Autopilot Controller
The brains of the autopilot including the motor controller. This box has everything that the autopilot needs, A 9 degree top notch motion sensor with compass, wifi, bluetooth, nmea input, wireless receiver and nmea input. The only thing you need to do is hook it up to your battery and motor that is controlling your rudder. The nmea input is 0183. The hardware is there, but the software is not supporting it yet. That part will be released in 2025.
$229.00
Installation
To install the autopilot, you only need to connect 4 wires and place the box with its back to a wall. wiring RED to the battery positive terminal and BLACK to the battery negative terminal. Keep the wires to the motor and battery as short as possible and use thick enough cables to handle the currents of your motor. I recommend 4mm2 /12 AWG wires.
The Blue and orange cable should be connected to your motor. When you have more than 2 wires coming out of your motor and actuator, then probably the 2 thickest wires are directly attached to the motor. Connect the 2 wires, and test if the rudder moves right when pressing on the +1 or +10 button. If the rudder moves the wrong way, just switch the wires. Alternatively, you can reverse the motor direction from the app
Box Place the units with one side pointing upwards, not angled more than 25 degrees. The compass will work in any direction. Make sure it is not close to metal or wires conducting high currents. Place the unit 1 centimeter away for each Amp that a cable is running. The compass works on steel ships, but doesn’t give a accurate reading because of the magnetic field deviation. Since the box is waterproof it can be mounted on deck, avoiding more metal or wires.
You can always contact me or consult the Facebook group.
Disclaimer
The autopilot is intended as a steering aid, and you should always remain at the helm. The autopilot is not aware of its surroundings and relies on sensitive instruments that may be subject to interference. The seller is not responsible for any damage, loss, or accidents resulting from the use of the autopilot. The use of the autopilot is entirely at the buyer’s own risk. It is the buyer’s responsibility to ensure that the device is suitable and safe for use on their specific boat and in their particular boating conditions. Actuators Any Brushed DC motor can be used. When buying a linear actuator, one with end-limit switches is advised. Because when the helm is at its end, and the motor still tries to push, the causes heat and can eventually lead to burns. The autopilot on a straight course should not hit the end of the steering. There is a built-in protection that makes sure that the motor does not run for more than 5 seconds at full speed in a single direction to prevent too much heat generation Autopilot tuning Because this autopilot supports a wide variety of motors and type of boats, you need to tune the characteristics inside the app.