Home Port; on the Delaware River at Fox Grove Marina Essington PA.

Nautech Autohelm MK II tiller pilot

Nautech Autohelm MK II rebuilt and repaired winter 2011-12 and works well within limits of about
15 degs port/starboard deviation.

The manual for Autohelm 800 while not the same as the MK II shares most features with the xception that the 800 has a feature to adjust for rough conditions.




October 2017
Compass drum mounting screw housing broken, drum mount twisted. Probably jammed in place due to drum tilt, resulting in spring stretched.
Rebuild including fabricating new drum mount.

October 2017
Nautech Autohelm MK II tiller pilot
Compass drum mounting screw housing broken, drum mount twisted. Probably jammed in place due to drum tilt, resulting in spring stretched.
Rebuild including fabricating new drum mount.

Upon further examination of the interior of the autohelm casing there is evidence of the spring rubbing against the casing near the compass drum, depositing scrapings from the casing on the spring.
The question is now did the drum mount failure cause the spring to scrape against the casing or did the spring jamb against the casing and cause the drum mount to fail?

Longer wire cable and shorter spring?

New spring for cable tension
Epoxy for drum mount rebuils

Epoxy at drum mount, to be shaped after 24 hr set.
January 2018
All attempts to resurrect the vintage circuit board have failed. It is time to admit failure.

8 comments:

  1. UnknownMarch 21, 2017 at 6:11 AM

    I have a Nautech Autohelm MKII that was apparently connected up with reverse polarity & now it doesn't work. Do you think there is any hope for it? Glen

    ReplyDelete
  2. Colin DawsonMarch 21, 2017 at 7:53 AM

    The piston and piston coil should still work, however the circuit board may be damaged. This old tech, so visually check the circuit board connections for continuity or discoloring. reconnect to a 12 volt power source (cigarette lighter socket) it will probably still work if the board is not damaged.
    If damaged and you want to repair, find an older repair technician or someone who builds ham radio systems. A new tiller pilot would probably be a wiser investment and provide better functionality.

    I only use this one because it still works, if it were to die I would not spend much time on repairing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Colin DawsonJuly 30, 2017 at 8:08 AM

    July 2017 the tiller pilot may have finally died. I will take the thing apart this winter when I have time and maybe there will be a resurrection. Hand on the tiller and tiller lock for the rest of this season.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Colin DawsonJanuary 22, 2018 at 5:19 PM

    January 2018
    All attempts to resurrect the vintage circuit board have failed. It is time to admit failure.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MargzzzMarch 23, 2020 at 5:06 PM

      Do You have more pictures of wiring or diagram ? I have same old AH MK2 and there is disconnected two wires i dont have any idea where they should goes.
      B.R.

      Delete
  5. AdriánJune 18, 2018 at 5:40 PM

    Sorry to read this... I got an old ah800 as pilot and will not change it for a newer one... it's reliable and simple!! Just give it to an electronic expert, the circuit is very simple, you should trace and find the problem.

    ReplyDelete
  6. MargzzzMarch 23, 2020 at 5:03 PM

    Hello
    Do You have more pictures or maybe circuit diagram with wiring drawing?
    I have same AH MKII and there is two wires disconnected and i have no idea where they should goes.
    B.R.

    ReplyDelete
  7. MargzzzMarch 23, 2020 at 5:05 PM

    Do You have more pictures of wiring or diagram ? I have same old AH MK2 and there is disconnected two wires i dont have any idea where they should goes.
    B.R.

    ReplyDelete

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Ulladh

Ulladh pronounced "ul-la" (null lad).





Uladh the gaelic spelling for the territory of the U-Nail chieftains in the ancient Irish province of Ulster (English/Norse), originally the counties of Down and Antrim, but now including Derry, Armagh, Tyrone, Fermanagh, Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan, also referred to as Ulidia (Greek/Roman),.



Uladh was the home of a pre-celtic, cruithne (crew-en-ya) pictish tribe, who may have been descendants of prehistoric tribes indigenous to the British Isles since the retreat of the last ice age.



Evidence from cut marks on deer bones from more than 30,000 years ago found in the karst formations of the Burren probably from hunters suggest a homonid precence. Archeological finds date first inhabitants (DNA evidence suggests dark or black skin and blue eyes) to about 6,000 BC and trade goods from Rathlin Island, County Antrim off the northeast coast of Ireland made from porcellanite stone appearing in Egypt and Crete by 2,500 BC.



The early tribes of Ireland where displaced by later waves of migrants from mainland Europe; about 1700 BC by bronze age tribes, celtic tribes about 500 BC, and in the past two millenia; Roman trading posts, Viking settlements, English plantations... and in the 21st century a welcome increasing diversity from the European Union and the world.



SV Ulladh (for vhf clarity I use "sailing vessel ul-la") is named for the territory of the first peoples to settle in Ireland after the retreat of the last ice age.