Maritronix, PILOT_H, wireless yacht remote control systems

I have been looking for e remote control to our 41 foot boat for years but they have been a little to expensive. I have even tried to build one myself but the Volvo Penta engines buzzer was very active 😎 and the instruments indicated errors. 

So when I found the Maritronix remote(MXR) I was pleasantly surprised. (From 2 500 € net)

We have 2 Volvo Penta(VP) engines D6-310 from 2006 and both a bow and stern truster, Side power SP125Ti, and an anchorwinch which all are conected to MXR.

All the different supported engine controls are listed here.

Intro

You will get manuals at purchase so this is just an overall "quick start" which I thought was missing.

Maybe you hesitate to introduce something in your engine electronics but if you connect MXR right and power it off everything shall work as normal. There also is an emergency stop button included in the setup.

I selected the PRO variant due to that then you have a calibrated two-stage proportional engine response. This variant is probably more advanced to install.

I have both an immobiliser and the Yacht Devices engine interface but these will not affect the installation.

Installation, cables

• 

  T connector

  Disconnect the cable from both VP throttle handles and connect the supplied T connector.
• The blue/black "Neutral Switch" cabel is cut, after the connector, and the 2 singel cables, on the T connector, is connected in series.
• Connect the other end of the T connector cable to the MXR box.
• Connect the antenna
• Connect the buzzer
• Connect power, with the included emergency stop button. White button => system active. Push the button to turn off the receiver => Red button
• Connect the thrusters according to the manual
• Connect the Joystick after the engines are set up. (If included)

Installation, engines

Check the manual and open the MXR box where you will find the measuring points according to the picture at right.

Measure

With the MXR turned off and the engines with ignition switched on(not started), measure port side(PS) between PP1 and PP2. The one with the lowest voltage will be the negative reference point(PP2 in my case). Do the same procedure for starboard side(SB) SP1/SP2(SP1 in my case)

Determine wich channel(s) is used measuring the voltage between PP2 & PC1, PP2 & PC2 and PP2 & PC3 while moving the throttle handle forward and backwards.

After figuring out which channels are activ i measured the voltage at different lever position. This resulted in the data seen below  => "Calibration measurements". "Forward 1" is the measuremet for idle forward and "Reverse 1" is the idle for backwards. Since the MXR Pro model have a second speed the speed "2" are the measures at idle + 200 rpm. So PS is using channel 2(PC2) and SB is using channel 1(SC1)

Adjusting

With the engines ignition switched on(not started) switch on MXR, with the remote, and confirm the startup by a short buzzer signal.

Start the adjusting procedure using the remote and press the SB forward button in the "Forward 2" position (second pressure point) and use potentiometer P20 to get the same value as you measured before.

Repeat the procedure for all cases.

Turn everything off, start up again and test that it works as planned.

Configuration mode

To enter the configuration mode

• Press and hold the button on the MRX PCB. Upper left corner.
• Start the system with the transmitter by pressing the green button.
• The buzzer will beep two times. This confirms that the receiver is in setup mode.
• With a WiFi device connect to the "MARITRONIX PILOT-H...." WiFi
• This will open your webbrowser or, go to http://maritronix.devices. Update the settings.
• Disconnect and power off the MXR

Calibration measurements

Port side is measured between PP2(negative reference point) & PC2 and starboard between SP1(negative reference point) & SC1

		PS, Channel 2		SB, Channel 1
	Speed	mV DC	Potentiometer	mV DC	Potentiometer
	Forward 2	638	P20	1080	P40
	Forward 1	706	P21	994	P41
	Neutral	764	-	749	-
	Reverse 1	1006	P22	691	P42
	Reverse 2	1089	P23	615	P43