Northstar NS3300 Pilot System Reference Manual Contents 1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 1-1 Autopilot Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using this manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1-1 Operating modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1-2 Steering modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1-3 Power steering modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1-4 Turn modes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 5 5 5 6 6 3-7 Setting the steering mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8 Changing course. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8-1 Changing course in compass mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8-2 Changing course in GPS mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9 Dodge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8-3 Changing set wind angle in wind mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9-1 Dodging in compass mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10 Turn modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9-2 Dodging in GPS mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9-3 Dodging in wind mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10-1 Auto tacking in compass mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10-2 Turns in compass mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10-3 Auto tacking or gybing in wind mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11 Power steering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12 Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13 Keylock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14 Simulate mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12-1 The alarm window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12-2 Active alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12-3 Alarm history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12-4 Alarm details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 12 12 12 13 13 13 14 14 14 15 16 17 19 19 20 20 20 20 20 20 2 Quickstart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 2-1 2-2 2-3 2-4 2-5 2-6 2-7 2-8 Starting the autopilot system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using the autopilot to steer the boat automatically . . . . . . . . . . Changing course during a voyage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Changing steering mode during a voyage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Regaining manual control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Action in an emergency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Manually steering the boat from the boats helm . . . . . . . . . . . . Manually steering the boat using power steering . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 7 7 7 7 7 8 8 3 Autopilot operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 3-2 Turning the NS3300 Pilot on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1-1 AUTO key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1-2 STBY key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1-3 Dodge keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1-4 Turn key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1-5 MODE key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1-6 Control Dial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1-7 ESC key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1-8 ENT key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1-9 MENU key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1-10 DISP key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3 Turning the NS3300 Pilot off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4 Backlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5 Engaging autopilot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6 Disengaging autopilot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 11 11 11 11 4 The displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 4-1 Display > Basic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2 Display > Pilot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3 Display > Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4 Display > Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5 Display > Active alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 22 23 24 24 5 Data headers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 6 Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 6-1 Setup > System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 6-2 Setup > Profiles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 6-3 Setup > Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 6-4 6-5 6-6 6-7 6-8 6-9 Setup > Vessel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setup > Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setup > Units. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setup > Comms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setup > Calibrate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setup > Simulate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 28 28 29 29 30 7 Steering modes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 7-1 Compass steering mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1-1 Compass steering data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1-2 Engaging and disengaging the autopilot in compass mode . . 7-2 GPS steering mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-2-1 GPS navigation data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-2-2 Engaging and disengaging the autopilot in GPS mode . . . . 7-2-3 Arriving at waypoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-2-4 GPS gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-3 Wind steering mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-3-1 Wind steering data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-3-2 True and apparent wind speed and direction. . . . . . . . . . . . 7-3-3 Engaging the autopilot in wind mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-3-4 Wind gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 31 32 33 33 34 35 35 36 36 37 38 39 8 Optimizing steering performance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 8-1 Steering parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 8-2 Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 8-3 Adjusting the steering parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 9 Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 10 Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Reference Manual 3 Congratulations on choosing the Northstar NS3300 PilotAutopilot. For maximum benefit, please read this manual carefully before installation and use. This manual describes how to use and set up the NS3300 Pilotand the associated equipment. This manual also explains how to operate the NS3300 Piloteffectively and provides troubleshooting and performance tips. Important Notice: · It is the owner's sole responsibility to install and use the instrument and transducer(s) in a manner that will not cause accidents, personal injury or property damage. The user of this product is solely responsible for observing safe boating practices. · It is vital to the performance of the Autopilot that the transducers are installed in the best location. Please follow the installation instructions very carefully. · The choice, location, and installation of all components in any autopilot system is critical. If installation is not correct, the unit can not perform at its designed potential. If in doubt, consult your Northstar dealer. · Ensure that any holes that are cut are in a safe position and will not weaken the boat's structure. · If in doubt, consult a qualified boat builder. Using the NS3300 Pilot: · The NS3300 Pilot is intended to aid a helmsman from having to steer for long periods of time, not as the main means of steering the boat. · The NS3300 Pilot is not intended for use in extreme weather, in adverse conditions or in water near other boats, dangerous waters or land. · The NS3300 Pilot can not control the boat better than a helmsman. In adverse conditions steer the boat manually. · Never leave the helm unattended. Keep a watch at all times. The helmsman should always monitor the course of the boat and the NS3300 Pilot and be ready to resume steering the boat manually. · The performance of the NS3300 Pilot can be affected by the failure of a part, environmental conditions, improper installation and use. Note: The User is to be aware that when the autopilot is powered on, the Control Dial and Dodge keys are active and can operate the rudder at any time (see Power Steering modes 1-1-3) NORTHSTAR DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY FOR ANY USE OF THIS PRODUCT IN A WAY THAT MAY CAUSE ACCIDENTS, DAMAGE OR THAT MAY VIOLATE THE LAW. Northstar is continuously improving this product; we retain the right to make changes to the product at any time which may not be reflected in this version of manual. Please contact your nearest Northstar office if you require any further assistance. Governing Language: This statement, any instruction manuals, user guides and other information relating to the product (Documentation) may be translated to, or has been translated from, another language (Translation). In the event of any conflict between any Translation of the Documentation, the English language version of the Documentation will be the official version of the Documentation. Copyright © 2005 NORTHSTAR. All rights reserved. 4 Northstar NS3300 Pilot 1 Introduction The NS3300 Pilot is a superior quality, high performance autopilot display head. The Northstar autopilot system has the flexibility to be used with power or sail boats. The NS3300 Pilot has dedicated performance keys and a large 3.8" Color TFT display. This provides the user with exceptionally easy to use controls. The NS3300 Pilot is part of the Northstar family of instruments for boats, which includes instruments for speed, depth, wind and repeaters. These instruments can be connected together to form an integrated data system for a boat. The autopilot's performance is enhanced if it is connected to a boat speed instrument such as a Northstar MULTI 3100 or a GPS instrument. Northstar NS3300 Pilot Using this manual This manual describes how to operate the NS3300 Pilot. Refer to the separate NS3300 Pilot Installation Manual for information on how to install and setup the NS3300 Pilot before use. For maximum benefit, please read this manual carefully before using the NS3300 Pilot. Cleaning and maintenance Clean the parts of the NS3300 Pilot with a damp cloth or mild detergent. Avoid abrasive cleaners, petrol or other solvents. Do not paint any part of ...