single easily removable piece of that material which could easily be replaced were such parts available.
Now I really need a discarded unit to cannibalise for an intact button cover sheet.

 

[emandvee44]

Surely someone here has dismantled one of these before and can give me or perhaps tell me where to look for guidance before I do the unit damage please.

Hi,
There are videos on youtube. The bezel can be removed by gently levering it off. I did mine without damaging it.
M.

 

[Cardinal]

Hi,
There are videos on youtube. The bezel can be removed by gently levering it off. I did mine without damaging it.
M.

Many thanks however, as you will read above in post #8, I am now at the stage where I need a replacement button cover sheet or an old unit to cannibalise. (Or a source of new button cover sheets).

 

[emandvee44]

There are parts available on ebay - at a price, eg:-
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Raymarine-...465291?hash=item1f05deac0b:g:eooAAOSwIWBd0Qcg
(I know it's an ST5000 but the buttons are the same?)

Or this one -even cheaper! ($0.01 currently)
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Raymarine-...010939&hash=item23cad9dca8:g:j-0AAOSwOFZd0Bkt

M.

 

[Cardinal]

Thanks very much for those links. Perhaps I need to adjust my fleabay search scope!

 

[pvb]

Thanks very much for those links. Perhaps I need to adjust my fleabay search scope!

Be aware that if you buy stuff from the USA on eBay, you may incur quite high shipping charges, plus import duties and VAT.

 

[Cardinal]

Be aware that if you buy stuff from the USA on eBay, you may incur quite high shipping charges, plus import duties and VAT.

Thanks, I am aware and check those matters first. The seller of the damaged one to which the link related will not post to the UK sadly.