ST 2000 tiller pilot

[Geoff A]

I have finally bit the bullet, I am now the owner of a ST 2000. In instructions it recommends calibrating it by sailing around in circles and pushing the appropriate buttons. I would like to know if the is really necessary as I will be using it as a stand alone bit of kit and not pairing it with any other instruments.

 

[Tranona]

Yes, because that is setting the compass that controls the AP. Nothing to do with any other instruments.

 

[Bristolfashion]

I did that with mine - even though I'm only using it stand alone. I guess it calibrated the compass. It's not a long process.

 

[Plum]

I have finally bit the bullet, I am now the owner of a ST 2000. In instructions it recommends calibrating it by sailing around in circles and pushing the appropriate buttons. I would like to know if the is really necessary as I will be using it as a stand alone bit of kit and not pairing it with any other instruments.

I did not bother to calibrate the compass. I don't look at the digital display on it, just point the boat on the desired track and press the Auto button and it holds the course. The only setting I changed was the Average Cruise Speed setting from the default of 8 to 5.

 

[Geoff A]

I did not bother to calibrate the compass. I don't look at the digital display on it, just point the boat on the desired track and press the Auto button and it holds the course. The only setting I changed was the Average Cruise Speed setting from the default of 8 to 5.

In the past that is what I have always done, as for speed the boat is a Halcyon 27. While I an typing I assume Tranona meant TP for tiller pilot ? Thank you all for your replies.

 

[Tranona]

TP or AP the process is the same.

 

[thinwater]

I have finally bit the bullet, I am now the owner of a ST 2000. In instructions it recommends calibrating it by sailing around in circles and pushing the appropriate buttons. I would like to know if the is really necessary as I will be using it as a stand alone bit of kit and not pairing it with any other instruments.

Boat size?

 

[Jonny A]

I have finally bit the bullet, I am now the owner of a ST 2000. In instructions it recommends calibrating it by sailing around in circles and pushing the appropriate buttons. I would like to know if the is really necessary as I will be using it as a stand alone bit of kit and not pairing it with any other instruments.

Not needed if you're using it stand-alone, as all it's really doing if following the course you set, it dosn't need an absolute reference to magnetic north.

 

[thinwater]

The manual also says that calibrasion helps fine tune it to your boat's "dynamic steering characteristics." I assume this means rate of turn, though I am somewhat skeptical.

I asked about the size of the boat. The installation gives a one-size-fits-all pintle-to-pin distance that, well, can't fit all sizes. You use more helm and faster on a smaller, lighter boat. I changed mine (F-24 trimaran) from 18 inches to 12 inches, and the auto tack is now MUCH better. The helm on the boat is light enough that the force is still feather light. With the standard setting it could not come through the wind fast enough in heavy chop and often missed tacks. The rudder gain was also too high (in part because I changed the dimension). Now it is rock solid.

Do the calibration.

 

[Daydream believer]

I did not bother to calibrate the compass. I don't look at the digital display on it, just point the boat on the desired track and press the Auto button and it holds the course.

Yes., but you sail in circles most of the time any way

 

[Refueler]

Basically it 'tunes' the TP to the boat ..... its not actually just compass - and in terms of compass - it just sees the swing and effects as its swings.

 

[thinwater]

Basically it 'tunes' the TP to the boat ..... its not actually just compass - and in terms of compass - it just sees the swing and effects as its swings.

Exactly. Unfortunately, it does not learn differences in how waves affect the boat as the wind increases. Oh well, how much can you expect from a drop-in pilot?

 

[Refueler]

Exactly. Unfortunately, it does not learn differences in how waves affect the boat as the wind increases. Oh well, how much can you expect from a drop-in pilot?

The TP's even as old as my AH800 and AH1000 - pre-dating the Raytheon take-over have seastate that they literally learn as boat moves along ... of course it cannot catch sudden shifts or unusual .. but its better than being completely dumb.

I'm told its even better on later ST models ??

 

[Buck Turgidson]

doing the calibration helps the TP understand the boats deviation on different headings and tacks and will make it steer more smoothly.

 

[bignick]

Turning around in slow circle is the standard way of “swinging the compass”. It even works on a Garmin watch or similar. If your Tiller Pilot is well away from any ferrous metal (including outboard motors or suchlike) then you’ll probably fine not doing it. If there is something that would affect the Earth’s magnetic field nearby then you should probably do it.

It also depends what you want the Tiller Pilot to do. If you just want to turn it on and hold a straight course then it will just be looking to correct any deviation from the original signal, which isn’t too demanding. If you want it to tack or gybe through a fixed angle, then it may also be beneficial to do the calibration.

 

[Snowgoose-1]

Exactly. Unfortunately, it does not learn differences in how waves affect the boat as the wind increases. Oh well, how much can you expect from a drop-in pilot?

I think it is fair to see that we mostly benefit from the upgrades and improvements of products and some services.

Sadly went with a boat I sold, but the Autohelm had the old fashioned compass rose . It had a manual switch
to "rough sea state" which worked extremely well and for me, not been bettered

 

[Refueler]

I think it is fair to see that we mostly benefit from the upgrades and improvements of products and some services.

Sadly went with a boat I sold, but the Autohelm had the old fashioned compass rose . It had a manual switch
to "rough sea state" which worked extremely well and for me, not been bettered

I have always liked my AH800 and AH1000 .... the versions between your Compass Rose version and the later ST version with display. In fact for a time - I transferred my AH1000 to the 38ft boat ... as I was not so happy with the AH2000 unit it had which has a separate compass unit with piston unit to tiller.

After some hard sailing - I noted that the AH1000 was having a bit of a hard time .. lets be honest - I was pushing its limits ... so reverted back to the 2000 unit. Once I had got used to the dial setting - it has performed excellently ... it has the state switch under - 3 position etc.
The Ah1000 goes back to my 25ft boat ..