[Haaggie]

Hi Guys, I've been contacted by a US guy from Indianapolis. Purchased a RNS-E from eBay, and did not get a 100% unit.. He has contacted the seller but had not had any luck getting this resolved

The pin inside the GPS antenna on the back of the RNS-E is broken off. It is the blue GPS antenna port on the back of the RNS-E unit. Inside the connector, there should be a gold pin (male connection) that makes contact with the actual GPS antenna when connected. This gold pin is missing or broken off.

Maybe I can help him out by disconnecting (using a solding-iron) the wired connector from the main board of an old and damaged unit I have. But before I want to do this (because it's really completely useless after this), I'm wondering whether there's a source where you can get this connectors, or maybe you guys have another idea to solve this problem for him? TIA!

 

[TeddyBGame]

haggie,
the back of the RNS-E has a male blue FAKRA/SMB interface. I bet it is soldered onto some kind of circuit board within the RNS-E. There is a huge catalog of related parts that you can order via www.digikey.com that will probably fix this. Some are the solder kind..and some are the crimp kind.

I would recommend taking apart the unit first...to see where the broken connection is. If it's a matter of reinserting/soldering a new pin into the male/fakra/smb connection...then that should be a fairly easy task.

Don't forget to take pix for us. Good luck!

-ted

PS: Sorry for the rant....but this is another clear case of someone trying to save some $$ by buying a unit overseas..and not from one of the trusted brokers from this site. Sure, some ebay seller are honest and reputable...but you are taking a risk when you do this....and for what...to save $100-$200 because you think you can find a "deal"?

 

[Alister]

PS: Sorry for the rant....but this is another clear case of someone trying to save some $$ by buying a unit overseas..and not from one of the trusted brokers from this site. Sure, some ebay seller are honest and reputable...but you are taking a risk when you do this....and for what...to save $100-$200 because you think you can find a "deal"?

Ted,

It's a fact of life - people want to feel like they are getting the best possible deal and some will take significant risks in the process. Inevitably some people will get burnt, but what can you do?

There is clearly some good reputable sellers on this site though and for those that are risk averse, sellers such as Haaggie are going to be the best bet!

Alister

 

[jamiehankins]

The GPS connector is indeed crimped inside the unit. You can order it from DigiKey.

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You'll need a tool for crimping the pin (very tiny) and the RG-174 cable.

The problem I have is that I have two damaged units where the radio connector is damaged. Unfortunately, the radio antenna connector (the beige one with two plugs in one) is soldered to the circuit board inside, and even if it weren't, I can't find replacement parts.
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Good Luck,
Jamie

 

[Haaggie]

Thnx Jamie!

 

[jamiehankins]

Antenna Connector

Well, here we are months later. My attention has been sort of turned to my other irrational (but less expensive) hobby, my PBX system in my house (http://www.trixbox.org).

My RNS-E is still sitting in a box. The radio antenna connector is still broken. Has anyone figured out how to order this connector?
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It seems stupid to throw away a $1500 nav unit because a $10 part is broken.

Jamie

 

[NSX JR]

At the very least you could find someone who doesn't care about AM/FM radio and sell it to them.

 

[Haaggie]

Hi Jamie,

I have an old defect RNS-E unit I use for parts. It has the double radio connector. Contact me when you want me to try it, so I can help you out..

 

[ejc2008]

you can just not use tha tconnector and use the other ones available and clip it on

mine came broken too (broke during transit) the clip on it is cracked so it doesn't "bite" the other end of teh connector

all i did was get some zip tie's and tied it down - works fine

 

[MatjjA5]

Hi guys, sorry I know this is an old thread but I’m facing the same issue. I have had to find a new mmi unit, but have had no luck finding one with the same part number. Then I managed to find one, bought it and when it arrived I noticed the gps connector on the back was broken. Did any of you manage to replace yours? If so, how easy was it? How did was you able to find the right replacement? I have been told to send the unit back but it’s the only one I have been able to find in the past 4-6 months with the right part number.