Damned gadgets
 

I have just about had it with expensive gadgets that break very
easily. My Garmin handheld GPS had one of the little buttons fall out
and the time wasted on shipping and waiting for a repair isnt
worthwhile (Repaired with a squirt of 3m5200 into the hole forming a
"button"). TWO Icom handheld VHF units both broke in the same way,
the volume control knob broke off, not worth shipping again. My
expensive Fujinon binoc had the eyeshield screws come out so the
shields fell off, fortunately repaired (sort of) with screws from an
eyeglass repair kit. My Navman fishfinder with built in knotlog had
the impeller fall off and on and on and ......
With this kind of luck, I have vowed to never go to any sort of
computerized nav stuff cuz it will never work for me.
What is really a pain is that I could repair most of this stuff If I
could locate parts. I spend more time on maintenance of this crap
than I ever did before I could afford gadgets. Maybe time to simplify
and go back to nothing expensive on my boat.

Damned gadgets
 

Damned gadgets
 

wrote in message
...
Maybe time to simplify
and go back to nothing expensive on my boat.

Or stop with the "thumbs of death" that keep breaking your gear?

My Dad, god rest his soul, was like that. He could break damn near anything
by manhandling the buttons on it. Must've gone through 6 CD players and
walkman units. That is until I found him one of those kids CD players. "My
First Sony", ages 3 and up. We used to tease the heck out of him for it.
But it lasted nearly 5 years.

Yes, better access to parts would be great. But you obviously know these
things will break with the way you're using them. But "old dogs and new
tricks" probably has some truth. Shame there's no "My First Chartplotter"
for you!

Damned gadgets
 

Dennis Pogson wrote:
wrote:
I have just about had it with expensive gadgets that break very
easily. My Garmin handheld GPS had one of the little buttons fall out
and the time wasted on shipping and waiting for a repair isnt
worthwhile (Repaired with a squirt of 3m5200 into the hole forming a
"button"). TWO Icom handheld VHF units both broke in the same way,
the volume control knob broke off, not worth shipping again. My
expensive Fujinon binoc had the eyeshield screws come out so the
shields fell off, fortunately repaired (sort of) with screws from an
eyeglass repair kit. My Navman fishfinder with built in knotlog had
the impeller fall off and on and on and ......
With this kind of luck, I have vowed to never go to any sort of
computerized nav stuff cuz it will never work for me.
What is really a pain is that I could repair most of this stuff If I
could locate parts. I spend more time on maintenance of this crap
than I ever did before I could afford gadgets. Maybe time to simplify
and go back to nothing expensive on my boat.

You sound lioke the guy who complains that his laptop screen is covered in
fingerprints, which subsequently turn out to be his own!

DP



Yeah, my stuff don't bounce so good either.

Buy cheap **** on EBay. Buy two or three of same POS. Spare parts!
You will be a couple of years behind the bleeding edge but perhaps
sumggly happy.