On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 14:40:26 -0700 Steve wrote:
Thanks,

I know that the 7000 being a ST system, this ST600R handheld will work as a
remote, since it is on the SeaTalk bus.
However, I'm not sure it the ST7000 control head is just a SeaTalk device as
well. IMHO, the ST600R could replace the control head since it is able to
provide all control functions over the SeaTalk bus.

To me it seems like it is a "plain" ST device, as there are three round (old
style) ST connectors back of it. Two are for ST bus and third one is a NMEA
input.

There is a ST7000 manual available at Raymarine website, here's the
installation manual: http://tinyurl.com/b7op7

Take a look on page 27 (or 32 on Acrobat Reader).


In fact, when I was using the ST600R with my much older ST5000 AP, I didn't
need access to the control head at all since all control function, plus
SeaTalk display function could be replicated on this handheld.

I would be interested in your comments on the overall performance and
experiences with your ST7000.

My experiences with ST7000 are good. The system is installed in a 39 ft
sailing boat. This old AP does not have all those fancy auto learn features
etc. but for my use it has been good enough. When sailing singlehanded a
wireless remote control would be a must, hence I'm going to purchase on next
summer.

The only complaints I have are that when using AP in "track" mode
(on which it should steer towards a waypoint got from the GPS) it first
tries to get there using its own fluxgate compass as steering compass. This
means that if the fluxgate is not very carefully aligned it will not steer
very well to the waypoint. In my opinion it would make much more sense to
keep an eye on the XTE info from the GPS and try to minimize that.

Other thing is that when using the wind vane mode (in which the AP keeps the
apparent wind angle) the reaction speed to the wind shifts is too slow in
light airs. Other bug in the mode is that it uses the apparent wind angle
and not the true wind angle.

matti

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