These old instruments worth resuscitating?

[Shaneesprit]

Originally Posted by Stellar1970Cat

I have same attitude and low budget.
I am electronics technician but new to marine electronics.
My catamaran is 52 years old so old instruments would look apart.
If I could get some old sailing electronics for free. I could try to resurrect them to use on my boat.
I want to learn more about marine electronics so if I could find some faulty marine electronics, I could possibly fix some for myself.

Sellar1970CAT where are you based?
I am sure if you want old not working equipment, their will be people willing to give theirs up.

[Cadence]

Today electronics are disposable. Fixing verses replacement is a no brainer unless it is a corroded connection. JMHO

[CarinaPDX]

Originally Posted by Cadence

Today electronics are disposable. Fixing verses replacement is a no brainer unless it is a corroded connection. JMHO

I've been helping people fix Furuno MFD8 and MFD12 chartplotters - now about 13 years old. The main problem is that charts are stored on a 2½" IDE HDD that fails, and that can be replaced with an SSD, formatted with an image from a working HDD. These high end chartplotters with N2K are available used (and working) at a bargain price.

Greg

[Dieseldude]

Originally Posted by Stellar1970Cat

I have same attitude and low budget.
I am electronics technician but new to marine electronics.
My catamaran is 52 years old so old instruments would look apart.
If I could get some old sailing electronics for free. I could try to resurrect them to use on my boat.
I want to learn more about marine electronics so if I could find some faulty marine electronics, I could possibly fix some for myself.

Finding repairable vintage marine electronics can be challenging. Once the owner decides to toss an item, it us quietly tossed in the trash or taken to an electronics recycling depot, as interest on broken equipment is too small to bother listing, even in free ads like kijiji. Often repair shops toss gear after the customer decides not to repair. If one places an ad on kijiji or face book market in the boats and marine section, some responses might appear. Ads tacked up at marinas and dock buildings might land some good finds. But old equipment must be purchased at very low prices or be given away, as repairability will be unknown. Getting service manuals for equipment can be another issue. Sourcing manufacturer specifics parts can be discouraging too. Even generic parts sourcing can be a challenge with suppliers having minimum order value requirement and/or high shipping costs. A part worth a just a few dollars can cost a lot more in shipping charges.



A good kit of test equipment can be a big investment. A good well featured VOM may not be extremely costly, but not cheap. But an oscilloscope, signal generators, variable DC power supplies, RF watt meter with a good kit of slugs and adapters, RF volt meter, RF loads, etc. can add up to thousand$. An RF communications monitor for radio work can be extremely costly. A lot of basic testing with a VOM is possible, but the scope of testing and repair is limited.


Good soldering equipment for surface mount components is quite costly. A good vacuum desoldering station is certainly not cheap. A good temperature controlled soldering station is another consideration, as a simple fixed temperature soldering iron is generally not capable of giving good results on surface mount. The introduction of surface mount in the mid to late 80's is one reason that I got out of repair work. In the hobby kit market, Heathkit closed down due to limits imposed by surface mount. Achieving quick reliable results with surface mount requires costly soldering and desoldering equipment.



If one already has some equipment, some good old gear can be repaired economically. Even with the limits of only a VOM, a lot of basic diagnosing is possible. Good old well made gear has a ruggedness and an appeal that is not found in modern equipment. Even despite difficulties mentioned, in many ways, the old stuff can be more easily repaired. Often, individual components can be replaced instead of costly boards and modules. A lot of parts are generic, so can be readily available from various suppliers, so the equipment makers cannot monopolize the market and demand outrageous prices. Often one tiny fault repaired can breath new life into equipment that will last for years. Used equipment can make the economics of keeping spare equipment aboard appealing.



Fair Radio Sales in the US lists test equipment in addition to radio equipment and general electronics https://fairradio.com/
Toronto Surplus is another source of used test equipment. torontosurplus.com