Robertson ap45 autopilot manual

A visual handling inspection should be made to check that the equipment has not been damaged during shipment and that all components and parts are present according to the packing list. Page Connector Assemble The grounding wire should be as short as possible and at least 10 mm wide. Page Heading Sensors There is no patent cure for this problem, besides making a proper installation and compensation of the compass.

Page M Ounting Robertson AP45 Autopilot Installation The course detector is mounted on the ship's magnetic compass to transmit signal to the control unit. The mounting method will depend upon design. The distance between detector compass card depends upon momentum compass magnets.

A distance Never mount it upside down! Level the sensor as close to horizontal as possible. Use the supplied mounting kit and drill holes through the centre of the slots.

Make two degree turns to starboard within 5 minutes after switch on. Make sure the boat passes 3 times through North see figure. The unit shall be mounted not more than two meters from the AP45 control unit. This is to avoid voltage drop and reduce interference via the interconnecting cables. This indicates that the regulated 5V is OK. If they are, pull out the plug-in straps and insert them in the vertical direction.

Input terminals not used should be short circuited as shown in connection diagrams. It can, however, Feedback Unit also be mounted with the shaft pointing downwards if that appears to be more convenient.

Page Rf14Xu Rudder Feedback Unit This will give a ratio between the rudder angle and that of the feedback unit shaft. If the RF14XU is mounted with the shaft pointing upwards, the yellow and the blue lead to the potentiometer inside must be interchanged See Fig.

Robertson AP45 Autopilot Note! The cables are carried through cable glands and connected to the terminal board. If required, to avoid any mechanical damage, the cables should be run in a conduit between the rudder feedback unit and the junction unit or rudder indicator. Page 68 White lead must remain connected. The sponge produces a corrosion preventive gas, and to increase the efficiency of the gas the cover must be kept tight.

Page 70 Fig. Instead terminal B shall be connected to both terminal 13 and The electronic supply cable should be 1,5 mm Note! To minimise length of power cables thus avoiding voltage drop , it should be centrally located between mains panel and power unit. Page Optional Equipment The diagram in the cover plate shows the terminal connections in the S9 Fig.

For use together with AP45, four different operation alternatives can be selected by changing a resistor in S9. Robertson AP45 Autopilot Fig. If F is connected in combination with S9, only alternative 1 can be used. Page Ounting Electrical connection There is two alternatives of connecting FU91 to AP45; without mode switching or with mode switching similar to S9 See page for operation.

Two or more indicators may be connected in series with the rudder feedback unit. When the mounting location is determined, the cables should be connected to RI35 before the unit is mounted. Page Panel Mounting Assemble the complete bracket again and adjust the RI35 to best viewing angle and tighten up the mounting bracket bolts.

The illumination is turned on and adjusted in three steps by the front panel key pad. Zero adjust Follow the instructions on page to zero adjust the rudder feedback. Correct NMEA format, baud rate and current loop polarity are found in the navigation receiver manual.

Watch alarm AP45 is originally designed for connection to an external watch alarm of type WA9 which is no longer available. WA9 was connected to J1 as per Fig. See page and Alignment and adaptation of the autopilot parameters to the vessel's characteristics must be carried out according to the following procedure.

Page Rudder Speed see page , a warning will be given when stepping through the installation loop. The warning: H. SIN: 3. The value is also shown as a graphical bar. If a button is pressed for more than two seconds, the value will automatically increase or decrease until the button is released. A value which is too low gives relatively large and slow oscillations s-ing around set course, and several rudder commands are given in the same direction before the vessel is back on course.

A value which is too high will give quick and in worst case increasing oscillations s-ing around set course. The WEATHER setting determines the amount of degrees the vessel may fall off the set course before any response is given from the rudder. In calm weather it should be set to OFF which means that theoretically the autopilot allows no deviation from set course.

In conditions where active steering is required, e. The selected mode is also shown to the left on the display by the same letter as on the mode buttons. To activate the knob it must be pressed down, released, and then turned.

Clockwise turns gives a starboard course change and vice versa. One revolution on the course selector knob is equal to a 60 degree course change. If the knob is not turned within 10 seconds, it has to be pressed again. In WORKmode however, the buttons are used for manual rudder trim, and course changes can therefore only be made by the course selector knob.

In the NAV mode, the AP45 uses the heading sensor as it's primary source of heading for course keeping. The steering information received from the external navigator alters the set course to direct the AP45 to the destination waypoint. Navigational steering must only be used in open waters. The process of having an external navigation receiver direct an autopilot can be a slow acting process.

By selecting the NAV mode, the AP45 is set for automatic steering on the current set course and then waits for the user to accept the course change to the destination waypoint. To obtain satisfactory navigation steering, the following points must be fulfilled prior to entering the NAV mode:.

This combines the straight steering capability of cross track error XTE steering in conjunction with the turning capability of bearing mode steering CTS.

When operating the AP45 in NAV mode to automatically steer through a route of waypoints, it will steer to the first waypoint in the route after you accept the first waypoint as the location to steer to. When you arrive at the waypoint, you will need to verify that the upcoming course change is acceptable. Verification is performed by pressing the Alarm reset button after the alert screen is displayed. Steering through a route of waypoints with the AP45 allows you the total flexibility.

If the AP45 is connected to a Nav. When the AP45 steers using cross track error only, it corrects the set course in. Enter the desired bearing line s to the Nav. Note that the display readout will be. R indicates that the vessel is located to the right of the bearing line, and L indicates to the left of the bearing line.

As the vessel approaches the bearing line, the correction value decreases and when the vessel is on track, the information display shows:. As the vessel gets within the arrival circle set on the navigational receiver, or as the vessel passes the perpendicular line to the waypoint, the receiver transmits a "data not valid" signal to the autopilot.

An alarm will then activate and the course to steer will no longer be updated. To proceed to the next waypoint, the procedure should be repeated from step 2 onwards. Higher deviation may temporarily occur due to rapid change of current, wind, speed or at start-up from a position off the track line. For some navigational receivers, bearing to a waypoint or course to steer is used as the steering information.

If a satellite navigator is used, it should have compass and log input to ensure proper dead reckoning between each fix. Set the navigation receiver to calculate bearing to a waypoint from present position. Select NAV-mode. The output signals from the navigation receiver will correct the course to steer to make the vessel steer towards the waypoint. The Information display shows time since last update and the amount of course change in degrees, while the course display shows the new course to steer.

If the corrections from the navigation receiver initiates a course change greater than 10 degrees, the autopilot alarm is activated and the course change has to be acknowledged using the ALARM RESET button. By pressing RESET, the new heading is automatically entered and the autopilot will turn the vessel towards the new heading.

The different types of Remote Controls that can be connected to AP45, have different way of operation, depending on the system configuration. The F hand held remote control makes it possible to remotely control the AP45 autopilot. Activation is achieved by pulling out the lever.

The lever is spring loaded to mid position, and can be used for starboard or port rudder commands. After finishing the manoeuvres the lever will be locked when pushed back to non-operational position. The S9 can be configured in four alternatives. At delivery from Robertson the S9 is connected for alternative 1. Rudder commands are made by setting the lever to the required rudder angle, wherafter the rudder will move to the commanded angle and stop.

FU91 may be connected to AP45 in two different ways. See Fig. The lever can only be activated when the autopilot is in Helmsman mode. See table below. However, as soon as the FU91 is operated again lever is moved , the autopilot will resume FU mode. The lever can be activated also with autopilot in Auto mode. The mode change sequence is in principle similar to S9 operation alt.

The operation of each lever is identical to above description of a single lever. Activating one FU91 will deactivate the one that was previously active. It is recommended not to have both S9 and FU91 in operational condition at the same time. This may create confusion and inadvertent operation. The main rules are:. Course deviation is greater than selected off course alarm limit. Press the Alarm. Indicates that the autopilot is not reading rudder feedback signal.

By pressing the. If a rudder command is not executed, or the rudder moves in wrong direction, this. Check that the nav. All three messages indicate problems with reading the signals from the navigation receiver. If you are unable to cure the problem, the NAV-mode should not be used before a Robertson dealer has been consulted. These alarms will be given when the autopilot is unable to detect a proper signal from the selected heading sensor. If the autopilot should lose or read erratic data stored in the memory, this alarm will be given, and the autopilot is simultaneously set to MANUAL-mode.

A selection of standard settings is then automatically entered into the memory. The standard settings will make the autopilot steer, but not to its best performance on all vessels. If you prefer not to check the settings yourselves, enter the AUTO mode and consult your Simrad Robertson dealer when back in port. The watch alarm warning signal is repeated every four minutes as long as AP45 is in Auto, Work or Nav mode and is reset by pressing Alarm reset button.

There are different design principles for such an apparatus, but they all basically operate as shown in Fig. This diagram shows that the vessel's heading is supplied from the compass to a detector circuit. The detector will sense when the vessel is off course and to what side. The detected signal is amplified and directed to either energise the port or starboard solenoids, i. In order to stop the rudder movement, a feedback signal is produced from the feedback unit.

The feedback signal will be compared with the compass signal and when there is a balance between the two, the solenoid will be de-energised. The rudder has now been moved to a position that makes the vessel turn. This turn is picked up by the compass and causes a new unbalance between the feedback signal and the error signal which energises the opposite solenoid.

Now the rudder will start to move back towards the previous position, and the feedback signal will again cancel out the unbalance and de-energise the solenoid to stop the rudder. By utilising digital technology to perform the function of an autopilot, the typical block diagram will be slightly changed. Even so, the basic operation should be recognised on Fig. As we know, a microprocessor can only do what it has been programmed to. This is called software.

The program can be either fixed or partly adjustable to adapt the microprocessor to the individual type of vessels. In Robertson terminology this is called "setting parameters", and it will determine the performance of the autopilot. An optional navigation interface board N40 may be supplied.

The alarm circuit is also mounted on this board. The Illumination board consists of the display backlightingand the Information display electronics. All interconnecting plugs for heading sensors, junction unit and remote controls are mounted on the Control Board.

The two boards are interconnected with a ribbon cable which are soldered to the illumination board and plugged into the control board. All parameter settings and operation of the autopilot are made using the push buttons on the front panel. CD is a magnetic compass sensor in moulded plastic. It is mounted to a vessel's magnetic compass to transfer the heading information to the control unit.

The primary windings are excited by a pulsating signal. Dependant of the magnetism induced by the position of the compass card magnets Heading , pulses of variable amplitude will be generated in the secondary sine and cosine windings.

The rudder feedback unit transmits rudder angle information to the control unit and rudder angle indicators. It is mounted close to the rudder stock and mechanically connected to the rudder tiller arm by a transmission link.

The unit is repairable in that the electronics and the potentiometer can be replaced. The electronics have two output circuits. One circuit outputs frequency of Hz as midposition reference. The other circuit outputs a current 0. The RF45X is supplied with a fixed 4-wire, screened cable of 2 m 6 ft. This cable is meant to be spliced in the enclosed splash-proof junction box.

The transmission link mechanically connects the feedback unit to the rudder tiller arm. It is made of stainless steel and has standard length of mm.

The RF14XU Rudder Feedback Unit consists of a glass-reinforced fire inhibiting polyester housing with a mounting plate of seawater resistant aluminium. Potentiometer, limit switches and an electronic drive module are also contained in the unit. The electronic drive module comprises a voltage section and a frequency section. The voltage section outputs a voltage to the rudder angle indicator s which is proportional to the rudder angle.

The voltage should read zero volts with the rudder in midposition. The frequency section outputs a signal to the control unit with Hz as midposition reference. RF14XU is equipped with two sets of limit switches. One set can be connected in series with the autopilot solid state switch, the other can be incorporated in an independent hand steering system, if required.

The J45S Junction Unit operates hydraulic power units with directional valves e. Robertson RPU 1 and 3. It has been made for 12, 24 and 32V DC operation. The unit incorporates a printed circuit board with terminal block, fuse, polarity and over voltage protection, isolated solid state output for solenoid switching and start relay for the Power Unit, all mounted in a splash proof aluminium cabinet. The unit consists of a printed circuit board with terminal block, fuse, motor drive electronics and reversing relay mounted in the same type of aluminium cabinet as the J45S.

This prevents arcing of relay contacts. Connecting straps S1 and S2 provides adjustable V output for 24V drive units. Welcome to ManualMachine. We have sent a verification link to to complete your registration. Log In Sign Up. Forgot password? Enter your email address and check your inbox. Page of Go. Except for a bigger cabinet, the J45S and the J45A junction units described in this manual are identical to the previous versions, JS and JA respectively.

The unit contains a printed circuit board with terminal block, fuse, galvanic isolated solid state output to switch the solenoids and start relay for the Power Unit. All mounted in an aluminium cabinet with polyester coating.

The unit provides variable speed control of reversible hydraulic power units e. The unit consists of a printed circuit board with terminal block, fuse and drive electronics, mounted in the same type of aluminium cabinet as the J45S. A series of options are available for the basic AP45 system.