It was a couple of day project. Day 1 had Debbie going into the lazarette to inspect the NMEA 2000 network and to discover the reason for the replacement Vesper XB 8000 AIS unit not working. Lo and behold, she discovered that the unit cable was not reattached to the network.
January 2024 - Chip & Debbie 💑 Currently in Marina Costa Baja in La Paz, Mexico Follow us on Facebook!
We looked high and low for the "T" connector that the cable came off of and we never found it in all our storage places. The only thing we could think of is that we probably (accidentally) gave it away in one of the electrical "grab bags" we sold at the Club Cruceros Garage Sale last month. So, we had to search in town for an electronics parts chandlery.
This problem was left over from re-installing the unit. It worked good using the app but not on our chart plotter.
Fortunately, we found one - Naval Supply Marine Hardware. The next day we went to town to this place. We met Mr Braulio Lucero who helped us purchase the new "T". Everyone there was very friendly and seemed quite knowledgeable.
Day 2 had Debbie going back in the lazarette to install the new "T". She chose to put it in-line next to the yellow power cable. Then she attached the AIS cable to the new "T". She came out of the lazarette to test the system...and Wa La, we have AIS data on the Garmin GPS/Chartplotter!! We tested most of the screens where AIS data would appear, ie Charts, Other Vessels, Radar.
A job well done.
A side note about Naval Supply Marine Hardware - they service life rafts. While they don't actually do the work here in La Paz, they have a relationship with a firm in California so the recertification process goes through them. We thought this might be very helpful to the cruising fleet as we often hear inquiries about where one might get a life raft recertified before the Puddle Jump. So this might be a good resource!
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