Thumbs up for NASA, and this forum

[KevinV]

Through this forum I acquired a NASA masthead unit, with a broken readout (faulty screen) thrown in. Just to see if it was salvageable I opened it up and found water had damaged the electrodes

After a lot of farting around to get that out the wires onto the pcb sheared, so I resoldered them and added some support to prevent recurrence

Measured it all through and it seemed fine. Phonecall to NASA, who don't have a menu system but just answer the phone. Yes, they can supply the parts, just email some photos to confirm 100%. Done, £20 in parts, delivered the next day - today.

And it now works - I'm seriously chuffed, I hadn't budgeted for wind instruments till next year

 

[Wansworth]

True PBO spirit

 

[Daydream believer]

Through this forum I acquired a NASA masthead unit, with a broken readout (faulty screen) thrown in. Just to see if it was salvageable I opened it up and found water had damaged the electrodes
View attachment 155497
After a lot of farting around to get that out the wires onto the pcb sheared, so I resoldered them and added some support to prevent recurrence
View attachment 155498
Measured it all through and it seemed fine. Phonecall to NASA, who don't have a menu system but just answer the phone. Yes, they can supply the parts, just email some photos to confirm 100%. Done, £20 in parts, delivered the next day - today.
View attachment 155499
And it now works - I'm seriously chuffed, I hadn't budgeted for wind instruments till next year
View attachment 155500

I gave up on NASA stuff ages ago. Rubbish. I rang & spoke to them re damp in the instruments & they said it was most unusual so I pointed out that all 4 had the issue. They repaired one at the time for £25-00, but it got condensation in it again within 6 months.
You would be better off not wasting time with it if you can afford to change. The wind vane at the masthead is pretty poor & will have to be changed regularly. A friend of mine has changed his this year. I had 2 & our club has had 2 or 3

 

[neil_s]

Well done! I have had my NASA Wind for over 15 years - and it was second-hand when I got it. It has had a few simple repairs - cups and vanes twice, new head unit shafts and a small re-soldering job on the 0v line to the pcb.

 

[Refueler]

Nice one ...

I have to say that all my dealings with NASA when I was UK ... were all good and pleasant. Unlike some I can think of - one in particular was rude and dismissive on the phone ... not something you expect from a Brand Leader.

When I fit Wind unit - it will be NASA ... I accept that the cups do tend to go walkabout ... but I've also seen other brand gear lose masthead bits and they cost 2 - 3x the price of NASA.

 

[vas]

fwiw, my NASA wind vane is going strong now for 6yrs, strangely cups et al still intact with all this UV exposure in the med.
pretty sure it will fail this year after posting this
they were also happy to provide new firmware in a chip for my ais receiver a few years ago at a v.reasonable price. Being overseas, email comms on a couple of occasions was fast, v.human and with good sense of humour.

V.

 

[Minerva]

As per above - I’ve had Nasa stuff for years and it just works. Wind unit hasn’t lost cups for the 5(?) seasons it’s been installed, but if they do go new cups are a tenner and my mast steps will make it an easy task.

My AIS radar was the Mk1. When they brought in Mk2 (course up display) the new chip to upgrade unit was less than a tenner from memory.

What other company would offer to upgrade their old kit so easily and cheaply?

I’m now in the negotiation stage to buy a new boat, a full suite of NASA stuff will be bought and installed.

In my experience, it’s good standalone kit, made in the UK and customer service is top drawer.

 

[KevinV]

I gave up on NASA stuff ages ago. Rubbish. I rang & spoke to them re damp in the instruments & they said it was most unusual so I pointed out that all 4 had the issue. They repaired one at the time for £25-00, but it got condensation in it again within 6 months.
You would be better off not wasting time with it if you can afford to change. The wind vane at the masthead is pretty poor & will have to be changed regularly. A friend of mine has changed his this year. I had 2 & our club has had 2 or 3

The Clipper stuff is the budget offering of a budget maker - I'm not expecting perfection. What I was so very pleased about was getting a human on the phone first go, then that he was knowledgeable and helpful, then that they would supply parts to an amateur, then that those parts were cost-effective, then that they were correct, and worked. Brilliant service, particularly for a budget item, made in the UK, by a small company. All far too rare in a throw-away culture, and therefore worthy of note I feel.

Sure, I'd love B&G instruments but their most basic system would be more than my little boat cost - and they're not faultless either.

 

[robmcg]

I've always found NASA very helpful. I sent them a navtex for repair. They opened it up and it was in a right old state with internal corrosion. It had been left in a very damp environment for a number of years. They said it was really beyond economical repair but put new innards in it for less than half the price of a new one. Quick turnaround, engineers report with photos etc. Great service from a company that support their products for years.