Troubleshooting 1730

A

Anonymous

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I am currently in Lima, Peru and am having problems with an old 1730 Radar. The local technician, believes it is a problem with the cable, and we did find some corrosion in it. He had me climb the mast and verify that there was no corrosion in the dome (The Radar was working 10 months ago.) The tech here firmly believes it is the cable.
Of course the factory does not support this anymore because of its age. However, Furuno told me they could sell me some parts for an authorized dealer to build a cable for me. Before, I purchase the parts, and have someone build another cable, I would like to make sure I am not throwing good money towards a bad solution. Here are my questions:

1) Testing the Display and Dome Units Separately. Is there some way to do this without having another cable? Remember I am in Peru, so there is no factory to take this units to. It seems to me there should be some way to test each unit independently, e.g. the magnetron. The display comes up fine, but does not show any targets, and the gain and sea clutter controls don't make any difference on the display. As far as I can tell, there is no simulation mode for this unit.
2) Age of Magnetron. Since this unit is old, I was wondering if there was a test to verify the sensitivity of the magnetron. The radar is used on a sailboat, so it does not run constantly as with a commercial vessel.
3) Pricing of a new cable. Here are the parts that Furuno told me I needed (I need a 60 ft Cable):
000-141-094 RW-9398 Cable (Sold and priced by meter)
000-505-887 Connector Housing (1)
000-505-893 Connector Housing (1)
000-505-610 Connector Housing (1)
000-100-049 Contact Pins (13)
000-505-493 Contact Pins (13)
AL1600CONN Antenna Connector w/Pins (1)

I have contacted several authorized dealers to see if they can build me a cable. Have not heard back. Any suggestions for someone to do this?
4) Installing the new cable. Since the cable will have to be cut to run it through the mast, does anyone have suggestions on how to connect the sensitive video line? I used a terminal strip, inside a waterproof connection box before, but the cable still got corroded.



Thanks for your time.
Capt. Dave
 
You should be working with your local Furuno distributor. They are listed as

MARCO PERUANA, S. A.
Avda. Saenz Pena 1439 Callao, 1
Phone# +51 14-294978
E-mail: raul@marco.com.pe

When it comes to cables; a simple OHMS testing of each wire of the cable to make sure none are broken and not shorted together is a good start. At a consumer level we do not provide detailed testing instructions on internal electrical parts. You should speak to your local authorized distributor for service/support.
 
Johnny,

Thanks for the information. Been there done that. The distributor, is roughly a 20 min walk from where my boat is. When you arrive at the facility, you are meet by a guard, inside a concrete bunker, outside of a 20 ft high solid steel & concrete fenced yard. The guard talks to you from behind a 1 ' square bullet proof glass. After a discussion, and a phone call, I was let in, where my backpack was searched. Then I met a gentleman who talked to me, but between my bad Spanish, and his lack of knowledge about Radars, I did not find a technician.

I sent an email, and called the gentleman you recommend about 10 months ago when I needed a connector replaced on the power cord. I do not remember what took place exactly, but the end result he never came to help me... so I ended up with another tech. I have been working with him, and we have diagnosed it down to the problem I mentioned. He has no cable, and asked me to climb the mast to look into the dome to make sure it was not corroded. Of course this is a old unit, and I inquired about buying a new one. Nothing in stock except a Raymarine unit for $8000. I am a 40 ft sailboat, and do not need a full blown commercial unit.

It is my belief that I am a small potato (Lima Peru is a one of the largest commercial ports in the world) and pleasure boating is not a very big market, so I am put aside. After all the commercial boats have big pockets.

To be fair. I have sent another email to the connect you recommend. I will let you know if I receive a reply.

FYI the manual, being an old one, actually contains a schematic of the dome, and the troubleshooting section actually tells you something more than the typical manuals do today that only tell you to "push the power button" if you do not see anything on the screen. The manual I have actually tells you have to test the magnatron on you own... So I contacted a tech, hoping that some "experience' might help me in the debugging, and before I through good money at an old unit by building a new cable. I was told to climb the mast, an look inside for corrosion. And when none was found, I was told that I needed a new cable to test anything further. So this is how I landed here.

I would appreciate a little more help on how to purchase the cable components direct from Furuno. I have sent an email to ALL the Furuno authorized dealers I found listed in your dealer listings on your site. I was told by another division of your company that the parts were available. The area I concentrated on was the Miami Area, which included Ft Lauderdale and surrounding areas. I have RECEIVED ONE response, and was told they were "too busy' to help me, and that there was a 6- 8 week turnaround. I NEED 5 FT of CABLE to try and splice it in the existing system.

This is what world cruising on a sailboat is all about, trying to get things fixed, and dealing with suppliers that are "too busy" because you want to repair a minor part....
 
If the tech says you need a new cable then he must have found a problem. Did he say why he couldn't order parts and build you one?

Normally US dealers are reluctant to ship outside of our support and sales area. They can get into trouble stepping into someone else’s area. There are also a lot of rip off schemes that people try to pull on businesses. Customs and shipping isn’t something most dealers want to deal with. Maybe they can ship to someone you know in the US? It might be easier to have a friend buy you low cost radar like the 1623 and ship it for you. Your friend knows you, the dealer doesn't.

If the local distributor isn't helpful, I would recommend letting Furuno Japan know. It is possible to have the new cable built directly with our repair center (parts + labor+ shipping) but we do not ship outside our sale/support area. If you have a US or Canada address and valid credit card, I am sure they could fix you up. I recommend that you call them directly at 360-834-9300 (ask for service center).

(Magnetrons are normally rated for 2000 hours as a general rule)
Rather than trying to deal with a 20+ year old radar in an area with limited support; I would strongly encourage you to look for a replacement option.
 
Johnny,

Furuno's right hand does not know what the left hand is doing. Here is the email I received, before I came the forum:
Hello David,

Thank you for contacting Furuno USA, Inc.

These cables as you know, are no longer produced nor do they exist at all as a pre-made cable. We can however make a up these cables per-order. You will need to order the cable through your local Furuno Authorized dealer and it will consist of the following parts:


000-141-094 RW-9398 Cable (Sold and priced by meter)
000-505-887 Connector Housing (1)
000-505-893 Connector Housing (1)
000-505-610 Connector Housing (1)
000-100-049 Contact Pins (13)
000-505-493 Contact Pins (13)
AL1600CONN Antenna Connector w/Pins (1)

For a list of authorized dealers in your area, you may visit our website, www.furunousa.com, and click on the FIND A DEALER tab.

Thanks again for contacting Furuno USA, Inc. We hope we have been able to answer your question. Please feel free to contact us with further questions in the future.

SO having collage education I followed the instructions. Remember where I said I contacted every distributor listed in the Miami Area? REMEMBER MY RESPONSE !!! One "Authorized Dealer" has contacted me. This did not even get to the "address to ship part."

SO had does one get a job answering emails on this forum? It must pay an incredible amount since you suggest that just cause something is old it should be thrown away. I did not see anything in the owners manual that says, "... oh by the way, when the unit is 10 years old you should throw it away".

Gee, what novel idea, "Have the tech build you one." Why did I not think of that? Well, I DID ASK THE TECH, when he was here, long before I contacted this forum. His response was to tell me to get the parts, and he would build it, and then he did not answer my emails for 2 weeks. I don't have a lot of confidence when the tech shows up and USES MY TOOLS to debug, and fix the radar. He also said their was no way to test the display, and the dome, without a cable. Gee in the user manual it tells you how? His answer must have something to do, with the way Furuno trains the technical people in other countries. Again, they would rather deal with big ticket commercial vessels, than a pleasure yacht. Oh buy the way, the tech gave me the number for a cable to replace mine, it was 90 ft long.. and gee I only need 40 ft.

Gee, after 12 years of cruising through Latin America, I never thought of having a friend bring me something. Your a genius!

I made my money in technical sales for various software companies, so I would expect this Furuno Forum to have some procedure to escalate things. What I expected from you was:

1) An apology that only one distributed had respond to me. BTW he was "too busy" to build the cable.
2) You to have raised the issue to your superiors to get the local distributor here to respond, and given me a contact name at your organization in case the local distributor did nothing. BTW I did receive and email, after I contacted him again, I responded, and nothing is happening

The whole reason I contacted this forum was because I did not want to spend $400 or more dollars on a cable, if the radar and magnetron was bad. That is why I asked about testing procedures, I could perform, since the local guy did not want to do them.

I have really liked my Furuno, and was not even considering buying another brand, since Furuno is still ranked as one of the best radars. But now, with how the support has been, I definitely am rethinking this. All this time for a stupid cable... I don't get it
 
I think the Furuno tech did a good job giving you the support you need and possible remedy to your problem.

This post was edited as personal attacks are not tolerated on this forum
 
Capt. Dave -

I am sorry to hear that you are having problems with your Radar and having difficulties obtaining the cable you are looking to install. Because we are Furuno USA, our jurisdiction is USA and Canada, we are not allowed to cross over into other Furuno subsidiary and agent jurisdictions. That being said, we are contacting the Furuno agent in Peru on your behalf. We will advise them of their options with the cable and ask them to contact you directly.

Best regards,
Furuno USA, Inc.
 
Capt. Dave -

We have contacted the local Furuno Agent in Peru on your behalf and explained to them how to supply you the cable you need. They said if you contact them, they will provide you with the solution they can offer and prepare a quotation for you. You can contact them at the number below:

MARCO PERUANA S.A.
Av. Saenz Peña 1439 - Apartado 01 - 0415 - CALLAO - PERU
Tel. (51-1) 429-4978
Fax. (51-1) 465-9497

We hope that this solves your issue.
 
Thanks for your help in contacting them. I have contacted them. They are playing games... trying to charge me twice what I was quoted in the USA, before import duties. Then they avoid answering way it was so much more... It would be nice if you had some kind of "quality control" on customer service with distributors.
 
Having been in Lima on my friend's sailboat recently, and having had my sailboat in Mexico since 2005 with a 1730 that now has issues - I can understand your issues. If people haven't tried yachting and repairing in a 3rd world country - they should cut you a little slack.
 
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