Which Autopilot system should I buy?

xcyz · Sep 22, 2012

Hate it when they don't accept orders...

Not sure but which ever one you do decide on make sure she also does dishes, floors, windows and washes the clothes.. Oh and cooks too...

Ken13559 · Sep 22, 2012

Kenichi-san, I replaces my ST4000 MK2 with the SPX-5. My experience is the X-5 is much better. Although it gets pretty "sensitive" in course keeping, it takes awhile to learn. Also you could set the rudder and course keeping sensitive to your liking. I have the ST6001 display so perhaps you could change the ST7000 . You can order from Defender or WM.
Fair wind.

Bill Roosa · Sep 23, 2012

Can't speak to the "what should you buy" question but it sounds like the nit just needs to be calibrated (run it in a circle while in calibrate mode) to get it to read the direction correctly. You have to do this every year or two and it only takes about 5 minutes and can be done from the helm. just enter calibrate mode, turn her in a nice constant rate turn for at least one complete turn around (till the unit beeps) and exit calibrate mode. It is handy to have the GPS connected to the SeaTalk network as you get the option to "use GPS heading" after the unit beeps and before leaving calibrate mode.
As far as not accepting your input, that could be a corrosion in the connection problem. In most installation the connections are only at the various components and there are none between components.

Bob S · Sep 23, 2012

I'm in the same boat, pardon the pun. My ST4000 won't calibrate? Bill, I have tried calibrating, the manual says to circle under 2kts. I have to take it in and out of gear to circle slow but it won't take. Is this a sign the system has died?

I'm a little confused. On the newer model "Raymarine SPX-5 Wheelpilot with P70 control head", does it need the fluxgate compass?
It's part of the package:

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|344|2028687|2028710&id=950311

and not part of another package:

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|344|2028687|2028710&id=1825866

sgarber · Sep 23, 2012

I had the same issue and replaced the fluxgate. Now everything is working.

Bill Roosa · Sep 23, 2012

The speed of the boat has noting to do with calibrating. It is the rate of turn. You could do it a WOT and a large diameter circle or just hand rotate the boat at zero knots. It is not how fast you go forward it is how fast (degrees / second) you turn. The fluxgate has no way of telling how fast you are going, only how fast you are turning. In fact it would be easier at WOT as you have more control over the turn with all that water going over the rudder. Since they (going from memory so do look up the rate in the (gasp) manual) want something around 2 degrees / second, that would imply that it should take you 180 seconds to complete a 360 or around 3 minutes. If memory serve the control head will help you control the rate of turn by flashing "slower" or "faster" or some sort of indicator.
The fluxgate compass is an integral part of any autopilot. The units from Raymarine are sealed and you probably threw away a good unit that just needed the wires / terminals on the control box cleaned. The signals from a fluxgate are very low voltage signals which is why they suffer a lot from corrosion and also power carrying cables nearby causing induced voltages in them. Cable routing is VERY important in fluxgate installation.

Bill Roosa · Sep 23, 2012

As for the Defender links and what components each needs, I would note that the X-5 does not show or mention any way for the person at the helm to control the unit.
I'd go to the Raymarine site and get the installation manual

Which Autopilot system should I buy?

ksagara

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xcyz

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Ken13559

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ksagara

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Bill Roosa

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Bob S

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sgarber

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Bill Roosa

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Bill Roosa

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