today i decided to take a look at the AIS which had filled with water due to a leak in the port window and a suboptimal waterproofing design. i had “fixed” the window back in las palmas but alas it did not last. but this is another story. the ais is “water proof” except for a hole under the membrane key board where the ribbon cable goes in. water can seep under the edge of the keyboard into the unit and collect in the bottom.
in any case i took it apart and cleaned it out with fresh water and wd-40. a ton of slushy salt water came out initially. i was unable to get the boards out because of too much corosion on the nuts. amazingly after drying out in the sun it actually powered up. unfortunately the backup battery had died in the process so it forgot its imsi and as a result refused to transmit. the only way to input it is with the keypad which is shot.
the good news is ACR with “refurbsh” it for $1300 so much for saving money while at anchor, the boat always figures out a way to blow its budget!
cheers, roger
