ST 60 Wind Transducer Alignment - pdf

[SailBobC]

Attached is an Adobe .pdf file covering details of plug and pin connections, a functional test and physical alignment of an ST 60 Wind direction transducer. The information was gathered from many sources, this forum, dismantling my transducer, clues from RM etc.

Hope this helps those struggling to get this instrument working correctly.

BobC

[rgleason]

Better than RayMarine support for the ST60 Wind Sensor!!! Thanks.

[Steveb63]

Thanks BobC
Do you have any idea what the actual electronic components are ?
ie Hall effect transistor etc.
I got hit by lightning and the mechanical side is ok but the actual components are fried.
Just wondered about availability before I go get it down.
Many Thanks Steve

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Steveb63.
Sorry to hear you got "hit".

[hogfighter]

Thanks, BobC. Do you have the information to properly do a factory reset on this piece of equipment? The Raymarine instructions are horrible, and I've yet to find a Raymarine rep that knows enough about it to walk me through it. Thanks!

[rgleason]

Here is a portion of a earlier email to Raymarine which describes what we have tried after reading the manual. Perhaps it will help you.

Why doesn't the wind vane reset to factory and linearize properly?
Occasionally when wind speed is showing properly on the screen (when or why this happens is undetermined at this point), we have been able to get into Dealer Cal mode and then we try to reset to factory default F1, momentary close, then do 2 large turns at greater than 4 knots, go straight, listen for beep and unit to reset (never seems to happen), then go straight and use tack and reset keys to adjust vector on the wind dial to be straight ahead.

We have been unable to successfully factory reset (as far as we know) and linearize (as far as we know) our Raymarine Wind Instrument. Are we doing something wrong?
We follow instructions:
1. Hold down Disp + True/App at the same time, about 15-20 seconds until "dLr" comes up and let go (hold through "CAL" and "7.0" (software version number). Screen should say "dLr" for dealer calibration mode.
2. Within 4 seconds, Hit and release VMG + Tack keys at the same time. This gets you into Dealer Cal, the screen will say UC!, (It says "UC0")
3. Now hit the DISP key4-5 times through various menu selections for sensitivity, etc, until the screen says F0, (Sometimes I have actually reset the sensitivity settings back to the factory default as I page through the menu, to see if it makes a difference.)
4. Hit either VMG or Tack and change the dispaly to F1, (which is Factory Reset)
5. Then press DISP once, the unit will blink off then back on again. (yes it does generally do this.)
6. Next take the boat out and do 2 large circles at at least 4 knots of speed to linearize the dispaly, it should beep at you. (It does not seem to beep. In fact occasionally the wind direction arm in the display will track properly as we turn, only about 45 degrees, then suddenly it will freeze up and point directly up with dashes in the display as if we are to now head straight upwind. NOTE: this is similar behavior to when we first installed the unit, ...perhaps this wind instrument has always been on the verge of failure!...).
7. Once you have done the 2 circles, head into the wind. (When it does complete It always seems to take much less than 2 circles before the dial freezes straight up and dashes appear! What is wrong here? The unit has not completed the linearization of the whole circle, even once! This is the same problem we had when we first installed the unit, see our emails...
8. Then hold down DISP and the True/APP key for 2 seconds until it says CAL onscreen.
9. Now with the boat heading dead into the wind, press eithr VMG or TACK repeatedly until the pointer is zeroed out at 12 o'clock, (We have occasionally been able to set the wind angle to align with boat direction, but the afterwards we don't seem to have a working wind vane that shows both wind speed and angle. Occassionally it will partly work. For example after spending about 2.5 hours one afternoon with no success, [but being able to get wind speed indication only after we turned off instrument power and then turned it on again] we then turned the instruments off for the night. The next morning we turned them on, windspeed showed momentarily then 3 dashes. I poked the Disp button or possibly the Disp +True/App keys,and the unit started working showing wind direction and speed! This was short lived because as we turned about 45 degrees, the needle suddenly went straight up and froze and the wind speed disappeared into 3 dashes.
10. Then press and hold DISP and TRUE/APP for 2 seconds to exit and save.


Is our Rotavecta Forward Sensor A22012 #5530399 not working? Can it be repaired? At what cost? How long to repair?
There are several possibilities:
1. Bad Rotavecta ST60 Wind w Frwrd Sensor A22012 #167986
2. Bad wiring at the top of the mast (checked this spring when mast was stepped and rotavecta put on). Wind speed and direction seemed to be working correctly this spring, so I think wiring is unlikely, but it could be a problem.
3.Bad Instrumentt. It seems to work, but it does not seem to be getting the data it needs.

[rgleason]

Here is the rest of the story. I have a little time and found the following correspondence. (See previous message.) We lived with no Wind sensor last year. After we took down the mast, I removed the head of the mast and found that two wires had chafed because of jib halyard and the way the end of the wire looped up to the top of mast fitting. In the fall I repaired the wires and relocated the jib halyard return sheave into the center of the masthead to completely avoid the wires. I thought we had repaired the problem and stepped the mast and mounted the sensor this spring. No such luck. The Display still showed 3 dashes and would not reset even after resetting to factory reset. So it is going into Raymarine now. Below was written to Raymarine with their response. By the way, ours is not a Rotavecta as stated above, ours has a separate wind direction feather/vane.


Subject: ST60 Wind
Question:Had trouble last year, could not linearize or get working all summer. Took mast down and two wires were frayed at the head of the mast inside. Repaired those last fall. Spring, stepped mast, checked & plugged in all connections, and then tried wind indicator .... no wind speed or direction,... display is blank. Held two left buttons down for about 12 seconds and took steps to reset to factory settings (not boat show mode). Did several times hoping I would get some wind speed and direction indication, instead the wind direction is frozen directly ahead and the wind speed display has four dashes with the apparent and true blocks blinking. What does this mean? 1. Do I have to turn the boat 2 times because it is trying to linearize? 2. Or does it mean the wires are still a problem? 3. Or the standard wind instrument or panel need to be checked by sending them in? Thanks

Technician Notes:
The unit is not seeing any data from the masthead. I believe at this point the masthead and display need to be sent in for service. product repair service may be obtained by returning the unit to: Raymarine Product Repair Center 9 Townsend West Nashua, NH 03063 Products sent in for repair should be packaged in their original carton or similar sturdy packing materials. If sending in a multifunction display or chartplotter, please be sure to remove your chart cards and back up your waypoints before sending in. You should also insure your unit for its replacement value and ship it by a method that is trackable. Please include with your product a brief note including: the nature of the problem or repair to be performed. your return shipping address. a day-time telephone number where you can be reached to confirm billing information or for additional information related to the repair of the product. It is not necessary to obtain any kind of return authorization before sending a product in for repair. The Product Repair Center is open Monday through Friday 8:15 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Should you wish to inquire about the repair status of your unit, contact the Product Repair Center at: 603-324-7900 Please have the product serial number, ready when you call. We will do everything possible to make the repair and return your unit as quickly as possible

[Efraim]

I solved my wind instrument problems this year by going up the mast removing the wind instrument along with all the wiring and throwing it in the trash bin - all my problems went away. )

[rgleason]

Definitely an option to be considered, but it is very helpful when sailing at night and it frees the helmsman's position up, is more comfortable and prevents neck crick's!

[rgleason]

Customer: ST60 Wind.
When we installed the instrument and turned it on, we were at a slip. The unit went into calibration mode and stayed there for awhile. Then stopped and wind speed showed. Then I read the manual for calibration.

How do I get the instrument to go into that mode again? Which one of the calibration modes in the book is the initialization, so I can do it again properly?

Raymarine Response:

First, lets reset the unit. Go into Dealer Cal, just as it says in the manual (hold down the DISP and the True/APP keys for about 15-20 seconds, then when it says dLr onscreen, let go and within 4 seconds press and release (like a doorbell) both the VMG and Tack keys at the same time.

This gets you into Dealer Cal, the screen will say UC!, now hit the DISP key4-5 times until the screen says F0, hit either VMG or Tack and change the dispaly to F1, then press DISP once, the unit will blink off then back on again.

Next take the boat out and do 2 large circles at at least 4 knots of speed to linearize the dispaly, it should beep at you.

Once you have done the 2 circles, head into the wind, then hold down DISP and the True/APP key for 2 seconds until it says CAL onscreen.

Now with the boat heading dead into the wind, press eithr VMG or TACK repeatedly until the pointer is zeroed out at 12 o'clock, then press and hold DISP and TRUE/APP for 2 seconds to exit and save.

[rgleason]

ST60 Wind instrument was removed and sent to Raymarine. Two weeks later I was advised that the display's board had to be replaced because it would not hold the calibration (thus the unit would have to be recalibrated each time it was turned on, a big pain.) Cost $225. Also they said there was a $45 "bench charge" for the Wind instrument (which worked, so I have to check cabling again). They never mentioned a "bench charge" at the time I inquired about repair! I note that there are two st60 wind instruments on ebay for less than $100 and one was used as a dealer demo model and works. Rebuild kits on ebay for the wind instrument are $37. Of course, I found no replacement display boards on ebay.

[Benetoe]

I have a st60 wind
it wont reset, it wont respond to calibration sequence keys
the wind direction works
the speed does not
- raymarine say chk wires - over & over ...... I wonder about them ?
I have variable voltage across yellow/shield 3~4 volts.
unit stuck in VMG mode reading 0.0 knots
I cant use display button to change units or brightness etc..... (no buttons work)
mast head is fine!!!!!!!

is there a flash resent sequence or a something on the PCB to resent things?

[SailBobC]

Looks like you need to take the head into your Raymarine rep for repair. Expensive but a bit less than a new one!