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Old 14-07-2013, 11:07   #1
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Grrrr.. ST6002 SmartPilot Controller setting

This is one for the smart CF members.

How do we get our autopilot controller back to 'True' instead of 'Magnetic'?

Background story: We were in fairly big seas and the boat lurched as I was turning off the watermaker at the panel. I accidentally hit the switch below which was the autopilot. I switched it back on again immediately but it wasn't about to let me off lightly.
The screen flashed 'Elec Gyro' 'Fail' repeatedly and refused to respond to any obvious button pushing, while I was hand steering.
Eventually we found that turning it off for a few minutes, maybe 5, and turning it on again gave us the usual 'Standby' from which we could get our heading and hit 'Auto'.

It seemed like we were back in business, but every now and again the boat will decide to wander 20 - 30 degrees off course before correcting. Usually I've already corrected manually when I see it happening.
The only difference I can see from the good old reliable days is that the Info window now says 'mag' after the heading whereas before it said 'true'.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as usual

Vic
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Old 14-07-2013, 12:18   #2
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Re: Grrrr.. ST6002 SmartPilot Controller setting

Quote:
Originally Posted by VirtualVagabond View Post
This is one for the smart CF members.

How do we get our autopilot controller back to 'True' instead of 'Magnetic'?

Background story: We were in fairly big seas and the boat lurched as I was turning off the watermaker at the panel. I accidentally hit the switch below which was the autopilot. I switched it back on again immediately but it wasn't about to let me off lightly.
The screen flashed 'Elec Gyro' 'Fail' repeatedly and refused to respond to any obvious button pushing, while I was hand steering.
Eventually we found that turning it off for a few minutes, maybe 5, and turning it on again gave us the usual 'Standby' from which we could get our heading and hit 'Auto'.

It seemed like we were back in business, but every now and again the boat will decide to wander 20 - 30 degrees off course before correcting. Usually I've already corrected manually when I see it happening.
The only difference I can see from the good old reliable days is that the Info window now says 'mag' after the heading whereas before it said 'true'.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as usual

Vic
magnetic or true should not make any difference to the ap's ability to steer a coarse,my guess is you need to reset the yaw,and response time on the ap,the ap will steer the course it is on when you go from standby to auto mode regardless of the headings correct bearing
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Old 14-07-2013, 12:31   #3
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Re: Grrrr.. ST6002 SmartPilot Controller setting

copy of the st 6002 handbook here


https://flir.app.box.com/s/nwf2s5ha9...9/3273067501/1

and here for the rest

http://www.raymarine.com/view/?id=5362
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Old 14-07-2013, 14:44   #4
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Re: Grrrr.. ST6002 SmartPilot Controller setting

Yep. True Mag no difference but here too I prefer True as this is what I read from all other instruments (gps/plotter) etc.

Try going by the book, avoid hard reset if you can. Hard reset makes you calibrate again. Grrrrrr...

b.
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Old 15-07-2013, 15:22   #5
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Re: Grrrr.. ST6002 SmartPilot Controller setting

Thanks for the input

I've got the manual but it doesn't specifically tell you how to change from magnetic to true or vice versa. I would have thought that would be simple.

I've reset the response time. I didn't find anything regarding yaw in the book.

As it happens we had to motor from Portobello to Colon, about 3.5 hours and the AP behaved just fine.
I can live with magnetic and just make the appropriate course adjustments so I still end up where I want to be.
It was just that the change to magnetic appeared to correspond with the erratic behavior.

I still think there may have bee a problem with the elec. gyro but I'm not sure where that fits in the whole picture.

Vic
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Old 15-07-2013, 15:30   #6
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Re: Grrrr.. ST6002 SmartPilot Controller setting

If it has "forgotten" the compass heading setting it has probably lost all the calibration data.
I would go through the calibration procedure again.

I agree with the others the change from True to magnetic should not effect the ability to steer.

There should also be a small G on the screen (at least there is for most of the Raymarine autopilots) to indicate that the gyro is working.
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Old 15-07-2013, 16:09   #7
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Re: Grrrr.. ST6002 SmartPilot Controller setting

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If it has "forgotten" the compass heading setting it has probably lost all the calibration data.
I would go through the calibration procedure again.

I agree with the others the change from True to magnetic should not effect the ability to steer.

There should also be a small G on the screen (at least there is for most of the Raymarine autopilots) to indicate that the gyro is working.
Just turned it on to check and there is no "g" on the screen.
I've got STANDBY or AUTO, 322 (happens to be the heading at anchor), then MAG, and at the bottom of the screen the rudder indicator.

Could we be onto something here?

Vic
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Old 15-07-2013, 16:26   #8
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Re: Grrrr.. ST6002 SmartPilot Controller setting

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(...) I've got the manual but it doesn't specifically tell you how to change from magnetic to true or vice versa.(...)
Does not?
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Old 15-07-2013, 16:27   #9
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Re: Grrrr.. ST6002 SmartPilot Controller setting

vide page 42

http://www.lundskovs.dk/bavaria/manu...ilotSeries.pdf

I hope this is what you are looking for.

b.
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Old 15-07-2013, 17:19   #10
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Re: Grrrr.. ST6002 SmartPilot Controller setting

Quote:
Originally Posted by VirtualVagabond View Post
Thanks for the input

I've got the manual but it doesn't specifically tell you how to change from magnetic to true or vice versa. I would have thought that would be simple.

I've reset the response time. I didn't find anything regarding yaw in the book.

As it happens we had to motor from Portobello to Colon, about 3.5 hours and the AP behaved just fine.
I can live with magnetic and just make the appropriate course adjustments so I still end up where I want to be.
It was just that the change to magnetic appeared to correspond with the erratic behavior.

I still think there may have bee a problem with the elec. gyro but I'm not sure where that fits in the whole picture.

Vic
yaw=sea state or rudder response settings.

it sounds like you may have to recalibrate the gyro as well,the newer st6002 and st7000 models came with an upgraded gyro that was an add on in 6002 systems,so the system my have reverted to the older settings for the magnetic compass without the stabalised gyro that became standard in the newer models.

see barnakiels link to raymarine manual for sg 1,2,3 gyro units

S1G, S2G and S3G Smartpilots have a built-in yaw sensor (Gyro) which measures
the boat’s rate of turn. This information is used to enhance course keeping in
adverse weather and sailing conditions.
here!!!!
Non-G systems do not contain a built-in Gyro. These can be upgraded with a
dealer-fitted internal Gyro or connecting an external Gyro unit.
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Old 15-07-2013, 18:10   #11
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Re: Grrrr.. ST6002 SmartPilot Controller setting

We also have an ST6002 ap controller and that is the secret. It is only a controller and repeater. You must obtain the appropriate manual to configure the autopilot to the controller.

We recently upgraded our old Raymarine ap brain to a SPX-SOL to run CR Pump and directional solenoids. What AP brain do you have. Raymarine has a tech forum that you can now ask questions and I posted a link to their site previously on this site. They are a great help.

If I remember you have to go into the calibration settings on the controller to change from Mag to True however all you are doing is either repeating the data from your flux gate compass(mag) or your chartplotter/gps(true),

Unless the controller is telling you that calibration is required you have not lost your settings. The heading and deviation settings can be inputted manually in the calibration mode if correction from original sea trial settings are required.

Sorry I can't help more but the boat is in Thailand with my manuals and we're land bound here in Canada waiting for the winter sailing season to begin. It is amazing what you forget when you have been gone 4 months.

Just a note, if you have recently upgraded your brain you can cause things to go haywire if you interconnect the Seatalk and ng bus through the brain. If you want to put the brain on the ng bus you have to get a converter and connect the controller on the ng bus as well as disconnecting it from the seatalk. Your seatalk usually has to go directly into the chartplotter on the seatalk connection provided and then all data will be repeated across both networks. Just because I had a problem with this. What happens when you are continually upgrading systems.
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Old 15-07-2013, 18:12   #12
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Re: Grrrr.. ST6002 SmartPilot Controller setting

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Originally Posted by barnakiel View Post
vide page 42

http://www.lundskovs.dk/bavaria/manu...ilotSeries.pdf

I hope this is what you are looking for.

b.
You're a dead set legend

We've got our heading back to 'true' again.

Now I'd better read a bit more and see what I can find for the gyro 'g' display.
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Old 15-07-2013, 18:23   #13
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Re: Grrrr.. ST6002 SmartPilot Controller setting

Which AP brain do you have?
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Old 15-07-2013, 18:25   #14
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Re: Grrrr.. ST6002 SmartPilot Controller setting

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Now I'd better read a bit more and see what I can find for the gyro 'g' display.
I have a Raymarine Spx-10 and 6002 head unit. I have never seen a "g" displayed.
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Old 15-07-2013, 18:25   #15
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Re: Grrrr.. ST6002 SmartPilot Controller setting

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Originally Posted by atoll View Post
yaw=sea state or rudder response settings.

it sounds like you may have to recalibrate the gyro as well,the newer st6002 and st7000 models came with an upgraded gyro that was an add on in 6002 systems,so the system my have reverted to the older settings for the magnetic compass without the stabalised gyro that became standard in the newer models.

see barnakiels link to raymarine manual for sg 1,2,3 gyro units

S1G, S2G and S3G Smartpilots have a built-in yaw sensor (Gyro) which measures
the boat’s rate of turn. This information is used to enhance course keeping in
adverse weather and sailing conditions.
here!!!!
Non-G systems do not contain a built-in Gyro. These can be upgraded with a
dealer-fitted internal Gyro or connecting an external Gyro unit.
The physical manual I've got is for an ST6002..... no 'G' in the name, so I probably don't have the gyro model after all.
What made me think there was one was the 'Elec.Gyro' 'Fail' messages that were flashing after I turned the autopilot off accidentally and immediately back on again. Maybe it's brain was scrambled and if the same display unit is used for both gyro and non gyro models, well anything could happen I guess.
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