[TG] ST4000+ No dockside calibration

[nisaac]

Hello,

I have just finished installing a rudder position sensor to my ST4000 Plus wheel pilot.

However, I am unable to test or complete the setup following the procedures described in the Raymarine manual because the menus it refers to appear to be missing.

Pages 35 and 79 - 81 of the manual describes a "Dockside Rudder Calibration" function to verify the presence of and then align the rudder sensor. According to the manual, this function should be accessible through the user setup menus (just after "Steer Bar", and before "Data Page"). On my autopilot firmware (version 14), the menu appears to be completely missing.

How can I test and complete the setup of the rudder sensor with this firmware?

At the moment, having installed and wired everything up, I am able to display the rudder position bar on the display, but it seems to bear little resemblance to the actual position of the rudder or its movement. For example, when I first turn on the autopilot it shows the rudder centered (even when it is not). Then, if I disengage the wheel (so there is no rudder movement) and press +30 or - 30, the bar indicates rudder movement in that direction even though the rudder and sensor aren't moving.

Thank you for your help,

Nicholas

[Tom - Raymarine - Moderator]

Hello Nicholas,

It's a foible of the ST4000+ that it doesn't detect a rudder reference if it's connected later on, after installation. That's why you have no rudder data in Standby and are seeing a 'Steer bar' in Auto instead.

To force the ST4000+ to detect the rudder reference you need to reset it. First, go through calibration and note down your system's calibration values (rudder gain etc.) so that you can put them back in later. Next, in Calibration, change the Pilot Type from '4000 WHL' to something else, e.g. '5000 HYD'. Save, exit, power off, power back. Then go back in and change the pilot type back to '4000 WHL', save, power off/on. Finally, go back into calibration and check/re-enter your setup and test the rudder reference. You can download the 4000+ handbook from Raymarine.com > Support > Manuals and Documents > Autopilot > Retired/Legacy, in order to see how to do this calibration if you need to.

Regards,
Tom