Auto pilot calibration and tuning

[Bob Robertson]

Hi,

I had a thought.
My autopilot is a Raymarine S1 wheel pilot. Tomorrow I am planning to tune it up a bit. It's not really performing as well as I would like it to.

There are probably something like 5 to 10 autopilots tops that people use on Ericsons.
My thought is that it might be nice if we had a way to post/share our autopilot's tuning settings along with our boat model, size and year.

I think the best settings should be the same for a given boat model and year.
There could maybe be some differences, perhaps, depending on the most common sea conditions in a particular area, but in general I think sharing the information could be very helpful.

What do you think?

Thanks,
Bob

 

[newpbs]

Good Thought...But

Rob,

I like your idea but thee are so many variables to consider. For instance, which model of autopilot? Where is the compass located? Does the boat have the same optional equipment as others i.e. refrigeration or hot water tank or battery charger. All of these things can make a small but significant change in how the unit operates. Also, Raymarine can be "tweeking" their sytems as well so that the computer can function differently from one production cycle to another.

Just my thoughts,

Paul

 

[Bob Robertson]

Hi Paul,

I don't totally disagree.

I think we could only consider using settings from boat owners that have the same autopilot and the same boat model.

I'm not sure how much difference compass location or the electrical equipment installed would make when looking at the autopilot settings.

I suspect that Raymarine tweaking could make a difference, but I'd like to see. The differences might not be that great. Worst case it might provide a useful starting point.

My thought is that some of the boat owners may have mastered the tuning process or might possibly have had a professional do it. The information could be very useful to the membership as a whole.

Maybe you're right and the information couldn't be successfully shared and implemented as you are thinking, but I'd like to try.

Thanks for your comments,
Bob

 

[mherrcat]

I have been having a problem maintaining the Heading Alignment setting when the AP is powered down. I can set it, but after powering down the next time I turn the AP on the reading is always about 30 degrees off.

I am very curious if others have this same problem. I haven't heard it mentioned by anyone other than myself.

I am going to send an e-mail to Raymarine asking about this. I suspect it may be a problem with the AP computer.

I also have the S1 Pilot and I believe all of my settings are the defaults. I don't have the windvane connected to the AP so I don't use that function and I have never tried the auto-tack function.

 

[newgringo]

I set my S1 RESPONSE to 2 for calm water and 3 for rougher conditions. I set the RUDDER GAIN to 3 or 4 in rougher water. It holds a couple of degrees on flat water but kind of washes around in rough stuff. Does not anticipate a wave pushing the boat around, only senses and reacts. The AUTO TACK at 100 Deg, GYBE STOP OFF and the WIND TRIM to 7. Great for motoring. The S1 tracking wind is neat but I am never sure if it is tracking TRUE or APPARENT wind. The AUTO TACK works very well for single handing. It tracks course best, then wind and does worst racking a GPS course. Makes kind of rash corrections to get back on track. Might be set up better if I tried harder. All in all I really like the thing.

 

[Bob Robertson]

Hi Jerry,

Thanks for the reply. I'll post my settings as soon as I'm finished with the fine tuning. I completed the first phase under power, but we didn't have enough wind to fine tune them under sail. It will be another week or so before I'm back on the boat, but I should have something to post after that.

Thanks again,
Bob

 

[Bob Robertson]

Hi Mark,

I've never experienced a problem like that. I'm assuming you're saving your settings. I don't think there is a way to get out of the settings panels without saving the settings.

It will be interesting to see what Raymarine has to say.

Bob

 

[mherrcat]

Raymarine confirmed my suspicion that it may be a bad memory chip in the computer.

They also suggested a possible voltage spike on startup, but I tested the circuit and it does not spike when turned on. When the engine is started, however, the voltage drops from 13 to 11.79 for about a second; then it slowly rises to 13.77 where it stabilizes. (But I have been careful not to turn on the auto pilot until after the engine has been started and to turn the auto pilot off before starting the engine when returning to the marina, so I don't think that is the problem.)

I compared the AP heading and the steering compass heading while sitting at the dock Sunday and they were about 25 degrees off. I set the AP heading to match the steering compass and then turned the unit off. After about a minute I turned it back on and it still matched. The loss of data may occur over a longer period of time, so I'll have to check it again next weekend to see if AP has retained the setting or not.

Raymarine's website indicates a charge of $150 to repair the S1 computer, so it's not too bad...