Fixing problems is always a good thing!

TIME MACHINE's first sail of the season was not without some problems. Even before we left the dock, the PC would not talk to the Ockam's. This meant that programming the course and using the instruments to help determine VMCs was out of the question. More importantly, it was a chance to practice working with the software before the Mills. Even if the PC link was OK, we would still not have had any good data because the KVH compass was not reading correctly. Then I noticed that the Depth Sounder was not powered up and the cockpit VHF radio remote did not work.

So we sailed the race the old fashioned way. Magnetic compass, GPS and seat of the pants.... but this the story about fixing stuff!

First the PC link... I had remembered that the PC needs to be fully booted before plugging in the USB serial cable. Something about loading the driver. I tried it and voila... data all over the screen!

Second the depth sounder... A quick call to Ockam and they told me to look at the fuse and to verify that I was getting about 9Volts on the BNC center conductor. After removing the interface box, I was able to show that the fuse was OK. However there was no 9 Volts on the center conductor. It was in the cable, and in the TEE, but not in the box.... HUMM! A visual inspection of the bulkhead BNC connector showed that the center core of the connector had pushed up into the box, making it impossible for the pin from the TEE to contact the socket in the bulkhead core. AN OPEN CIRCUIT!. I pushed the core back down and voila, depth readings!

Third the radio... At Jim's suggestion I took the radio off it's mount to check and see if I could plug the remote directly into the back of the VHF. There was the connector without the cable attached. It must have rattled off during the trucking from Muskegon. Plug in the cable, plug in the remote in the cockpit, turn it all on and voila... fishermen talking in the cockpit.

Fourth the fluxgate compass.... I checked the calibration quality and it was fine (892) I then checked the offset. it was set to 16 degrees!!!! That's just about how far off the thing was reading. Must have been that the buttons got pushed and it got adjusted by someone's back as they leaned against the coach-roof. I adjusted the offset back to 4 degrees where it belongs and voila.... the fluxgate compass is reading correctly.

The last item of the evening was to find the meat-hook that torn a hole in BIG RED. Right there at the attachement point of the upper port life-line to the bow pulpit, a split ring that had not been taped!

All in all, a pretty productive evening.

RG