User manual NORTHSTAR EXPLORER AP380

[. . . ] Explorer AP380 Autopilot Installation and Operation Manual www. northstarnav. com IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION Please read carefully before installation and use. DANGER !It is used to alert you to potential personal injury hazards, Obey all safety messages that follow this symbol to avoid possible injury or death. WARNING indicates a potentially hazardous situation which, if not avoided, could result in death or serious injury CAUTION indicates a potentially hazardous situation which, if not avoided, could result in minor or moderate injury. CAUTION used without the safety alert symbol indicates a potentially hazardous situation which, if not avoided, may result in property damage. WARNING CAUTION CAUTION DISCLAIMER: It is the owner's sole responsibility to install and use the instrument and transducers in a manner that will not cause accidents, personal injury or property damage. [. . . ] STBY mode: Moves the rudder to port or to starboard half of a degree per click. AUTO mode: Changes the set course by one degree per click. Note: If the AP380 was switched off while still in AUTO mode, a warning message will be displayed to alert the user that there may have been a power interruption. Note: When the AP380 is powered on, the Control Dial and Dodge keys are active and can operate the rudder at any time (see Power Steering modes 1-1-3) Northstar Explorer AP380 System Installation and Operation Manual 41 3-3 Turning the Explorer AP380 off When in STBY mode: · Press and hold . Any settings you have made are retained by the unit. 3-5 Engaging AP380 Select AUTO mode by pressing . The AP380 is now steering the boat based on the selected steering mode. · · 3-6 Disengaging AP380 Select STBY mode by pressing . The AP380 is not steering the boat ­ the helmsman must steer the boat using the manual helm. When in AUTO mode: · Press and hold . A warning pop-up box will remind you to enter STBY mode before the unit can be turned off. Press to close the pop-up. 3-7 Setting the steering mode For a power boat: For a boat without GPS, or for a boat with GPS but you do not want to navigate to a waypoint, choose Compass mode. The Backlight pop-up will Repeating this action will toggle from day to night mode. Use the Control Dial to increase or decrease the display and keypad backlighting. · The Explorer AP380 has a choice of white background `Day' and black background `Night' backlighting modes. The Backlight pop-up may also be selected: Menu > Setup > System > Backlight menu. Backlighting on all other Northstar instruments that are connected on the same NavBus backlighting channel will also change. To use the AP380 with a GPS to navigate to a waypoint or along a route, choose GPS mode. , choose For a sailing boat: To steer to a set compass heading, choose Compass mode. , · · To navigate to a waypoint or along a route, choose GPS mode. , choose To sail, tack and gybe at a set angle to the wind, choose Wind mode. , choose 42 Northstar Explorer AP380 System Installation and Operation Manual Tip: It is possible to change steering modes while in AUTO mode. For example it is helpful to use Compass mode to control the boat when setting up a GPS route, then change directly to GPS mode. Note for sailing boats: · · · The AP380 is not recommended for use in light, changeable or gusty winds. Wind mode requires the wind instrument to be accurately calibrated. Note: To select GPS mode, the AP380 must be receiving data from a compatible GPS instrument, otherwise the GPS selection will not be available. To engage the AP380 in GPS mode, the GPS must be navigating to a waypoint or along a route; otherwise the Explorer AP380 will display an error message. If the boat is too far from the plotted course, the Explorer AP380 will display a warning message. [. . . ] or Increase response. Problem: boat moves too far off course closely before the rudder turns to correct the course Decrease ratio. Decrease trim gain. Problem: oscillations from side to side build up Decrease ratio. Problem: after a large course change, boat overshoots and oscillates before settling to new course Increase counter rudder gain Problem: after a large course change, boat takes too long to settle to new course Decrease counter rudder gain Northstar Explorer AP380 System Installation and Operation Manual 71 Problem: after a sideways current or wind, the correction is applied too quickly or too slowly If the boat encounters a sideways force, then it will move off course sideways. The AP380 will automatically bring the boat back to the correct heading by applying a few degrees of rudder, called trim. Getting the Trim gain setting right can be difficult for your specific boat and it is easy to alter the Trim gain too much. [. . . ]