Raymarine S1000 Wireless Autopilot

Jazzmanic":22tqqqvf said:
Pat,

. It's very finnicky, i.e sometimes it works perfectly, sometimes I have to work with it. Sometimes it goes straight, sometimes it makes weird sudden turns. Sometimes it takes the heading, sometimes it won't. Oh well.
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I have found that the finnicky behavior is related to the quality of the gps signal. It must have a solid 3D lock. I have gone to a high sensitive gps with external antenna and the S1000 loves it. It may or may not work with only a 2D signal.
 
Pat Anderson":1pk4hjs7 said:
Could some of you with this unit installed direct me to pictures of where you have the unit mounted? I'd like to see my options. Thanks.
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Pat I posted a couple pictures of my S-1000 in my modifications album. The control unit and alarm are mounted to a piece of red oak which is epoxied to the hull behind the helm. The pump is simplied screwed to the back of the helm down low. I mounted the kill switch a little catch all tray I had previously made rather than drilling a hole for it in the helm.
 
I wanted to add that I often troll for Kokanee with the kicker on a stainless rod attachment at speeds as low as 1 to 1.2 mph and the little AP does just fine keeping a straight line (even in winds up to 10-12) though it is working almost constantly.

I'll point it at a shore landmark, run a mile or two, and still end up pointed directly at that landmark. Mighty impressive to me as, manually at the helm, I'd be all over the place. Allows a single angler to tend the riggers that could not be done easily without it.

Chris
 
Yes, mine works in all conditions. I use it mainly for trolling. I think the finnicky behavior is not due to the installation of the GPS puck, it receives the signal just fine. On another site, THT, there is much talk about the erratic behavior of the S1000 which they call "crazy ivans".

Maybe I need to download the latest software update. My comment was to illustrate that for the price, the S1000 does a good job but there are little things about it that drive me crazy. In other words, it's good but not great. Just my $.02.

Oh yeah, Pat, I'm still waiting for you to give me a date to install. As was mentioned above, the installation is surprisingly simple. It's as easy as following their very good directions on the CD they provide.
 
:?: We've been wanting an autopilot and based on comments here and a bit of research the Raymaine S1000 looks like the one we're going to install. We have Garmin 182C GPS and we travel up and down the ICC here in NC and SC quite alot. I had a couple questions I hope someone can answer for me.
Will the S1000 unit be able to follow a track with small course adjustments in it? we'd like to use it as we traverse the waterway.
Also will my GPS suffice or do I need to consider an upgrade?
Thanks for any opinions and assistance!
 
Hi Pegasus if you set up a route on your GPS the S-1000 will follow it from waypoint to waypoint. It's been a while since I've used mine in that manner but I think it asks you at each waypoint if you want to proceede to the next or something like that. You can also point and shoot and make small adjustments with the port and starboard arrow buttons. As long as your GPS has NMEA 0183 output it should work with the S-1000.

Have you seen my old buddy Rod Simpson at Mallard Bay lately?
 
Yes, it should follow the course pretty well, and the handheld remote will let you adjust a bit and dodge flotsom.

I don't know about your gps, hopefully someone will, but there are only a couple tiny nmea wire connections so it will be an easy swap if/when you upgrade (leave a little extra slack wire).If you like your current gps, I'd certainly give it a try.

I'd like to clarify one thing I said above in the last post. Though it will hold a course fairly well at slow speeds in wind (like valuable for single handed trolling), don't expect it to do that at all bearings to the wind, such as following a track. It needs a bit of speed\power to do that.

Chris
 
:D Thanks for the quick responses to my questions. I checked and the Garmin 182C GPS is NMEA 0183 capable so I don't think it will be a problem connecting it.

I'm glad to hear the S1000 will track as I wanted. I guess it's off to make a purchase tomorrow!

Mavin I have seen Rod on the water once or twice. I wish I could make the NC Gathering in Oriental but I will be in Japan on business at that time. Perhaps we can hold one in Topsail sometime.

Thanks again this forum is great!
 
The hydraulic pump associated with the S1000 on my boat froze up from non-use. Following the bleed procedure, I was able to free it up with the bottom port/starboard selector screw. Just thought I would record the finding here. It made minimal clicking noise (like not getting enough power) when actuated. The pump replacement is $$$, so good to find this fix
 
I think it was in non-use for maybe a year? My batteries in the handheld unit ran down early last year. I was lazy and didnt replace them, and thus no actuation of the pump. I now will turn that on and fully actuate it at least 3-4 times a year.
 
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