I installed a Simrad WP10 on my H260 last week and got to try it out this weekend. It only worked (held a bearing) in one direction (NE) whereas in any other direction it would, within a few minutes, steer off to the right or left without coming back on course. I changed the gain and seastate to almost every setting available without making a difference. The manual says I need to calibrate the fluxgate compass, but I needed calm waters and little wind (of which there was none this weekend). Does anyone know whether or not this will help? Is there something else that I should try?
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Call Simrad!
Al: Call Simrad, they have excellent customer service. Be sure that you do not have anything magnetic that is too close to the unit too (like cockpit speakers).
Al: Call Simrad, they have excellent customer service. Be sure that you do not have anything magnetic that is too close to the unit too (like cockpit speakers).
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AL
Test it with the speakers off.
Al: You can test this with the speakers off. This should not be a problem with the stereo turn off. I know a friend of mine had this problem on his Hunter 31. I have NO idea what is toooo close.
Al: You can test this with the speakers off. This should not be a problem with the stereo turn off. I know a friend of mine had this problem on his Hunter 31. I have NO idea what is toooo close.
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Allen
Calibrate Compass
For what it's worth, I just went through the same thing with my RayMarine unit. It turns out that calibrating the compass is one of the most important things to do. I'm guessing that the engineering behind the Simrad unit draws from similar technology, so I'd be surprised if your unit is different. Basically, the compass calibration allows your compass to compensate for magnetic fields that exist in your boat. Cockpit speakers have big magnetic fields, so 4' of space will most likely not suffice. Having the speakers on or off will not affect the magnetic profile, so I wouldn't count on fixing the problem by not running your autopilot & your music at the same time. Case in point: I had a marine radio (much smaller speakers & much smaller magnetic field) that was about 4' away & it drastically affected the autopilot compass. After I moved the compass mounting location away from the radio a few more feet the deviation value went from 13 to 7. I'd start by calibrating the compass. Whatever value Simrad suggests for magnetic interferance, make sure you're well within their limits before giving up on the autopilot. I finally got mine working well & IT IS AWESOME!! Good Luck! Allen s/v Drambuie Catalina 30, Hull #632
For what it's worth, I just went through the same thing with my RayMarine unit. It turns out that calibrating the compass is one of the most important things to do. I'm guessing that the engineering behind the Simrad unit draws from similar technology, so I'd be surprised if your unit is different. Basically, the compass calibration allows your compass to compensate for magnetic fields that exist in your boat. Cockpit speakers have big magnetic fields, so 4' of space will most likely not suffice. Having the speakers on or off will not affect the magnetic profile, so I wouldn't count on fixing the problem by not running your autopilot & your music at the same time. Case in point: I had a marine radio (much smaller speakers & much smaller magnetic field) that was about 4' away & it drastically affected the autopilot compass. After I moved the compass mounting location away from the radio a few more feet the deviation value went from 13 to 7. I'd start by calibrating the compass. Whatever value Simrad suggests for magnetic interferance, make sure you're well within their limits before giving up on the autopilot. I finally got mine working well & IT IS AWESOME!! Good Luck! Allen s/v Drambuie Catalina 30, Hull #632
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Tom s/v Gaia
Move the speakers!!!!!
Just turning the sound system off will NOT make the problem go away, the magnet in the speakers will still effect things. Just move the speaker to see if that is the problem. fair winds tom s/v gaia
Just turning the sound system off will NOT make the problem go away, the magnet in the speakers will still effect things. Just move the speaker to see if that is the problem. fair winds tom s/v gaia
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AL
fluxgate compass was jammed
Thanks for all your suggestions. After removing speakers, GPS, and fishfinder off the boat I tried calibrating the compass on the WP10. After circling around for 1h without successfully calibrating, SIMRAD indicated that the compass might be off of it's pin and unable to rotate. I opened it up and sure enough found that the compass was jammed and not able to turn. I've ordered a new WP10 to exchange...hopefully it's compass will work!! Incidently, circling around in the harbor endlessly attracts a bit off attention. A helicopter flew pretty close around us for ~10 minutes and then a police boat came racing over. After checking IDs and explaining to them what we were trying to do, they told us an LNG tanker was coming in and that we had to move out of the way.
Thanks for all your suggestions. After removing speakers, GPS, and fishfinder off the boat I tried calibrating the compass on the WP10. After circling around for 1h without successfully calibrating, SIMRAD indicated that the compass might be off of it's pin and unable to rotate. I opened it up and sure enough found that the compass was jammed and not able to turn. I've ordered a new WP10 to exchange...hopefully it's compass will work!! Incidently, circling around in the harbor endlessly attracts a bit off attention. A helicopter flew pretty close around us for ~10 minutes and then a police boat came racing over. After checking IDs and explaining to them what we were trying to do, they told us an LNG tanker was coming in and that we had to move out of the way.
Thanks for the feed back!
Al: Thanks for the feed back. That is a weird one, probably something that happened in shipping.
Al: Thanks for the feed back. That is a weird one, probably something that happened in shipping.
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AL
last update on WP10
I replaced the original WP10 unit with a new one. Unlike the previous unit, the new one makes the "clicking" noise of the internal compass when moved. I installed the new one and left all the things in place (cockpit speakers, GPS, and fishfinder). I sailed for 4 h yesterday with the WP10 running - it worked like a charm and held a course pretty well in every direction! There doesn't seem to be any interference from the speakers 4 feet away.
I replaced the original WP10 unit with a new one. Unlike the previous unit, the new one makes the "clicking" noise of the internal compass when moved. I installed the new one and left all the things in place (cockpit speakers, GPS, and fishfinder). I sailed for 4 h yesterday with the WP10 running - it worked like a charm and held a course pretty well in every direction! There doesn't seem to be any interference from the speakers 4 feet away.
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