tack-tick wind sytem

[joha]

Hi
I wondered if any of you guys had any experiance of this wireless system, any pros or cons?

Seems to me that if it works it is a great idea not having to run wires every where especially up the mast. It says in the blurb that the anometer is solar powered so that it can be charged, is this satisfactory?

Regards
John

 

[pvb]

I believe it's satisfactory until the rechargeable battery needs replacing, then it's a couple of trips up the mast to fix it.

 

[Chris_Robb]

Hi
I wondered if any of you guys had any experiance of this wireless system, any pros or cons?

Seems to me that if it works it is a great idea not having to run wires every where especially up the mast. It says in the blurb that the anometer is solar powered so that it can be charged, is this satisfactory?

Regards
John

I have one of their very first systems circa 2004. It works fine. They used to be brilliant on after sales contact, but this dived when they were taken over by SUNTO. They have now been bought by Raymarine/Garmin, so we wait to see what happens there. The technology - Its VERY good.

 

[Vara]

Well mines been whirling away at the top of the mast for three years with no probs. (touch wood).

 

[r_h]

No problems with mine either.

 

[Koeketiene]

Hi
I wondered if any of you guys had any experiance of this wireless system, any pros or cons?

Have one for 3 years now.
Mixed feelings. When it works, it's brilliant.
Shame it doesn't always work.

When it rains, the signal sometimes gets lost. Sometimes it comes back after a while, sometimes you have to switch off/on the display unit.

However, THE Achilles heel is the batteries.
TacTick replaced both my masthead unit and display under warranty without quibble. However, the new replacement units were only marginally better. After about 4-5 hours of darkness the masthead unit stops transmitting. After about 2.5-3 hours of darkness (with the back light on) you can forget your display unit.

Makes night sailing interesting at times.

Replacing it this winter with a conventional, wired system.

It's not bad, it's just not reliable - in my experience.

 

[joha]

Mmmh Have a NASA unit at the moment which does'nt work and thought this might be better! Seems it works for some people though, but it needs to work in the dark! I would have thought that the solar charging on the mast head unit would have been able to keep it up to speed. I agree that Raymarine after sales is a bit hit and miss!

J

 

[noelex]

I have no direct experiece, but I see a lot of different yachts and have an interest in electronics.
There seems to be some reliability problems with the Tacktick instruments, particuarly related to the battery life and the wireless signal strength.

 

[Iain C]

Mine's been totally fit and forget. It's the entry level system that still needs a simple 12v supply to the display, the anemometer is still wireless and solar.

Never ever had issues in rain, however my boat is 27' so it's not a huge rig. Never had issues at night, that said done very few night hours since it was fitted.

 

[2700]

I fitted one two years ago. It works fine, but, I some times feel that there is a lag in the time it takes to show a increase or decrease in the wind speed. Maybe its just me or the difference between the wind at the masthead and deck level. Haven't worked it out yet. Still tend to look at the windvane more than the instrument.

 

[simonfraser]

mine's six years old, still working, would def buy it again.
interfaced with garmin plotter & autohelm.

 

[maby]

mine's six years old, still working, would def buy it again.
interfaced with garmin plotter & autohelm.

Which autohelm? I'm relieved to hear it's been successful for you - we've just specified Tacktick for our new boat and I was beginning to wonder if we had made a mistake.

 

[reeac]

We had a full Tack Tick system fitted in early 2006. Had problems with wind system bearings developing friction in 2009 but nothing else. Our display batteries always seem to be very well charged up even though we keep the displays down below when we're not on the boat.

 

[jow]

Yes it works

Hi, you might want to do a search here in the forum.
This topic has been discussed several times
Anyway: i am having a tack tick system (hull, speed, wind, nmea) interaced with my garmin 5008 plotter and my raymarine autopilot.

Works as it should do, on my mooring i lost the windspeed regulary and i claimed it to be interference from something in the port. So after leaving my mooring i had to switch the unit on and off to get windspeed displayed.
Then i met a nice chap in wicklow who showed me the secrets of switching the unit to the american frequency and voila works without a problem now.

The whole unit is the second on i bought, i had the same system on my old boat, never (even after years) any problems in regards to the internal batteries.
Can't confirm the night sailing issues as well. Mine works through the night.
And as well: i think their user support is very good. They reacted very fast when the first airmar speed transmitter was faulty.

Would buy it again any time.

Regards,
Jow

 

[maby]

...
Works as it should do, on my mooring i lost the windspeed regulary and i claimed it to be interference from something in the port. So after leaving my mooring i had to switch the unit on and off to get windspeed displayed.
Then i met a nice chap in wicklow who showed me the secrets of switching the unit to the american frequency and voila works without a problem now.

...

That's very useful, Jow. Presumably switching to the American frequency involves fiddling with the masthead unit as well as the display? Wondering if I should get it done at installation - I have a terrible head for heights and would prefer to avoid having to shin up the mast!

 

[jow]

Hi,
No need to climb the mast.
Everything is driven from the display units... Hence wireless

Regards,
Jow

 

[maby]

Hi,
No need to climb the mast.
Everything is driven from the display units... Hence wireless

Regards,
Jow

Well, yes - but not necessarily changing frequency -

both units on 1000 MHz (for the sake of arguement)
set display unit to 1100 MHz (for the sake of arguement)
display unit (on 1100 MHz) tells mast head unit (still on 1000 MHz) to switch to 1100 MHz - not received!

I would not have been too surprised if something so fundamental was configured with jumpers - glad to hear it's not!