Replacing AutoPilot Control - what to consider?

[bstreep]

We replaced all of our older Raymarine equipment 3 years ago. And then again after the hurricane 2 years ago. It's really very easy to do. Having a single manufacturer is huge. One of the things that kept us with Raymarine was their support. And today it's not as good as it was 3 years ago! The other thing was the wireless radar. And yes, you can keep your autopilot drive.

[Pitchondesign]

Originally Posted by capn_billl

How did you connect the Raymarine autopilot, (Seatalk), to the Axiom (Nmea 2000)?

The older Raymarine autopilots, I have one, talk and listen on Seatalk 1. There is a Raymarine converter that translates STng (Nmea 2000) to ST1. The Axiom (I have two) outputs waypoint, crosstrack, and so on to STng. The converter sends it to ST1, and the autopilot can read it. The only thing the Axiom won't do is engage and disengage the autopilot, you still need the autopilot controller for that. So, the autopilot will track to a course, follow to a waypoint, and so on. When the Axiom advances a waypoint, you have to re-engage the autopilot. So, not full integration, but plenty good enough for me.