T&T: Auto pilot "hunting"

[Peter Bennett]

Wednesday, January 28, 2009, 9:46:32 AM, ChiefHSBC wrote:

Cac> Since we have all this experience on the Raymarine smartpilot, maybe  
Cac> somebody can help me with my problem, the degree reading is 180 degrees out or  at a
Cac> 0 degree heading, the pilot reads 180 degrees, or is this the norm? Sensor  is
Cac> pointed in the right directions and checked wiring, not reversed, thanks  jeff

If the compass doesn't indicate the correct heading but otherwise
appears to operate correctly, you need to do "Align Heading". In my
manuals, this is described on page 30 of the commissioning guide,
under "Calibrating the Compass", immediately following the discussion
of automatic deviation correction.

On a previous boat, the pilot compass initially gave really weird
readings - the reading didn't change smoothly as the boat turned.
This was due to the heading sensor module  (which is gimballed inside
the compass housing) getting tangled up in its wiring, so it was not
free to gimbal, but was held at some strange angle.  I opened the
sensor housing and freed the module, then things worked correctly
(until I put a steel-framed canvas chair near the compass...)

-- 
Peter Bennett, VE7CEI    Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Ennos 31 "Honeycomb"
GPS and NMEA info: http://vancouver-webpages.com/peter 
Vancouver Power Squadron: http://vancouver.powersquadron.ca