Autohelm ST50 Navcenter replacement?
 

I have a full range of ST50 instruments fitted to my Van de Stadt Pion
(30ft) yacht. The yacht was built in 1987, but I believe the ST50's must
have been installed later for I do not think they were out at that time.

The ST50 Navcenter screen has now failed - i.e. I can "hear" the unit
powering up, and the buttons still beep when pressed, but the screen is
blank. Given the likely age of the unit (1991?) I don't know whether they
are economic to repair (or even if they can be) - anyone had one repaired
recently?

Maybe it's a better bet to replace it - in which case, is there anything in
the Autohelm/Raymarine range that uses the same SeaTalk circuit and plug? I
obviously do not want to replace everything!

Thanks,
John Kennedy
"Ling Kong" (Master of the Waters)
http://users.bigpond.net.au/jrk/Pion/Pion_Mk3.html
Perth, Western Australia

You should have little trouble replacing the ST50 with a newer
Raymarine ST60. The Seatalk bus is the same, but I believe the plug is
a little different. You can splice a Seatalk cable with the new
connector to your old cabling, and it should work fine. The biggest
problem may be aesthetic, what with the different colored case...

Aaron Tinling
s/v Sweet Destiny
www.navagear.com