Lowrance Auto pilot

Will-C · Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 8:44 am Post subject: Lowrance Auto pilot

At 999.00 this is the new low price spread in the auto pilot game. I think it has to be coupled with the new generation Lowrance chart plotter. Check out the link.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/LOWRANCE-OUTBOARD-PILOT-HYDRAULIC-KIT/1932257.uts?productVariantId=4039481&srccode=cii_17588969&cpncode=36-45670045-2&WT.tsrc=CSE&WT.mc_id=GoogleProductAds&WT.z_mc_id1=04052882&rid=20
D.D.

rogerbum · Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 1:00 pm Post subject:

I've been looking at those since they were announced a few months back. For some reason though, they don't recommend their use with twin engine configurations. Does anyone know why that is?

Kushtaka · Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2015 2:23 pm Post subject:

third-hand from obsessive googling, but someone posted that they called a lowrance rep and they are fine with twin outboards, but do not work with twin helms.

I have no idea whether this is true, but it seemed genuine enough to me. Wish I could go find the URL for the post/info, but no dice.

Looks like this unit is shipping now. I'm dying to find out if anyone has one and likes it? I would be the first in line for one, but the Admiral/CFO has other ideas at the moment (new kitchen).

thataway · Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2015 9:15 pm Post subject:

One of the questions was why and when was it going to be available to use with gen three MDF? When at the boat show about a month ago, it was "any time".

Kushtaka · Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2015 5:01 pm Post subject:

I'm not even sure that it works with all HDS Gen2 MFDs yet. When first released there was info on some retailers' websites indicating that it wouldn't work with the "Touch" models yet.

I think the "good" news is that the hardware is compatible (or so I'm told), but the software is not yet. So, if you were to purchase the Outboard Pilot and had one of these MFDs that weren't supported, a software patch would become available at some point.

I've decided that I'm going to forget about this thing for a bit though. I've been excited about it for so long, and it has just not been released. It makes me think the price point may be too good to be true, and that they can't really make it work right at that price. I'm sure they can make it work, but likely they are cutting corners on materials or build process to hit that price point. It makes a lot of sense to me, because the price was announced so long ago, but no product followed, so they really can't be designing a good, low cost unit, they are designing something to fit that $999 promise. I'd rather pay $1200 and get something that is less compromised.

This is all a guess, but they really kind of shook my confidence in the unit by having it announced so long, and to have the release delayed so long afterwards. Something ain't right.

I'm hoping that I'm off the mark and that this thing is awesome, but I'm going to need to hear it from someone braver (or with more boat bucks to waste) than I.

ghone · Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2015 6:55 pm Post subject:

I think that's a very good move to just hold on a second.
I recall my time at WM when our chairman Randy Repass tore a major strip off some big name mfg's for having our customers do their product testing in his opening address to 450 managers, reps and CEO' etc
He was mad!!
His state of the art, up to the second ('06)Raymarine auto pilot had recently failed as his cat ketch Convergence was running at 15 knots at night halfway to Tahiti from Hawaii. Major damage has averted but pilots should hold. The boat did an uncontrolled gybe while surfing. C is a quick boat.
Most of the big name stuff on his new boat failed. I believe the manufacturers still recall that day and are more reluctant to release early. Garmin is strong in pilots. Lowrance is strong in sounders for fishing. They have a ways to go to catch in GPS and pilots in my opinion. If I was going to do an auto pilot, it would be all Garmin. If I was outfitting a new boat today I would put Simrad and Garmin systems side by side and pick the one that was easiest to use. As some folks have found out, the cheapest one isn't usually the best one. In my history when asking for quotes, the lowball got tossed. Obviously they missed something. Quality is really appreciated, when it's too dark, it's too windy and you're tired. Cheap stuff starts to fail and cascade events begin. No fun.

George

Kushtaka · Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 7:23 pm Post subject:

So, has anyone tried one of these out yet? It seems that they should be working well now with everything but the HDS Gen3 units.

I've been looking at prices, and they are all advertised at $999 (minimum advertised price), and many vendors sell for that price, but have seen several online retailers show prices down to around $850 once you have added the item to your cart.

thataway · Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2015 1:19 am Post subject:

Gratitude · Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2015 10:09 am Post subject:

Last weekend at the Channel Islands Landing in Oxnard, CA, one of the fellow boaters was complaining that his Lowrance Autopilot was still not working, and was very upset.

That is the only information that I can supply.

Kushtaka · Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2015 4:24 pm Post subject:

That's what I'm seeing as well. The software should now work with all but the latest MFDs.

I have seen some positive feedback on it for those who have the oldest HDS MFDs, once they got it working. Most folks seem to have spent a grand and have no functionality.

I really want this product to work though.

journey on · Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2015 6:46 pm Post subject:

An autopilot is a simple basic device. You give it a heading, it measures cross track error and when it reaches a given amount (10 ft?) it switches on a electric pump/actuator to move the steering device so as to correct the error and turns it off when the proper damped heading and/or cross track error is achieved. Every GPS I've owned gives cross track error if you've laid out a course so that function is standard.. Turning the pump on and off is basic servo design. I've had Raymarine autopilots since the 80's and they've all worked out of the box. So what's the problem?

Journey On has a S6000 autopilot I bought in 2005 and it's worked well for 10 years. Greatest operational aid on the boat. It consists of a flux gate for direction, a processor for the calculations and pump switching, a control/display unit and a hydraulic pump. It includes a NMEA0183 interface, which works, but I don't use it because it's a pain in the ass.

So here's my guess. Electronics are straight forward to design and build. Look at all the MFDs on the market which work well. Feedback sensors have become optical rate gyros augmented by GPS. So that leaves the pump as the last expensive item. You can only make those so cheap, since they have to move a motor, sometimes rapidly and always dependably. And finally now there's software to tie all this together.

So I'm guessing that software development is done in cheap places and not well tested, certainly not integrated. My experience with my Lowrance HDS2 MFD is that they issue software updated every few months. I do know that the updates don't always work as they should and Lowrance support can't contact the software developments via a problem report; so they've told me. All this is a sign of crappy but cheap software development.

Next, since the 2005 Raymarine hydraulic pump has worked for 10 years, I suspect that product improvement has reduced both the capability and dependability of the 2015 pumps since i"m hearing of pump failures. Just as comparison, the Raymarine autopilot cost $1200 in 2005. So a $1000 autopilot in 2015 has to be 30% cheaper and how are you going to do that?

So I'll wait for a couple of years to invest in a new autopilot. Great bells and whistles, but poor integration and dependability.

Boris

thataway · Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2015 1:00 am Post subject:

Boris, If you want to get simple, my first Auto pilot (other than the Signet Tiller pilot), was a B 26 Bomber compass, with two parallel tungsten wires, and a set of contacts between. When the compass (cross track error) was about 2 degrees off, then the contacts drove a relay, which turned on a motor to a chain drive and turned the rudder. No worry about GPS, waypoints or anything so esoteric!

I think that Boris is right--too many add ons, and fancy things to do!

One of the problems with current motors, is that they are being built in China (back to that). As one of the techs from Norway said, they could not even buy the Simrad pilot hydraulic pump/motor set for $1,000!

journey on · Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2015 3:19 pm Post subject:

OK, Bob, my first autopilot was a teen age daughter or which I had a serial supply. After one trip to and from Catalina, I got a cheap Autohelm and never look back. The original autopilots are now raising a new generation of autopilots, just as willing and able.

Boris

Kushtaka · Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2015 1:06 pm Post subject: Looks like the software is out

Well, after some research, it seems there is a groundswell of satisfaction with this gear after the most recent software update's release. While these are small murmurings on various message boards, and product reviews at online retailers, it seems the current release works (?).

It is available for around $850, and Lowrance has some attractive rebates, to clear out the HDS Gen2 inventory they hold maybe? Anyway, I'm still not quite at the point where I'm going to purchase this, but really only because I'm tending to some screw holes in the hull, installing a davit and maybe a radar arch, moving the heater, etc etc. But It's tempting to jump the gun!

thataway · Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2015 6:36 pm Post subject:

The threads I have been following show that the new soft ware has finally been released, and some folks are having issues with it, others seem to have a decent install. Consider that this product was announced over 2 years ago, didn't really start shipping until slightly less than 6 months ago, and just now we have some buggy upgrades.

I may be missing some outstanding reviews, and my apology if I have missed them. One item which still worry's me is that one of their beta testers is concerned about the longevity of the motor. His comment was that the electronics are basically from the Simrad pilot--which are excellent, but that the entire package costs less than the motor does for the cheapest Simrad. Maybe the motor/pumpset will be fine--but we will only know after thousands of hours on the water.

On the large boat we took Calif to Europe, I sized the auto pilot pump (Benmar) for a boat of twice the tonnage and about 50 % larger size. Never had a problem with the pump/hydraulics. (I had to replace several circuit boards, because I didn't have all that good weather protection for the "brains". The norm for the cruising world is to either have another pump set ready to go, or have it fully installed--as a second pilot, incase the primary goes down. Yes, our C Dory's are different, and our uses are far different.