2019-07-20, 10:16 PM
Hi there,
Using the web interface on the tinypilot, I calibrated the rudder by moving it to the centre and clicking the centre button. That seemed to work to change the offset and the readout was zero when the rudder was centred.
I then tried to set the port and starboard limits. I moved the rudder 75% of the way to the starboard stop and clicked the starboard range button, then did the same thing for port.
I expected that this would prevent the rudder ever hitting the stops.
When our rudders hit the limit of the hydraulic rams, things go badly wrong. Sometimes the seals in the rams have been damaged by the force. When the pump drives against the stops the hydraulic hoses stretch a bit and the oil gets pressurised. When the pump stops, the stretched hoses bounce back and the oil comes back at very high pressure up the return hose into the reservoir and can even squirt out of the vent hole, making a really horrible oily slippery mess in the saloon! We had this problem for ages with the old pilot because the controller had failed. Although I had a remote which could set the course and turn it on and off, the remote couldn't calibrate the rudder limits. It ended up damaging the seals in the hydraulic rams and got very expensive. It a major reason why I picked pypilot which I can control with any phone or tablet instead of a proprietary autopilot where you're forced to buy the controller from the manufacturer and you're in trouble if it fails after they discontinue supporting it. So anyway.... it's pretty important to me that the rudder limits work properly!
I tried running the autopilot while tied up at the dock with the course set ten degrees off the heading. As expected it kept adding a little more to the rudder angle because the heading wasn't changing. The problem was it didn't stop when it got to the angle at which I had clicked the "starboard range" button and it kept pushing when it hit the stop. Big oily mess in saloon!
Do those port/starboard range buttons actually work? If so then the pilot seems to be ignoring what you set with them.
Thanks!
Using the web interface on the tinypilot, I calibrated the rudder by moving it to the centre and clicking the centre button. That seemed to work to change the offset and the readout was zero when the rudder was centred.
I then tried to set the port and starboard limits. I moved the rudder 75% of the way to the starboard stop and clicked the starboard range button, then did the same thing for port.
I expected that this would prevent the rudder ever hitting the stops.
When our rudders hit the limit of the hydraulic rams, things go badly wrong. Sometimes the seals in the rams have been damaged by the force. When the pump drives against the stops the hydraulic hoses stretch a bit and the oil gets pressurised. When the pump stops, the stretched hoses bounce back and the oil comes back at very high pressure up the return hose into the reservoir and can even squirt out of the vent hole, making a really horrible oily slippery mess in the saloon! We had this problem for ages with the old pilot because the controller had failed. Although I had a remote which could set the course and turn it on and off, the remote couldn't calibrate the rudder limits. It ended up damaging the seals in the hydraulic rams and got very expensive. It a major reason why I picked pypilot which I can control with any phone or tablet instead of a proprietary autopilot where you're forced to buy the controller from the manufacturer and you're in trouble if it fails after they discontinue supporting it. So anyway.... it's pretty important to me that the rudder limits work properly!
I tried running the autopilot while tied up at the dock with the course set ten degrees off the heading. As expected it kept adding a little more to the rudder angle because the heading wasn't changing. The problem was it didn't stop when it got to the angle at which I had clicked the "starboard range" button and it kept pushing when it hit the stop. Big oily mess in saloon!
Do those port/starboard range buttons actually work? If so then the pilot seems to be ignoring what you set with them.
Thanks!