Auto pilot conversion

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Tomakris

Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2021
Messages
5
Hi all,
Currently on my boat I have a old wood freeman 500 auto pilot. Occasionally for no reason it pulls hard to port when I’m underway. It’s not a handy problem to have if I’m loaded with crab pots or outback salmon trolling.
If some one has a gist on that it would be appreciated.

Here’s my current thought. I have a Simrad AP35 with the J300x junction unit. Through my current googling I’ve landed here. I’m curious if I get the rc25 compass.
Can I hook it into the current woody drive motor and rubber feed back?
 
Welcome aboard. A lot of the new autopilots can use the existing drive units. I am going to do just that with my new pilot.
 
Tomakris said:
Hi all,

Currently on my boat I have a old wood freeman 500 auto pilot. Occasionally for no reason it pulls hard to port when I’m underway. It’s not a handy problem to have if I’m loaded with crab pots or outback salmon trolling.

If some one has a gist on that it would be appreciated.



Here’s my current thought. I have a Simrad AP35 with the J300x junction unit. Through my current googling I’ve landed here. I’m curious if I get the rc25 compass.

Can I hook it into the current woody drive motor and rubber feed back?
Click to expand...

Many of the Simrad APs can work with reversing motors. Most will require a specific Simrad rudder feedback unit. You might find an rc45 compass on eBay or Craigslist.
 
Yes, I’ve been googling for the parts. The cables are the hardest to find. The Manuel’s show pin locations and set up so I may just have to get the pins and make the cables up.
 
Tomakris said:
Hi all,
Currently on my boat I have a old wood freeman 500 auto pilot. Occasionally for no reason it pulls hard to port when I’m underway. It’s not a handy problem to have if I’m loaded with crab pots or outback salmon trolling.
If some one has a gist on that it would be appreciated.

Here’s my current thought. I have a Simrad AP35 with the J300x junction unit. Through my current googling I’ve landed here. I’m curious if I get the rc25 compass.
Can I hook it into the current woody drive motor and rubber feed back?
Click to expand...

From the Simrad Compass Manual: "RC25 is a “Robnet” compass that substitutes the previous RFC35R Rate Compass. It comes with 15m (49’) cable with Robnet connector and is used with the following autopilots: AP50, AP35, AP20/21/22, AP11 and AP300X."

The RC25 is the preferred compass for use with this series of autopilots. If the compass cable has the original Simnet connector, just plug it into the back of the AP35. Alternately, you can connect the individual cable conductors to the J300X Main PCB, TB15. These will definitely all play well together. You will also need a Simrad RF300 rudder feedback unit.

As for your connection to the Wood Freeman AP, I can't say. The J300X has the standard 12VDC contacts for a reversable pump as well as individual solenoid contacts if required by your drive unit. Don't forget to perform the Dockside settings to select the fluxgate compass, and the Seatrial settings. All of this is covered in your AP35 Manual.
 
Thanks Larry, I’ve been umming and arrring about this but I’ll go ahead with it. The ol woody also has the issue of sensitive crystals in it. I can not run my modern high power vhf on high power. Ol woody will start veering. At least it stops me from yapping to much on the radio
 
If you end up going with the more modern AP, I'd be interested in your unused parts for your Wood Freeman 500. Mine is a model 500B and I've been futzing with it for weeks. No luck so far.
 
Tomakris,


I have a Simrad RC42 Rate Compass that I'm removing from my boat. Believe it's NMEA 0183 compatible. Worked find with the AP 24 autopilot. I'm removing it because I'm going Garmin.



Let me know if that would help.
 
Tomakris,
My boat makes a hard left whenever I turn the unit on. My rudder angle sensor feels loose inside and a few other connectors look corroded. The manual also refers to a “wood freeman test meter” that I’ve been looking for for a couple months. It really looks cool and I’m committed to get it working, but wanted to just start swapping parts until it functions. Mine is a 500B. The compass says 500B1, serial# 4482A. I’m in the San Francisco area. Email: ccatton@yahoo.com.
Craig
 
Electronics upgrade

Hi all,
I am looking to upgrade the original electronics package (circa 1983, still has original Loran) with a new Garmin set up. Most likely an 8612 chart plotter, auto pilot & dome radar, NEMA 2000, AIS......
The question is: Is there a compatible Garmin auto pilot that will work with my current NECO (cable steering) control? Or a way to interface the new with the old? I am hoping that I will not have to remove the current NECO dial autopilot pump system (All works very well) and can some how add in a new Garmin which will work with the new chart plotter.
I am located on Long Island, NY

PS, I have recently been told the Simrad equipment is more user friendly and compatible to existing equipment. Any input appreciated.
 
Intuition Roger said:
Hi all,
I am looking to upgrade the original electronics package (circa 1983, still has original Loran) with a new Garmin set up. Most likely an 8612 chart plotter, auto pilot & dome radar, NEMA 2000, AIS......
The question is: Is there a compatible Garmin auto pilot that will work with my current NECO (cable steering) control? Or a way to interface the new with the old? I am hoping that I will not have to remove the current NECO dial autopilot pump system (All works very well) and can some how add in a new Garmin which will work with the new chart plotter.
I am located on Long Island, NY

PS, I have recently been told the Simrad equipment is more user friendly and compatible to existing equipment. Any input appreciated.
Click to expand...

i don't have any experience with the neco dial pump, but if i would imagine the garmin pump controller should interface. most pump controllers that i know of have outputs for either variable speed, or pulse control of the pump. look at the specs of your pump to make sure the garmin has the capacity. (amp output, etc...)
your system is similar to what my boat has, except i'm running a comnav autopilot with an octopus pump along with cable steering. the steering wheel turns when the autopilot engages, but when hand steering the pump has a valve to let the fluid recirculate. i like this setup as it's basically two separate systems.
 
ok, i did a little searching about the old neco systems. some, maybe yours, had a four wire hookup to the motor. there was voltage on the field all the time and voltage on the brushes only when needed. if it were me, i'd take this opportunity to upgrade the pump to a modern one. the cylinder may be just fine as is, but a modern pump will be much smaller and you'll gain the variable speed upgrade.
if that's just not in the cards, you might have to get creative with some relays controlled by the new controller.
 
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