Troubleshooting ST60 Wind masthead unit

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Derek Rowell

Derek Rowell

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Jun 6, 2004
104
Pearson P422 Warwick, RI
Been away from here for too long... :)

I have a problem with the wind direction indication from my ST60 wind instrument - always shows starboard about 150 deg. I searched the forum and found the Raymarine voltage levels:
"Using a digital volt meter you should see the following readings: Red to Screen: 8V, Blue to Screen: Variable 2 to 6V, Green to Screen: Variable 2 to 6V , Yellow to Screen: Variable 0 to 8V". Also, I found that the blue and green wires define the wind direction, while yellow is wind speed.

I made the voltage readings, and they fall in these ranges. I also have a ST60 multi display at the nav station, which shows the same wind direction as the cockpit analog display.

If I disconnect either the green or blue wires at the mast junction box the digital (multi) display goes to the horizontal three bars, indicating a broken connection. So it appears that all connections are good.

My question is: does anybody know HOW the indicated wind direction is related to the voltages on the blue and green wires? Is it the difference between the voltages? What should I see when the wind is astern, on the nose, or on the beam to either side? I don't want to run up the mast to fetch the unit until I have thoroughly ascertained that it is faulty.

Thanks,
Derek
 
M

Monty Miller

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Feb 27, 2004
142
Hunter 29.5 Lake Travis, TX
Did you try to recalibrate by turnng the boat slowly through 360 degrees 3 times as described by the manual?

If the voltage reading is the same no matter what direction the wind direction vane is then maybe the vane is free wheeling on the axle and the set screw needs to tightened or the transponder is dead. Did you check the voltage readings at the head unit(cockpit) and make sure all the electrical connections are good? The head unit may be deffective. I also have the multidisplay below and IIRC it displays only the information received from the head displays and not from the individual wind transponders or the other sensors such as the depth finder or the speed paddle. Did you talk to Raymarine technical support? My gut feeling is the head unit or the wind direction transponder.

I hope this helps.
 
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Rick486

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Oct 1, 2007
1,865
Boston Whaler Super Sport Pt. Judith
My ST60 AWI loses it's way occasionally also. When it does, I go into dlr cal mode and "Reset Factory Settings". That usually works. Also, as was suggested, running the boat in circles a few times helps as well.
 
NYSail

NYSail

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Jan 6, 2006
3,184
Beneteau 423 Mt. Sinai, NY
Derek,

I was having the same problem for years.... Worked great the first two years, then only the wind speed worked with the direction always pointing to starboard. This spring I was going through all connections again before I shipped it off to Raymarine and found that in the small junction box that they give you for your mast connection, a small peice of the aluminim insulation was in close proximity and even touching one of the wires when I crammed alll the wires and closed the box.... I cleaned all the insulation and wow... she works. I feel like an idiot, but hey better that I found it. Might be your situation and worth a look.

Good Luck!
Greg
 
B

Bill1445

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Jan 22, 2008
1
Catalina 250 Stockton CA
Derek Rowell Pearson 422 said:
Been away from here for too long... :)

I have a problem with the wind direction indication from my ST60 wind instrument - always shows starboard about 150 deg. I searched the forum and found the Raymarine voltage levels:
"Using a digital volt meter you should see the following readings: Red to Screen: 8V, Blue to Screen: Variable 2 to 6V, Green to Screen: Variable 2 to 6V , Yellow to Screen: Variable 0 to 8V". Also, I found that the blue and green wires define the wind direction, while yellow is wind speed.

I made the voltage readings, and they fall in these ranges. I also have a ST60 multi display at the nav station, which shows the same wind direction as the cockpit analog display.

If I disconnect either the green or blue wires at the mast junction box the digital (multi) display goes to the horizontal three bars, indicating a broken connection. So it appears that all connections are good.

My question is: does anybody know HOW the indicated wind direction is related to the voltages on the blue and green wires? Is it the difference between the voltages? What should I see when the wind is astern, on the nose, or on the beam to either side? I don't want to run up the mast to fetch the unit until I have thoroughly ascertained that it is faulty.

Thanks,
Derek
Click to expand
One voltage represents the sine of the wind angle and the other represents the cosine. Both are needed to, among other things, resolve reciprocal wind directions. Since voltage of one polarity is all that's available, the reference is probably generated as 1/2 the applied voltage. Running in a circle and recording both voltages, say every 10 seconds or so, should give you a good picture of what's going on. If the voltages are "in phase" my first guess would be a short between the "active" wires. -bill
 
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