I already built one. It worked like crap.
Here is the problem. At slow speeds, the gps sends erratic data . It needs speeds over 1.5mph to accurately plot a direction. At slow speeds, the servo steer motor goes wild, just like the pointer on a gps when not moving or slow moving.
Raymarine had a small autopilot for steering small craft. It was removed from the market because the erratic gps data was causing the servo motor to "overwork" at slow speeds and the boats roamed all over the lake/ocean. The one I built did the same thing. I looked into buying one of their units, but decided against it. The Raymarine unit used a small dc motor just like the ones in MK and MG trolling motors.
By the way, both MG and MK use Johnson DC motors for the steering motor. ha
I talked to the Raymarine engineers several times. They were very helpful when I built my unit.
Raymarine still makes a steering unit that is hydraulic controlled. No dc motor to wear out. Big bucks and for big boats.
You can go to Raymarine and read up on their recent discontinued devices. I believe the helmpilot is what it was called.
I have not given up on this idea.
Last edited by Cane Pole; 09-01-2007 at 04:12 PM.
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