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#11
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Autopilot NMEA question for gear heads
"Roger Long" skrev i en meddelelse ... Ah, so these are different formats of data groups and not variables as I thought. The ST1000 needs the cross track error to follow a track and it looks like it will get it from the GPRMB which my GPS does put out. The ST1000 manual isn't very clear but, reading between the lines, it uses either input from a speed device or a default cruising speed set in calibration to set a new course according to the cross track error. This makes me think that it doesn't take the boat back to the track but simply sets a new course directly to the waypoint. Can anyone clairify this? SNIP -- Roger Long Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with all the NMEA codes etc. My comment is based on practical experience using a Raymarine autopilot 4000 controlling the tiller on a 34' sailboat. My experience is, that in case of XTE, the pilot "tries pretty hard to get you back to the original track" ... (not in 90 degrees toward the track though) ... but still with a course towards the next waypoint. I'm not aware of the specifik formula. On my system it is possible to reset the XTE to zero, in which case, it will make a new track to follow - i.e. from the actual position in a straight line to the next waypoint. If the system more or les automatic - i.e. without intervention - could follow another track than the original you have planned, you might get into trouble if the new track passes over a rock or other unpleasant obstacles ... I think that is the same argument/reason why the system - not without your physical intervention/approval (push a button) - will turn to the next waypont, when you are following a route. -- Flemming Torp Gimle - DEN61 |
#12
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Autopilot NMEA question for gear heads
"Roger Long" wrote in
: Any tips or experience interfacing and using one of these autopilots with a GPS also appreciated. -- Roger Long The autopilot doesn't do the navigating. The chart plotter does the navigating and sends out directional messages to the autopilot via the network from its calculations taken from GPS position data. i.e. "We want to go to this waypoint. We are headed in this direction, so we need to turn the boat 48.5 degrees to starboard to head that way. Our course over ground to the waypoint shows there is 1.8 knots of current trying to drag us off course, so we need to subtract that from the boat heading. Yo! Autopilot! Turn 44.5 degrees to starboard or I'll tell the captain to replace you!" Autopilot, terrified of being turned into marine scrap, comes about smartly 44 degrees to starboard, as measured on its compass I'm convinced, causing an awful gybe because you got cheap and didn't buy the network wind instrument so Chart Plotter could tell the slaves it needed to gybe to the new course. The chart plotter makes constant course corrections and tells the autopilot what to do to make it happen. Autopilots aren't all that smart, if you haven't guessed that already. All this is to force you to buy more boxes...GPS boxes...Chart Plotter boxes...Speed boxes...Gyrocompass boxes...Compass boxes...Wind boxes...etc. The more boxes, the more data. The more data, the smoother that turn is because Chart Plotter and Autopilot can see their rate-of- turn lots more often than waiting on the calculated ROT from the slow GPS updates. The more boxes, of course, the more profits. Boats are full of boxes... Hope the gybe didn't pull apart the traveler that needs replacing....(c; Larry -- Democracy is when two wolves and a sheep vote on who's for dinner. Liberty is when the sheep has his own gun. |
#13
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Autopilot NMEA question for gear heads
"Larry" wrote in message ... "Roger Long" wrote in : Any tips or experience interfacing and using one of these autopilots with a GPS also appreciated. -- Roger Long The autopilot doesn't do the navigating. The chart plotter does the navigating and sends out directional messages to the autopilot via the network from its calculations taken from GPS position data. i.e. "We want to go to this waypoint. We are headed in this direction, so we need to turn the boat 48.5 degrees to starboard to head that way. Our course over ground to the waypoint shows there is 1.8 knots of current trying to drag us off course, so we need to subtract that from the boat heading. Yo! Autopilot! Turn 44.5 degrees to starboard or I'll tell the captain to replace you!" Autopilot, terrified of being turned into marine scrap, comes about smartly 44 degrees to starboard, as measured on its compass I'm convinced, causing an awful gybe because you got cheap and didn't buy the network wind instrument so Chart Plotter could tell the slaves it needed to gybe to the new course. The chart plotter makes constant course corrections and tells the autopilot what to do to make it happen. Autopilots aren't all that smart, if you haven't guessed that already. All this is to force you to buy more boxes...GPS boxes...Chart Plotter boxes...Speed boxes...Gyrocompass boxes...Compass boxes...Wind boxes...etc. The more boxes, the more data. The more data, the smoother that turn is because Chart Plotter and Autopilot can see their rate-of- turn lots more often than waiting on the calculated ROT from the slow GPS updates. The more boxes, of course, the more profits. Boats are full of boxes... Hope the gybe didn't pull apart the traveler that needs replacing....(c; Larry -- Democracy is when two wolves and a sheep vote on who's for dinner. Liberty is when the sheep has his own gun. I'm pretty much of the opinion that the only automated course correction on a sailboat, under sail, should be "Steer To Wind." That doesn't insure that you will go where you want to go, but it will help prevent the boat suddenly deciding to tack or gybe because it reached a waypoint that you forgot about. Of course, missing that waypoint turn might put you aground, but under no circumstances should the boat be allowed to sail itself for any length of time without supervision -- fall overboard and the boat continues merrily along its way. I use my tillerpilot on Essie, but only with someone keeping an eye on "Otto." If I'm singlehanding, I have a remote for "Otto" that lets me make corrections from the foredeck. |
#14
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Autopilot NMEA question for gear heads
KLC Lewis wrote:
I'm pretty much of the opinion that the only automated course correction on a sailboat, under sail, should be "Steer To Wind." All my steering under sail will be done by the Cape Horn windvane servo pendulum. The small electronic unit will just tweak the servo shaft while under power with the primary effort to turn the rudder provided by the boat's motion, just as under sail. -- Roger Long |
#15
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Autopilot NMEA question for gear heads
Larry wrote:
The autopilot doesn't do the navigating. That's not what the manual for the ST1000 says. The GPS can tell it the bearing, distance, and track error. The ST1000 has a logic circuit to resolve this into a new heading. No chartplotter on my simple boat. Not enough room and power for all that fancy stuff. I'll only be using this under power as well. See other reply. Enjoyed the rest of your post though. -- Roger Long |
#16
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Autopilot NMEA question for gear heads
"KLC Lewis" wrote in
et: I'm pretty much of the opinion that the only automated course correction on a sailboat, under sail, should be "Steer To Wind." That doesn't insure that Lionheart's Network Pilot (B&G) has 3 options...Steer to Network Wind instrument's data, steer to the autopilot's compass or take instructions from one of the chartplotters or The Cap'n. I agree steering to wind is correct, ESPECIALLY at night sailing short handed. We never let her go off by herself without someone on watch. Most of her sailing controls come back into the cockpit under the hardtop. Sticking to a waypoint course isn't practical in most sailing situations we encounter. Sailing in the general direction of some waypoint is nice, though...(c; If anyone is in a hurry or has to "be somewhere" at a certain time, please take a jet, not spoil it for the rest of us who are happy to get there "some time this month". Thanks.... Beer - Check...Food - Check...Water - Check. Who cares who's first? Larry -- Democracy is when two wolves and a sheep vote on who's for dinner. Liberty is when the sheep has his own gun. |
#17
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Autopilot NMEA question for gear heads
"Roger Long" wrote in news:45c39114$0$1339
: That's not what the manual for the ST1000 says. The GPS can tell it the bearing, distance, and track error. The ST1000 has a logic circuit to resolve this into a new heading. Like I said, the chartplotter tells it how to steer the boat. A GPS receiver puts out lat/long/time and calculates course and speed if it has a little display with a crumb line. You can tell the simple GPSes with simple displays what waypoint lat/long you'd like to go to and it will make a waypoint IT can steer the autopilot to. There's no way to input a waypoint lat/long into the autopilot that has a few course change buttons and simple controls. $GPAP data coming from the simplest GPS tell it what to do: $GPAPA - Autopilot Sentence "A" $GPAPB - Autopilot Sentence "B" $GPASD - Autopilot System Data So, the little GPS you put the waypoint into is the chartplotter, whether it has a $200 map plug into it or not. The autopilot has no computing capacity to store waypoints, do great circle calculations, etc. On your simple installation, I'd like to recommend the Garmin 76Cx handheld GPS/Chartplotter in its little snapin mount at your helm. Power is not an issue. It uses so little it will still give you full navigation on its own batteries if yours fail. It comes with America Recreational chart, but the CD has all the bigshot charts you can load into its standard microSD 128MB memory card. The CD program loads the 76Cx from your laptop, and you activate the charts you want to BUY online for it. Now you have a full-featured chartplotter to run the nav solutions and tracking on that's really neat. I installed one on my buddy's sailboat, and he also has a Jolly Boat (fiberglass rib boat with 40hp outboard). We bought a second snap-in GPS mount for the Jolly runabout and you just pop the 76Cx out of your pocket into whichever boat you're on and have a full navigator, even on a boat with a 40hp Yamaha outboard....overkill?.. (c; The little autopilots I know of only have a fluxgate compass to steer with. Larry -- Democracy is when two wolves and a sheep vote on who's for dinner. Liberty is when the sheep has his own gun. |
#18
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Autopilot NMEA question for gear heads
Roger Long wrote:
Larry wrote: The autopilot doesn't do the navigating. That's not what the manual for the ST1000 says. The GPS can tell it the bearing, distance, and track error. The ST1000 has a logic circuit to resolve this into a new heading. No chartplotter on my simple boat. Not enough room and power for all that fancy stuff. I'll only be using this under power as well. See other reply. Enjoyed the rest of your post though. You have a GPSMap 76. Doesn't that count as a chartplotter? |
#19
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Autopilot NMEA question for gear heads
"Roger Long" wrote in message ... KLC Lewis wrote: I'm pretty much of the opinion that the only automated course correction on a sailboat, under sail, should be "Steer To Wind." All my steering under sail will be done by the Cape Horn windvane servo pendulum. The small electronic unit will just tweak the servo shaft while under power with the primary effort to turn the rudder provided by the boat's motion, just as under sail. -- Roger Long Ya, Cape Horns are good units. I want to figure out how to add one to my boat, but with my davits it's a bit difficult. |
#20
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Autopilot NMEA question for gear heads
"Larry" wrote in message ... I agree steering to wind is correct, ESPECIALLY at night sailing short handed. We never let her go off by herself without someone on watch. Most of her sailing controls come back into the cockpit under the hardtop. Sticking to a waypoint course isn't practical in most sailing situations we encounter. Sailing in the general direction of some waypoint is nice, though...(c; If anyone is in a hurry or has to "be somewhere" at a certain time, please take a jet, not spoil it for the rest of us who are happy to get there "some time this month". Thanks.... Beer - Check...Food - Check...Water - Check. Who cares who's first? Larry -- Democracy is when two wolves and a sheep vote on who's for dinner. Liberty is when the sheep has his own gun. I've charted-out my proposed route for my wee-long July cruise around the northern end of Lake Michigan. In theory, it's seven days leaving Marinette (home port), hitting Washington Island, Snail Shell Harbor at Fayette MI, Manistique MI, St.James Harbor at Beaver Island, Leland MI, Stugeon Bay via the Canal, and back to Marinette. In theory. I'll be gob-smacked if that's where I actually get to go. Karin |
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