Raymarine Evolution EV-1, Installation Instructions Manual

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12.3 Rudder damping levels and deadband angles
For autopilot systems which include a rudder angle reference sensor / transducer , rudder damping
is used to prevent Evolution autopilot system over-activity, characterized by “hunting” maneuvers.
A number of rudder damping levels are available to address this behaviour. Rudder damping
levels relate to “deadband angles”, and can be configured using your autopilot control head (e.g.
p70s/p70Rs or MFD). A higher damping level is intended to eliminate pilot and helm over-activity.
Typically, the appropriate rudder damping level is the lowest acceptable value. However, it is
important to be aware that the rudder damping scaling has been changed in recent versions of ACU
units, which include newer processor and software versions (these units can be identified with an
“A” appended to their SKU).
Important: The rudder damping levels can have a significant impact on your autopilot performance.
If you are unsure as to how to adjust these settings to best suit your autopilot system, please refer
to your dealer or Raymarine product support.
The following table lists the rudder damping levels and deadband angles that are available with
both old and new versions of the ACU software:
Rudder damping level Existing Deadband angle
New Deadband angle
(ACU software version
v3.11 onwards)
ACU-100, 150, 200,
400
ACU-300
1 0.1° 0.15° 0.1°
2 0.2° 0.30° 0.2°
3 0.3° 0.45° 0.3°
4 0.4° 0.60° 0.4°
5 0.5° 0.75° 0.7°
6 0.6° 0.9° 0.9°
7 0.7° 1.05° 1.1°
8 0.8° 1.20° 1.6°
9 0.9° 1.35° 2.2°
It’s important to check the rudder damping level currently configured on your autopilot control
head, to ensure it matches your needs. The rudder damping value should be increased one level
at a time until the autopilot stops hunting. You can adjust the rudder damping levels using your
pilot control head as follows:
• p70/p70s/p70R/p70Rs — Menu > Set-up > Autopilot Calibration > Drive Settings > Rudder
Damping .
• LightHouse 2 MFD — From the Pilot Set-up page: Pilot Settings > Drive Settings > Rudder
Damping
• LightHouse 3 MFD — Homescreen > Settings > Autopilot > Pilot control > Advanced settings
> Rudder Damping .
System checks and troubleshooting
107