TECNAUTIC System-6 Overview

The best available Mono Cable System comprising Fly-By-Wire Steering, Cockpit Instruments, Autopilots and Jumbo Displays. Three years warranty.

Fly-By-Wire Steering: a steering wheel that holds the heading The Fly-By-Wire steering wheel determines the rate of turn of the boat, not the rudder angle. With the wheel centered in the detent, the heading is held. The artificial boat stability is a main aspect of the Fly-By-Wire steering. The Sonic Heading Gyro is the heart of the system: a low cost gyro compass which is produced by TECNAUTIC since 1992. The Autopilot computer positions the rudder as needed, so as to achieve the requested turn rate of the boat, determined by the electronic steering wheel.  Installation of a second helm becomes simple and inexpensive. Up to eight fixed or portable Fly-By-Wire steering wheels can be connected to the network at a fraction of the cost of a mechanical or hydraulic helm.  The rudder will be driven by an Autopilot Drive Motor or by Servo Valves. Almost any sort of Drive or Valves can be connected to the Autopilot Computer. Rudder motion will be smooth and accurate to 0.1 degrees.

Cockpit Displays include analog color LED-pointer

In addition to the digital LCD, an analog LED-pointer is included around the face of each cockpit display. Depending on the selected function, the analog LED pointer may work as a compass needle, wind angle indicator, amplified boat speed indicator, rudder angle, depth or trim flap indicator etc.

Night time viewing and group wise illumination control

The analog LED pointer can be dimmed continuously down to zero and the LCD can be back lit for night time viewing.
When several displays are located in a group, e.g. in a forward cockpit, they can be assigned the same group number. Adjusting the brightness of one of them will make the others follow to the same brightness level.
A total of 15 groups can be created, with an unlimited number of displays in each group.

Tecnautic Displays offer more flexibility and more safety

Each cockpit display can show all available data of the system, e.g. compass, log, wind, depth or GPS data etc. Every display is logically connected via the network cable to all sensors, actuators and other displays in the system.

In addition to the bus connection, every display unit can be individually connected to one analog and one digital sensor. For example, a Sonic Heading Gyro can be connected to the "analog" input of a display and the NMEA in- and output of a Flux Gate Sensor can be connected to the "digital" input/output of a display unit.
The sensor input can be unrelated to the displayed function on that unit. A Sonic Heading Gyro for example can be connected to a "Depth Display" or a Flux Gate Compass Sensor can be connected to an "Autopilot Display", if this makes the installation easier. As you realize already, there is no "Depth Display" or "Compass Display" etc., they are all technically equal, only the printing on the bezel and the number of key buttons may be different.
The size of the displays is 114 x 132 x 17 mm (4.5 x 5.2 x 0.67 in.). They are flush mounted. Only a small hole in the center is required for installation.
A display unit that receives signals from a directly connected analog sensor or NMEA-data from a directly connected digital sensor, will transmit these data at high speed (125 kbit/sec) to all other displays, steering wheels and the autopilot on the bus. A display unit receiving data over the bus can output them via its digital NMEA-output, if desired.

There is no dominant central processor in the system. Instead there is cleverly distributed functionality. For example, if a total of four display units have been installed, there is true four fold redundancy.

Very Large Instruments: The JUMBO displays offer 40 mm digit height (1.5 inches). They are available in fluorescent red or yellow. They can be set up so as to display any parameter in the system. With two water tight network connectors at the back side, daisy chaining of multiple units becomes easy. The integrated illumination can be adjusted remotely from any other display unit for optimum night time viewing . The price is unmatched.

EMC Mono Cable: cannot be disturbed and doesn't disturb

Fly-By-Wire steering, instruments and autopilot are connected with identical cable. The cable has two wire pairs, one for data and one for the supply. If custom wiring is selected, branching of the bus cable is accomplished with RJ-45 connectors. These can be installed with a simple crimp tool. Standard cables have connectors already installed.

The TECNAUTIC network is based on the BOSCH^® developed CAN^© protocol. It has a so called Multi Master Architecture and it guarantees data transmission within a defined time period. Most other protocols slow down when an increasing number of nodes (equipment pieces) is connected to the bus. Transmission speed is 125 kbit/s. The distance between any two nodes on the bus may be up to 200 m.

Silent and power saving autopilots

The TECNAUTIC autopilots and the Fly-By-Wire Steering maintain full torque while controlling the rudder motor speed continuously between zero and maximum rate. This results in a natural and silent rudder motion. Power drain from the battery is up to four times less than the effective motor current, thanks to state of the art 35kHz pulse width modulation. The motor current flows back to the battery during the pulse off state and produces torque without consuming anything from the battery. A current filter in the supply leads takes care of a constant and noise free load on the battery.

On larger vessels where constant hydraulic pressure is normally available, the same autopilot can drive electric servo valves instead of the rudder motor. On medium sized vessels, which often have continuous running DC driven pumps with switch over valves, these can be equally connected.