GPS Antenna Dead???

G

GripB

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exMember
Joined
Jul 29, 2005
RO Number
18473
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139
I have a Raymarine RL70C. It worked fine the weekend before last. This past weekend I turned it on to chart a course and got two messages. One was a "No Fix" in the upper right hand corner of the screen. The other was "Warning, Position Not Found". I got the later message when I pushed the "find ship" button.

Restarting the unit didn't correct anything. I then removed the unit and antenna and all the wiring seemed to be in tact.

I called Raymarine twice today. Both reps told me that my antenna (they call it a GPS Sensor actually) is bad and that it can die from one usage to the next [?]

The lead for the antenna is molded into the antenna. So I'm looking at running/fishing the 33' lead from the arch to the helm. Anyone ever attempt this/have any tips?

Thanks in advance,

Greg
 
Double check that you still have power to the antenna. Mine reported the same "No Fix" while underway and it turned out to be a loose power lead.
Check both the hot side as well as the ground. They can go bad, but I would be suspect of a rep telling you it's bad without providing a bit of troubleshooting assistance before determining it's bad.
 
It sounds like you might have a Raystar 120. Sometimes the internal battery dies in these. It's a $2 from a drugstore. Often if you replace the battery it will fix your GPS receiver. I have a couple Raystar 120s I'd like to see if you're interested. It's easy to splice the cable on these, by the way.
 
quote:
Originally posted by GripB

...I then removed the unit and antenna and all the wiring seemed to be in tact...

Click to expand...

You removed both the unit and the antenna? Sounds like you really want replace this old unit with a new one.

Well, it would have been easier to install the antenna (the repaired old antenna or the new antenna), if you had pulled in a trace (1/8 nylon cord) by tying it to the old antenna wire.

You now need to get a trace from the arch to the helm. Find where the small openings are and start from there. Typically, there are a few 1 - 2 inch holes inside the arch where it is bolted to the boat. Get an electrician's snake (a metal or fiberglass flexible coil) and push it up into the arch until it can be reached from the access panel on the underside of the top of the arch. Tie or tape the trace to the snake and pull it thru the arch. If you tie it, wrap the knot with electrical tape, making the knot as streaming as possible. It you tape it, lay the trace next to the snake and wrap it with electrical tape for 6 - 8 inches. Again, make the connection as smooth as possible. Once the trace is pulled in, tie or tape the new antenna wire to the trace. Make the connection as smooth as possible. It will be easier to pull the trace if you push the wire from the top at the same time. If it hangs up, pull the wire back, check the tape for bunching. Redo the taping if no longer smooth. Use a lubricant like dish soap or electrician's lube. The strongest, smallest way to tie the trace to the wire is to strip off 4" of the outer insulation wire, fold the smaller wires in half making a loop, loop the trace thru the wire loop and wrap both loops in electrical tape. The end result will be approx. as big as the insulated wire.
 
quote:
Originally posted by jrpar

Double check that you still have power to the antenna. Mine reported the same "No Fix" while underway and it turned out to be a loose power lead.
Check both the hot side as well as the ground. They can go bad, but I would be suspect of a rep telling you it's bad without providing a bit of troubleshooting assistance before determining it's bad.

Click to expand...
I'll have to double check the power lead. Thanks.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Shake n Bake

It sounds like you might have a Raystar 120. Sometimes the internal battery dies in these. It's a $2 from a drugstore. Often if you replace the battery it will fix your GPS receiver. I have a couple Raystar 120s I'd like to see if you're interested. It's easy to splice the cable on these, by the way.

Click to expand...
It's an 8 year old system, so I think it is a 120. It's shape looks similar to the newer 125. I removed the antenna from the post and then removed four tiny screws to seperate the antenna, but didn't see a battery. I'll look a little further into that this weekend.

Greg
 
quote:
Originally posted by deerows

quote:
Originally posted by GripB

...I then removed the unit and antenna and all the wiring seemed to be in tact...

Click to expand...

You removed both the unit and the antenna? Sounds like you really want replace this old unit with a new one.

Well, it would have been easier to install the antenna (the repaired old antenna or the new antenna), if you had pulled in a trace (1/8 nylon cord) by tying it to the old antenna wire.

You now need to get a trace from the arch to the helm. Find where the small openings are and start from there. Typically, there are a few 1 - 2 inch holes inside the arch where it is bolted to the boat. Get an electrician's snake (a metal or fiberglass flexible coil) and push it up into the arch until it can be reached from the access panel on the underside of the top of the arch. Tie or tape the trace to the snake and pull it thru the arch. If you tie it, wrap the knot with electrical tape, making the knot as streaming as possible. It you tape it, lay the trace next to the snake and wrap it with electrical tape for 6 - 8 inches. Again, make the connection as smooth as possible. Once the trace is pulled in, tie or tape the new antenna wire to the trace. Make the connection as smooth as possible. It will be easier to pull the trace if you push the wire from the top at the same time. If it hangs up, pull the wire back, check the tape for bunching. Redo the taping if no longer smooth. Use a lubricant like dish soap or electrician's lube. The strongest, smallest way to tie the trace to the wire is to strip off 4" of the outer insulation wire, fold the smaller wires in half making a loop, loop the trace thru the wire loop and wrap both loops in electrical tape. The end result will be approx. as big as the insulated wire.

Click to expand...
I just pulled the unit out from the dash to check wiring. As far as the antenna, I just lifted it up from the post mount and partially disassembled it to check wiring. I reinstalled both.

I've got a few things to check before I resort to installing a new antenna/lead. But if I do, I appreciate your wire routing tips.

Someone also suggested totally killing the power to the unit and antenna. It may reset the system. We'll see.

Greg
 
I don't know your particular unit but I think that they might be referring to a keep alive battery within the base unit.
 
Most of those things and lots of other electronics even some computers have a battery built in to them to keep the memory alive when power is off. Eventually this battery dies and needs to be replaced. Don't believe the "no user serviceable parts" BS; often the battery is SOLDERED in and what they want you to do is buy a whole new unit. But if you can get it open and replace the battery, you may be good to go.

Once had a DC stereo that had a fuse soldered to the circuit board. If the power was reversed the fuse would blow and I was supposed to take it in to a service center. I found the fuse and replaced it with one in a fuse holder. Finally I got smart and installed a diode as reverse current protection. No mo problemo...

A lot of this is either cheap construction or deliberate planned obsolescence. But in many cases it can be defeated and you can save $$$.
 
Greg:

If you have the manual, I think it indicates that the display has a 5-year battery and the "antenna" has a 10-year battery. As noted, first check all the power connections as the wiring is very small. It the problem persists, take the antenna apart again and find the battery. Raymarine likes to solder their batteries so that you had to bring the unit back for replacement, but I have not looked inside the 120 to see what they did.

Gene
 
"Raymarine likes to solder their batteries so that you had to bring the unit back for replacement"

(usually OUT of warranty)

That seems to be the general plan... but if you can use a soldering iron you're good to go!
 
quote:
Originally posted by GripB

...Someone also suggested totally killing the power to the unit and antenna. It may reset the system. We'll see.

Greg

Click to expand...
If your system is wire so that power to the GPS is not switched, then yes turning off the power to it may work. Hopefully, the power is fused and you can just remove the fuse. The RS 120 has a buffer for messages that will "overflow" if the unit is on all the time. Turning off the power will clear the buffer.

The RS 125 is an improvement over the RS 120. I believe that RS 120 has a hardcoded table of satellites which is now outdated. The RS 125 has the capability to update this table.
 
The Raystar antenna has six tiny screws. If you have four, you probably have a different model. Actually, Raymarine welds the batteries in place. I'm guessing its some sort of sonic weld. I can't imagine an electric weld not damaging the batteries. You don't want to solder a battery back in place. The heat from soldering will damage the battery and possibly make it explode. Just wedge it in place with a good electrical connection and epoxy around it.
 
quote:
Originally posted by deerows

quote:
Originally posted by GripB

...Someone also suggested totally killing the power to the unit and antenna. It may reset the system. We'll see.

Greg

Click to expand...
If your system is wired so that power to the GPS is not switched, then yes turning off the power to it may work.
Click to expand...
Mark,

I disconnected 12volt to the unit for about 10 minutes. I then powered it back up and everything is working fine again [:-hspin]. I did order a replacement antenna which I have 30 days to return for a full refund. I'm going to hold onto it for a couple of weeks just to be sure.

Thanks,

Greg
 
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