JRC 500F problems

[barren wide]

I bought one of these 3 years ago and was rapt in the thing. I only use the sounder facility although I've got a Cmap cartridge. Went to turn it on before a trip recently and could'nt get it to light up although the on beeper sounded. There was current going to it as the screen lit up but only faint background light with a few lines across the screen. Checked the usual things like fuse, connections etc. Multimeter read 12.65volts. Does anyone know if that's enough to kick it in? I'm in central Queensland. Where would I take it for servicing? Any help would be appreciated.

[dicko1980]

I have the same unit as yourself but I also don't know how many volts the unit needs to operate but 12.65volts sounds like plenty because that's what a normally fully charged battery is after it been sitting idle for a few hours without being under load or charged. For service of the unit I recommend sending it to Trymax Marine Electronics in Brisbane. I've dealt with these guys through email and they have been excellent plus I've read posts on this forum and others that recommend them. http://www.trymax.com.au/

Cheers
dicko1980

[block]

Trymax is the people that can help, ask for Jim as he is the one who has go me out of trouble in the past.
What do you think of the jrc 500? I had one in my old boat but have a jrc ff50 in the new boat and love it.

[barren wide]

Thanks boys. In answer to your query Block, the 500F improved my catchrate by heaps. I don't think I missed for 8 trips straight after I installed it. I found it was really good at showing schools of red jew and after a while I got to know them from other fish shows. I used to use my Lowrance 350A as my sounder, and since the JRC went down had to go back to it. I couldn't believe how hard it was to use the black and white readout again after so long with colour.
Just as a matter of interest, a few of our local boys have been fishing the green zones here as part of ongoing research into their effectiveness. The DPI&F pay all costs and put them up on Great Keppel Island for 3-5 nights with all food supplied. One boat fished for just under 2 hours and caught 47 keepers that were mostly trout, sweetlip and red emperor. One of the biggest problems the scientists had was finding enough small fish to tag.
Cheers