A rudder indicator is used on boats to show the angle the boat's steering fin (rudder) is pointing at under water. It uses an analog potentiometer connected on the axle of the rudder to provide a voltage signal to the display unit which shows the angle displacement of the rudder from the centre point.
The representative of the company in Greece told me that there is no replacement part and that we had to buy a new one made by Raymarine as these analog units made by Autohelm are no longer supported. I found that very disturbing as these units are dear and can be pretty simple.
For that reason I set out on a project to build a low cost circuit that could replace the existing one. I replaced the motor that moves the index on the dial with a tiny servo and the circuit within succesfully. The prototype is now working as required. If anyone else is interested you can freely contact me for details on how to replace the parts at a low cost and I can even print and make the circuit for you. You can avoid the high replacement cost with this custom made solution. The low quality picture on the left shows the unit after it has been re-assembled with the new parts.
