ComNav 1101 Autopilot
2. How Autopilots Work
The purpose of this section is to briefly describe in general terms what
an Autopilot does and some of the things you should expect when
using an Autopilot with your boat. As well as this section, you must
carefully read all the operating instructions in other parts of this manual
before operating your autopilot.
Basic Autopilot System
Figure 1 is a block diagram of the major components of an Autopilot
system.
The Compass indicates the direction in which the boat is pointed,
called the actual heading. Depending on the type of boat, you may
be using a magnetic compass, an electronic fluxgate compass or a
gyroscopic compass. A reliable Compass is absolutely vital to the
autopilot because without a compass the pilot has no way of know-
ing which way the boat is headed.
Figure 1—Basic Autopilot System
HOW AUTOPILOTS WORK 2 - 1
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