Tack Tick Wind Instrument

[barbican]

Barbican my Buchannan designed one off was treated to the full Tack Tick treatment a couple of years ago. The log works very well, the sounder is excellent, but the wind instrument has continued to cause grief!
The Tack Tick support team have been excellent, I have not spoken to them since they were absorbed into Raymarine. I have been sent replacement masthead devices,one was returned for a new bearing under warranty. I have I believe read the instructions, programmed accordingly but what ever I endeavour to achieve I end up with intermittent readout! Also a number of visits to the top of the mast!
Has anybody shared the intermittent read out phenomena!
Barbican

[Mike OReilly]

We've been having the same issues with our Tack Tick windy. This past season it would occasionally stop showing direct (speed was fine). The twirly-cups (technical term ) would occasionally seize up in light airs. Would take a 8knt+ kick to get it rolling again. I've assumed it is bearing issue.

I don't exactly know how old our units are b/c they came with our boat.

[Serrano]

We are on to our third TackTick masthead unit. First unit had bearing problems (seize in light winds), but the more recent units have not had this issue. There is a DIY bearing service kit available now from TT. Second unit had short battery life (meant to be 300 hrs plus) and would become erratic then stop after 3-4 days when used 24 hrs a day in cloudy weather. New unit fixed this. We also had random dropouts - turns out the range is meant to be less than 50ft (doesn't say this on any info I've seen b4 you buy). Distance from masthead to cockpit exceeded this. We solved this temporarily by holding one of the units as high off the deck as we could until connection reestablished. Long term solution occurred by chance when we decided to mount some TT instruments externally on the mast - any instrument will receive and pass on signals and they were now less than 50ft from masthead.

I still like TT and have had good support, but they do have a range of niggling issues that have not been fully worked thru. Maybe Raymarine quality control will help!?

[wgh52]

Glad to find this thread. I have been experiencing intermittent problems with the wind for a couple of years. I just moved the hull transmitter just under the mast thinking that would solve the problem. It's better but still stops reading at times. Can the battery in the masthead unit be field replaceable? if so, is the only source for the battery Raymarine?

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by wgh52

Glad to find this thread. I have been experiencing intermittent problems with the wind for a couple of years. I just moved the hull transmitter just under the mast thinking that would solve the problem. It's better but still stops reading at times. Can the battery in the masthead unit be field replaceable? if so, is the only source for the battery Raymarine?

Interesting info regarding network range. I was unaware of this. Ours must be close to the limit. Our mast is 47' but luckily our hull transmitter is located almost directly below. Still, it has to be over the 50'. We get weak signal strength (looking at the diagnostics), but have never lost the connection - that I am aware.

We had to send our hull transmitter unit back to TT for battery replacement. They were fast, and only charged a small amount (mostly shipping I believe).

[bob_77903]

My wind transmitter has quite rotating, the paddle wheel for speed. Who do I turn to now for repair, and how to contact them. I don't see any number for Raymarine.

[bob_77903]

Originally Posted by bob_77903

My wind transmitter has quite rotating, the paddle wheel for speed. Who do I turn to now for repair, and how to contact them. I don't see any number for Raymarine.

Guess I should say that it is a Tacktick wind transmitter

[Serrano]

There is a DIY paddle wheel repair kit from TackTick. Shd be able to get off net or local supplier. Battery is not user replacable in wind transmitter and cann0ot be hardwired like the instruments can (grrr).

BTW I should have said that my faulty wind transmitters were all replaced by TackTick under guarantee.

[svstrider]

I have the full set of tack tic instruments. I have also discovered that the wind reading drops out at times. MY rigger toldme that my 18 metre mast would be pushing reception range as the head box is about 20 foot from the mast , althogh I realise it sends ina straight line. I had the wind sender fail after probably 2 years (installed by the PO). I bought a new one from the US but had the paddle wheel blow away or get carried off by a seagull. The Australian reseller would not replace it despite the "international" warranty.

The Tack tick people in the UK replaced it for free.

I find that if you turn it on & off a few times, you regain reception.

[delmarrey]

Wind Instrument only

I was having trouble at first until the TT people mentioned cell towers. Which I discovered that while only in a marina was it intermittent. Once I moved out on the water it was fine. One place I really have trouble is in the Roche Harbor, WA.

The first year I was having trouble with the paddle wheel after sitting all winter but it seemed to fix itself as I went out on the water.

[barbican]

Delighted to see so much interest in my thread on TT wind, devices! When my system was working in 44knots off the Island of Eigg on the tail of hurricane Irene it was reluctant to do anything other than provide apparent wind strength and direction.It did not respond to other requests!
I wonder how TT under Raymarine would respond to the common thread that is coming to the surface! Maybe a hand held anenometer next, or back to conventional wired devices.....Barbican

[delmarrey]

What's funny, or not so funny. Is before I bought my TT I researched it right here on CF and Sailnet & got a lot of positive feedback at that time. Then when I purchased it 2 years ago I went through two masthead pieces and two displays before I was willing to let it slide. Out on the water I have no trouble but in port it's questionable. I worry now how long it's going to last. One Poster stated he had his for 10 years.

I did get good customer service from the orig'l TT people but I could detect a bit of frustration in their emails. If someone is going to build something this expensive and advertise it's capabilities they should test it in all situations and show results, and stand behind them. Not sell it off to another group who may just drop the line b/c it doesn't work as advertised. Cell phone reception is a whole lot farther and they seem to be on a fairly close wave length.

I relay on mine a lot to set sails and plot a courses. The fact that I pulled the old wires from my 58' mast (keel stepped) kind of pisses me off considering what I had to pay for something that seemed so simple in todays technology.

[Chris Corbier]

Hi Folks,

Before Tacktick was Raymarine, I purchased a windset with Seamark Nunn, and the wind transmitter gave up sending data within a year. No problem, Seamark Nunn contacted Tacktick and they replaced the windunit at no costs with a brandnew mast unit. I love that ! topservice, and in the box with the new unit there was a apology note from Tacktick as well. I hope Raymarien can meet that level of service... ;-)

This year, after using the instruments for 5 years with a lot of pleasure in having this instruments aboard, the mast unit stopped turning at low windspeeds. With a little research I found this topic about "bearing issues" and I decided to take the unit apart to inspect it. wearing ? I dont believe that !

I found out the spindle and bearings are made of inox, and stil there seems to be some rusty (?) debree of wearing in the cup and on the lower bearing itself. RUST ??

That cannot be the thruth...

I rinsed te lower bearing to clean it from the brown debree, cleaned the cup, flushed the lower bearing with a good clear oily lubricant to get lost of the K3, cleaned it and lubricated the lot with silicon spray.

the unit is rotating as if it was new.

I do not know how long it will stand out this way, but I assume the bottom opening in the bearing cup is the weakest spot of the wind-unit.
I know there are spiders and all kind of other insects investigating any hole in my ship, so I am not that supprised the unit has become disfunctional by this cause.

cleaning it did a lot of good, it would not if it was wearing indeed.

so maybe: take it apart every one or to years and clean it :-)

I am very fond of my tacktick's as I found out (with NMEA-unit GPS + laptop connected) a lot about the very strange sailingcharacteristics of my classic, over 100 y.o. unpredictable "lady" of a yaght

I now know how to race this old lady :-) and I can tell you: it;s different from every manual :-)

regards,
Chris

[delmarrey]

Welcome aboard Chris.
It's good to hear that cleaning it does make a difference.
Are there any special tricks about getting it apart? Did you take any pictures of it apart?

[Chris Corbier]

Hi Delmarrey,

allas ! no pictures.. but disassembling it was a straight forward job:

The bearing cup is secured with a screw and locks into place on the MHU with 3 plastic lugs, the top end of the spindle locks into a plastic cap inside the top end of the MHU, connecting it to the actual sensor.
The spindle has two bearings, and sits into a little steel tube, inside the bearingcup.

Taking it apart:
Remove the protective cap from the bottom end of the spindle, and remove the cups. Now you can see how the cup unit is attached to the spindle; it srews into place on the spindle.

Remove the screw and gently force the bearingcup upwards a straight as possible, to unleash the spindle from the plastic cup inside the top of the MHU
Remove the cupunit from the spindle by turning it counter clockwise, using a pincher on the topend of the spindle to keep it from turning simultaniously.


Pull the spindle out of its steel tube, exposing the two bearings.
Note: the steel tube has a destinctive top- and bottom end, remember how it fits into the bearingcup !

Now the bearingcup is fully disassembled to enable cleaning.

On assembling it again you have to take a close look into the hole in the MHU where the spindle locks into the MHU, be sure to manipulate the plastic cup inside into place before you push in the spindle. There is enough margin to push the spindle into its cup first before you push the bearingcup into its locked position.

It might be wise to unscrew the bottom plate of the MHU as well, but I did not do that, as you probably would need a new gasket to seal it off properly.

I hope this helps !

Chris