NavPilot 500 Waypoint Arrival Alarm

[CptJenna]

I have an NavPilot 500 that can be controlled via my Nav Computer or even my Garmin 8616. The issue is the VERY Loud arrival alarm at each waypoint. Support had no solutions, the manual includes no no way to turn off this alarm, so I am hoping someone figured something out?

The AP works great, in heading hold or following a course...just need a way to turn off this alarm, ideally without manually disconnecting the speaker and installing an external speaker with volume adjustment.

Fair winds,
Jenna

 

[Johnny Electron]

Alarms mean something. That isn't normal and it is trying to tell you something. What does the alarm error say under the alarms menu?

 

[CptJenna]

It's a waypoint arrival alarm. It is litterally telling me we arrived at a waypoint. It stops after 5 seconds. It's piercing loud and not needed but it can't be turned off as far as we can tell.

Fair winds,
Jenna

 

[Johnny Electron]

Since the NAVpilot 500 doesn't have an explicit "Alarm ON/OFF" switch just for waypoint arrival, you usually manage this in one of two ways:

1. Set the Arrival Distance to Zero or Minimum:
   
   • One common solution is to set the Waypoint Arrival Distance (or radius) to the absolute minimum value (or zero, if allowed) within the NAV menu settings.
   • A very small or zero radius means the autopilot will effectively never register "arrival," and thus the alarm and automatic waypoint switching (if set to AUTO) will not occur. The autopilot will then remain in NAV mode on the current leg until you manually switch to the next waypoint or to STBY mode.
     
2. Check Your Connected Chart plotter/Navigator:
   
   • The waypoint arrival alarm is often generated by the external GPS or Chart plotter (your primary navigator) that is feeding the data to the NAVpilot 500.
   • You may need to go into the Alarm/Alert settings on your chart plotter or GPS unit and look for the specific "Waypoint Arrival Alarm" or "WPT Arrival Alert" setting to disable it there. This will stop the external device from sending the arrival message to the autopilot.

 

[CptJenna]

Number 2 first:
We have already confirmed, in testing on a Garmin 8616 and Time Zero arrival alarms are off and the minim sentences were sending to the NavPilot 500 do not include alarms. If there is a sentence we can use to send an “off alarms ” I would try that but as far as I can tell that’s not an 0183 “thing”

Number 1:
The zero radius arrival idea is a very good idea. I will definitely try that.

If the AP doesn’t believe it arrived but the leg switches on the controlling device, does that mean the NavPilot will not switch unless we tell it to, or will it still switch because the controlling device will switch?

Fair winds,
Jenna

 

[Johnny Electron]

The Chart plotter will still know it arrived at a waypoint and suddenly change the destination to the next and continue on so generally that is the best option. That is why I listed that option first.

 

[CptJenna]

Are you sure the waypoint arrival size is a setting on the NavPilot 500? I can't find that referenced anywhere here:

https://www.furunousa.com/-/media/sites/furuno/document_library/documents/manuals/public_manuals/navpilot_500_operators_manual_g2_292009.pdf

Fair winds,
Jenna

 

[Johnny Electron]

It has been a long time since the old NP500 topic has come up. We don't even have one of them around anymore to play with. The arrival alarm is a message from the plotter and because you can't stop the pilot from reacting to the alarm when the plotter provides it; the plotter settings must be played with to prevent the alarm from being sent. I don't know what plotter you are using but the provided solution is something that was done in the NavNet Vx2 and worked well. I don't know what plotter or plotter settings you have to work with but that is where I would suggest trying different settings.

 

[CptJenna]

OK, that makes sense. If I change it in the plotter on NavNetVX2 will that impact the NavPilot if I am not using the NavNetVX plotter to control the pilot/

Can you confirm which NEMA 0183 sentence includes that arrival alarm information? If it's not in one of the sentences, how will the pilot know I changed the arrival alarm distance (remember, the arrival alarms are already off on the plotter sending data to the pilot)?

Fair winds,
Jenna

 

[Sparky Wire]

AAM (Waypoint Arrival Alarm) NMEA sentence is less common. It is likely that it is being sent from the plotter via RMB or APB sentence that also can carry that information.

 

[CptJenna]

Thank you!
Fair winds,
Jenna