Auto Pilot

[Jeanlouise]

I have a Raymarine ST 6002 belt driven wheel pilot. Is it possible to replace the belt drive unit with a below deck linear drive? And use the same head and compass?

[RaymondR]

I'd say yes, depending on the maximum current draw of the linear drive.

I got rid of my wheel drive part because of the fragile gears and small belt and built a DIY unit with the 300 Watt drive motor from an electric bike and an auto timing belt and did not manage to burn out the original head unit.

[olaf hart]

You will need to upgrade the computer, a linear drive uses more amps than a wheel drive.

Another option is to use the control unit and computer to drive a high power switching unit, like the Simple H..

[RaymondR]

If you go into dealer setup you will see that the control head has provision for numerous models. Checking the specifications for the largest capacity unit will tell you the current capacity of the computer.

[Jeanlouise]

Thank you! I will check the computer capacity with my ray marina dealer.