Operation Manual

General Information
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1 GENERAL INFORMATION
1.1 Introduction
Congratulations on the purchase of your new Robertson AP300X
autopilot system and thank you for selecting what we feel is the most
advanced autopilot system available on the market today.
Simrad Robertson AS is located in Egersund on the south/west coast
of Norway. The company's involvement in autopilots began in 1953
with equipment for the North Sea fishing fleet. Today Simrad
Robertson AS manufactures a complete range of autopilots for all types
of vessels, from pleasure boats up to advanced steering systems for
merchant marine vessels. Professional mariners around the world
acknowledge that the Robertson name is synonymous with the
absolute best in autopilot technology.
The AP300X series from Robertson represents yet another step forward
in autopilot technology with the intent to provide power and sailing
boats from 30 to 80 feet with a host of new features. The system can be
expanded and enhanced with a selection of options and accessories.
The brain in the AP300X autopilot series is the single "intelligent"
junction unit that communicates with all other system modules on the
ROBNET network. The ROBNET has been developed to establish a
reliable digital communication and power distribution network
between the units in the system. The ROBNET simplifies installation
and enables the AP300X system to be easily expanded at any time.
Three different models of control units are available. All of them may
be used as part of a stand alone autopilot system or as a full function
control unit in a multiple station installation. Any combination of
control units up to a total of 7 may be used in one installation.
All AP300X systems include Nav. interface as standard with
NMEA0183 input and output. The NMEA interface allows a
navigation receiver or position sensor to provide input to the AP300X
system. All equipment connected to the ROBNET network can access
the input data. In addition the NMEA output provides heading,
rudder angle and other data depending on the autopilot configuration
and the equipment that may be connected to the NMEA input. The
optional NI300X Interface (expansion) Unit can expand the number of
NMEA input/output ports, which allows a multiple number of
peripheral navigation equipment to be interfaced.
The time proven experience of the Robertson engineers and the
computer power in the AP300X system has made it possible to
automate and simplify the setup and installation procedures. One
important feature is the capability to set up automatically the steering
parameters and select the scaling factor for speed and hull type; power
(planing or displacement) or sail. Proportional rate output commands
and an adaptive sea state filter contribute to enhanced steering
performance in any sea condition.