Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 20

Thread: Brian is awesome! (Read to end.)

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Petaluma ,CA
    Posts
    81

    Default Brian is awesome! (Read to end.)

    For Me ,,, its almost completely worthless !

    upwind it may hold a course with wind.. BUT it does not hook up to NEEMA2000 that i know of and with converters slowing response times down ive heard its not worth hooking up...


    but Downwind it cannot steer for SHIT ! and THATS where i actually want it to work ! it might steer plus and negative of a course 15degrees , thats a 30 degree fuckup !

    unless theres a firmware patch , reprogramming or an update i think Palegic should give everybody's money back....

    the best use ive found is to just push the buttons to where i want it to hold the tiller and NOT engage its brain... then i go forward and jibe my spinnaker...

    anyways ,just my thoughts, YMMV
    P
    Last edited by BobJ; 08-02-2023 at 06:06 PM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Posts
    609

    Default

    Something is amiss..... either with the brain or setup. Although I've never used one with wind input it steered to compass fine and other have report the same.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Saratoga
    Posts
    336

    Default

    I'll bet you a dollar to a dog turd that a Pelagic representative could identify and rectify your issues. I almost put one on the current boat, I will certainly put one on my next boat.
    The Sea is my Church; the Boat is my Pew.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    37.205346,-121.963398
    Posts
    788

    Default

    Hi Paul,

    Hope all is well. The Pelagic has been revised since your purchase. You might want to give Scanmar a call and arrange an upgrade. Or you can direct message me here.

    Regards,
    Brian

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2021
    Location
    Palo Alto
    Posts
    138

    Default

    I have three Pelagic controllers. I have one hooked up to the small ram and my Monitor, two are spares. I had a dodgy button once and the Scanmar folks reacted quickly and got me a replacement, a spare and a spare for the spare. Unbelievable service and the fact the guys are local makes a huge difference. I cannot sail offshore without the Pelagic. It works fine on any point of sail and conditions I have tried so far. I really recommend you reach out to the folks at Scanmar, they will surely put you right. I also recommend you update the firmware, which is continually improving.
    Last edited by GBR3068; 01-31-2023 at 12:08 PM.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Bodfish, CA
    Posts
    436

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by PSutchek View Post
    For Me ,,, its almost completely worthless !

    upwind it may hold a course with wind.. BUT it does not hook up to NEEMA2000 that i know of and with converters slowing response times down ive heard its not worth hooking up...


    but Downwind it cannot steer for SHIT ! and THATS where i actually want it to work ! it might steer plus and negative of a course 15degrees , thats a 30 degree fuckup !

    unless theres a firmware patch , reprogramming or an update i think Palegic should give everybody's money back....

    the best use ive found is to just push the buttons to where i want it to hold the tiller and NOT engage its brain... then i go forward and jibe my spinnaker...

    anyways ,just my thoughts, YMMV
    P
    It may be useful to pay attention to the tone of the posting on the SSS forum. Your post is certainly offensive.

    When there are problems, there always are people that help. Is is useful to not alienate the folks that can help.

    The folks at Pelagic have been superb in helping me.

    Cheers,

    Ants

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Alameda CA
    Posts
    497

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by AntsUiga View Post
    It may be useful to pay attention to the tone of the posting on the SSS forum. Your post is certainly offensive.

    When there are problems, there always are people that help. Is is useful to not alienate the folks that can help.

    The folks at Pelagic have been superb in helping me.

    Cheers,

    Ants
    +1 there Ants -

    I've held off posting due to the original tone.

    Hedgehog currently runs 2 Pelagics, powered thru a 3 way rocker switch (onA, off, onB). the NMEA 0183 (yeah) feeds directly from the B&G MFD display, in tandem to the NMEA 2000 from same - I'm sure there's some translation degradation, but I can't detect it.
    Actually, what I have found helps is to significantly pad the NMEA 2K input so that the "noise" from the windex data stream and mast tip gyration induced variables are minimized.
    When I choose to run it in wind mode, which isn't always the best bet with any AP downwind IMHO, despite what the brochures want you to believe.

    90% sure your downwind troubles are the result of not understanding how to setup the gain.
    Yes, the button & blinking lights interface takes practice, and I'm not too proud to admit to have resorted to a laminated cheat sheet.
    OTOH, it's also not $4K with an equally obtuse GUI menu that could only be intuited by a some one of French extraction (NKE).

    I sailed the 2016 SHTP with a then-current pelagic steering the ENTIRE time, excepting maybe 45 minutes of very light air transition around the Farallon's.
    I did round down 3 times, but then I was pushing very hard, and any AP would struggle with 10' ground swell and 3' randomly placed cross seas.
    So yeah, I guess there's some variation in my mileage.

    Lastly, as Brian mentions above, there have been several (I lost count) software upgrades since then, and my current practice is to keep one unit with the last known-good-for-me version, and one with the bleeding edge release.
    But again, YMMV with service and support, depending on how much of an entitled jackass approach you bring to the table.

    DH
    Last edited by DaveH; 02-04-2023 at 11:01 PM.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    San Francisco Bay Area
    Posts
    2,095

    Default

    I had big issues as well, but I note that the person who bought my Pelagic installed the software updates and apparently has been using the unit just fine for almost two years.

    Whatever the case, while I grumped about my issues here on the forum a bit, I recognized that the way to solve them was to talk to the guy who designed them, and that going on about it here on the forum probably wasn't a good way to get help or get the pilots to work as designed.
    1968 Selmer Series 9 B-flat and A clarinets
    1962 Buesher "Aristocrat" tenor saxophone
    Piper One Design 24, Hull #35; "Alpha"

  9. #9
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    113

    Default

    Pelagic works great for me. Under chute in 25k and big waves. Day and night for week(s). As mentioned by Dave my guess is you have a "gain" issue (gain needs to be adjusted to match the sea state and the roll rate of your boat). Too little gain and yes the boat will wonder (true of all Autopilots).

    Oh
    Advise you learn to adjust the gain with compass steering first (AWA steering can be a bit more finicky especially in light air).

    And just in case... keep metal and anything magnetic plenty far from the AP control. If say a handheld VHF or even your mobile phone is close by... yes steering will be wonky.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jun 2021
    Location
    Palo Alto
    Posts
    138

    Default

    >> Actually, what I have found helps is to significantly pad the NMEA 2K input so that the "noise" from the windex data stream and mast tip gyration induced variables are minimized.

    David: I have a similar setup: B&G Zeus3 MFD with 0183 to Pelagic, as follows (https://cache.tradeinn.com/images/pd...nu_zeus3.pdf):

    4 NMEA 0183 RX_B (orange)
    5 NMEA 0183 RX_A (green)
    6 NMEA 0183 TX_B (blue)
    7 NMEA 0183 TX_A (yellow)

    and the Pelagic with inputs as follows (https://www.westsail.org/resources/m...20R66%20.pdf):

    "Connect the small Green (+) and Black (-) wires from the Drive box to your NMEA output, using OUT+ and OUT- on your NMEA output port. Note various manufactures may use slightly different terms for the NMEA0183 inputs and outputs."

    So…

    1. When you say "pad" the NMEA 2k input, you mean (a) "pad" as in resistor attenuator?? (b) is your NMEA 2k somehow also connected to the Pelagic 0183 through an NMEA converter? (c) The wind data raw from a B&G is in fact 0183 (I believe) and converted to 2k though the little B&G inline box (for the wired sensor version), are you somehow getting direct to the B&G 0183? (that is is my goal).

    2. Did you look at the B&G 0183 output and what does it look like? whats the voltage swing?

    3. Just as a check, what is connected to what in your setup? (A or +) B& TX_A (yellow) to Pelagic Green (+) (B or -) B&G TX_B (blue) to Pelagic Black (-)?

    4. I *think* / *believe* B&G will only output MWV on 0183. I *think* / *believe* Pelagic takes VWR and MWV? Have you checked your sentences? I dont have the capability to, but think I probably need to, help/advice appreciated.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •