Seized Anemometer

[hebdena]

I have a C-Net wind speed and direction instrument with a seized anemometer on the mast head unit. Are these units repairable as I assume it will be beyond a squirt of WD-40? Are these masthead units still available at at what price? Could I use another manufacturers masthead unit?
If I have to bite the bullet and replace the whole lot does anyone have any input into the decision of which system to buy? There is a large variance in the cost between the manufacturers, is it a case of you get what you pay for? The NASA Clipper unit is by far the best price but is it the best value and does it support NMEA if in future I want wind input into my autopilot?

Regards.............Andrew

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[extravert]

I guess by C-Net you mean the Cetrek C-Net stuff.

I had this happen to mine as well. I managed to get it going again with some WD-40 to loosen it off and some gentle wiggling. I kept on with more WD-40 and then light engine oil until it ran as well as when it was new. You may get away with it.

If you cannot get it to free, then you gan get it repaired by Golden Arrow Marine, see here...

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.goldenarrow.co.uk/>http://www.goldenarrow.co.uk/</A>

They service Cetrek equipment. Some people here have complained about their service but I have not had a problem.

If it is only the bearing that has seized it should be worth repairing. If it has died completely, then you will have to consider a new transducer. You should not have to replace the instrument display. Cetrek do not make the mast head unit for the C-Net range. It is actually made by KVH, but their prices have to be seen to be believed. You may find one cheaper somewhere though on the internet.

The Cetrek C-Net/KVH wind transducer is a standard wind instrument outputting standard NMEA wind sentences. Any wind transducer that outputs this data will do, as long as the sentences are the same. Wind outputs seem to be fairly uniform. The C-Net manual will say what sentences it produces, and you could compare these to another manufactrer's data output if you are going to replace the transducer with a different make.

The Nasa wind instrument is not a NMEA system. It won't interface with anything.

If you have your transducer repaired or replace it with the same make, then you need to take avoiding action to stop it happening again. Take the transducer down in winter when the boat is not being used, and give the bearing some light lubrication before putting it back up.

<hr width=100% size=1>One day, I hope to own a real boat.

 

[steve28]

just to throw a spanner in the works,
you should know that all clipper instruments from nasa marine from june 2003 are nmea interfaced !

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[extravert]

No, I didn't know that. However, I guess they will probably use their same wind transducer (which does not give out NMEA), and add the NMEA capability to the display only. If they made their wind transducer a NMEA instrument (like Cetrek/KVH ones are) I would expect that it would push up the price too much and out of Nasa's usual market segment.

Looking at Nasa's prices though, it may be cheaper to replace the whole wind system (transducer and display) with a Nasa one, and use its NMEA output where required.

<hr width=100% size=1>One day, I hope to own a real boat.

 

[hebdena]

Thanks for all the info so far. If after following your advise I can't free up the anemometer then I will seriously look at a NASA system.


Regards...................Andrew

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[steve28]

the other thing you could try is to pour boiling water over the (sealed) unit and try working it free, this has proved to work well in the workshop on other makes.

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