Techy Gyro Compass question

[peteandthira]

I'm hoping that at least one knowledgeable man (or woman) can sort this one for me!

18 months ago I added Raymarine's gyro compass to my nav system in the belief that it was important for good MARPA operation. The trouble is I cannot remember how bad it was before it was fitted. The question is, how do you KNOW that it is functioning correctly and integrated properly? EG, can you "see" it's signals to the chartplotter or radar? I can see the power light on the unit under a locker but would like to know for sure that it is doing its "thang", rather than just sitting there powered up but not feeding anything!

Pops

 

[dehlerdave]

I had one of these fitted this summer and went through considerable pain to get it working. If your chart plotter is a C series, if you look in the menu under system interfaces you can read the NMEA sentences coming in "in real time" and so estimate the udate rate and so determine if the Gyro is functional

 

[sailinglegend420]

I've just fitted an external Rate Gyro 2 to a T400 course computer. To test if its working disconnect the NMEA output that is feeding the Radar and try tracking a moving object again. Marpa will only accept the rate gyro information via the NMEA cable.The Sea Talk input to the Radar will still give Marpa the heading information but is not fast enough to transmit the fast heading information that Marpa needs to work properly. With the NMEA input connected you could also try disconnecting the Sea Talk input to the radar and see if the heading information is still available. This will be comming from the NMEA input.

The rate Gyro has also dramatically improved the performance of my Auto Pilot. I have a 6001 and in the "calibrate mode" there is an AUTO LEARN sequence that will automatically set up the rudder gain and response (see the manual). This will only appear on the calibrate menu when the Rate Gyro is working properly. Also with the Rate Gyro working there are 9 levels of rudder response - not three. These two tests will tell you if the Gyro is working properly.

I've just spent £20,000 upgrading the boat for liveaboard cruising and I reckon the £470 for the rate Gyro was the best investment so far.

 

[peteandthira]

Hi Matt! I remember chatting to you last year re fitting out for liveaboard. We made it from Scotland to Falmouth this summer, our first venture. So far all has gone very well. Hope all is well for you and thanks for your reply.

Pete Kelly

 

[peteandthira]

dehlerdave

Thanks for that, looking now!

Pops

 

[homa]

Have you tried asking Raymarine directly ?

they have a really useful section on their web site called customer support and have answered a number of dumb questions from me. The site blurb says that they promise to answer any question within 48hrs and it's worked so far for me.

no connection - just a happy customer

Homa

 

[peteandthira]

Thanks homa. The best solutions are always the simple ones, aren't they!!

 

[peterb]

There's an easy way to see if the gyro is working. Put a magnet close to the flux-gate head and watch the heading display. If there is no gyro, then the heading will change almost instantaneously. If the gyro is working, then the heading will change over 20 seconds or more. The gyro, not being affected by the magnet, insists that the heading is constant and tries to prevent the display from changing; since it can only look at transients, the flux-gate takes over in the longer term.

 

[peteandthira]

peterb

Nice one. It all seems to be in order! Thanks Pops