Raymarine ST60/70 Wind

[KRMS]

I have an ST70 mast head unit feeding ST60 Wind and Close Hauled instruments.

Wind direction works perfectly

Wind speed only works intermittently, most reads 0.0, sometimes hunts between various reading, sometimes reads something credible.

I’m assume there is a poor connection somewhere: top of mast where Wind unit plugs in; inside cabin below mast where there is a junction box; back of instrument.

A few questions:

Does it sound like a bad connection?

If I want to fault find:
- which of the five cables should I be measuring between?
- am i looking for a particular voltage?

Any help greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Keith

[CapnSparky]

Raymarine Masthead Wind Transducer Test Raymarine Masthead Wind Transducer Test

Before performing the test below, the masthead transducer should be inspected to verify that its cups and/or vane has not been broken. Raymarine has produced two types of transducers for the ST60 Wind Instruments. If cups are shaped like trapezoids, then the part number for the service kit is E28081. If cups are shaped hemispheres, then the part number for the service kit is A28167. The currently manufactured masthead transducer (shown below) may be serviced with part number A28167:




To perform the check, you will need a multimeter, and a DC power supply. You will need to supply 8v to the masthead across the red and shield connections. Normally the ST50/ST60/i60 display head would be energized and provide this 8V, however in your case, you may need to power the masthead transducer seperately.

With the multimeter, check the following:

Set the multimeter to the 20V DC scale.

Test at the connections on the rear of the display head, or at the base of the mast (if you have a junction box installed), making sure that everything is connected and powered.

- Red to shield should read 8V DC steady. This is the masthead power supply, coming from the ST50/ST60 display head. If the head is damaged, you may need to provide this power from another source to test the masthead.

- Blue to Shield should read anywhere between 2V and 5.8V DC.
- Green to Shield should read anywhere between 2V and 5.8V DC.
Blue and green are a sine-cosine wind angle pair, where the voltage on each will smoothly change within this range, as the windvane rotates. If you see a voltage significantly outside this range, or the voltage on either colour is static as the windvane rotates then you have a problem in cabling, masthead connector or transducer.
The wind angle is what instruments use to detect the presence of the transducer, so if you have an incorrect voltage here you will often see no wind data at all.

- Yellow to shield should read between 0V and 5V DC (the exact voltage depends on the instrument: 3.2V is typical for ITC5, more like 5V on ST60.)
This is the wind speed signal. The voltage will toggle between 0V and the maximum (3-5V), twice per rotation of the anemometer cups. At low wind-speeds you'll see each individual pulse, but at higher wind-speeds your multimeter will average the voltage, in which case the the faster the wind is blowing, the higher the voltage will read.
If you're seeing wind angle but wind speed is dashes (-.- rather than 0.0 or something else) then the problem probably isn't your wind system at all but that you're looking at True Wind and don't have speed-through-water data (from a paddle-wheel, not GPS.) Apparent wind is measured, True is calculated from AW and STW.

Should the measured voltages be significantly different from that specified above, then the wind instrument should be sent to Raymarine’s Product Repair Center or your nearest technical service dealer to be bench checked / serviced.

RAYFAQ#
Steve - Raymarine - Moderator
Unregistered

[KRMS]

Originally Posted by CapnSparky

Raymarine Masthead Wind Transducer Test Raymarine Masthead Wind Transducer Test

Before performing the test below, the masthead transducer should be inspected to verify that its cups and/or vane has not been broken. Raymarine has produced two types of transducers for the ST60 Wind Instruments. If cups are shaped like trapezoids, then the part number for the service kit is E28081. If cups are shaped hemispheres, then the part number for the service kit is A28167. The currently manufactured masthead transducer (shown below) may be serviced with part number A28167:




To perform the check, you will need a multimeter, and a DC power supply. You will need to supply 8v to the masthead across the red and shield connections. Normally the ST50/ST60/i60 display head would be energized and provide this 8V, however in your case, you may need to power the masthead transducer seperately.

With the multimeter, check the following:

Set the multimeter to the 20V DC scale.

Test at the connections on the rear of the display head, or at the base of the mast (if you have a junction box installed), making sure that everything is connected and powered.

- Red to shield should read 8V DC steady. This is the masthead power supply, coming from the ST50/ST60 display head. If the head is damaged, you may need to provide this power from another source to test the masthead.

- Blue to Shield should read anywhere between 2V and 5.8V DC.
- Green to Shield should read anywhere between 2V and 5.8V DC.
Blue and green are a sine-cosine wind angle pair, where the voltage on each will smoothly change within this range, as the windvane rotates. If you see a voltage significantly outside this range, or the voltage on either colour is static as the windvane rotates then you have a problem in cabling, masthead connector or transducer.
The wind angle is what instruments use to detect the presence of the transducer, so if you have an incorrect voltage here you will often see no wind data at all.

- Yellow to shield should read between 0V and 5V DC (the exact voltage depends on the instrument: 3.2V is typical for ITC5, more like 5V on ST60.)
This is the wind speed signal. The voltage will toggle between 0V and the maximum (3-5V), twice per rotation of the anemometer cups. At low wind-speeds you'll see each individual pulse, but at higher wind-speeds your multimeter will average the voltage, in which case the the faster the wind is blowing, the higher the voltage will read.
If you're seeing wind angle but wind speed is dashes (-.- rather than 0.0 or something else) then the problem probably isn't your wind system at all but that you're looking at True Wind and don't have speed-through-water data (from a paddle-wheel, not GPS.) Apparent wind is measured, True is calculated from AW and STW.

Should the measured voltages be significantly different from that specified above, then the wind instrument should be sent to Raymarine’s Product Repair Center or your nearest technical service dealer to be bench checked / serviced.

RAYFAQ#
Steve - Raymarine - Moderator
Unregistered

Thank you. I will test the voltages across the pairs you mention to see what the current situation is and whether I need to apply an external voltage. I’ll report back if may.

Thanks again,

Keith

[Bort]

I have a similar problem, so replying to this recent thread. My wind sensor data is mostly unavailable, but I have seen wind speed come in intermittently. Checking voltage against the screen wire, everything is in spec except green (starboard wind direction), which reads at ~7.5V.

My question: what do I do next? Do the repair kits that swap the wind vane and cups (like this one) correct problems with voltage out of spec? Do I need to replace the unit entirely, pull it, or have a tech come and pull/repair in place?

This is my first sailboat, and I've never been up the mast, so looking for recommendations on how to proceed here.

Also, what is the expected life of these wind sensors? If I have to replace, are there any solid state options that integrate with Raymarine?

[Pete7]

Keith, Bort,

I have these sorts of problems each year. The weak point on our ST60 is the o ring seal between the wind arm and the socket it connects to at the top of the mast. Despite the o ring seal it still corrodes so needs a trip up the mast, a clean of the socket and plug with the wifes tooth brush,then a spray of WD40 and then it works again. I must try some heavy winch grease on the o ring next time I am up the mast.

In terms of life expectancy, ours was replaced at the 8 year point but only because I hit a tree with the masthead. It still works but the locking ring on the arm is damaged so I replaced the whole thing whilst I ponder over repairing the old one.

[sogin]

We have a similar problem with ST/70. We reseated the masthead transducer but no improvement - Intermittently we observed variable wind direction and/or ridiculous wind speed readings. We tried recalibration with three different ST70 heads - never got through more than 7 of the 8 segments in the calibration but even getting through the 7 segments reduced the frequency of the problem. When working, the voltages were as expected. Our yard has seen several of the mast head transducers fail - something about an interior plastic part that fails. I spoke to a Raymarine tech at the Newport Boatshow and he advised us to send in both the transducer AND the junction box which is a device that connects to the sea talk network and it has been known to cause problems according to the tech. I won't know if this will resolve the problem until the spring.