Garmin Auto Pilot

[beneteau-500]

I am in the process of doing some up grades and one of them is fitting a new Auto pilot , but do you think i can get any tech details of the new Garmin GHP-12 and type b drive Not on your Nelly can I .

I found on west marine they are listed and are selling for around £3200 GBP exactly the same as a raymarine SPX30 with a type 2 drive , so today went to see authorized dealer in Uk he said flatly not for sale yet of which i replied its funny how its good enough for Garmin uk sales manger to fit one no reply/comment,

now having heard good reports from a couple of the Greek charter company's who have new Bavaria's who have this system fitted , i phoned Garmin uk and they said they are only supplying to new builds at the moment and my reply was why have a ***&&((%%^^**&* big launch of this product at boat show">london boat show and every where else and your not selling it to Joe blog then.

asked what the price would be and was Quoted around the £3400 mark and if there was any tech details on the drive unit to see if it would fit and he replied no tech details as of yet of which i replied I might as well buy a proven Raymarine product which would be £300 pound cheaper and fit all new raymarine Instruments at the same time .

they just didn't seem to care

[goboatingnow]

it appears that all of Garmins european supply was directed to Bavaria, leaving the aftermarket in a bit of a bind.

Dave

[Nemos]

We are also thinking of installing a GARMIN GHP 12 Autopilot on our Beneteau 43. Has anyone had any experience with this unit? In particular, we would appreciate any advice as to installation? Does anyone know of a pro in the San Francisco area who installs them?

Thanks

[rossny]

GARMIN GHP 12 - please update, has anyone installed one if these?

[Dashby]

Hi

Have just purchased and installed a GHP12 into a 43' sail boat.
We had a Robertson AP300 system with hydraulic pump and actuator.
First the main control board failed which we tried replacing with a second hand head but then had problems withe the main control unit and the compass.

Gave in and bought a new Garmin GHP12 with a new rudder feedback unit as the Robertson/Simrad feedback unit is NOT compatible with the Garmin.

Have upgraded the power supply wiring from the battery to the hydraulic drive motor as the previous wiring was too small diameter for the potential current draw.
Had to buy a longer cable from the CCU to the ECU and a lead from the ECU to the Hydraulic pump motor.

To explain the components that Garmin supply and how they fit into your boat/yacht.

The basic GHP12 kit consists of:
ECU (eletronic control unit) that needs to be fitted close to your hydraulic pump. (less than 1m cable distance)
CCU (Course computer unit) has a compass and control electronics in it. Needs to be on centreline of boat and forward.
GHC10 Display panel and user interface
CCU/ECU interconnect cable (std is 5m long, make sure you get one long enough)
Alarm with cable
ECU power cable
GHC10 NEMA0183 Data cable (used for earth and one lead to turn the CCU on/off)
NEMA2000 drop cable 2m, 3x Tee's, end connectors, NEMA2000 power cable.

Additional Items We purchased:
GHC10 Remote (RF remote)
5m and 2m NEMA2000 backbone cables
GRF10 rudder fedback unit with lead
CCU/ECU connector cable 10m long
Power lead for non Garmin pump
Crimp connector (sealing)
10A plug in fuses.

Plan the location of the three main components carefully and make sure you have the ability to run cables with the plugs on the end (3/4" holes required).
We have a sealed rudder box under the cockpit accessed from the aft bunks where we installed the ECU and the rudder feedback sensor.
This made sense for us as this is the location for the existing hydraulic pump.
Mounting and orientating the rudder feedback unit is crucial and so read the instructions before starting to ensure that when you are in confined space it goes in correctly.
The CCU we mounted on a small bulkhead in front of the engine compartment. This is just forward of the keel (we have a fin keel).
It was a 7.6m cable run from the CCU to the ECU. Tidied the excess cable into a roll.
The GHC10 display unit we mount in a Nav table next to the GPS Chart plotter. Ran the other lead from the ECU/CCU intercnnect cable here to ensure yellow wire connected.
Set up a new NEMA2000 backbone from CCU area to the Nav table and connected the drop cables from CCU and GHC10 to it.
Also had to run power to the NEMA2000 network from the power panel so the instrument switch turns power on and off for network.
Ensure you have some small diameter crimp connectors with heat shrink with hot glue to connect very fine yellow wires from CCU and the GHC10.
Also larger diameter crimps for the power lead connection from ECU to your pump motor.
The main power to the ECU we up sized the cable to 10mm2 to account for up to 10A draw from the pump motor.

Installed the system myself over a long Sunday and then a few evenings and a full Saturday including dockside commissioning.

When I turned it on it worked first time so I must have been careful when wiring it up.
The remote works well with just 2 x AA batteries, it is light and the screen is visible in full daylight. It works over 90% of the boats length. Although does cut out in areas with other RF interference. Warns that it has lost connection.

Have done one of the on water setups but had to abandon as the weather was too windy and rough. Will go out again this weekend and report back.
At present do not have connection to anemometer (wind instruments).

[sabray]

Installed ghp 12 with ray linear drive ray rudder position sensor and octopus drive no issue for the most part. This summer I had a weird glitch where the course heading would wander off by 15 degrees. I recalibrated and it was fine for about 4 hours and then was off on some headings. Ran a full update and recalibrated which seems to have fixed it. Don't understand how it was fine for months and then went a tad bonkers. Hoping the issue is resolved.
Install was easy linked to the chartplotter with ease.

[colemj]

Originally Posted by sabray

Installed ghp 12 with ray linear drive ray rudder position sensor and octopus drive

Why do you have two drive units? They aren't both active at once? Is the rudder position sensor N2K output, or does the Garmin accept RM's position sensor output?

Mark

[sabray]

Garmin can use the raymarine sensor. The octopus is a spare. The drive throw is a little short so I use the linear drive. The octopus is not connected. The mounts are in place so it's easy if the linear craps out.

[Dashby]

Hi
Good to hear about your experience and the potential for calibration problems.
How did you connect to GPS Chart plotter?
I am about to connect via NMEA0183.

[sabray]

I used the nmea2000 bus with a garmin 4208. For the autopilot My ais is using the 0182 inputs. VHF is 0182. Everything connected up with ease.

[Freedom45]

I have a GHP12, installed myself to existing Ratheon type1 drive, added rudder sensor.
Works like a champ, hasn't missed a beat in a couple of years now.

Chuck

[Dashby]

Just updating the installation experience withe the Garmin GHP12.
Have done the sea trials and it works well except the wireless remote drops its signal occasionally. I bought a GHC10 wireless handheld remote AND the Quatix watch. Both have this Lost Signal error message come up when more than 12 feet away from the head unit.
This does not affect the autopilot as it continues on the set heading, but if you want to put it in standby it can cause a problem, making dash for the head unit before grabbing the helm.
Head unit is a GHC20 and after several phone calls to Garmin support to sort out the issue they are sending a replacement GHC20.
The phone line help is very good at Garmin but you need to call the USA based number to get anyone that will assist with the Autopilot. Difficult when you are based in New Zealand! They will not respond to emails.

[MC41]

I have the GHP 12 with GHC20 and Quatix Watch. I was sold on the idea of controlling the AP from one of the bows. Unfortunately, this hasn't really worked out as planned as the Quatix drops signal anywhere outside of the general vicinity of the helm.

I've also had a weird problem which I think is linked to the watch. When using it, at times, I find that the GHC20 head unit turns off completely causing the entire Autopilot system to switch off and the boat to veer wildly off course. This is scary, to say the least, and I've stopped using the Quatix watch because of it. I can't say for certain that the watch is the culprit here, and I haven't been able to find any corroborating information online, but this problem never happens when I'm not using the watch.

Aside from the above Quatix / GHP12 problems we've sailed with the Garmin AP system a few thousand n.m. from San Francisco to Costa Rica and it has generally served us admirably. It steers a great course and integration with our NEMA 2K Garmin GPS works fine.

[Dashby]

Thanks MC41
I thought I might be the only one with Garmin remote issues.
My experimenting with the Quatix watch has led me to believe the watch uses your body as the aerial so a moist connection between watch and skin is essential. Have used vaseline (petroleum jelly) to some effect.
This has improved the range of the Quatix watch dramatically.

Regarding the issue with the drop out and power off, we had similar issues when the compass ball was placed too close to the main alternator. It caused the boat to veer dramatically when a large electrical load was placed on the alternator. Usually battery charging.
The first GHC20 head unit we had did have some faults and shut down twice. Garmin replaced it when I explained the situation.

Regards

Doug

Originally Posted by MC41

I have the GHP 12 with GHC20 and Quatix Watch. I was sold on the idea of controlling the AP from one of the bows. Unfortunately, this hasn't really worked out as planned as the Quatix drops signal anywhere outside of the general vicinity of the helm.

I've also had a weird problem which I think is linked to the watch. When using it, at times, I find that the GHC20 head unit turns off completely causing the entire Autopilot system to switch off and the boat to veer wildly off course. This is scary, to say the least, and I've stopped using the Quatix watch because of it. I can't say for certain that the watch is the culprit here, and I haven't been able to find any corroborating information online, but this problem never happens when I'm not using the watch.

Aside from the above Quatix / GHP12 problems we've sailed with the Garmin AP system a few thousand n.m. from San Francisco to Costa Rica and it has generally served us admirably. It steers a great course and integration with our NEMA 2K Garmin GPS works fine.