Observations and insights from boating world and ashore

Refurbish the Storebro Commander nameplates. The nameplates are manufactured by using a router, carving out the characters/lines, and then the entire plate is painted with a white paint. After that they are sanded so that the white colour only remains in the characters/lines and then afterwards the plate is  finished with several coats of clear varnish. The  problem is that the sharp edge between the characters and the surface makes that the varnish doesn't becomes thick enough,  because of the surface tension . After some years the varnish cracks, at the sharp edges, and the moist raises the varnish and  You have a problem.

Replacing hinge for Jabsco toilet, 37045-1092, lid Sometimes it's easy maintenance, but the hardest thing is to find the right parts. After some Googling I found the part at Hjertmans  with the Jabsco sparepart number 29098-2000

Updating the software for the ST1 to ST NG converter,  Raymarine E22158 The easiest way to find the right software is to visit http://www.raymarine.com  -Support -Software updates  And for this case then -Networking -Seatalk NG converter Since we have an E 120 just I click on the link for E series Classic and the software will be downloaded. Open up the folder where the software "landed"

Swap from toothbrush holder to soap dispenser We really missed soap dispensers, in both toilets, when we bought the boat and thought that a tooth brush holder, mounted at delivery, isn't mandatory. So after some investigation we found the Smedbo HK370 which solved the problem and also cover the old holes for the tooth brush holder.

Adding a NMEA2000 GPS and add an additional cable to E120 So what happens when You add a NMEA2000, N2K, GPS to the network ? Nothing much actually. No conflicts. The E120 is still "hocked" on the old Raymaring RS125 GPS and the  Garmin GMI 10/20  shows the info from the new NME2000 GPS with some additional data compared to the old GPS. The chosen GP:s is Garmin GPS 17X because it was on sale for just 20 €.  It is mounted behind the instrument panel. The picture shows the GPS at the right and the ST converter in the upper part

Improving the looks with a lid The boat is equipped with Berker Minikombi outlets/switches. These are not sold anymore but the series Berker Integro Flow fits. So to improve the looks at the helm I purchased a Berker lid with hinge to cover the 12V outlet. Much better looking, right ?

Network diagrams Seatalk 1, Seatalk HS, NMEA0183, NMEA2000 To get en idea how the network is configured please find the links below The diagrams are divided into a Raymarine part, Seatalk/NMEA0183, and a Garmin part, NMEA2000 The respective diagram is vertically divided in 3 parts depending on location. Helm, tecnical storage room and flying bridge Boat network ST1, NMEA0183, ST HS Boat network NMEA2000

Streaming audio from a device with 3,5 mm earphone jack to an old car stereo The boat was delivered with 2 Alpine Radio CDE-9848RB. One in the deck saloon and one in the master cabin. Its a god radio but sorry to say it lacks both bluetooth and aux input. So for streaming audio to these a use a Linocell FM transmitter from Kjell & Company Linocell at Kjell & Company Just charge the transmitter, select a frequency on the transmitter and match it on the radio, plug it to Your device and stream Linocell manual

The boat is equipped with Berker switches and sockets. In the master cabin the outlets in the picture are placed at the end of the bed so its a god place to charge a mobile phone. You could use a charger with the cigarett socket but its nicer with a USB outlet One way is to use the original Berker but it is both pretty expensive, just outputs 1 Ampere and have only one output. Link to one supplier, SVB

Unlocking the Huawei E173 modem/dongle When changing the SIM card to another operator, from Telia to Comviq, the program ”Mobile Partner” demanded an unlock code. There was a prompt with ”Unlock the data card”. After some investigation, Google with ”unlock huawei dongle free”, I found a site. Link to unlock tool Here You could get the 8 digit unlock code without downloading any software. Just put in the IMEI number, klick on submit and You will have the unlock code.