WheelPilot and TillerPilot Product

Mechanical Drive Noise




There have been a small number of reports of mechanical noise in Wheel- and TillerPilots after periods of extended use. Note that the steering operation of the pilots is not affected.
Any pilots returned to you outside of warranty with these symptoms should be inspected to check if there is evidence of wear of the small-toothed drive belt. Wear of the drive belt is usually indicated by a “rounding off” of the teeth. Should such wear be apparent, then the drive belt should be replaced. The replacement belt is provided in spares pack TPPK10.


All units with this problem during warranty period are to be returned to Quin Marine for service.

Regards Frank

RF45X 2

Upgrade of unit

The Simrad RF45X Rudder Feedback Unit has been through a quality upgrade to improve its EMC performance. This upgrade required a new PCB layout. Additionally a modification was done to the circuitry that made the internal jumper S1 redundant. The S1 jumper is now removed from the PCB. This means that it is no longer necessary to open the unit to switch between an ACXX/J3XX/AP50 and an AP45/AP9Mk3 connection.

The modified units have got revision code FA and the PCB’s have got revision code GA.

Late manual upgrade
The first modified units were sent to customer in early June. Unfortunately, at that stage the mounting instructions were not updated. Approximately one hundred modified units have been sent from our warehouse with the old mounting instructions supplied (20220612, rev. C).
Updated mounting instructions have been supplied with all units that have left the factory since July 1st. The updated instructions (Rev. D) are attached below.
We apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused you, but hope you will be satisfied with the improved RF45X unit.

Simrad RF45X Rudder Feedback Unit
Valid for RF45X with code FA onwards.
The RF45X is a medium duty rudder feedback unit. Mechanically it is identical to it’s predecessor RF45, therefore it is a repairable rather than a potted throw away item. Electrically it outputs a frequency (pulse width modulated) signal that matches with the ACXX/J3XX/J50 input (AP25/AP20/AP35/AP50), and also with AP45 and AP9 Mk3. The RF45X can also operate on 24V DC, a useful feature when connected in a stand alone rudder angle indicator system.

Connection to AP45 Autopilot
Refer to the AP45 manual for mounting and connection details. Connection to ACXX/J3XX/J50 junction units.

Mounting
The RF45X is normally installed with the shaft pointing upwards. It can, however, be mounted with the shaft pointing downwards if this is more convenient. The deflection can then be inverted as illustrated in Figure 2. An “upside-down” installation will make access to within the unit more convenient as the unit can be opened without moving it from the mounting base.

To open the unit, unscrew the two screws at the bottom and remove the cover. Be careful with the wires when you put back the cover. The unit is secured to the mounting base by the two enclosed Allen screws. (Other types of screws may be used when it is secured to e.g. a wooden base.)
Make the parallelogram configuration of the transmission link with the rudder amidships and temporarily fasten the link to the RF45X shaft. The transmission rod can be shortened by cutting off a piece using hacksaw. Move the rudder manually h.o. - h.o. and make sure the transmission link is moving freely in both directions.

Electrical connection
Use a twisted pair cable AWG20 (0.5 mm2) between the breakout box and the ACXX/J3XX/J50 junction unit. The cable length is not critical but should be kept at a minimum. The cable should be connected to the ACXX/J3XX/J50 junction unit. When splicing the cables in the breakout box, crimp the enclosed pins on each wire of the extension cable. Otherwise the wires may be cut off at the terminal point when the screws are tightened. The screen is not terminated in RF45X and must be connected in the ACXX/J3XX/J50 junction unit as per instructions in the autopilot manual.
Note!
The green and yellow wire is not used and must be isolated!

ACXX/J3XX/J50 connection
Alignment and calibration
The purpose of this procedure is to make the feedback
unit operate within its active segment. If the unit
operates outside this segment there will be a feedback failure alarm.

1. Position the rudder amidships.
2. Loosen the two screws that secure the
transmission lever to the RF45X shaft.
P/N 20220612D Page 3 of 3 30.06.05
3. Bring up the Standby mode to show the rudder angle.
4. Use a flat screwdriver in the slot and adjust the rudder angle to zero degrees on the display.
5. Secure the transmission lever to the shaft and proceed with the normal installation setup as per the autopilot manual.
Note!
If the autopilot presents you with a Rudder Feedback Alarm after turn on, proceed as follows:

• Turn the autopilot off. Use a flat screwdriver in the slot and turn the shaft 180°.
• Proceed from paragraph 3 above.

Spare Parts
22011290 RF45X Rudder Feedback Unit
22011217 Mounting kit
22011258 RF45X PCB Ass’y with potentiometer (10K)
22011365 Potentiometer (10K) with wires
22011183 RF45 Transmission Link
44132322 Transmission rod M8x30 (2)
22504054 Joint Nut M8
44157097 Ball Joint Socket
22011209 Ball Joint Pin
22504039 Transmission lever

Regards Frank.

RC25 and RC36 Rate Compass

Compass is causing communication failure
We have during the past few months seen an increasing number of RC25 and RC36 rate compasses being returned with a common failure.

Symptom
The autopilot displays “Com. Failure with J3XX” or “Com. Failure with ACXX” depending on the autopilot model.

Cause
A defective IC100 (RS485 Bus Driver) in the compass short circuits the Robnet bus and activates the communication failure alarm.

Remedy
Simrad have made a new PCB layout for these compasses with improved protection of IC100.
The protection consists of four transorb diodes on the Robnet and Robnet2 buses. These new diodes are D100, D101, D102 and D103.
The new PCBs have got revision code DA, and are already taken into use in the compasses.
There is no new product code on the compasses, but we have following references in serial no’s:
RC25: from s.n. 4675
RC36: from s.n. 4023
Please observe that it is not possible to modify units that have earlier revisions of the PCB. A replacement PCB is the only cure.

Obvoisely arrangements need to be made if you encounter this problem. Please contact me accordingly.

Regards Frank.