Autohelm 4000 wheel pilot

yoda

yoda

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Should I find the wheel drive for my 4000 series autopilot to be beyond repair does anybody know if the same unit can drive a linear drive which I could put straight onto the quadrant? At a guess it would also need a feedback unit adding but I'm unsure of the complexities or possibilities of such a change. Any experiences out there?

Yoda
 
Toyed with that idea but thought about the problems of attaching and unattaching and decided to buy a new wheel drive. I have yet to fit it but have been told the newer st4000 wheel drive can be driven by the older st50 head of the st4000 unit. Bought it here but might be cheaper elsewhere if you have to pay VAT.


http://www.jgtech.com/shop14.htm

Raymarine ST4000 Plus MkII wheelpilot Drive only update your older wheel pilot to latest S1 / SPX5 spec. E12093 £415.00 inc
 
Autohelm 4000

I am using a 4000+ head unit to control an OCTOPUS MDR40 cable drive to the rudder quadrant. I had space under the deck to mount the unit with a shortened cable.It comes with a built in rudder reference unit,which replaces the Raymarine Unit if wished.

http://www.octopusmarine.ca/content/

Simrad has an autopilot system using this mechanical cable drive.

"Hi geoffcollins and Davidwf,
I second that recommendation for Octopus Europe.I have also installed this type of linear drive (octopus drive) having obtained a unit on ebay (new) I used a short cable of about 4 feet overall, no bends.The existing Raymarine 4000+ head unit was used and is the result was just magic. (the yacht is a Dufour 36 Cobra draglink wheel steering very light and responsive on the helm) The motor inside the unit is available from Radiospares, if you like to have a spare onboard you could order one.My autopilot now makes tiny movements and uses very little current as a rudder reference comes with the Octopus drive, or keep your Raymarine rudder reference unit if you already had one.Perhaps best to ask Octopus Europe if they have a head unit of their own on the market.Tim Bell is the contact and a most obliging and pleasant person.
Good sailing and boating to all!"
 
The "new" Raymarine drive will work with the old head, but it is still not the best thing available. The head will also drive a quadrant mounted ram but not only is it expensive (about £1500) but your old head will not have the newer features that are on the latest designs. The alternatives are the Octopus, as already suggested - a bit cheaper or if you have a Whitlock/Lewmar pedestal you may be able to use their chain drive motor that sits at the base of the pedestal. Nice bit of kit, bit more expensive than a Raymarine drive, but easier to install if you ahve the space.

Given all these alternatives are at least 3 times the price of a new wheeldrive, you might wish to take your chances with one. Many people have good service from them, but others, like me have had failures! My regret is that I don't have room for the Lewmar drive.
 
Thank you all, I have loads of room and I am tempted to fit a linear drive that will allow me to update the rest of the system in the future.

Yoda
 
Raymarine autopilot

Does anyone have review info for the new Raymarine autopilot T70015? It incorporates a new control head called the p70. It appears they are phasing out the old control head ST60.
Any advice would be most appreciated.
Bill
S/V Petrel
Endeavour 35
 
the Autohelm 4000 will not operate Raymarine Type 1 Linear Drive.
Two reasons,
1. the linear drive requires a clutch control
2. the 4000 does not have sufficient current drive capabilities for the type 1.

It will drive the Rams available for the tillerpilot version of the 4000, but these do not have a clutch, so can not be backdriven by manually steering the boat. The Ram is designed to be fitted to the tiller, in the cockpit, as and when required.

The MK2 wheel drive is compatible with the 4000 head and is significantly better than the old black MK1 drive.

Replacing the wheeldrive is the sensible solution. If the pilots performance was below par, it might be worth considering updating to the latest version. T70015 is the USA part number, T70109 is the European part number.

links
Wheel Drive
http://www.yachtbits.com/raymarine/_wheelpilot_mk2_drive_unit_kit_e12093.php

p70 wheelpilot - T70015
http://www.yachtbits.com/raymarine/_spx_5_wheelpilot_system_with_p70_head_t70109.php

Kevin
 
yachtbits said:
the Autohelm 4000 will not operate Raymarine Type 1 Linear Drive.
Two reasons,
1. the linear drive requires a clutch control
2. the 4000 does not have sufficient current drive capabilities for the type 1.
UNQUOTE]

Do you happen to know if a SPX5 control (computer, ST 6000 and gyro compass) can operate a linear drive, if you make a seperate connection to the clutch to turn it on and off?
chris
Click to expand...
 
1. SPX-5 has no clutch output
2. According to the data sheets, the SPX-5 won't cope with the Loading of the T1 Linear in high load situations.

Warranty would also be void if using the wrong drive type.

Kevin
 
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