Raymarine ST-60 wind

[capta]

Had a bit of a scare a few months back when our Raymarine ST-60 wind instrument quit working. Took the transducer down and checked out the display, but found nothing wrong. Upon reassembly all worked just fine.
We leave the unit on 24/7 as it's nice to know the high wind speed overnight and in the squalls. But I'm wondering if the system would last longer if turned off when not in use. The other side of that coin is that when it's on it's warm, which probably prevents moisture intrusion. Also, like an alternator, it might be better to leave it on so the power (tiny as it may be) produced by the masthead transducer is consumed.
Anybody have any thoughts on this?

 

[Terry Cox]

The only time our original 1991 instruments (ST-50 wind, depth, speed, etc.) are on is when we're underway. No reason to leave them on consuming power while at anchor.

 

[capta]

The only time our original 1991 instruments (ST-50 wind, depth, speed, etc.) are on is when we're underway. No reason to leave them on consuming power while at anchor.

Power we have a plenty.

 

[JamesG161]

Mine did the same about 3 months back. The Raymarine Tech did NOT go up the mast. He only "diddled" with the SeaTalk connection at the base of the mast and did a bench test of the display. Now all is fine.
I asked what was the cure?
He didn't know. My guess "Diddling". (That suggests a lose or corroded connection)

@Rich Stidger maintains his regularly and has a few better ideas.
I did find out that the "work" is done in the display. The mast mount is very simple. Magnetic counter that is very reliable. The vane is roughly the same and why "turning your boat in a circle" calibrates it (in the display).

I did get a quote for replacement + $200 lift rental ≈$1200 which would make it STNG for my New MFD. A big chunk of that was new wiring type.
Jim...

 

[Jackdaw]

Most electronic failures occur in the first 1% of the devices operational life, the so-called 'infant mortiality' rate that is cause by weak, marginal components. After that, heat is the real only enemy. Or perhaps vibration.

Note that this only applies to pure electronic devices, not electro-mechanical deceits that wear.

 

[Calif. Ted]

I removed the display on my 02 vintage st60 wind when it failed, I saw WATER inside so took it apart, dried and replaced and it was off and running. As I recall there were small screws in each corner that appeared to have been over tightened on assembly making small cracks that I assumed allowed the moisture to accumulate over a decade or so.

 

[Padrone]

I had a problem with my Raymarine ST60 a while ago, climbed mast, removed and found that the internal bearings were partially seized due to small drain hole becoming blocked !

Cure, replace miniature bearings and drill additional drain holes....now working just fine.

Worth the effort, overall cost I believe was about $10 for the bearings.

 

[All U Get]

Mine had good readings at the base of the mast so I decided it was the Autohelm display. Having the same multi display at the nav station, I swapped it with the one in the cockpit. Since the cockpit one is first in the Sea Talk line-up, it now works pretty good.

All U Get

 

[capta]

Thanks, all.
I still haven't gotten an opinion about whether we should leave it on or turn it off for the sake of longevity. Thoughts on that?

 

[Ken Cross]

Most electronic failures are in the early stages of ownership, but certainly things like drying out of electrolytic capacitors can be made worse by heat. This heat is a primary enemy of electronics. So guessing what's better, run it to keep out moisture causes heat. Also bad.

Bottom line: your guess is as good an mine and I have over 40 years of commercial electronics experience. It all depends.

Ken

 

[JamesG161]

n opinion about whether we should leave it on or turn it off

After looking at the components inside the display, I didn't see anything that was subject to failure from age/use. I have heard that the LCD display used for wind speed have limited life. I have 15 years on mine, but that was probably "switched ON" maybe 10% of that time. New LCD displays have more longevity.

I turn off and cover all my instruments when not in use.
Jim...

 

[DougM]

My instruments are always off and covered when not in use since they are mounted at the helm. I also have a canvas cover purchased on this site that covere the entire helm station.
When in winter storage, the entire instrument panel is removed from the boat and is stored in a closet at home. Everything is getting old and obsolete though by electronics standards. Its beyond time to upgrade, but thats another can of worms that will deplete the penny jar.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Most electronic failures occur in the first 1% of the devices operational life, the so-called 'infant mortiality' rate that is cause by weak, marginal components. After that, heat is the real only enemy. Or perhaps vibration.

That's true. Most of the time, I agree wholeheartedly.

However, our 2002 ST3000 died when we were coming up the Pacific coast from SF to Vancouver Island in August 2016.

We sent the unit to Dan in Durango, CO and he repaired it.

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,7129.0.html

For anyone with old Raymarine stuff, BOOKMARK Dan's contact info.

 

[walmsleyc]

jamesG161 is probably on the right track. All components that make up electronics will have a MTBF (rarely published in the consumer world). Whether the MTFB times encroach on the usable lifetime of the instrument would be hard to know, but as noted, the LCD display and it's backlight would be my guess as to the component that might have the shortest MTFB. It's hard to draw exact parallels, but lots of avionics components have MTBF of < 10,000 hours, which would be just over a year of continuous use. Modern LCD televisions boast a MTBF of 40,000 to as high as 100,000. That's up to 11.5 year of continuous use.

Leaving your instruments on all the time for a year would be equivalent to usage patterns of 10-100 years of average use. I would think that you might be cutting into your usable working life, at least for some parts of the instruments.

Chris

 

[jssailem]

In my electronics experience, turning off monitors / screens helps to reduce burning of an image in the phosphorus. So I turn the screen off. The rest of the electronics prefer non cycling. Turning electronics on and of sends a jolt of energy into the system. These jolts tend to wear down the system leading to failure. If you can minimize heat and keep the electronics running at a constant temp/current the systems will last longer than if turned on and off and subjected to hi/lows in temp environments.