Recently purchased a 97 P42. Sailed her 5 times before I had to put her away for the winter, so I haven't had a chance to push all the buttons or read all the manuals yet. She has a chart plotter, radar, GPS, Autohelm 7000, depth, speed, wind, all Autohelm Seatalk. Three quick questions: 1) Where can I buy chartplotter cartridges? 2) Which instrument reads the GPS in the cockpit? My guess is the Autohelm 7000, but is there a repeater available, or will it be totally unecessary once I read the manuals. Previous owner said he bought a handheld and forgot about it. 3) Why does the auto pilot "wander"? Sometimes, it just heads off on a course all it's own, even though I have set it to follow a heading. Also, it will not fully "auto-tack" but stops head to wind. Thanks for the help! Bruce
- Status
- Not open for further replies.
C
Chuck Wolfe
Seatalk and Autopilot
I would assume that your chartplotter undoubtedly reads the NMEA183 output from the GPS. And it is probably also fed into the Autopilot. And while I have a different model Autopilot than yours (the 4000+) mine just now started doing the same thing you describe. Actually, it would start going into the "track" mode by itself and then start turning unexpectedly. The answer after I called Autoheld was to send the head back to them for repair and I just did so last week. Just pull it out which is relatively easy and mark what leads go where. They tell me that there is a one week turnaround. It isn't doing what it is supposed to do, believe me. It's just a circuit board with a haywire chip. They generally replace it with a brand new board. chuckwolfe@mail.com
I would assume that your chartplotter undoubtedly reads the NMEA183 output from the GPS. And it is probably also fed into the Autopilot. And while I have a different model Autopilot than yours (the 4000+) mine just now started doing the same thing you describe. Actually, it would start going into the "track" mode by itself and then start turning unexpectedly. The answer after I called Autoheld was to send the head back to them for repair and I just did so last week. Just pull it out which is relatively easy and mark what leads go where. They tell me that there is a one week turnaround. It isn't doing what it is supposed to do, believe me. It's just a circuit board with a haywire chip. They generally replace it with a brand new board. chuckwolfe@mail.com
C
Chuck Wolfe
Wandering Autohelm#2
Sorry; Forgot about your other two questions. I don't know what kind of Chartplotter you have but most likely West Marine carries the cartridges. And you don't need a repeater. The NMEA signal coming from the GPS can feed many devices such as a chartplotter, autopilot and radar. chuckwolfe@mail.com
Sorry; Forgot about your other two questions. I don't know what kind of Chartplotter you have but most likely West Marine carries the cartridges. And you don't need a repeater. The NMEA signal coming from the GPS can feed many devices such as a chartplotter, autopilot and radar. chuckwolfe@mail.com
R
Rich Stidger
Seatalk GPS & Autohelm 7000
Bruce, Here's a couple of thoughts. I have a '97 40.5 with Autohelm 7000 autopilot and GPS. I presume that all of your intruments are Autohelm, including the GPS and that the GPS, Chartplotter, and radar are at the NAV station. The 7000 will display some of the GPS data, specifically: cross-track error, WP number, distance to WP, and speed over ground. These are explained well in the manual. However, the other data cannot be displayed on the 7000, like Lat/Long position, time, speed made good, distance made good, time to next waypoint, nor can you control the GPS (like advancing the waypoint). If your radar is a Raytheon SL or RL70 series, then it can display most of the GPS data in databoxes that can be selected and placed on the radar screen. The downside of using these is that they use display space and your radar picture will not use the entire screen. I believe that the chartplotter will also display all of the GPS data, but if the chartplotter or radar is not at your helm, neighter of these will help you. You can purchase a GPS repeater for the Autohelm GPS to put at your helm and it will repeat all data. I have one for sale if you are interested. Regarding the autopilot wandering'. The problem sounds like it could be several things. First, has the system been put through the auto-deviation proceedure? This is critical for the system to operate correctly. I could not get the deviation below 35 degrees until I moved the fluxgate compass from the centerline of the boat (under the aft cabin bed) to the starboard side of the hull. Yes, I know the centerline is supposed to be the best location, but sometimes you have to try something different. Besides, having the compass under the bed is not a good idea because you can easily place a toolbox or other metal object on top of the cushions without thinking about the compass. Second- Raytheon has a firmware update to the course computer that became available early this summer. I think it is revision 11.0 and it cures problems with GPS tracking. My 7000 prior to the software upgrade would suddenly execute a hard starboard turn without warning. The fluxgate heading would suddenly be 50-60 degrees different from the ship's compass and this condition could only be cured by cycling power to the autopilot and seatalk system. I thought my system was possessed! Contact me if you have additional questions. Rich Stidger SYBARIS grstidge@capital.net
Bruce, Here's a couple of thoughts. I have a '97 40.5 with Autohelm 7000 autopilot and GPS. I presume that all of your intruments are Autohelm, including the GPS and that the GPS, Chartplotter, and radar are at the NAV station. The 7000 will display some of the GPS data, specifically: cross-track error, WP number, distance to WP, and speed over ground. These are explained well in the manual. However, the other data cannot be displayed on the 7000, like Lat/Long position, time, speed made good, distance made good, time to next waypoint, nor can you control the GPS (like advancing the waypoint). If your radar is a Raytheon SL or RL70 series, then it can display most of the GPS data in databoxes that can be selected and placed on the radar screen. The downside of using these is that they use display space and your radar picture will not use the entire screen. I believe that the chartplotter will also display all of the GPS data, but if the chartplotter or radar is not at your helm, neighter of these will help you. You can purchase a GPS repeater for the Autohelm GPS to put at your helm and it will repeat all data. I have one for sale if you are interested. Regarding the autopilot wandering'. The problem sounds like it could be several things. First, has the system been put through the auto-deviation proceedure? This is critical for the system to operate correctly. I could not get the deviation below 35 degrees until I moved the fluxgate compass from the centerline of the boat (under the aft cabin bed) to the starboard side of the hull. Yes, I know the centerline is supposed to be the best location, but sometimes you have to try something different. Besides, having the compass under the bed is not a good idea because you can easily place a toolbox or other metal object on top of the cushions without thinking about the compass. Second- Raytheon has a firmware update to the course computer that became available early this summer. I think it is revision 11.0 and it cures problems with GPS tracking. My 7000 prior to the software upgrade would suddenly execute a hard starboard turn without warning. The fluxgate heading would suddenly be 50-60 degrees different from the ship's compass and this condition could only be cured by cycling power to the autopilot and seatalk system. I thought my system was possessed! Contact me if you have additional questions. Rich Stidger SYBARIS grstidge@capital.net
M
Mark Johnson
Got the same problem as Rich
I have the same problem as Rich describes. My autopilot while in the track mode took a starboard turn of 80 degrees without any warning at all. The flux gate compass remained 80 degrees off from the ships compass until the unit was turned off then back on again. I called autohelm, but they had no idea what the problem was. If anyone knows what the fix is please let me know. Mark Johnson
I have the same problem as Rich describes. My autopilot while in the track mode took a starboard turn of 80 degrees without any warning at all. The flux gate compass remained 80 degrees off from the ships compass until the unit was turned off then back on again. I called autohelm, but they had no idea what the problem was. If anyone knows what the fix is please let me know. Mark Johnson
R
Rich Stidger
Here you go, Mark
Mark, Contact Autohelm/Raytheon service in New Hampshire. Describe the problem and then tell them that you understand a firmware upgrade is available for the course computer. (The course computer is a heavy metal box unit that connects to the Seatalk bus, the fluxgate compass, rudder transducer, and drives the motor unit on the wheel. The ST7000 head simply is on the Seatalk bus.) The firmware upgrade is verson 11.0 (I think; I'll check at home and advise if it is not 11.0) and the turnaround can be as little as 1-2 days with overnight mail. Raytheon did not charge me anything for the upgrade. I mailed to them on Monday and had it back on Thursday in time for the weekend. The problem of abrupt starboard turns has not occurred since the upgrade. I'm certain this will fix your problem. Contact me if you have further questions. Rich Stidger SYBARIS grstidge@capital.net
Mark, Contact Autohelm/Raytheon service in New Hampshire. Describe the problem and then tell them that you understand a firmware upgrade is available for the course computer. (The course computer is a heavy metal box unit that connects to the Seatalk bus, the fluxgate compass, rudder transducer, and drives the motor unit on the wheel. The ST7000 head simply is on the Seatalk bus.) The firmware upgrade is verson 11.0 (I think; I'll check at home and advise if it is not 11.0) and the turnaround can be as little as 1-2 days with overnight mail. Raytheon did not charge me anything for the upgrade. I mailed to them on Monday and had it back on Thursday in time for the weekend. The problem of abrupt starboard turns has not occurred since the upgrade. I'm certain this will fix your problem. Contact me if you have further questions. Rich Stidger SYBARIS grstidge@capital.net
- Status
- Not open for further replies.