Raymarine Wireless Remotes

whipper_snapper

whipper_snapper

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Has anyone used one of these?

smartcontroller.jpg



I know it is a bit OTT and hard to justify, but I really do fancy lounging on the netting while steering the boat and keeping an eye on depth and course.


But how is price of nearly £400 justified in this day and age of cheap electronics?


Even the much simpler autopilot only

s100_wirelessremote.jpg


costs £250

Can anyone help me to justify wasting money on one of these gadgets ?
 
We have the first model.
It's nice on a hot summers day to be sitting on the foredeck with the autopilot on and being able to make fine adjustments to the course using the remote.
However, 'on a hot suumers day' should tell you that we've not used it much. Hardly at all.

It's about time they upgaded these. I don't know if there are any plans to.
By upgrade I mean the base station currently requires a Seatalk network. New Raymarine networks are SeatalkNG. So if you have a SeatalkNG network you have to add on the cost of a Seatalk to SeatalkNG converter. For most people this won't be the case.
 
I have the second one.
My big complaint is that there is no off switch. It switches off after 5 minutes of standby.
BUT if the batteries start to die when in use, you have no control of the autopilot from the main control head! The only way to regain control is to remove the batteries, this requires undoing the two screws and levering off the cover.
Other than that it is excellent.
 
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I cant help thinking that wireless data systems have come on so much in the last few years that this sort of thing should be trivial to do as an app on a phone or from a very cheap little box with a simple display.
 
dylan said:
I have the second one.
My big complaint is that there is no off switch. It switches off after 5 minutes of standby.
BUT if the batteries start to die when in use, you have no control of the autopilot from the main control head!
Click to expand...

That's useful to know; a reason to go for the more expensive one which charges from a cradle.

dylan said:
The only way to regain control is to remove the batteries, this requires undoing the two screws and levering off the cover.
Other than that it is excellent.
Click to expand...

I suppose in extremis you could achieve the same thing by throwing it overboard!
 
whipper_snapper said:
I cant help thinking that wireless data systems have come on so much in the last few years that this sort of thing should be trivial to do as an app on a phone or from a very cheap little box with a simple display.
Click to expand...

The Raymarine Apps for the iPhone (haven't tried Android) for viewing and controlling the new plotters are excellent. Not sure where they stand in relation to the Autopilot.
 
Yes, I have the Smartcontroller. We've a pilot house yacht and we upgraded to St60's throughout so buying the remote avoided having to buy duplicate autopilot controls for the below decks helm. So we use it to control the autopilot below decks when in grubby weather and on the foredeck in lovely weather.

I think the concept of having to "justify" any boat expenditure is flawed as no boaty expenditure, whether wireless gismo or new mainsail, can be "justified" in the sense. Indeed it doesn't need a justification!
 
I have the first one, I chose it when we had the Auto pilot fitted a year ago. I'm happy with it although I justified it as we only have a chart plotter at the helm so having all the data inside is a big plus for me eg: for working out if you are going to hit the bottom over dinner or filling in the log book without the need to shout at the helm. You can set up the screens to the data you most want to view then scroll through so you have your favorite data at your fingertips
I'm looking forward to sitting on the bow under autopilot in the sunshine but so far the weather in the UK has not allowed that :-) here hoping for sun in 2013.
 
dylan said:
if the batteries start to die when in use, you have no control of the autopilot from the main control head!
Click to expand...

Can you elaborate on this? I'm planning to get one at some point but this sounds a bit worrying. Can you not use the main control buttons while the remote is on? And if the batteries die it never gets round to giving back control?

I wasn't very keen on the wheelpilot we've inherited, compared to a proper below-decks unit, but perhaps having a means to mechanically disconnect the drive is worthwhile after all :)

Pete
 
The main control head is still active when the remote is on.
The problem that I find is if the batteries start to die then there is no control from the remote nor the main head until the batteries are removed.
I don't know if other users have found this, maybe I have a Friday model.
I just make sure that the batteries are in good order. It's a great device other than that.
 
dylan said:
The main control head is still active when the remote is on.
The problem that I find is if the batteries start to die then there is no control from the remote nor the main head until the batteries are removed.
I don't know if other users have found this, maybe I have a Friday model.
I just make sure that the batteries are in good order. It's a great device other than that.
Click to expand...

I think yours is a Friday one. I have the smaller remote and it has not done that to me.

The batteries do last for ages though. I do not even get through one set a year.
 
Ex-SolentBoy said:
I think yours is a Friday one. I have the smaller remote and it has not done that to me.

The batteries do last for ages though. I do not even get through one set a year.
Click to expand...

Thinking about this, the problem could be with the autopilot and not the remote.
I originally had an ST60 autopilot, now I have an S1. I have not had a problem with this but then I always have good batteries in the remote. I will try to use the remote a lot and see what happens when the batteries run down. Sould prove something one way or another.:)
 
Ex-SolentBoy said:
I think yours is a Friday one. I have the smaller remote and it has not done that to me.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I think I'll risk it :)

Part of the reason I want it is that the main control head is on the binnacle, but the obvious place to sit on passage is up the front of the cockpit behind the windscreen and next to the handy space where I plan to fit the AIS display etc. Rather than perching exposed in an isolated pit in the stern. My first thought was to fit a second control head there, but that seems a bit silly for a number of reasons. A remote with a holster in that location will do the job, plus let me steer from the coachroof when stowing the main, or the foredeck when relaxing in the sun :)

Pete
 
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=316474&highlight=yapp

Wired rather than wireless, but making it wireless and putting buttons on rather than a colour LCD display would cost about £8. Couple of £ more for a monochrome text LCD. That's at one-off retail prices. For bulk orders the cost would be a lot less. They charge those prices because people will pay them. Not at all related to development or manufacturing costs. The technology inside is really basic.
 
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AngusMcDoon said:
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=316474&highlight=yapp

Wired rather than wireless, but making it wireless and putting buttons on rather than a colour LCD display would cost about £8. Couple of £ more for a monochrome text LCD.
Click to expand...

Ah, but it really costs £8 and some very useful embedded software skills :)

At university I did a handful of sessions using C on a 68000, which tends to make me think I can do this kind of thing - it's just a simple matter of programming, how hard can it be? And then I never actually do manage to do it before getting stuck over the silliest things.

You may remember I asked for the code for your AIS display a while back. Since I was going to make some tweaks to it, after getting my hands on the programmer I thought I'd start simple and work up, just to learn the environment. I did manage to make an LED flash on and off, but when I tried to add a button to control it, I couldn't get it to work properly (can't remember why; debounce was the obvious thought but I don't think it was that).

All that said, I think I am going to have another go - new boat has Seatalk and I want to display a few values at the chart table (log, depth, speed, true wind), but the price of ready-made gizmos to do it is absurd. Somewhere in my parts box I have a 4-line LCD display (another project that never got off the ground) and I think I still have some PICs kicking around. Will have to email you asking for any existing YAPPs whose code may be relevant to that.

Think I might still fork over the cash for the remote though.

Pete
 
prv said:
I did manage to make an LED flash on and off, but when I tried to add a button to control it, I couldn't get it to work properly (can't remember why; debounce was the obvious thought but I don't think it was that).
Click to expand...
Switch bounce is a very likely candidate, or checking the switch outside the loop. I knew nothing about C when I started with PICs, although I could make sense of good code. Stick with it.
 
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