Instlation of new Ray Marine EV1 Autopilot

PGIJon · Jul 17, 2015

I have also been fighting the erratic behavior of my Ray Marine spx-5 autopilot. Per the advice both here and directly from RM, I just installed a Rudder Position Sensor. I'm hoping this will clear up the the issue. Hopefully I'll be able to try it out in some this weekend -Jon

Meriachee · Jul 17, 2015

amystic said:
...snip
Just a simple single location explanation of the color codes for the plugs and the cables would have helped.

All the advertising material states that the EV1 is simple to install but I have to take exception to that just because there are no simple basic explanations in the manuals.
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Actually the stuff is relatively simple to install, the best approach is to assemble it at the house, and test it. This allows confirmation that the various components actually work, and helps you understand the methodology of the assembly. There is definitely a difference between the various cables, they are not interchangeable, and pre testing allows you to concentrate on the physical issues of the installation, which are easily the hardest part. There's nothing worse than going through the effort of contortion-yoga only to find out the thing doesn't work.

Skippie10 · Jul 20, 2015

I bought the Raymarine EV100 Autopilot and controller and had it installed by a certified Raymarine technician. That being said, he (technician) did not know a think about setting response levels/gain and any other settings which should be programmed into a 30' cruising sailboat. My system is constantly hunting/turning/grinding for position. I'm assuming that there is a way to slow the response down. I'm also wondering why the system went completely "off" when we had a heavy wind for a while.

Are there any youtube videos anywhere or simple instructions with graphic displays to help set this thing up for a 30' sailboat?

I had an ST4000 before and it did not have these problems of sensitivity...but, the person setting it up was pretty sharp on reading tech manuals.

Help!

Meriachee · Jul 20, 2015

Skippie10 said:
...snip..think about setting response levels/gain and any other settings which should be programmed into a 30' cruising sailboat. My system is constantly hunting/turning/grinding for position. Help!

Do you have a p70 instrument?

Skippie10 · Jul 21, 2015

Meriachee said:
Do you have a p70 instrument?

Hi, Well, the description is: Model T70152 and includes EV-100 Wheel Pilot with P70 Control head, EV-1 Sensor, ACU-100, Wheel Drive, and Evolution Cable Set.

In addition, I bought/installed Speed, depth, and wind.

Don

Meriachee · Jul 21, 2015

After engaging the AP, pressing the menu button and scrolling down a couple of items will display "damping" or "response" and it should probably be at "5". If you turn it down to something like "2", that should provide a balance between the ability of the AP to control the course, and not be making continuous adjustments.

dick.binns · Jul 25, 2015

sesmith said:
I also just installed an EV100 wheel pilot in our boat. It replaced our older Simrad / Navico WP10, that recently bit the dust for good............

........... As far as mounting the display, I took another approach and mounted it on the binnacle. There are some real nice dedicated control head mounts out there for around $300. I know it's a little ghetto, but I took the less than $20 approach, at least for now. I used a 6 x6 x4 exterior conduit box. It's mounted with (you guessed it) plastic conduit clamps to the binnacle rail, and rotates for viewing from either side (pics attached). The color even matches nicely with the autopilot and my Garmin plotter.

Hey I really liked SESMITH's idea for using a conduit box to mount the Raymarine P70 head on the binnacle as that seems the most logical place to put it and a very economical way to do it. I had a question though on how close it is to the compass on the binnacle as somewhere in one of the many Raymarine manuals it says "don't place P70 w/in 1 meter of a compass." Did you decide this wasn't a big enough issue to be concerned about? And did you see any change in compass accuracy after placing the P70?

Thanks
Dick

Meriachee · Jul 25, 2015

Better buy a bigger boat ( much bigger ) if you think you're gonna get away with the 1m request

dick.binns · Jul 25, 2015

Meriachee said:
Better buy a bigger boat ( much bigger ) if you think you're gonna get away with the 1m request

Well I could put the P70 on the cabin exterior next to the depthsounder and it would actually be more than a meter. But routing the cable would be a ***** and it's not as logical a location.

njlarry · Jul 27, 2015

Meriachee said:
Better buy a bigger boat ( much bigger ) if you think you're gonna get away with the 1m request

Also much bigger boat (or much longer cables) to get the EV sensor three feet from any metal.
Still, the units seem to work. Mine is two feet from the keel and two feet from the engine.

Meriachee · Jul 27, 2015

njlarry said:
Also much bigger boat (or much longer cables) to get the EV sensor three feet from any metal. Still, the units seem to work. Mine is two feet from the keel and two feet from the engine.

Mine is about 10" from the compass, and the sensor is about 6" from the steering gear. It was a handful to calibrate, but, oddly enough, not due to the mounting as much as the massive coal seams under the lake.