Article by Pat Schrawder
SELF SERVICING OF YOUR ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
There are things that you should do to maintain your equipment on a regular basis to give you days of trouble free boating. And there are some simple things you can check yourself when things are not operating up to par. Here are just a few tips to give you some help.
One of the most common questions about performance of equipment is with VHF radios. Either you can hear others and they cannot hear you or visa versa. Here’s a little troubleshooting you can do yourself. The antenna connector that plugs into your VHF has a tip and a cover.
Unscrew the cover and slide the cover back. Look to see that both the tip and the holes around the body of the stationary portion are soldered. If they are, try this test. Turn your VHF to a weather channel and place just the tip of the connector into the back of your VHF. If you get strong reception, your receiver is most likely fine. Now slide the cover into place and screw onto the base. If you lose the weather reception, your antenna is most likely shorted and may need to be replaced. Before you do that, however, take your VHF to an electronics repair shop and have them check the set on their bench to eliminate any problems with the VHF itself.
All of your equipment depends on a good twelve volt power source. Actually, a properly working battery system should maintain a level of 13.6 volts. As that amount decreases, the result is decreasing performance of your electronics to the point where some of them may not even come on. There are some things you can look for to give you a clue about what is going on with your equipment.
If your radio seems to work okay until you push the transmit button and then it squeals, switches to channel sixteen or goes off altogether, that is a good sign that you are not getting enough power to the set. This is something that affects all of your equipment. It is just easier to spot when it comes to your radio. If you should experience any of this, start checking your power leads and sources. Corrosion is the most frequent culprit. Even though you have good power coming from your batteries, corrosion on a fuse or along the power wires can cause them to be incapable of delivering the full current to your equipment. Very often, moisture that seeps into a cable through a puncture in the wire’s casing will eat its way along the wire, eventually destroying it.
This effect of moisture on wiring can also evidence itself on your antennas. Whether they are for your radios or your GPS, corrosion can prevent your antennas from receiving the proper signals. If this happens, proceed along the same lines as above. Examine your cables from your antennas to see if there are any puncture marks. If you find any, remove the antenna and check along the cable from the puncture mark forward to see if you can determine how far the corrosion has advanced. Most boat wiring is made of copper and has a shiny appearance. When corrosion attacks wiring, it turns the color to a dark, dull brown and the wire eventually becomes brittle. If you catch the process before it has become too advanced, you can, in some cases, cut out the bad part and splice the remains together. If that is not possible, you will have to replace the entire cable and fitting. In the case of your GPS equipment, that is a good alternative. In the case of radio equipment, the possibility of replacing the wire is only an option if the corrosion is far enough away from the base of the antenna to allow for a splice. Since the wire feeds into the body of the antenna and the antenna itself cannot be taken apart, corrosion that is too close to the antenna will mean you have to replace the whole antenna.
Depending on the way your equipment is installed, you will most likely find that items are connected to a fuse panel or have an in-line fuse in their power cable assembly. If you can trace the wiring to find the fuse, remove the fuse and clean it with some light sandpaper, then reinstall or replace. Sometimes a fuse fatigues and is close to breaking but has not completely gone yet.
Aside from corrosion, the other potential villains that may affect your equipment are an interruption of ground, improper or inadequate installation, and, of course, normal equipment failure. If your equipment has been operating successfully and suddenly starts having problems, obviously the sources of the problems are not installation. Likewise, if you have never had a proper ground system and your equipment has been doing its job pretty well, there is no reason to assume, at this point, that lack of ground is the problem. If, however, you do have a good ground and you start having problems with noisy reception on radios or depth finders, checking for a break in the ground would be a wise move and something you can do yourself. If you have ruled out power problems or other difficulties caused by corrosion and you have good ground on a previously well working system, it is then reasonable to assume that your equipment itself may be defective, especially if there is only one item that is acting up. At this point, it is time to consult someone who is trained in searching out the source of the problem.
Pat and her husband, Larry are owners of L&L Marine Electronics in West Ocean City.