Beware: check your Satmap weather seal

[MarcG]

I have a very recent Satmap unit - about 4 weeks old. I noticed that the rubber seal which goes fits between the screen cover and the unit itself is not properly seated. It is tucked in a little into the join between the front and back parts of the case at the top where you would normally put your thumbnail to take off the screen cover.
Clearly this has the potential to allow water ingress.

I called Satmap and spoke to a very pleasant guy called Ben. He admitted to me that he has seen this kind of problem before and says that it happens sometimes on assembly. He has seen it on units which have been repaired - presumably at the Satmap repair dept in the UK. He says that he has not noticed it with newly assembled units from Hong Kong but that of course it could occur.

Well obviously it can occur because I have one sitting in front of me. I don't want to let it go until November so I have flagged the problem with Satmap and will send it to them in November for repair.

I would recommend all of you to check your Satmap units and inspect for proper seating of the rubber seal.


If the mods want to make this thread a stickie for a while, it might be useful to people.

[BigPerk]

In another thread some while ago, someone (might have been satmapian) mentioned a problem which can occur when taking the cover apart, where the seal can get pinched by the screws. It sounds like this may be the same sort of problem. He said (I think!) the remedy was to loosen the screws slightly, to let the seal reseat properly, and retighten. You may like to look for the thread and/or see if this could set the seal properly without having to send the unit back.

I see you obviously already know from the threads that all the various seals (eg sd card) need an eye keeping on them as they have a tendency to deform. Quite a number of people over the months have had water getting in. You may want to invest in a waterproof case to be absolutely safe.

Satmap have had lots of complaints about the seals over quite a period now. Given the general high standard of the unit, why they haven't sorted out the seal problems, or even taken the issue all that seriously as far as I can see, is a puzzle; mounting unit failures and the need for repair returns will surely dent future sales of what is, after all, a pretty expensive device.
_________________
David
(Navigon 70 Live, Nuvi 360)

[Bosun]

[MarcG]

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