NorthStar Navigation NS3300 User Manual
Northstar NS3300 Pilot System
Reference Manual
Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1-1 Autopilot Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Using this manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1-1-1 Op e r a t ing mod e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1-1-2 Steering modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1-1-3 Power steering modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1-1-4 Turn modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2 Quickstart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2-1 Starting the autopilot system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2-2 Using the autopilot to steer the boat automatically . . . . . . . . . . 7
2-3 Changing course during a voyage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2-4 Changing steering mode during a voyage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2-5 Regaining manual control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2-6 Action in an emergency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2-7 Manually steering the boat from the boats helm . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2-8 Manually steering the boat using power steering . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3 Autopilot operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3-2 Turning the NS3300 Pilot on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3-1-1 AUTO key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3-1-2 STBY key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3-1-3 Dodge keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3-1-4 Turn key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3-1-5 MODE key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3-1-6 Control Dial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3-1-7 ESC key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3-1-8 ENT key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3-1-9 MENU key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3-1-10 DISP key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3-3 Turning the NS3300 Pilot off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3-4 Backlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3-5 Engaging autopilot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3-6 Disengaging autopilot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3-7 Setting the steering mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3-8 Changing course. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3-8-1 Changing course in compass mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3-8-2 Changing course in GPS mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3-9 Dodge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3-8-3 Changing set wind angle in wind mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3-9-1 Dodging in compass mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3-10 Turn modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3-9-2 Dodging in GPS mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3-9-3 Dodging in wind mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3-10-1 Auto tacking in compass mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
3-10-2 Turns in compass mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3-10-3 Auto tacking or gybing in wind mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3-11 Power steering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3-12 Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3-13 Keylock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3-14 Simulate mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3-12-1 The alarm window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3-12-2 Active alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3-12-3 Alarm history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3-12-4 Alarm details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4 The displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
4-1 Display > Basic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
4-2 Display > Pilot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
4-3 Display > Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4-4 Display > Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
4-5 Display > Active alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
5 Data headers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
6 Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
6-1 Setup > System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
6-2 Setup > Profiles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
6-3 Setup > Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
6-4 Setup > Vessel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
6-5 Setup > Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
6-6 Setup > Units. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
6-7 Setup > Comms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
6-8 Setup > Calibrate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
6-9 Setup > Simulate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
7 Steering modes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
7-1 Compass steering mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
7-1-1 Compass steering data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
7-1-2 Engaging and disengaging the autopilot in compass mode . . 32
7-2 GPS steering mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
7-2-1 GPS navigation data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
7-2-2 Engaging and disengaging the autopilot in GPS mode . . . . 34
7-2-3 Arriving at waypoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
7-2-4 GPS gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
7-3 Wind steering mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
7-3-1 Wind steering data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
7-3-2 True and apparent wind speed and direction . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
7-3-3 Engaging the autopilot in wind mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
7-3-4 Wind gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
8 Optimizing steering performance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
8-1 Steering parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
8-2 Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
8-3 Adjusting the steering parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
9 Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
10 Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Reference Manual
3
Congratulations on choosing the Northstar NS3300 PilotAutopilot. For maximum benefit, please read this manual carefully before installation
and use. This manual describes how to use and set up the NS3300 Pilotand the associated equipment. This manual also explains how to
operate the NS3300 Piloteffectively and provides troubleshooting and performance tips.
Important Notice:
• It is the owner’s sole responsibility to install and use the instrument and transducer( s) in a manner that will not cause accidents, personal
injury or property damage. The user of this product is solely responsible for observing safe boating practices.
• It is vital to the performance of the Autopilot that the transducers are installed in the best location. Please follow the installation instructions
very carefully.
• The choice, location, and installation of all components in any autopilot system is critical. If installation is not correct, the unit can not
perform at its designed potential. If in doubt, consult your Northstar dealer.
• Ensure that any holes that are cut are in a safe position and will not weaken the boat’s structure.
• If in doubt, consult a qualified boat builder.
Using the NS3300 Pilot:
• The NS3300 Pilot is intended to aid a helmsman from having to steer for long periods of time, not as the main means of steering the boat.
• The NS3300 Pilot is not intended for use in extreme weather, in adverse conditions or in water near other boats, dangerous waters or land.
• The NS3300 Pilot can not control the boat better than a helmsman. In adverse conditions steer the boat manually.
• Never leave the helm unattended. Keep a watch at all times. The helmsman should always monitor the course of the boat and the NS3300
Pilot and be ready to resume steering the boat manually.
• The performance of the NS3300 Pilot can be affected by the failure of a part, environmental conditions, improper installation and use.
Note: The User is to be aware that when the autopilot is powered on, the Control Dial and Dodge keys are active and can operate the rudder at
any time (see Power Steering modes 1-1-3)
NORTHSTAR DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY FOR ANY USE OF THIS PRODUCT IN A WAY THAT MAY CAUSE ACCIDENTS, DAMAGE OR THAT MAY
VIOLATE THE LAW.
Northstar is continuously improving this product; we retain the right to make changes to the product at any time which may not be reflected in
this version of manual. Please contact your nearest Northstar office if you require any further assistance.
Governing Language: This statement, any instruction manuals, user guides and other information relating to the product (Documentation)
may be translated to, or has been translated from, another language (Translation). In the event of any conflict between any Translation of the
Documentation, the English language version of the Documentation will be the official version of the Documentation.
Copyright © 2005 NORTHSTAR. All rights reserved.
4
Northstar NS3300 Pilot
1 Introduction
The NS3300 Pilot is a superior quality, high
performance autopilot display head. The Northstar
autopilot system has the flexibility to be used with
power or sail boats.
The NS3300 Pilot has dedicated performance keys
and a large 3.8” Color TFT display. This provides the
user with exceptionally easy to use controls.
The NS3300 Pilot is part of the Northstar family of
instruments for boats, which includes instruments for
speed, depth, wind and repeaters. These instruments
can be connected together to form an integrated
data system for a boat. The autopilot’s performance
is enhanced if it is connected to a boat speed
instrument such as a Northstar MULTI 3100 or a
GPS instrument.
This manual describes how to operate the NS3300
Pilot. Refer to the separate NS3300 Pilot Installation
Manual for information on how to install and setup
the NS3300 Pilot before use.
For maximum benefit, please read this manual
carefully before using the NS3300 Pilot.
1-1 Autopilot Modes
The autopilot has three operating modes (see
sections 3-5 and 3-6):
STANDBY: The autopilot does not steer the boat
STBY
(except during jog steer). The helmsman steers the
boat with the manual helm.
AUTO: The autopilot steers the boat automatically
based on selected Steering Mode and course. Do not
steer the boat manually.
HAND - STEER: The autopilot does not steer the
HSTR
boat, but displays steering information for you to use
to manually steer a course. Steer manually using the
displayed steering data.
Using this manual
1-1-1 Op e r a t in g mo d e s
Northstar NS3300 Pilot
Cleaning and maintenance
Clean the parts of the NS3300 Pilot with a damp cloth
or mild detergent. Avoid abrasive cleaners, petrol or
other solvents. Do not paint any part of the NS3300
Pilot except for the cables.
1-1-2 St e er i ng mod e s
The autopilot has three steering modes
(see section 3-7):
Compass: The boat sails at a set compass heading.
The boat sails to a destination along a preset route.
GPS: This mode requires a GPS instrument, such as a
Northstar chart-plotter to be connected via NMEA.
WIND: The boat sails at a set angle to the wind.
This mode requires a wind instrument, to be
connected via NavBus or NMEA.
Reference Manual
5
Note regarding Jog and
Follow-up mode:
The user is to be aware
that while in Standby
(STBY) Mode, the
autopilot can move
the rudder at anytime
that the Dodge keys or
Control Dial is operated.
1-1-3 Power steering modes
When the autopilot is in STBY (STANDBY) mode
the helmsman must steer the boat manually.
However The NS3300 Pilot has two different power
steering control modes (see section 3-11).
Jog: Turns the rudder left or right while the key
is pressed.
Follow-up: Sets the target position of the rudder.
The rudder will turn until it is in the target
position.
1-1-4 Turn modes
The NS3300 Pilot can follow a preprogrammed
turn sequence. The autopilot has three different
turn modes (see section 3-10):
Tack/Gybe: Auto-tacks OR Auto-gybes the boat
after a delay period. The tack/gybe angle and
tack/gybe delay can be customized.
90º turn: The boat turns through 90º
180º turn: The boat turns through 180º
Note: Not all turn modes are available in all
operating modes.
6
Northstar NS3300 Pilot
2 Quickstart
2-1 Starting the autopilot system
1. Turn the autopilot system on by pressing
2. If the autopilot is connected to multi, depth or GPS instruments, turn these on too.
3. If necessary, adjust the backlight so that the display can be easily read (press
the Control Dial).
2-2 Using the autopilot to steer the boat automatically
1. Manually steer the boat to open waters before engaging the autopilot to steer the boat.
2. Select the desired steering mode by pressing
Wind then press .
3. If using GPS mode, start navigating to a waypoint using the GPS instrument.
4. Engage the autopilot by pressing the
2-3 Changing course during a voyage
In Compass mode and Wind mode it is possible to change course during a voyage:
1. Turn the Control Dial in the direction of the intended course change, for example:
• To change course 10º to starboard, turn the Control Dial 10 clicks clockwise.
• To change course 30º to port, turn the Control Dial a whole turn counter-clockwise.
2-4 Changing steering mode during a voyage
It is possible to change the steering mode during a voyage, for example:
• Change from GPS mode to Compass mode at the end of a route, or,
• On a sailing boat, change from Wind mode to Compass or GPS modes when changing from sailing
to motoring.
1. P ress then use the Control Dial to highlight the desired steering mode then press .
2-5 Regaining manual control
1. P ress
The key can be pressed at any time.
2. Manually steer the boat using the boats steering helm.
3. To re-engage the autopilot, press the
2-6 Action in an emergency
To regain control of the boat in an emergency situation:
1. P ress the
2. Manually steer the boat.
Alternatively:
1. P ress
2. After a period of time, press
alternative course.
Reference Manual
The autopilot is now disengaged and you have complete steering control.
.
key. The autopilot is now disengaged and you have complete steering control.
or to make an immediate course change to port or starboard.
.
briefly and adjust using
then use the control dial to highlight Compass, GPS or
key.
key.
to resume original course, or press to continue on the
7
2-7 Manually steering the boat from the boats helm
To manually steer the boat:
1. P ress the
key. The autopilot is now disengaged and you have complete steering control.
2-8 Manually steering the boat using power steering
To manually steer the boat using the autopilot to move the rudder:
1. Ensure the autopilot is in STBY by pressing the key.
2. Press and hold
3. Release the button when the rudder is in the desired position.
Alternatively:
1. Ensure the autopilot is in STBY by pressing the
2. Turn the Control Dial until the on-screen rudder indicator is in the desired position.
3. The autopilot will turn the rudder until it is in the target position.
or to turn the rudder to port or starboard. Pressing Both will center the rudder
key.
8
Northstar NS3300 Pilot
3 Autopilot operation
Button Function
ESC
1
ENT
2
Control Dial
3
Step bac k a menu le vel or ret urn to selected pilot sc reen
Selec ts high lighte d items or b rings up Param eters me nu whe n in Pilot
display mode
Use to scro ll throu gh men us, increment or decr ement s elec ted valu es,
follow- up rudd er control and to m ake cour se cha nges.
4
5
7
8
9
10
11
12
MENU
DISP
POWER
Dodge Right
Dodge Left
STBY
AUTO
Turns
MODE
Shows co ntext se nsiti ve Optio ns menu, press t wice to s how the Setup
menu.
Opens d ispla y menu to ch ange b etwee n pilot s creen s
Press and hold to turn ins trume nt off. Si ngle press sh ows back light c ontro l
Dodge to S tarbo ard key (re peate d press es incr ement s value s)
Initia tes tack /gyb e, 90° tur ns and 180° tu rns
Dodge to Po rt key (r epeate d press es inc rements value s) Init iates
tack /gybe, 9 0° turn s and 180° tur ns
Places autopi lot into st andby m ode
Places autopi lot into au to mode
Key open s turn me nu to acce ss tack/gy be, 90° tu rns and 180° turns
Invokes ste erin g mode me nu
2
1
4
3
8
11
5
7
10
Reference Manual
9
12
9
3-1-1 AUTO key
Press to engage AUTO mode. The autopilot is
now steering the boat based on the selected
steering mode. Press and hold for 2 seconds to
engage H-STEER mode.
3-1-2 STBY key
Press to disengage AUTO mode and set STBY mode.
The autopilot is not steering the boat – the helmsman
must steer the boat using the manual helm.
3-1-3 Dodge keys
Press or to trigger an immediate dodge
to port or starboard. Repeated presses of the
same key increments dodge angle.
STBY mode: Jogs the rudder left or right while
the key is pressed
AUTO mode: Activates a dodge. Causes the vessel
to deviate from the set course by a preset angle.
3-1-4 Turn key
Press to display the turn menu. The boat follows
a preprogrammed turn sequence. Select an item
from the menu then press or to activate
the turn in the corresponding direction.
Tip: Repeated pressing the
through the menu selection.
3-1-5 MODE key
Press to select steering mode.
Tip: Repeated pressing the
the menu selection and will automatically select
after 1 second.
3-2 Turning the NS3300 Piloton
• Briefly press the
• If there are no other autopilot display heads
on the system, The NS3300 Pilot will turn on
and enter STBY (Standby) mode.
Note: If the autopilot was switched off while
still in AUTO mode, a warning message will be
key.
key will cycle
will cycle through
3-1-6 Control Dial
When using menus and adjusting settings, use to scroll
through items and increment or decrement values.
STBY mode: Moves the rudder to port or to starboard
half of a degree per click.
AUTO mode: Changes the set course by one degree per click.
Note: In GPS mode, the set course can not be adjusted as
the course is controlled by the navigation instrument.
3-1-7 ESC key
When using menus and adjusting settings, press to step
back one level without saving changes.
When no menus or settings are displayed, press to jump
back to the most recently used autopilot display screen.
3-1-8 ENT key
When using menus and adjusting settings, press to
choose selection or save setting.
Tip: When the showing the Basic, Pilot or Compass
screen, pressing
opens the Parameters menu.
3-1-9 MENU key
Press to show the Options menu (where applicable).
Press twice to show the Setup menu.
3-1-10 DISP key
Shows the Display menu.
Tip: Repeated pressing the
the menu selection and will automatically select the
highlighted entry after 1 second.
displayed to alert the user that there may have been a
power interruption.
Note: When the autopilot is powered on, the Control Dial
and Dodge keys are active and can operate the rudder at
any time (see Power Steering modes 1-1-3)
key will cycle through
10
Northstar NS3300 Pilot
3-3 Turning the NS3300 Pilot off
When in STBY mode:
• Press and hold the
appear and start a 3 second count-down. The unit
will turn off when the timer reaches 0.
• Releasing the
normal operation.
• Any settings you have made are retained by the unit.
key. A pop-up box will
key during this time will resume
When in AUTO mode:
• Press and hold the
remind you to enter STBY mode before the unit can
be turned off. Press to close the pop-up.
key. A warning pop-up box will
3-4 Backlight
Briefly press the key. The Backlight pop-up
will appear.
Repeating this action will toggle from day to
night mode
Use the Control Dial to increase or decrease the
display and keypad backlighting.
3-5 Engaging autopilot
Select AUTO mode by pressing the key. The
autopilot is now steering the boat based on the
selected steering mode.
3-6 Disengaging autopilot
Select STBY mode by pressing the
autopilot is not steering the boat – the helmsman
must steer the boat using the manual helm.
3-7 Setting the steering mode
For a power boat
• For a boat without GPS, or for a boat with GPS
but you do not want to navigate to a waypoint,
choose Compass mode. The autopilot steers the
boat at a set compass heading.
Select Compass mode by pressing
Compass and press .
• To use the autopilot with a GPS to navigate to a
waypoint or along a route, choose GPS mode. The
autopilot steers the boat using navigation data
from the GPS.
key. The
, choose
• The NS3300 Pilot has a choice of white background
‘Day’ and black background ‘Night’ backlighting
modes. Either mode can be selected using the
Control Dial.
• The Backlight pop-up may also be selected: Menu >
Setup > System > Backlight menu.
• Backlighting on all other Northstar instruments
that are connected and on the same NavBus
backlighting channel will also change.
Select GPS mode by pressing , choose GPS and
press
For a sailing boat
• To steer to a set compass heading, choose
Select Compass mode by pressing
Compass and press .
• To navigate to a waypoint or along a route, choose
Select GPS mode by pressing
press .
.
Compass mode.
GPS mode.
, choose
, choose GPS and
Reference Manual
11
Tip: It is possible to
change steering modes
while in AUTO mode. For
example it is helpful to use
Compass mode to control
the boat when setting up
a GPS route, then change
directly to GPS mode.
3-8 Changing course
• To sail, tack and gybe at a set angle to the
wind, choose Wind mode.
Select Wind mode by pressing
, choose Wind
and press .
Note for sailing boats:
• The autopilot is not recommended for use in
light, changeable or gusty winds.
• Take care when running downwind to avoid
an accidental gybe.
• Wind mode requires the wind instrument to be
To engage the autopilot in GPS mode, the GPS must be
navigating to a waypoint or along a route; otherwise the
NS3300 Pilot will display an error message. If the boat
is too far from the plotted course, the NS3300 Pilot will
display a warning message.
Select ‘OK’ to engage AUTO mode anyway.
Select ‘Cancel’ to remain in STBY mode.
To select Wind mode, the autopilot must be receiving
data from a compatible wind instrument, otherwise the
Wind selection will not be available.
accurately calibrated.
Note: To select GPS mode, the autopilot must be
receiving data from a compatible GPS instrument,
otherwise the GPS selection will not be available.
3-8-1 Changing course in compass mode
To change course in 1˚steps, turn the Control Dial.
• turn the Control Dial counter-clockwise to change course to port
• turn the Control Dial clockwise to change course to starboard
Example
12
Heading = 45°
CTS = 45°
CTS changes to 44°
Boat comes to 44° heading
Heading = 45°
CTS = 45°
CTS changes to 46°
Boat comes to 46° heading
3-8-2 Changing course in GPS mode
The course maintained by the autopilot is controlled by the GPS device that is navigating to a waypoint. To
change course in GPS mode, select a different waypoint on the GPS device.
Northstar NS3300 Pilot
3-8-3 Changing set wind angle in wind mode
To change set wind angle (SWA) in 1˚ steps, turn the Control Dial.
• turn the Control Dial counter-clockwise to change course to port
• turn the Control Dial clockwise to change course to starboard
Example
3-9 Dodge
Wind
SWA = 40°
SWA changes to 39°. Boat comes to new
wind angle of 39°
Wind
SWA = 40°
SWA changes to 41°. Boat comes to
new wind angle of 41°
A dodge is a sharp change of course, usually to avoid an obstacle.
• press
• press
The boat will change course by a preset dodge angle. To dodge further, press
to dodge to port by the dodge angle
to dodge to starboard by the dodge angle.
or more times. To view
or change the dodge angle, go to Dodge angle in the Options menu (see section 6-3).
3-9-1 Dodging in compass mode
Press
Heading = 45°
CTS = 45°
CTS changes by the dodge angle.
Boat comes to new heading.
or
to
continue
on the new
heading
Press
to
resume
the earlier
heading
Reference Manual
13
3-9-2 Dodging in GPS mode
3-10 Turn modes
Press
the earlier heading
CTS changes by the dodge angle.
Boat comes to new heading.
The NS3300 Pilot beeps.
to resume
WARNING: The
NS3300 Pilot will steer
back to the GPS plotted
course. Make sure
there are no obstacles
or dangerous waters in
the way.
3-9-3 Dodging in wind mode
Wind
SWA changes by the dodge
angle. Boat comes to new
SWA = 40°
wind angle.
The NS3300 Pilot beeps.
The NS3300 Pilot can follow a preprogrammed turn sequence. The autopilot
has three different turn modes:
Press to
resume
the earlier wind
angle
14
Tack/Gybe: Autotacks the boat after
a delay period.
The tack angle and
tack delay can be
customized. Gybes
can be disabled.
90º turn:
The boat turns
through 90º
180º turn:
The boat turns
through 180º
Availability: Compass GPS Wind
Tack/Gybe yes no yes
90º yes no no
180º yes no no
Northstar NS3300 Pilot
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