GARMIN Reactor‎ 40 Steer by Wire Corepack User Guide

: June 4, 2024
: Garmin

Table of Contents

GARMIN Reactor‎ 40 Steer by Wire Corepack
Important Safety Information
Setting North
Advanced Configuration Settings
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GARMIN Reactor‎ 40 Steer by Wire Corepack

Important Safety Information

See the Important Safety and Product Information guide in the product box for product warnings and other important information.
To avoid possible personal injury and damage to your boat, the autopilot system should be installed by a qualified marine installer. Specific knowledge of marine steering and electrical systems is required for proper installation.
You are responsible for the safe and prudent operation of your vessel. An autopilot is a tool that enhances your capability to operate your boat. It does not relieve you of the responsibility of safely operating your boat. Avoid navigational hazards and never leave the helm unattended.
Always be prepared to promptly regain manual control of your boat.
Learn to operate the autopilot on calm and hazard-free open water.
Use caution when operating the autopilot near hazards in the water, such as docks, pilings, and other boats ure to install and maintain this equipment in accordance with these instructions could result in damage or injury.
When in use, beware the risk of entrapment or pinching from moving parts.

Configuring the Autopilot

The autopilot system must be configured and tuned to your boat dynamics. You should use the Dockside Wizard and the Sea Trial Wizard to configure the autopilot. These wizards walk you through the necessary configuration steps. If your autopilot package did not contain a helm control, you must configure the autopilot system using a compatible Chartplotter on the same NMEA 2000® network as the autopilot CCU. These instructions address configuration using either a helm control or a Chartplotter.

Dockside Wizard

When performing you perform the Dockside Wizard while your boat is either in or out of the water, provide rudder-movement clearance to avoid damage to the rudder or other objects, and use caution to avoid personal injury that may be caused by moving parts. You can complete the Dockside Wizard while the boat is in or out of the water. If the boat is in the water, it must be stationary while you complete the wizard.

Performing the Dockside Wizard

Turn on the autopilot.
The first time you turn on the autopilot, you are prompted to complete a short setup sequence.
If the Dockside Wizard does not start automatically after the setup sequence, on a helm control or the autopilot screen on a chartplotter, select > Autopilot Setup > Autopilot Installation Setup > Wizards > Dockside Wizard > Begin.
Select the vessel type.
Test the steering direction (Testing the Steering Direction, page 2).
If necessary, select the speed source (Selecting a Speed Source, page 2).
If necessary, verify the tachometer (Verifying the Tachometer, page 2).
Review the results of the Dockside Wizard (Reviewing the Results of the Dockside Wizard, page 3).

Testing the Steering Direction

While sitting still or moving at a low rate of speed, select and .
When you select , the rudder must turn the boat to the left. When you select , the rudder must turn the boat to the right.

Select an option:

If the steering test turns the boat in the correct direction, select Next.
If the steering test turns the boat in the opposite direction, select Switch Direction, and repeat steps 1 though 3.

Selecting a Speed Source

Select an option:

If your steering-controller connection supplies RPM data, or you connected one or more NMEA 2000 compatible engines to the NMEA 2000 network, select Tach. – N2K or Proprietary.
If your steering-controller connection does not supply RPM data, and if a NMEA 2000 tachometer data source is not available from one or more engines, or if it is unusable, select GPS as a speed source.

NOTE: Garmin® recommends using an external GPS antenna mounted with a clear view of the sky to provide reliable and accurate GPS speed information.

If your steering-controller connection does not provide RPM data, if you did not connect a NMEA 2000 engine, and you do not have a GPS device to use as a speed source, select None.

NOTE: If the autopilot does not perform well using None as the speed source, Garmin recommends connecting a tachometer through the NMEA 2000 network or using an external GPS antenna as the speed source.

Verifying the Tachometer

This procedure does not appear when GPS or None is selected as the speed source. With the engine (or engines) running, compare the RPM readings on the helm control or Chartplotter with the tachometer (or tachometers) on the dashboard of your boat. If the RPM numbers do not align, there may be a problem with the NMEA 2000 speed source or connection.

Reviewing the Results of the Dockside Wizard

The values you chose when you ran the Dockside Wizard are displayed.

Examine the results of the Dockside Wizard.
Select any incorrect value.
Correct the value.
Repeat steps 2 and 3 for all incorrect values.
When you are finished reviewing the values, select Done.

Sea Trial Wizard

The Sea Trial Wizard configures the fundamental sensors on the autopilot, and it is extremely important to complete the wizard in conditions appropriate for your boat.

Important Sea Trial Wizard Considerations

The Sea Trial Wizard must be completed in calm water. Because the nature of calm water is relative to the size and shape of the boat, before you begin the Sea Trial Wizard, the boat must be in an appropriate location.

The boat must not rock while sitting still or moving very slowly.
The boat must not be significantly affected by the wind.
While completing the Sea Trial Wizard, observe these considerations.
Weight on the boat must remain balanced. While completing any of the steps in the Sea Trial Wizard, do not move around on the boat.

Performing the Sea Trial Wizard

Drive your boat to an open area of calm water.
On a helm control or the autopilot screen on a chartplotter, select > Autopilot Setup > Autopilot
Installation Setup > Wizards > Sea Trial Wizard > Begin 3 Select an option:
- On a planing-hull power boat with the speed source set to Tach. – N2K or Proprietary, configure the planing RPM.
- On a planing-hull power boat with the speed source set to GPS, configure the planing speed.
- On a power boat with the speed source set to Tach. – N2K or Proprietary, configure the high RPM limit.
- On a power boat with the speed source set to GPS, configure the maximum speed.
Calibrate the compass (Calibrating the Compass, page 4).
Perform the Autotune procedure (Performing the Autotune Procedure, page 4).
Set north (Setting North, page 5), or set the fine heading adjustment (Setting the Fine Heading Adjustment, page 5).

Calibrating the Compass

Select an option:
- If you are performing this procedure as part of the Sea Trial Wizard, select Begin.
  If you are performing this procedure outside of the Sea Trial Wizard, on a helm control or the autopilot screen on a chartplotter, select > Autopilot Setup > Autopilot Installation Setup > Compass Setup > Compass Cal. > Begin.
Follow the directions until calibration is complete, taking care to keep the boat as steady and flat as possible.
The boat should not list during calibration. Make sure one side of the vessel is not loaded more heavily than the other.
Select an option:
- If the calibration is not successful, repeat the previous step.
- If the calibration completes successfully, select Next.
- When the calibration is complete, a magnetic environment quality value is shown. A value of 100 indicates the CCU was installed in a perfect magnetic environment and calibrated correctly. If this value is low, you might need to relocate the CCU and calibrate the compass again.

Performing the Autotune Procedure

Before you can begin this procedure, you must have a large stretch of open water available.
Adjust the throttle so the boat travels at a typical cruising speed (below planing speed) that provides responsive steering.
Select an option:
- If you are performing this procedure as part of the Sea Trial Wizard, select Begin.
- If you are performing this procedure outside of the Sea Trial Wizard, on a helm control or the autopilot screen on a chartplotter, select > Autopilot Setup > Autopilot Installation Setup > Autopilot Tuning > Autotune > Begin.
- The boat performs various zigzag motions while the Autotune is in progress.
After the procedure is finished, follow the on-screen instructions.
If the Autotune procedure is not successful, select an option:
- If the Autotune procedure is not successful and you have not reached maximum cruising speed, increase the speed, select Run Standard Autotune and repeat steps 1 through 3 until the Autotune procedure completes successfully.
- If the Autotune procedure is not successful and you have reached maximum cruising speed, reduce your speed to the initial Autotune speed, and select Run Alternate Autotune to begin an alternate procedure.
- If the Autotune fails immediately and you are traveling in a circle instead of performing zigzag motions, select Switch Direction > Run Standard Autotune and repeat steps 1 through 3 until the Autotune procedure completes successfully.
When the Autotune procedure is complete, gain values are displayed. You can use these values to determine the quality of the Autotune procedure.

Autotune Gain Values

After the Autotune procedure is complete, you can review the gain values provided on the helm control. You can record these numbers for reference if you want to run the autotune procedure at a later time or if you want to manually adjust the gain settings (not recommended) (Adjusting the Autopilot Gain Settings, page 6). Gain: Sets how tightly the autopilot holds the heading and how aggressively it makes turns. Counter Gain: Sets how aggressively the autopilot adjusts any over-steering after making a turn.

Setting North

Before you can begin this procedure, you must have a large stretch of open water available.
This procedure appears if the autopilot is connected to an optional GPS device, and the device has acquired a GPS position. During this procedure, the autopilot aligns the compass heading with the Course over Ground (COG) information from the GPS device.
If you do not have a GPS device connected, you are prompted to set the fine heading adjustment instead (Setting the Fine Heading Adjustment, page 5).
Drive your boat at in a straight line at cruising speed, downwind, and in the same direction as the current.
Select an option:
- If you are performing this procedure as part of the Sea Trial Wizard, select Begin.
- If you are performing this procedure outside of the Sea Trial Wizard, on a helm control or the autopilot screen on a chartplotter, select > Autopilot Setup > Autopilot Installation Setup > Compass Setup > Set North > Begin.
Continue to drive the boat in a straight line at cruising speed, downwind, in the same direction as the current, and follow the on-screen instructions.
Select an option:
- If the calibration is not successful, repeat the previous step.
- If the calibration completes successfully, select Next.

Setting the Fine Heading Adjustment

This procedure appears only if you do not have an optional GPS device connected to the autopilot. If the autopilot is connected to a GPS device that has acquired a GPS position, you are prompted to set north instead (Setting North, page 5).

Select an option:
- If you are performing this procedure as part of the Sea Trial Wizard, proceed to step 2.
- If you are performing this procedure outside of the Sea Trial Wizard, on a helm control or the autopilot screen on a chartplotter, select > Autopilot Setup > Autopilot Installation Setup > Compass Setup >

Fine Heading Adjustment.

Adjust the fine heading setting until it shows the correct heading as determined by a trusted heading indicator, such as the ship compass or a handheld compass.
Select Back.

Testing and Adjusting the Configuration

Drive the boat in one direction with the autopilot engaged (heading hold).
The boat may oscillate slightly, but it should not oscillate significantly.
Turn the boat in one direction using the autopilot and observe the behavior.
The boat should turn smoothly, not too quickly or too slowly.
When you turn the boat using the autopilot, the boat should approach and settle on the desired heading with minimal overshoot and oscillation.
Select an option:
If the boat turns too quickly or too sluggishly, adjust the autopilot acceleration limiter (Adjusting the
Acceleration Limiter Settings, page 6).
If the heading hold oscillates significantly or the boat does not correct when turning, adjust the autopilot gain (Adjusting the Autopilot Gain Settings, page 6).
If the boat turns smoothly, the heading hold oscillates only slightly or not at all, the boat adjusts the heading correctly, the configuration is correct. No further adjustments are necessary.

Adjusting the Acceleration Limiter Settings

On a helm control or the autopilot screen on a chartplotter, select > Autopilot Setup > Autopilot
Installation Setup > Autopilot Tuning > Accel. Limiter.
Select an option:
Increase the setting if the autopilot turns too quickly.
Decrease the setting if the autopilot turns too slowly.
When you manually adjust the acceleration limiter, make relatively small adjustments. Test the change before making additional adjustments.
Test the autopilot configuration.
Repeat steps 2 and 3 until the autopilot performance is satisfactory.

Adjusting the Autopilot Gain Settings

The autopilot gain settings are set during the Autotune procedure. Adjusting these values is not recommended, and you should record the values set by the Autotune procedure before making any changes.
On a helm control or the autopilot screen on a chartplotter, select > Autopilot Setup > Autopilot
Installation Setup > Autopilot Tuning > Rudder Gains.
Select an option based on the type of boat:
If you have a displacement-hull powerboat or a powerboat with the speed source set to None, select Gain and adjust how tightly the rudder holds the heading and makes turns.
If you set this value too high, the autopilot may be overactive and attempt to constantly adjust the heading at the slightest deviation. An overactive autopilot can drain the battery at a faster-than-normal rate.
If you have a displacement-hull powerboat or a powerboat with the speed source set to None, select
Counter Gain and adjust how tightly the rudder corrects the turn overshoot.
If you set this value too low, the autopilot can overshoot the turn again when it attempts to counter the original turn.
If you have a planning-hull powerboat with the speed source set to Tach. – N2K or Proprietary, Tachometer, or GPS, select Low Speed or High Speed and adjust how tightly the rudder holds the heading and makes turns at low speed or high speed.
If you set this value too high, the autopilot may be overactive and attempt to constantly adjust the heading at the slightest deviation. An overactive autopilot can drain the battery at a faster-than-normal rate.
If you have a planning-hull powerboat with the speed source set to Tach. – N2K or Proprietary, Tachometer, or GPS, select Low Spd. Cntr. or High Speed Counter to adjust how tightly the rudder corrects the turn overshoot.
If you set this value too low, the autopilot can overshoot the turn again when it attempts to counter the original turn.
Test the autopilot configuration and repeat step 2 until the autopilot performance is satisfactory.

Advanced Configuration Settings

You can calibrate the compass, run the autotune procedure, and set north on autopilot without running the wizards. You can also manually define each setting individually, in order to make slight adjustments, without running the full configuration or calibration processes.

Manually Running the Automated Configuration Processes

On a helm control or the autopilot screen on a Chartplotter, select > Autopilot Setup > Autopilot

Installation Setup.

Select an automated process:
- To start the compass calibration procedures, select Compass Setup > Compass Cal. (Calibrating the Compass, page 4).
- To start the automatic autopilot tuning procedures, select Autopilot Tuning > Autotune (Performing the
- Autotune Procedure, page 4).
- To start the procedures to define north, select Compass Setup > Set North (Setting North, page 5).
3 Follow the on-screen instructions.

Manually Defining Individual Configuration Settings

Configuring certain configuration settings may require you to modify other settings. Review the detailed configuration settings section prior to modifying any settings (Detailed Configuration Settings, page 7).

On a helm control or the autopilot screen on a Chartplotter, select > Autopilot Setup > Autopilot Installation Setup.
Select a setting category.
Select a setting to configure.
Descriptions of each set are available in this manual (Detailed Configuration Settings, page 7).
Configure the value of the setting.

Multiple Sources of Sensor Information

There may be multiple sources of sensor information available to the autopilot system. If so, you can select a preferred data source. For example, because GPS speed from an external antenna is more reliable and accurate than that from an integrated GPS receiver inside a Chartplotter, you should select the external GPS antenna as the preferred source of GPS data. Also, because it can be difficult to find an ideal mounting location for the autopilot CCU, you can optionally select an external NMEA 2000 GPS compass or another heading sensor as the preferred source of heading data.

Selecting a Preferred Source of Sensor Information

On a helm control or the autopilot screen on a Chartplotter, select > Autopilot Setup > Preferred Sources.

NOTE: Some items in the Preferred Sources menu are shown only when multiple sensors providing the same data are available to the system.

Select a data category.
Select a source.

Detailed Configuration Settings

Although all of the configurations is typically completed automatically through wizards, you can manually adjust any setting to fine-tune the autopilot.

NOTE

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* Depending upon the configuration of the autopilot, certain settings may not appear.
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- On a powerboat, each time you change the Speed Source setting, you must review the Low RPM Limit,
High RPM Limit, Planing RPM, Planing Speed, or Max. Speed settings, where applicable, and you must perform the autotune procedure again (Performing the Autotune Procedure, page 4)

Autopilot Tuning Settings

On a helm control or the autopilot screen on a Chartplotter, select > Autopilot Setup > Autopilot Installation Setup > Autopilot Tuning.
Autotune: Starts the Autotune procedure (Performing the Autotune Procedure, page 4).
Rudder Gains: Adjusts the rudder-gain settings (Rudder Gain Settings, page 9).
Accel. Limiter: This allows you to limit the speed of autopilot-controlled turns. You can increase the percentage to limit the turn rate, and decrease the percentage to allow a higher turn rate.

Speed Source Settings

On a helm control or the autopilot screen on a Chartplotter, select > Autopilot Setup > Autopilot Installation Setup > Speed Source Setup.
Speed Source: This allows you to select the speed source.
Verify Tachometer: This allows you to compare the RPM readings on the helm control or Chartplotter with the tachometers on the dashboard of your boat.
Planing RPM: This allows you to adjust the RPM reading on the helm control or Chartplotter at the point when your boat transitions from displacement to planning speed. If the value does not match the value on the helm control or Chartplotter, you can adjust the value.
Low RPM Limit: This allows you to adjust the lowest RPM point of your boat. If the value does not match the value on the helm control or Chartplotter, you can adjust the value.
High RPM Limit: This allows you to adjust the highest RPM point of your boat. If the value does not match the value on the helm control or Chartplotter, you can adjust the value.
Planing Speed: This allows you to adjust the planning speed of your boat. If the value does not match the value on the helm control or Chartplotter, you can adjust the value.
Max. Speed: This allows you to adjust the maximum speed of your boat. If the value does not match the value on the helm control or Chartplotter, you can adjust the value.

Rudder Gain Settings

NOTE: If you set these values too high or too low, the autopilot may become overactive, attempting to constantly adjust the heading at the slightest deviation. An overactive autopilot can cause excess wear on the pump and drain the battery at a faster-than-normal rate.

On a helm control or the autopilot screen on a Chartplotter, select > Autopilot Setup > Autopilot Installation
Setup > Autopilot Tuning > Rudder Gains.

NOTE: These settings apply only to displacement-hull powerboats and powerboats with the speed source set to None.

Gain: This allows you to adjust how tightly the rudder holds a heading and makes turns.
Counter Gain: This allows you to adjust how tightly the rudder corrects turn overshoot. If you set this value too low, the autopilot can overshoot a turn when attempting to counter the original turn.

NOTE: These settings apply only to planing-hull powerboats with the speed source set to Tach. – N2K or

Proprietary, Tachometer, or GPS.
Low Speed: This allows you to set the rudder gain for low speeds. This setting applies when the vessel operates below planning speed.
Low Speed. Cntr.: Allows you to set the rudder gain counter-correction for low speeds. This setting applies when the vessel operates below planning speed.
High Speed: This allows you to set the rudder gain for high speeds. This setting applies when the vessel operates above planing speed.
High-Speed Counter: This allows you to set the rudder gain counter-correction for high speeds. This setting applies when the vessel operates above planning speed.

Steering System Settings

On a helm control or the autopilot screen on a Chartplotter, select > Autopilot Setup > Autopilot Installation Setup > Steering System Setup. Steering Dir.: Sets the direction the rudder must move to turn the vessel to port and to starboard. You can test and reverse the steering direction if necessary.

Garmin® and the Garmin logo are trademarks of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries, registered in the USA and other countries. Reactor™ is a trademark of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries. This trademark may not be used without the express permission of Garmin. NMEA 2000® and the NMEA 2000 logo are trademarks of the National Marine Electronics Association