Garmin Steady Cast

[Dougcole]

Anyone have any experience with a steady cast? I'm considering adding one to our 942XS. The radar overlays don't line up very well, which according to Garmin's site, the steadycast should help. Our autopilot is an older Raymarine which is now stand alone, so our MFDs don't have heading sensors. The steadycast is pretty affordable and is plug and play using the NEMA network.


I read a thread on The Hull Truth about the steadycast though, and it sounds as if quite a few people are having issues with them not staying calibrated.

 

[Prospective]

The steadycast is pretty cheap and should do what you want so perhaps worth a try. I believe Simrad has a similar device inexpensive device. I too have read the bad reviews on THT. Also double check you can't connect your Raymarine to the 942xs via NMEA0183. I was able to do this with an older Robertson Simrad AP and had very good results.

 

[Jeff F]

I use a steady cast with my 942sx. It does the job, but I do need to calibrate regularly. That's easy if you're not in a current, a couple of keystrokes while on autopilot and it sets the compass course to your COG from the GPS.

If you don't have a desire or need to upgrade your AP it's a decent solution.

 

[Dougcole]

OK, thanks guys, I think I'm going to give it a try.

 

[twistedtree]

You should at least consider getting a better compass. Accuracy will be closer to +/- 1 deg, and re-calibrating will be a rarity. Plus your autopilot will steer better, and you will be able to use (M)ARPA if desired.

 

[Olebird]

I am still working on my steady cast install. Same problem poor alignment between maps and radar ovelays. The first unit I received from Garmin was bad out of the box. Unstable, would not calibrate. 942xs did recognized it on the bus. Spoke to Garmin about mounting issues first (supposed to work with any mounting) They determinded it was bad and quickly sent a replacement. ($300 deposit) New one works - best in the horizontal plane. Best calibration numbers 83% (what ever that means). Now installing a new horizontal mounting plate - taking care to isolate from any current carrying wiring, magnets,and ferrous metals. Working much better but still not up to expectations.

 

[Dougcole]

You should at least consider getting a better compass. Accuracy will be closer to +/- 1 deg, and re-calibrating will be a rarity. Plus your autopilot will steer better, and you will be able to use (M)ARPA if desired.

Thanks for the suggestion and I may end up going that route. I've looked around a bit, and it seems the jump in price from the steadycast ($150) to a better compass ($800) is quite substantial. Maybe there is something in between? I haven't really looked that hard.



I think the steadycast provides MARPA capability, but I could be wrong on that. My AP is set up as a stand alone unit with it's own compass, it's the old Raymarine (I can't recall the model) that was original to the boat. When i did the install of the new Garmin package (two 942XS and radar) I saw no reason to try to interface the old AP with it as I never run routes on the AP, I just use it in a "point and push" mode.

 

[Dougcole]

I am still working on my steady cast install. Same problem poor alignment between maps and radar ovelays. The first unit I received from Garmin was bad out of the box. Unstable, would not calibrate. 942xs did recognized it on the bus. Spoke to Garmin about mounting issues first (supposed to work with any mounting) They determinded it was bad and quickly sent a replacement. ($300 deposit) New one works - best in the horizontal plane. Best calibration numbers 83% (what ever that means). Now installing a new horizontal mounting plate - taking care to isolate from any current carrying wiring, magnets,and ferrous metals. Working much better but still not up to expectations.

Thanks for the valuable info. Will you please let me know how it goes after the horizontal plate install? I'm going to wait to hear from you before I pull the trigger.

 

[twistedtree]

Thanks for the suggestion and I may end up going that route. I've looked around a bit, and it seems the jump in price from the steadycast ($150) to a better compass ($800) is quite substantial. Maybe there is something in between? I haven't really looked that hard.



I think the steadycast provides MARPA capability, but I could be wrong on that. My AP is set up as a stand alone unit with it's own compass, it's the old Raymarine (I can't recall the model) that was original to the boat. When i did the install of the new Garmin package (two 942XS and radar) I saw no reason to try to interface the old AP with it as I never run routes on the AP, I just use it in a "point and push" mode.

Check out the Maretron SSC300. It's still a big jump in cost at about $500, but not as big as $800. I have had good results from it, but you might (probably) need someone with the Maretron tools to trigger the calibration process. It might also be possible to trigger it otherwise, so check the manual which is available on line.


MARPA and an AP I'm sure will work with the Steady Cast, but I'm quite certain MARPA will work poorly, and I expect the AP will too. But both might be less noticeable without something to compare it to.


Any BTW, if you are looking at a compass that costs $800, consider one of the new Sat compasses instead. Now I know I'm freely spending your money here, but nobody likes to buy something inexpensive only to find it doesn't do what you need/want. But my point is that when you get up to the $700-$800 range for a magnetic rate compass, for about $1000 you can get one of the new low end sat compasses. They are super accurate, are not impacted by metal on the boat, or current running through cables, and provide both magnetic and true heating. Plus it includes a high quality GPS. On smaller, finding a good location for a magnetic compass can be a real challenge, and if nothing else a sat compass solves that problem.

 

[Dougcole]

Check out the Maretron SSC300. It's still a big jump in cost at about $500, but not as big as $800. I have had good results from it, but you might (probably) need someone with the Maretron tools to trigger the calibration process. It might also be possible to trigger it otherwise, so check the manual which is available on line.


MARPA and an AP I'm sure will work with the Steady Cast, but I'm quite certain MARPA will work poorly, and I expect the AP will too. But both might be less noticeable without something to compare it to.


Any BTW, if you are looking at a compass that costs $800, consider one of the new Sat compasses instead. Now I know I'm freely spending your money here, but nobody likes to buy something inexpensive only to find it doesn't do what you need/want. But my point is that when you get up to the $700-$800 range for a magnetic rate compass, for about $1000 you can get one of the new low end sat compasses. They are super accurate, are not impacted by metal on the boat, or current running through cables, and provide both magnetic and true heating. Plus it includes a high quality GPS. On smaller, finding a good location for a magnetic compass can be a real challenge, and if nothing else a sat compass solves that problem.

Thanks Tree.


I'm not going to use the SC for my AP. The AP works really well with its own compass, so I'm not planning on messing with it.


I'd be happy with the SC if it got my radar overlays to line up and gave some idea of a true heading when the boat is not moving. Anything more than that would be gravy. We've been using the 942xs in its current state without a heading sensor for two years now and have done fine, so it's not a deal breaker, just an improvement. I agree with what you say though, no matter how cheap it is, it's not a good deal if it doesn't work.



The SAT compass sounds awesome, but it's well out of my budget for this project, unfortunately.

 

[Jeff F]

It'll work fine as long as you keep an eye on it and synch the course when it starts to drift. I do it maybe twice a month when full time cruising on the waterways.

In my experience you don't need to do a full recalibration, just the second step, synchronizing the course.

I share my MFD and radar between my trawler and sailboat, and on the sailboat I have a Raymarine EV compass on the network. Haven't noticed any difference between the two in using the plotter.

 

[Olebird]

DC,


May take me a few days to get back to you. 18F here tonight need to run up to marina to check bilge heaters etc before too late! I've tested several locations - taping it down with double sided tape or masking tape. It's pretty sensitive to steel so finding the right spot to mount it takes a little testing.



Not sure which sensor Garmin uses in this device. There are a few new ones on the market that seem to work pretty good. I'm playing with one on a Raspberry Pi that cost <$30 and accurate +/- 0.1 - just gotta find N2K bus coding to get the data over to the 942xs.

 

[Iggy]

Anyone have any experience with a steady cast? I'm considering adding one to our 942XS. The radar overlays don't line up very well, which according to Garmin's site, the steadycast should help. Our autopilot is an older Raymarine which is now stand alone, so our MFDs don't have heading sensors. The steadycast is pretty affordable and is plug and play using the NEMA network.


I read a thread on The Hull Truth about the steadycast though, and it sounds as if quite a few people are having issues with them not staying calibrated.

I had the same problem. I added a NMEA2k magnetic compass about 6 years ago. I celebrated once on the install and than last year. Works great!

At the time Steadycast was not around. But why is it cheaper than most heading sensors I am wondering?

 

[Olebird]

DC,


Hodges Marine Supply (No connection https://www.hodgesmarine.com/boat-accessories/compass-47-heading.html) has good prices and service.


also looking at this as an alternative
Digital Yacht Hsc100 High Performance Fluxgate Sensor

 

[twistedtree]

I'm not going to use the SC for my AP. The AP works really well with its own compass, so I'm not planning on messing with it.

Hold on, you have a compass that's part of your AP? Then you already have a good compass. More likely than not you can bring that compass info out of the AP and feed it to your chart plotter and other devices. In that case you will get a quality compass for the cost of a few feet of wire.


What make/model AP? I'm more familiar with some than others, but can probably help figure out how to connect it up.

 

[Dougcole]

Hold on, you have a compass that's part of your AP? Then you already have a good compass. More likely than not you can bring that compass info out of the AP and feed it to your chart plotter and other devices. In that case you will get a quality compass for the cost of a few feet of wire.


What make/model AP? I'm more familiar with some than others, but can probably help figure out how to connect it up.

Yes, I have the original to the boat 2005 Raymarine AP still installed, but I don't remember exactly which model it is and won't be down at the boat for a few weeks to look. The AP works great so I didn't see any reason to change it out two years ago when I installed the two 942xs units and radar. The AP has a compass, obviously, it's under the companionway stairs. I don't think the AP is NEMA 2000 though.

 

[Iggy]

Hold on, you have a compass that's part of your AP? Then you already have a good compass. More likely than not you can bring that compass info out of the AP and feed it to your chart plotter and other devices. In that case you will get a quality compass for the cost of a few feet of wire.


What make/model AP? I'm more familiar with some than others, but can probably help figure out how to connect it up.

Good call!

 

[Jeff F]

Guys, this is a 15 year old fluxgate compass. Maybe someone here who is currently using that technology for plotting can chime in, but I wouldn't even try. It will just show up the deficiencies in that unit. These things have moving parts!

I've had four different boats with 2000s vintage fluxgate compasses, and have struggled to keep every one well enough calibrated to work for this purpose. In 2005 the AP engineers were dreaming of accelerometer tech that's now in our phones. We've moved on. In comparison to Dougcole's existing unit the Steadycast shines, and it's in the stocking stuffer price range.

 

[Dougcole]

Might also be a bit of a wiring issue to connect the AP to my MFDs. The AP brain unit is in the ER, both of my MFD's are on the Flybridge. Unless there is a network connector on the AP head unit?


I'm leaning toward the steadycast.