Tiller Auto pilot/Wheel helm intergation

[gah964]

I had this problem and would like to share my Cheap fix.

Well I had a ray marine 2000 Auto helm pilot, and my head Unit got water logged and it was trashed.I knew this was going to cost me 300+ for a used unit
I looked all over Ebay with no luck for a used one.
So I started to think that maybe I could rig up a tiller pilot to my rudder somehow.I found one for $150,I soon realized that idea was not going to be easy, so i did some more thinking and had this idea, maybe if I take off the wires that run the motor inside the tiller pilot and hook them to the wheel helm it would work and serve as the head unit.What a crazy idea right? Wrong it worked!! and it still works to this day.So if your head unit dies and you want a cheap fix, here ya go.Also it dont matter what size tiller pilot you use it will work.The power you get to turn the helm is from the motor attached to it.
Happy winds everyone!!