EV-100 Autopilot installed on 1987 3270-gctid820939

[colbournee]

Finally got my EV-100 Autopilot installed and tested on my 1987 3270. Its a great system to work with just a couple of unexpected issues.

I obtained the 5/16 nylon steering lines and brass compression fitting from Parker, took awhile to get all the bits and pieces, the brass inserts were very specific to the wall thickness of the nylon lines.

I went with 10 gauge wire from the pump to the ACU but its not necessary according to Raymarine, in spite of the manual, You have to strip it down for it to even fit in the connector box on the ACU -100 to at least 12 or 14 gauge.

Another issue is that you have to connect it to a speed/position data source for the system to fully calibrate and linearize the EV-1 heading sensor. That forced me to integrate my Lowrance HDS chart plotter with the seatalkng network. That turned out to be very simple indeed, I just cut a short sealtakkng spur cable and connected it directly to a cut off NMEA-2000 cable that fits the Lowrance chart plotter. The wires are exactly the same in both cables except the Seatalkng cable has a yellow wire for backward compatibility with their older seatalk units. That wire is not needed in this case.

The one thing I do not like about the system it that you have to acknowledge a waypoint change when following a route from the Lowrance chart plotter. Otherwise the system will steer straight. Raymarine argues that its safer to do that than change course automatically. I have trouble agreeing with that. Their concern is with dynamic targets not with with land feature.

That said the EV-100 will maintain course within plus or minus 2-3 degrees in moderate sea state. Have not tested with winds above 20 knots yet.

The best investment so far.

Thanks to everyone who contributed their experience here on BOC!

[tdcooper99]

"colbournee" post=820939 wrote:


Another issue is that you have to connect it to a speed/position data source for the system to fully calibrate and linearize the EV-1 heading sensor. That forced me to integrate my Lowrance HDS chart plotter with the seatalkng network. That turned out to be very simple indeed, I just cut a short sealtakkng spur cable and connected it directly to a cut off NMEA-2000 cable that fits the Lowrance chart plotter. The wires are exactly the same in both cables except the Seatalkng cable has a yellow wire for backward compatibility with their older seatalk units. That wire is not needed in this case.

The one thing I do not like about the system it that [color]red wrote:
you have to acknowledge a waypoint change when following a route from the Lowrance chart plotter[/color]. Otherwise the system will steer straight. Raymarine argues that its safer to do that than change course automatically. I have trouble agreeing with that. Their concern is with dynamic targets not with with land feature.

Once I get my hydraulic steering in, this will be my next upgrade, hopefully for next season when we hope to range a little further than our current 1-2 days weekend trips.

Question: You state above that you have to acknowledge a waypoint change when following a route from the Lowrance chart plotter. Does this mean a Raymarine MFD acts differently with the Raymarine AP? I ask because I have the Raymarine a98, already networked, so connectivity should be trivial. I LOVE the Dock - Dock Autorouting on this plotter... but a typical route can have dozens of individual waypoints. Would suck if I had to watch the screen and acknowledge every single one. Might as well be actively driving myself.

[colbournee]

Yes that is correct, the autopilot display unit (P70R) will wait for your OK on each and every waypoint course change your MFD send to it. Raymarine says its a safety and liability issue. You might want to look at other manufactures such as Garmin, I should have. To me steering straight in the absence of your 'ok' is just as unsafe as changing course both from dynamic hazards to fixed ones like rocks or land.

[Mikalkc]

I have the EV-200 with the P70R head networked to an a97 display all new gen Raymarine. In creating/following a route it will always display the message " advance waypoint" and requires both a touch there and on the autopilot head (P70R) when passing a waypoint. I had a ST6001 on my 32 with a Garmin plotter networked via NMEA 0183. It worked the same way. I am not sure it's possible to not get it to do that. Unlike LNAV in a Boeing, Raymarine worries about people leaving the helm unattended when the boats on autopilot.B)

[colbournee]

Nice of them to worry about us I guess. With my setup I only have to 'OK' the P70R, not the Lowrance chart plotter. I just completed interfacing the EV-100 to Nobeltec computer electronic chart plotter via Actisense NGW-1-STNG. It works great, the Nobeltec automatically advances to next way point same as Lowrance HDS 7 but the P70R still needs an acknowledgement.