B&G Compass Display

[Manateeman]

Have a Brookes and Gatehouse Synchro Compass display in almost perfect condition.
Is there any compass which can be connected directly?
Thanks in advance for advice.
Mark

[Bycrick]

The old B&G systems, like my Hydra 2000 used small two-phase synchro motors in the displays, driven by Sine-Cosine signals from the computer. I vaguely remember that some early flux-gate compasses also put out sine-cosine data. But how you’d get the voltages the same and be able to calibrate the combination sounds like more work than it’s worth.

[Manateeman]

It has SIN, COS, Common, 0 Volts, two post labeled lighting.
The compass is marked every 5 degrees.
I also have the wind angle display.
I don’t need accuracy on the compass. I’d be happy if we could connect it to a wind vane.

[Bycrick]

In theory, if the mechanical sending unit has sin/cos outputs, you can theoretically connect them to the inputs on the display. But in practice, there’s a lot more to worry about. For example, the sensor has to be driven with AC. I remember the old compass that was on my OLD Alpha autopilot had wires labeled sin and cos. They went into a potted black box. Unless you’re looking for a project, I wouldn’t think it’s worth it. All the Hydra 2000 analog displays work the same way.