[DG] [DG11] Can ST2000+ use external Compass?

[ELAU]

I just bought a ST2000+ Tiller Pilot and found that its internal fluxgate compass is affected by my outboard in the engine well which is already on the port side of the boat (the tiller pilot on the starboard side). The magneto in the outboard seriously affects the fluxgate compass even the outboard is not started. It seems to me that the only option is to use an external fluxgate compass.

As per the owner manual, St2000+ accepts external navigational data via NMEA and SeaTalk.

I have 3 queries:

1) For external NMEA data, the manual states that ST2000+ accepts NMEA data in Track mode and WindTrim Mode and the recognized NMEA sentences listed in manual do not include heading related data (e.g. HDG, HDT, etc). Can ST2000+ recognize and use NMEA heading data (instead of its internal fluxgate) if I connect an external compass which provides such heading data in NMEA format? If yes, what NMEA heading related sentences would it accept?

2) In a post from this forum
http://forum.raymarine.com/showthread.ph...1&pid=7192
it says that:

“… one would not expect that a ST60 Compass w/flugate compass would be interfaced to the same SeaTalk bus that included a Raymarine autopilot. The ST1000 is exclusively designed to use heading data which is derived from the fluxgate compass which has been interfaced to it….”

In short, this post says that ST1000+ Tiller Pilot (which has the same owner manual and similar design as ST2000+) can only use the internal fluxgate compass.

However, in page 54 of the ST2000+ owner manual, it says that:

“Note: For installations where an ST50 or ST30 Steering Compass instrument is connected to the SeaTalk bus, and the Steering Compass has a fluxgate transducer connected, it is only necessary to carry out the auto deviation correction on the Steering Compass Instrument.”

This paragraph in the owner manual implies that a ST2000+ Tiller Pilot can connect to a ST30/50 Compass and the Tiller Pilot would use the heading information fed from the Steering Compass Instrument via SeaTalk (so there is no need to carry out the deviation correction in the Tiller Pilot).

Would ST2000+ use external heading data via SeaTalk when an external source (e.g. ST30/45/50/60) of heading data is provided?

3) If I need to use external compass for my ST2000+, what is the most economical or cheapest means to achieve this?

Thank you very much in advance for viewing and answering my queries.