In March there was a thread about ST 4000 autopilot problems. Mentioned was that a rudder reference sensor would cure them. Derek Rowell of Warwick, RI mentioned that the $285 sensor from Raymarine was simply a 5K potentiometer. Has anyone come up with plans or knows what the left, right, and center resistance values should be? Thanks
ST4000 rudder angle sensor revisited
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A
Allen
Funny you should ask....
Hey Tom, You may remember from that thread that there was a guy who got a free rudder transducer from Raymarine. That guy is me. Well, lo and behold, the free transducer I got was faulty. I have to box it up & ship it back to Raymarine and I just haven't gotten around to doing it. Before I decided to do that, though, I got the test data needed to determine if the unit was broken. Here are the correct values for each wire: There are 4 wires that come out of the unit. The Gray wire is a ground. That leaves a green, red & blue wire that connect to the back of the autopilot control head. Resistance between the green & red should be a constant 5,000 ohms. Resistance between the green & blue should vary from 0 to 5,000 ohms as the transducer is turned from one end to the other. The 0 ohm value can correspond to either the port or starboard side. If, when you connect the transducer, the control head thinks the rudder is in the opposite direction, you can switch the green & blue wires on the back of the control head & that will solve the problem. Again, Raymarine offered a rudder transducer to me for free. It's worth asking for one before going through the trouble to build one. Just my 2 cents. Fair Winds, Allen Schweitzer s/v Falstaff C-30 Hull# 632
Hey Tom, You may remember from that thread that there was a guy who got a free rudder transducer from Raymarine. That guy is me. Well, lo and behold, the free transducer I got was faulty. I have to box it up & ship it back to Raymarine and I just haven't gotten around to doing it. Before I decided to do that, though, I got the test data needed to determine if the unit was broken. Here are the correct values for each wire: There are 4 wires that come out of the unit. The Gray wire is a ground. That leaves a green, red & blue wire that connect to the back of the autopilot control head. Resistance between the green & red should be a constant 5,000 ohms. Resistance between the green & blue should vary from 0 to 5,000 ohms as the transducer is turned from one end to the other. The 0 ohm value can correspond to either the port or starboard side. If, when you connect the transducer, the control head thinks the rudder is in the opposite direction, you can switch the green & blue wires on the back of the control head & that will solve the problem. Again, Raymarine offered a rudder transducer to me for free. It's worth asking for one before going through the trouble to build one. Just my 2 cents. Fair Winds, Allen Schweitzer s/v Falstaff C-30 Hull# 632
Sometimes just bite the bullet
Tom, the transducer is indeed just a 5k linear pot. I though just what you are thinking but decided that by the time I made a waterproof housing and all the other parts it was just easier to buy one. One other item. In order for feedback transducers to work properly there must be no slop or play in the connection. The Raytheon unit is spring loaded to eliminate this problem. I went sailing yesterday, that feedback sensor makes a world of difference on my H30.
Tom, the transducer is indeed just a 5k linear pot. I though just what you are thinking but decided that by the time I made a waterproof housing and all the other parts it was just easier to buy one. One other item. In order for feedback transducers to work properly there must be no slop or play in the connection. The Raytheon unit is spring loaded to eliminate this problem. I went sailing yesterday, that feedback sensor makes a world of difference on my H30.
thanks, Allen
Kind of how I thought it would work, Allen. The 4 wires are part of a connector that plugs into the back of the control head I assume. (My ST4000 hasn't arrived yet) Can you give me an idea which colors go to which pins at the connector? Thanks again, Tom
Kind of how I thought it would work, Allen. The 4 wires are part of a connector that plugs into the back of the control head I assume. (My ST4000 hasn't arrived yet) Can you give me an idea which colors go to which pins at the connector? Thanks again, Tom
A
Allen
Wire connectors
Tom, The back of the control unit is also color coded so connecting the wires correctly is a no-brainer. There's no "plug" as you thought...it's just 4 separate wires that are connected to the back. You'll see when you get it...it's easy. I don't think the red/green colors correspond to port/starboard, but I could be wrong. When you get your pilot the owner's manual tells you what wires to reverse if your transducer is sending the wrong signals. Good luck! Allen Schweitzer s/v Falstaff C-30 Hull# 632
Tom, The back of the control unit is also color coded so connecting the wires correctly is a no-brainer. There's no "plug" as you thought...it's just 4 separate wires that are connected to the back. You'll see when you get it...it's easy. I don't think the red/green colors correspond to port/starboard, but I could be wrong. When you get your pilot the owner's manual tells you what wires to reverse if your transducer is sending the wrong signals. Good luck! Allen Schweitzer s/v Falstaff C-30 Hull# 632
A
AJL
You're lucky
Having just bought a Raymarine ST4000 Plus which did not come with a rudder angle sensor, I emailed customer service at the site I bought it. Here is their response: "I just called Raymarine (800-539-5539) to verify this, and they tell me that they do not come with any rudder angle sensor. Please let me know if you have any questions."
Having just bought a Raymarine ST4000 Plus which did not come with a rudder angle sensor, I emailed customer service at the site I bought it. Here is their response: "I just called Raymarine (800-539-5539) to verify this, and they tell me that they do not come with any rudder angle sensor. Please let me know if you have any questions."
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