My
Autohelm 4000
wheel pilot finally gave up the ghost. I came across a smoking deal on a new, open box
Garmin Reactor 40 Corepack. I now need to allocate a drive unit, and I want to stay electro-mechanical. On my short list is
Garmin's Class A (AKA
Jefa LD100) drive. Unfortunately, and as most of you know, these drives retail for around
$1800.
Question for you
autopilot geeks:
GlideForce manufactures a
linear drive unit that appears to check all the boxes when compared to Garmin's Class A drive unit (full specs
HERE). The unit can also be had with built-in limit and position feedback.
GlideForce G17-121012-1-65
Linear Drive Unit:
- 12V DC
- 12" stroke.
- 1000 lbs. dynamic force.
- 1.5"/sec no load speed.
- 1.1"/sec max load speed.
- 3.6 no load amp draw.
- 26.6 full load amp draw.
- IP65
This linear drive unit can be had for
$470.00. Am I missing something here, or do you guys think this could be a legitimate candidate?