Simrad AP16 autopilot - bad connectors

[BrianSmith]

The AP at the upper helm station wouldn't come on the other day, and when I crawled behind the panel, the power / data cable was disconnected. No biggie - plug it back in, works fine. The problem is the REASON it was disconnected - because the rubber or plastic parts of the male/female bayonet connector have pretty much disintegrated.

See the picture - that's where the connectors connect to the back of the AP16 control unit - the two blue "robnet2" connectors are the ones that matter. (The two yellow connectors are "simnet" connectors, which my system doesn't use.) Most of the blue has disintegrated, as has all of the blue on the part of the connector that's at the end of the cable. Except for the actual connection - the part with the 5 little metal holes where the 5 pins go. That part is made of a much harder, and still fully intact, plastic or resin or something. Sorry if that's confusing. Let's try this - the actual connector seems to be OK, but there is some blue rubber or plastic on both the male and female ends of the connector that are probably to help seal out moisture. Those blue pieces have become "crumbly", so the bayonet connector won't stay connected.

Whew! Finally, to my question: are these connectors available anywhere? I've searched the interwebz for "robnet" and don't find much at all. I've looked on ebay for "robnet" and "robnet2", and "simrad" (lots of simrad stuff, but no connectors like these).

Any ideas?

 

[SteveD]

I see three Robnet cables currently on ebay robnet | eBay

Other than that, they seem to be a thoroughly obsolete parts

 

[BrianSmith]

I see three Robnet cables currently on ebay robnet | eBay

Other than that, they seem to be a thoroughly obsolete parts

Yep, I had found those already. They're all the metal screw-on connectors. Mine are plastic bayonet style. I'm going to try to contact the company, but if they can't help, I'm thinking a gob of silicone (more than a "dab") ought to hold things in place until it's time to replace the whole system.

 

[LarryM]

Brian,

You might want to jump on this ASAP.

Simrad Autopilot AP16 Control Unit 22087399 | eBay

Brand new!

 

[BrianSmith]

Brian,

You might want to jump on this ASAP.

Simrad Autopilot AP16 Control Unit 22087399 | eBay

Brand new!

I just saw this message, LarryM - we returned from the Abacos last night, so I've been off TF for awhile. That ebay sale ended w/o the item being sold, so I've contacted the seller. He wants $685 for it, which seems like a lot - but in the big scheme of things, may be a pretty good purchase. Thanks for the tip!