JRC Alphatron AlphaPilot MFS Operation Manual Download Page 1

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AlphaPilot MFS

Operation Manual

www.alphatronmarine.com

Summary of Contents for Alphatron AlphaPilot MFS

Page 1: ...AlphaPilot MFS Operation Manual www alphatronmarine com ...

Page 2: ...andby S mode 22 3 3 FU F mode 22 3 4 Auto A control mode 22 3 4 1 Introduction 22 3 4 2 Enable Auto A control mode 23 3 4 3 Steering in Auto A control mode 23 3 5 Track T control mode 25 3 5 1 Introduction 25 3 5 2 Enable Track T control mode 25 3 5 3 Steering in Track T control mode 25 3 6 Dodge D control mode 26 3 6 1 Introduction 26 3 6 2 Enable Dodge D control mode 26 3 6 3 Steering in Dodge D...

Page 3: ... screen calibration 31 5 1 2 Display cleaning 33 5 1 3 Theme 34 5 1 4 Date and time 35 5 1 5 About 35 5 1 6 Alarm test 36 6 Alarms warnings and cautions 37 Appendices 40 Appendix A Alphatron MFS Alerts 41 Alert display messages and BAM alert types 41 Operational Alarms 46 Diagnostic failure messages Heading Sensors 47 Diagnostic failure messages Miscellaneous 48 Ethernet Alarms 49 ...

Page 4: ... is intended to reduce the operator s workload increase the vessel motion eﬃciency and improve operational safety The AlphaPilot MFS Control Unit is the main control module of the AlphaPilot MFS system It is used for control and monitoring of autopilot operation setting vessel heading or rudder angle selection of autopilot operating modes Thoroughly read this operation manual before operating the ...

Page 5: ...tory Revision No Date Description Author 1 0 02 12 2020 First issue J Kreeft 1 1 18 02 2021 Completeley updated Appendix A Removed MFS model J Kreeft 1 2 19 02 2021 Additional updates on Appendix A Minor textual updates J Kreeft ...

Page 6: ...tal Nautical Charts ECDIS Electronic Chart Display and Information System ENC Electronic Navigational Charts FU Follow Up GPS Global Positioning System HCS Heading Control System HSC High Speed Craft HMS Heading Monitor System IMO International Maritime Organization NFU Non Follow Up OHA Off Heading Alarm PID Proportional Integral Derivative PS Port Side RAD Radius RFU Rudder Feedback Unit ROT Rat...

Page 7: ... warrant an alarm or warning condition but still requires attention out of the ordinary consideration of the situation or of given information An alert provides information about a defined state change in connection with information about how to announce this event in a defined way to the system and the operator Alerts are separated for the alert handling into three categories of alerts Category A...

Page 8: ... depth sounders Electronic Navigational Charts An official database created by a national hydrographic office for use with an ECDIS Heading The horizontal direction in which a vessel points or heads at any instant expressed in angular units from a reference direction usually from 000 at the reference direction clockwise through 360 Heading control Control of the vessel s heading HCS Heading Contro...

Page 9: ...nd bearing on own vessel s radar Relative speed The speed of a target relative to own vessel s position It is deduced from several measurements of target range and bearing on own vessel s radar Rudder Feedback Unit The Rudder Feedback Unit can be used in a rudder angle indicator system and as a part of the control loop in a steering control system SOLAS Safety of Life at Sea An international marit...

Page 10: ...Control or Track Control Systems to be fitted to all vessels of 10000 GT and upward There is no requirement to fit a Track Control system to any class of vessel Track Control Systems include the functional capabilities of Heading Control systems Waypoint An intermediate point or place on a route or line of travel a stopping point or point at which course is changed ...

Page 11: ...Failure to comply with the precautions or with specific dangers warnings and cautions elsewhere in this manual violates safety standards of design manufacture and intended use of the equipment ALPHATRON MARINE assumes no liability for the customer s failure to comply with these requirements WARNING AlphaPilot MFS is a very useful navigational aid but DOES NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES REPLACE A HUMA...

Page 12: ... it repaired Prolonged equipment operation under such a condition can cause a fire or electric shock WARNING Do not place a container containing liquid on the equipment Otherwise it may cause a fire or you may suffer an electrical shock if knocked over WARNING When unplugging the instrument be sure to remove the cord terminal correctly If the cord is pulled the cord may get damaged resulting in a ...

Page 13: ...the warranty NOTICE Installation of this product shall only be done by a certified installation company approved by either ALPHATRON MARINE or by an official ALPHATRON MARINE distributor Acting otherwise will void the warranty NOTICE This product contains no operator serviceable parts Service and repair shall only be carried out by personnel trained and certified by ALPHATRON MARINE NOTICE Do not ...

Page 14: ...hatron AlphaPilot MFS system AlphaPilot MFS Control Unit contains a description of the Control Unit and its interface Operating modes contains a description of the autopilot operating modes Controls and functions contains a description of the basic functions such as dimming alert handling and alarm test Menus contains a description of the accessible menus and menu items Alarms warnings and caution...

Page 15: ... AlphaPilot MFS Installation manual for more details about the Distribution Unit WARNING AlphaPilot is a very useful navigational aid but DOES NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES REPLACE A HUMAN NAVIGATOR Do not use automatic steering in the following conditions In heavy traffic areas or in narrow waters In poor visibility or extreme sea conditions When in areas where the law prohibits use of autopilot Wh...

Page 16: ... HSC Code 13 IMO Res MSC 97 73 2000 HSC Code 13 IMO Res A 694 17 IMO Res A 822 19 IMO Res MSC 191 79 IMO Res MSC 302 87 IMO MSC 1 Circ 1349 Fail to safety principle Fail to safety principle is implemented in the AlphaPilot MFS system design i e any failure results in the least critical of any possible new conditions ...

Page 17: ...e Figure 2 on page 18 The rotary knob which is used for various purposes such as changing heading and setting parameters It can be used instead of the LEFT RIGHT and CONFIM SET buttons for more infromation refer to the next page The ON OF button is used to reset the AlphaPilot MFS Figure 1 AlphaPilot MFS Control Unit All information menus and functions are by default in English Information shown o...

Page 18: ...ge 21 Figure 2 AlphaPilot MFS Control Unit Displayed information Actual heading Compass source Set RAD ROT value Alert symbol Actual speed Actual ROT or RAD value Information area Source for actual speed Operating mode Rudder order Rudder feedback Decrease brightness level Increase brightness level Menu Set ROT or RAD mode LEFT CONFIRM SET RIGHT Rudder Thruster modes APH ON OFF REMOTE ON OFF ...

Page 19: ...irm set a chosen value Increase brightness level Increase brightness level of all modules simultaneously Information area Info depends on the heading control mode The following information can be displayed Vessel position LON LAT is available in all operating modes if position source is available from GPS or ECDIS COG SOG data and its type is available in all operating modes if COG SOG data is ava...

Page 20: ...own Shows the pre set limit for the angle of the rudder Rudder limit can be set via the CONTROL LIMITS button See section Change the Rudder Limit on page 24 Rudder order Rudder feedback Rudder order and rudder feedback of the RFU Rudder Feedback Unit Presented as rudder angle in degrees NOTE Rudder feedback should follow the rudder order Rudder Thruster modes This button is used select Rudder only...

Page 21: ...essel is manoeuvring and navigating in restricted waters channels and areas with traffic density Auto Autopilot is in control in Automatic heading control mode The autopilot steers the vessel to the reference course as shown on the display When wind and or current will push the vessel off course the Autopilot will measure and counteract to keep the vessel to the set heading The reference course wi...

Page 22: ...ding control In FU mode the vessel can be hand steered by using a FU Tiller or Steering wheel Hand steering is typically used when the vessel is manoeuvring and navigating in restricted waters channels and areas with traffic density traffic density Autopilot will go into FU F mode automatically when the external steering mode selector is switched to the FU position 3 4 Auto A control mode 3 4 1 In...

Page 23: ...pre set heading exceeds the Heading Alarm 3 4 2 Enable Auto A control mode Press the MODE AUTO button to change the control mode the identifier of the next available control mode appears on the display When the Auto A control mode is shown press the CONFIRM SET button and the Autopilot goes into selected mode the A symbol appears in Operating mode field on the display 3 4 3 Steering in Auto A cont...

Page 24: ...e been established from experience during sea passages with the Autopilot in operation selection of the Non Adaptive mode will be necessary to enable primary control settings YAW RUDDER COUNTER RUDDER to be manually adjusted 3 4 3 3 Change the Rudder Limit If the existence of safe limiting factors is uncertain the Rudder Limit function which otherwise limits the maximum permissible angle of rudder...

Page 25: ...nded ROT from TCS NOTE While in Track T control mode the system continuously checks for the validity age format and check sum of HTC HSC messages If one of these messages are missing an alarm is generated NOTE Rudder Limit SET ROT and SET RAD parameters are not used during operation in Track T control mode AlphaPilot uses incoming HTC sentences commanded HTS ROT or RAD from an external TCS 3 5 2 E...

Page 26: ...T and SET RAD parameters are not used during operation in Dodge D control mode 3 6 2 Enable Dodge D control mode Enable the external Dodge controller The Autopilot goes into Dodge D control mode the D symbol appears in Operating mode field on the display NOTE External Dodge controller demands will result in Follow Up or fixed rudder angle application to produce TEMPORARY course change since when t...

Page 27: ...lied by the Autopilot over a period when underway to offset the rudder and or thruster level to eliminate heading errors caused by windage or vessel trim etc This feature is always operational when the Autopilot is switched from STANDBY to ON and permits the Autopilot to copy the angle of offset rudder and or direction and level of thruster compensation manually applied to steer the vessel dead ah...

Page 28: ...r modes 4 6 Alert handling When an alarm or warning occurs the speaker will beep in an uninterrupted sequence When the alarm or warning message is read and acknowledged on the AlphaPilot MFS Control Unit the speaker will be muted When the alarm is deactivated problem solved the alarm or warning will disappear See section Alarms warnings and cautions on page 37 for more information 4 7 Dimming The ...

Page 29: ...29 Controls and functions 4 9 Alarm test Generate an alarm for testing purpose See Alarm test at section Menu Main Menu on page 30 ...

Page 30: ...wing subsections Press the button to go back to the previous screen Press the ACCEPT button to save a change Press the DISCARD button to discard changes Parameters can be adjusted with the and buttons 5 1 Menu Main Menu This menu is primarily used to quickly change settings during operation To enter the main menu single press the MENU button Figure 5 Menu Main Menu Menu item Description TOUCH CAL ...

Page 31: ...ttings which are only needed during commissioning or troubleshooting ALPHAPILOT To change Advanced settings of the AlphaPilot MFS Distribution Unit Only a commissioning engineer has access to the Advanced settings which are only needed during commissioning or troubleshooting NOTE If Autopilot is engaged then this menu is not accessible ALARM TEST To verify whether the alert handling is working cor...

Page 32: ...he application will determine whether the sequence is carried out correctly If the text VALID CALIBRATION appears then the calibration is performed accurately 3 Test calibration for accuracy by dragging a finger across the screen The line that appears on the screen should follow the finger 4 Press the ACCEPT button if calibration is correct or touch the AGAIN button to repeat the calibration proce...

Page 33: ... an indication is activated then the touch screen will be activated immediately and the instrument will be operable again To start Clean Mode perform the following procedure 1 Press the CONFIRM CLEANING THE SCREEN button to start the Clean Mode 2 The AlphaPilot MFS Control Unit starts the countdown sequence The touch screen is now deactivated and the surface can be cleaned After 60 seconds or at a...

Page 34: ...red ILLUMINATION value Three different illumination pre sets can be selected in accordance with ambient light DAY DUSK and NIGHT 2 Press the ACCEPT button to confirm the chosen setting 5 1 3 2 Language In all inland applications river three languages may be selected ENGLISH GERMAN and DUTCH To change the language perform the following procedure 2 Press the or button to select the desired LANGUAGE ...

Page 35: ...the button to select the TIME screen 3 Press the and or button to set the correct TIME values 4 Press the ACCEPT button to confirm the chosen values and return to the Main Menu 5 To abort press the button to return to the Main Menu 5 1 5 About The About screen contains the name and version of the software and when it was built NOTICE When asking for support this information will be useful ...

Page 36: ...s and the alarm is activated with a dummy alarm See section Alarms warnings and cautions on page 37 for the different alert states 3 Press the Alert symbol to show the alarm bar The message TEST ALARM IN PROGRESS appears on the Information bar 4 Press the Information bar to acknowledge the alarm The dummy alarm is acknowledged and stops flashing 5 In the MENU press the ALARM TEST button again 6 Pr...

Page 37: ... without an audible signal The alert messages listed Appendix A Alphatron MFS Alerts will be displayed if appropriate and will be accompanied by the appropriate Alert symbol Warnings and alarms are accompanied by an audible signal unless the audible alarm has been muted The alert messages are also transmitted to BAM Bridge Alert Management system if applicable Alerts are acknowledged by pressing t...

Page 38: ...udible signal repeated within every 5 min or replaced by an alarm Warnings active not acknowledged Flashing Silent Warnings active silenced Steadily shown Silent Rectified unacknowledged alarm Steadily shown Silent Rectified unacknowledged warning Steadily shown Suppression of audible signal Silent Alarm active acknowledged Steadily shown Silent Warnings active acknowledged Steadily shown Silent C...

Page 39: ... an immediate reaction and informs about the degradation of the system without deterioration of the quality of management An Alert is indicated via the Alert symbol and an audible signal The Alert message is displayed when by pressing on the Alert symbol The audible signal is silenced and flashing of the Alert symbol stops by pressing on the Alert message An alert message is maintained until the i...

Page 40: ...40 Alarms warnings and cautions Appendices ...

Page 41: ...teering failed No input data Warning Alarm HCS fault HCS fault Switch to manual steering Warning Alarm HCS fault HSC unavailable Control unit fault Warning Alarm HCS fault No Setup data Caution HCS fault Control unit interface error Caution HCS fault Rudder feedback A failed Caution HCS fault Rudder feedback B failed Caution HCS fault Draft adaptive control unavailable no data Caution Low speed Sh...

Page 42: ...containing details of the specific error condition When the Autopilot is set to standby mode disengaged these failure conditions will be cleared NOTE Contact a certified installation company approved by either ALPHATRON MARINE or by an official ALPHATRON MARINE distributor for support Doubtful heading i The Autopilot is equipped with an integral Course Comparator which compares data received from ...

Page 43: ...re several failure conditions that will result in a HCS Unavailable caution alert see below for details i HCS Unavailable Internal Distribution Unit Failure ii HCS Unavailable Internal Distribution Unit 7V Error iii HCS Unavailable Internal Distribution Unit 3 5V Error iv HCS Unavailable Internal Distribution Unit 2 5V Error v HCS Unavailable No HDG source available Step HDG failed vi HCS Unavaila...

Page 44: ...OTE Contact a certified installation company approved by either ALPHATRON MARINE or by an official ALPHATRON MARINE distributor for support iv HCS fault Draft adaptive control unavailable no data caution The Draft failure alarm will only be activated if the Autopilot has previously been installed using such data 4 20 mA draft input signal which is later absent check 4 20 mA Draft Data Source NOTE ...

Page 45: ... control Speed over the Ground SOG data is essential to Autopilot constant radius turn performance for which IEC61162 1 or 2 sentence types XXVTG or XXVBW must be available If these sentence types are absent the No radius control Radius control unavailable no SOG data caution message will be activated check SOG Speed Data Source NOTE Contact a certified installation company approved by either ALPH...

Page 46: ...TE ON OFF button is set to ON NO ORIDE CAL No override cal HSC requirement This alarm confirms that no cal data has been entered during initial High Speed vessel HSC installation and sea trials to provide safe angles of rudder based on vessel speeds and associated safe rate of turns when single or dual override controls are operated NOTE Contact a certified installation company approved by either ...

Page 47: ...been inhibited and will not be re enabled until the Autopilot Mode Switch set to STANDBY 1 NOTE The comments made in HDT 1 FAIL reference filtering and 15 restoration provided within 15 of current heading are applicable to the HDG sentence HDM 1 FAIL Channel 1 input An unreasonable rate of change of heading has been detected in the HDM NMEA 0183 heading data The HDM sentence has been inhibited and...

Page 48: ...on occurs if step by step heading input data is interrupted requiring that the Autopilot heading indication be realigned when the step data is restored 2 Diagnostic failure messages Miscellaneous L SW OPEN This is an operational status alarm applicable to both Port and Starboard limit switches and is displayed on the AlphaPilot MFS Control Unit if either limit switch is rendered open circuit 2 STE...

Page 49: ...ystem control ii Rudder at maximum physical limit iii Rudder not at demanded angle due to incorrect calibration of AlphaPilot MFS Distribution Unit Output Gain RRU FAIL This error message warns that an abnormally high rate of change or step voltage change has been detected from the RRU potentiometer which is used to signal rudder position 3 This might be caused by a noisy or open circuit potentiom...

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