[TG] [TG11] autopilot active when set from control not from MFD.

[Skipperc]

So,

Sailing across the ocean in twelve to fifteens, setting autopilot direction from autopilot control the pilot will fight like [censored] and maintain direction even after 50 kt winds drag you a bit off. setting direction from new Raymarine MFD and after probably a 10 degree knock off the autopilot gives it up and displays something like autopilot not connected and starts to beep. After a few bruises and making it back to the helm of the sailboat, fighting the wheel to counter and resetting direction through the autopilot control itself everything is fine again. Is there is setting on the new Lighthouse MFD'S that tell it to hang in the fight a little longer and not just give up??

Thank's for the help, my body thanks you if ever caught out again for a couple days on passage.

Before anybody asks, the autopilot and autopilot control are original to the 2004 vessel and I'm currently 1500 miles away from them. The MFD is a 2017 E 9.5 inch, the autopilot I believe is an ST6001+ and the separate autopilot control I believe is a 70 series.

Thanks for the help about to do another few thousand miles and would like to be able to trust direction setting from the MFD without getting tossed across the boat.

Chris

[Tom - Raymarine - Moderator]

Hello Skipperc,

It would be really useful if you could tell us exactly what the error message that is displayed is. You would be able to see that in your alarm history at Setup > Alarms > History if you were at the boat, but otherwise we'll have to do a bit more speculation than I'd like.

The MFD and pilot controllers (ST6001, ST70, p70) do not do any pilot course-keeping calculations themselves, they are purely a display and buttons. All of the pilot intelligence is in the Course Computer, which in your system is, I am guessing, a T150/T400 or S2/S3. What that course computer does is identical regardless of what display you engage it from, as long as you are making the same pilot commands. You will get different behaviour though if you're doing Auto mode from the ST6001 and Track mode from the MFD, for example.

I am guessing that the problem is one of two things:

1. You are actually doing Auto from the ST6001/ST70 and Track mode when you use the MFD, and the alarm you're seeing is something like 'Large XTE' which is not relevant when in simple Auto mode (Auto means steering to a heading only, Track means steering to waypoint data and is more complex and demanding.)
2. If the alarm you're seeing is 'No Pilot', or 'Pilot CU Disconnected', then that implies a power-supply or network communication problem.
   

I don't think it's likely that this second option would happen only when controlling the pilot from the MFD unless there's something else that is also happening at the same time (e.g. larger current draw because the MFD/radar/sounder-module or whatever is powered down the rest of the time), so at this moment I think that the first one is far more likely.

Regards,
Tom

[Skipperc]

Thank you for the input Tom. I will have to look up the error codes when back at the boat. A Hunter 44DS if that helps with the guess on equipment, course computer, rudder sensor, linear drive. I was a little shaken when both happened after near knockdowns. But when I made it back to the MFD the message was definitely not "Large XTE". It was a disconnect message of some sort... I will find out now that you have taught me how to look up error messages. I hope it was as simple as a difference between track and course mode. Although I never intentional set a track. While sailing from what I remember the MFD auto pilot section states "No course selected" and at that point, when attempting to run direction through the MFD alone I would move the cursor out a few hundred miles on a good line, enter that point at which the autopilot would begin steering and I adjusted sail to maintain a near neutral rudder so I could get my needed 15 minutes of rest at a time. Another probably separate issue is the autopilot continuously moves the wheel back and forth while engaged, not much, maybe three degrees or so motor or sail, but it always acts as if it is searching for center of desired course. Probably not related, but trying to relay anything that may help.

Thank you for your help.

[Tom - Raymarine - Moderator]

Hello Chris,

Did you have any luck with the pilot error message?

Re. the helm activity, there are various possible causes and resolutions to that, depending on your pilot Course Computer (the systems are modular and various CCs could be controlled by an ST6001+ display) and drive unit. It might be that you have a bit of play and 'flywheel' effect in your system, or your Rudder Gain is a bit high or low for example. If you can take a little video of the behaviour and post it back here, and let me know what drive unit type and course computer model you have, I can give you some more specific info.

Thanks,
Tom