Raymarine Problems

[Paolo]

Three months ago I had installed:
new A70D Chart Plotter/Sonar;
ST60 Autopilot Control;
SPX 10 Course Computer
and other Raymarine Electronics.
My yacht is a Swanson 38, cutter rigged in excellent condition. It had for many years a Coursemaster Autopilot working well.

The Raymarine Autopilot, commissioned several times by both dealer and Raymarine Technicians, is still unable to hold a steady course.
It sways more than 10 degrees to Starboard and to Port under any sea conditions.

I am told the equipment is new and the commissioning tricky.

Has anybody the same equipment, and how is it performing?

Thank you!

Paolo

[Ram]

Palo, I had this happen after about 6 months of use, so I had the factor rep in Malta come aboard, he said he knew how to fix it, he then pulled the PC board out un sodered a small part then turned it around and put it back in and now works great, its a known issue,

[Masquerade]

Paolo,
I just installed a Raymarine autopilot and I followed the manufacturers manuals and destructions (sic). Eventually I had to set the thing up on the highest settings and work backwards. The manuals seem to suggest you start from the lowest and when I did that the boat just wandered off course. I thought it might be my poor sail management but when I worked from the top backwards I realised that it was not me...It works well now...
Don't know what bit might have been removed from the PC Board... would like to know more about that...
Colin

[Paolo]

Originally Posted by Masquerade

Paolo,
I just installed a Raymarine autopilot and I followed the manufacturers manuals and destructions (sic). Eventually I had to set the thing up on the highest settings and work backwards. The manuals seem to suggest you start from the lowest and when I did that the boat just wandered off course. I thought it might be my poor sail management but when I worked from the top backwards I realised that it was not me...It works well now...
Don't know what bit might have been removed from the PC Board... would like to know more about that...
Colin

Thanks, Colin.
Will suggest this to the dealer/installer. For the time being, I prefer to have them to bring the Autopilot, hopefully, to proper functioning.
Will let you know.
Paolo

[Paolo]

Originally Posted by Masquerade

Paolo,
I just installed a Raymarine autopilot and I followed the manufacturers manuals and destructions (sic). Eventually I had to set the thing up on the highest settings and work backwards. The manuals seem to suggest you start from the lowest and when I did that the boat just wandered off course. I thought it might be my poor sail management but when I worked from the top backwards I realised that it was not me...It works well now...
Don't know what bit might have been removed from the PC Board... would like to know more about that...
Colin

Colin:

It looks as my problem has been fixed.

The Technical Manager of Raymarine for this part of the world came himself on board, with my dealer.

They installed a rudder reference sensor and replaced the course computer.

After swinging the fluxgate compass and a carrying a series of other commissioning operations which the computer itself manages, for the first time after months from first installation, the autopilot is holding its course.

The rudder reference sensor is an accessory to the SPX 10 Course Computer and ST60 Autopilot Control. I was advised on purchase that Raymarine considers such sensor as not essential for this model/boat combination.

My conclusion is that, in doubt, it's better to get the sensor as it is a minor cost in comparison to overall expenditure and possible benefit.

I must add that the course computer might have been itself faulty, I do not know for certain at the moment. Raymarine is test benching it and will let me know.

Good thing is the Raymarine stood by their product.

Keeping my fingers crossed...

Paolo

[RBEmerson]

FWIW, I just put an X-30 in our boat and it worked out of the box. I replaced an existing ST6000+ / Type 300 computer pack and used the existing rudder reference sender.

I do have one problem, however, which still hasn't been sorted out: the reaction to even small amounts of cross-track error (about 50-100 feet) can produce sudden turns of 10 degrees or more until the XTE returns to zero. I've tried tinkering with gain, etc. with no success. But once on track, the boat steers die straight even when crossing big wakes, etc.

[Paolo]

I tried and it appears I have a similar problem. It doesn't worry me at the moment, though as it is not a feature I plan to use in the near future. If you resolve the matter, it would be good if you posted how you did it.

As to my system, it appears that it still has not been properly set by the installer, as the CharterPlotter does not communicate with the Autopilot.

For instance, when pressing GOTO and GOTOCURSOR softkeys the Autopilot doesn't react.

The installer is coming to have a look as it seems it is an installation problem.

My technical understanding is limited, as I suppose is for many users. The Manuals supplied and the information on the internet is, for me, less than friendly and complete.

[Pblais]

Not all authorized installers should be allowed on the boat. Auto pilots ain't easy for even an experienced installer. All the boats are different. A do it yourself install for a below decks system is not for the timid.

[David M]

Have all the standard settings for autopilots been eliminated such as Rudder, Rate of Turn, Counter Rudder and Yaw been eliminated? I don't have a modern Raymarine autopilot onboard but I am beginning to wonder if they eliminated settings that perhaps they should never have? It used to be that you could read your manual and learn what these settings meant and then tune your autopilot to your boats steering characteristics and to the sea conditions. It did not take an expert of any sort to do this. What, if any, autopilot settings does Raymarine have?

[Paolo]

Originally Posted by Pblais

Not all authorized installers should be allowed on the boat. Auto pilots ain't easy for even an experienced installer. All the boats are different. A do it yourself install for a below decks system is not for the timid.

Thanks, Paul, reassuring as always.
Paolo

[Paolo]

Originally Posted by David M

Have all the standard settings for autopilots been eliminated such as Rudder, Rate of Turn, Counter Rudder and Heading Sensitivity been eliminated? I don't have a modern Raymarine autopilot onboard but I am beginning to wonder if they eliminated settings that perhaps they should never have? It used to be that you could read your manual and learn what these settings meant and then tune your autopilot to the sea conditions. It did not take an expert of any sort to do this. What, if any, autopilot settings does Raymarine have?

I think you are spot on.
When the Technical Manager of Raymarine came onboard for the changeover of the faulty course computer/install of rudder sensor, he switched off (some of?) the autopilot settings. Probably he did not switch them on again. It is not something I feel I should try.
I will let you know what answer is supplied by Raymarine Australia.
Thanks.
Paolo

[BlueSovereign]

[quote=Pblais;309089]Not all authorized installers should be allowed on the boat. quote]
Amen!

[Equinox]

We just installed a Raymarine x-10 autopilot with an ST-70 controller. I was surprised that the fluxgate compass was off as far as it was after doing the 360's. We put in the correction, about 120 degrees and it appears to work. When we tried it out in flat calm it held course within 1 degree. So far so good. We plan to redo the 360's and give it a real trial this weekend.

[RBEmerson]

I wouldn't worry overly about the 120° change if this is a fresh installation. The state of the X10's logic is undefined prior to setup. What does matter is the deviation score. anything under about 5° is fine. For some reason we keep seeing 6° no matter what we rearrange in the boat(*). Althought Raymarine says "5° or less", we've had no problems with 6°.

Now if we could do something about calming down the XTE correction-induced heading changes. Much of the time, the plotter shows a ruler-straight line, but every so often (once in 2-5 nm) we see little bouts of stepping off to one side and coming back on the rhumb line with roughly 10° turns. Weird... [/head scratch]


(*) The fluxgate is the same one used with the old Type 300 course computer the X30 replaced. Doing calibration turns with the old system, we consistently saw 2°, which is an excellent score. With the X30, we now see 6°, and can't do anything to make it go lower. We also have an ST70 control head (v. cool display, BTW).

[Equinox]

Our x-10 deviation was 10 % and we are planning on redoing it. I am not too concerned as the unit seems to steer the boat at this point, but we have only run it on auto for about 30 minutes so far. We installed the system on our own which is always a concern as I have no one to yell at except myself if it fails to perform.