ComNav Commander P2 & P2VS Installation & Operation Basic Operations
Document PN 29010074 V4.1 - 144 -
•
The Rudder Angle Indicator (the one shown on the Control Head, and any RAI
meters connected to the SPU) displays the estimated rudder angle.
Usually, when the RAI’s rudder position bar is at the centre (& when the needle on an
RAI meter is at the “0” mark), the P2VS is indicating that the boat is holding a steady
Heading on a straight Track.
At other times, for many possible reasons, the RAI may be showing a “rudder is
off-centre” condition, even though the boat is on a straight Track. This is especially
so in
AUTO
&
NAV
modes; however, the misalignment between the RAI & the
rudder’s actual position will be eliminated gradually, if the boat runs straight for some
time.
•
During autopilot-controlled steering (
POWER STEER
,
AUTO
or
NAV
modes), the
rate of turn is limited to the value you enter in the
Turn Rate
parameter. This is
usually well below the rate which a maximum deflection of the rudder would cause, at
a normal speed. The result is that the rudder is normally always positioned well
within the maximum-deflection limits, and moves more or less equally around the
“centre” Dead-Ahead position.
However, if for some reason the boat will only run straight with a big offset of the
rudder to one side or the other (or if there is a temporary false offset in the RAI), the
arc which the rudder can move within, on the side of the offset (i.e., between that
offset “Dead-Ahead” position & the maximum deflection), is reduced. Since the
P2VS VFRU steering algorithms have no way to know the size of any such offset,
they can not properly assess how the close the rudder is to the maximum-deflection
boundary.
In such circumstances, the responsibility for keeping the rudder’s movement
safely within the physical limits lies solely on the operator.
This is especially true when the Dodge Turn function is used.
If you see that the rudder has a big offset while the boat is travelling Dead
Ahead, or if the RAI shows a much different “rudder position” than the rudder
is actually at for any length of time, it is strongly recommended that you put
the autopilot into STANDBY mode.
Then, determine the cause of the offset or RAI misalignment, before continuing
on in POWER STEER, AUTO or NAV modes.
•
It is vital that you can see the rudder during the
Drive Setup
procedure (or at least
have a reliable way to monitor it), that you position it correctly when prompted, that
you enter accurate values for the rudder travel limits, and that you carefully perform
all the steps required.
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