Maxwell AutoAnchor AA710 Wireless Remote & Rode Counter — Owner's Manual

AA710 System at a Glance

• Rode: chain only in stainless or galvanised steel; rope and chain needs at least 10ft (3m) of galvanised chain and good quality nylon anchor rope (Type 66 or equivalent). DC windlasses need a dual direction solenoid.
• The kit is 1 AA710 remote console + 1 AA702 master base station; up to 2 slave base stations can be added. The specification table says the system supports up to 3 base stations and 3 consoles; the installation pages say up to 4 remote consoles (as printed).
• Alloy, steel or carbon fibre restrict the wireless link: position the base station to avoid them or fit an antenna. A failure of the wireless link means loss of control through the AA710 – there must be another way to operate the windlass, thruster or other equipment.
• Keep all equipment at least 3ft (1m) from VHF radios, modified sine wave inverters, radar and their cables, and 6ft (2m) from SSB.
• Installation by a qualified marine electrician, to USCG, ABYC, NMMA and BMEA requirements.

Magnet and Sensor Installation (Windlass)

• Magnet polarity: irrelevant with the grey AA sensor (#9067) or a reed switch; with the black AA sensor (#9008) the south pole (marked side) faces the sensor. Seal the magnet under at least 1mm of epoxy.
• Vertical windlass sensor hole: 10.3mm (13/32") through the deckplate if not factory drilled, and 10.3mm through the deck in line with it. Check nothing below can be damaged and the structure is not weakened.
• Fitting the sensor: never force or hammer it. Keep it clear of the chainwheel and at least 300mm (1ft) from battery and motor cables; secure with neutral cure silicone or a strong adhesive (e.g. Sikaflex 291 or 3M 5200).
• Reed switch sensors: 10mm × 8mm magnet (#9061), 3–5mm gap, field connector needed; accurate for all-chain, approximate on rope/chain retrieval – replace with the grey sensor (#9067) for rope and chain.
• Plug and play sensor tuning: the sensor is tuned on first deployment (see Operation).

The sensor plugs straight into the AA702 base station. For a longer run use the 2m male/female cable (Part #9505) plus a gender changer (Part #9510) with one of the standard extension cables:

Maxwell horizontal windlasses (HWC, HRC6, HRC8)

• HWC (chain only): predrilled for the AutoAnchor sensor and magnet; drill the deck and fit the sensor as for a vertical windlass.
• HRC6 & HRC8 (rope and chain): you need the HRC sensor and magnet kit (#SP102909 as printed); the windlasses are predrilled. Disassemble: unscrew the 5 M6 × 40 cap screws holding the case together, remove the starboard cover, remove the pressure arm, unscrew the M10 × 30 cap screw used to adjust the clutch, then remove the outer clutch cone, outer belville washer, chainwheel, inner belville washer and inner clutch cone.
• Magnet (#SP4119): insert into the predrilled hole and cover completely with at least 1mm of epoxy to seal it from salt water.
• Sensor (horizontal sensor #SP4124): slide the wire into the downward facing hole in the sensor pocket until the sensor sits in the pocket and the wires protrude below the windlass; secure with neutral cure silicone or a strong adhesive (e.g. Sikaflex 291 or 3M 5200). Drill a 3/8" (10mm) hole in the deck for the wires using the template supplied. Reverse steps 1–5 to reassemble.
• The horizontal sensors have no plug: use an AutoAnchor field connector (Maxwell Part # SP4164) or solder and seal all sensor wires.
• Maxwell windlass deckplates: if factory drilled, remove the plug to insert the sensor; if not, drill a 14.5mm hole at the dimple mark. Slide the sensor into the black fitting adaptor so its top is flush with the adaptor, and push the assembly into the deckplate from the top – no adhesive needed.

Remote Console, Base Station and Wiring

Base station internal connections

• All outputs are active high (+); unused outputs are automatically assigned as auxiliary outputs.
• Only one windlass per base station (2 windlasses need 2 base stations). OUT1 and OUT2 are fixed for the windlass; Up/Down buttons and the windlass location (bow or stern) can be swapped in the set up menu.
• Bow and stern thruster outputs are default locations and can be swapped in the menu; the port and starboard direction of each output cannot be changed.
• OUT 5 (white) and OUT 6 (brown) are the motor load wires – only needed for rope/chain counting.

Power enable uses Output 1 on a dual thruster system and Output 5 on all other systems.

Thrusters and auxiliary equipment

• The thruster must already be installed and tested by a qualified marine electrician to its manufacturer's instructions; follow the AA710 wiring diagram.
• If the thruster control circuit uses negative switching, fit a relay between the AA702 output and the control wire to convert from positive to negative switching.
• Up to 4 auxiliary outputs per system (lights, deck or anchor wash, pumps, electric cleats, davits), spread over up to 3 base stations. Use relays if the equipment draws more than the AA702 output (e.g. more than 3.5A) or runs from a different supply.
• Fit an isolating switch for the controls if the main breaker or isolator is not readily accessible from the helm.

Power and cables

• Power the base station from the windlass control circuit with all other windlass controls – never from the motor positive near the windlass. Link the negatives of multiple battery banks.
• Fuse/breaker on the control circuit rated for the output loads (AA702 output maximum 3.5 Amps).
• With slave base stations the master must be powered; two products on the same base station share a supply or are isolated with relays. Keep the windlass on the master.
• Brown and white motor load wires (OUT 6 and OUT 5) go direct to the windlass motor terminals for rope & chain counting, with a 1000 Ohm resistor near the terminal (prefitted in the kit terminators). On an all-chain windlass, thruster or auxiliary use, OUT 5 and 6 are free.
• Interlock protection is built in: no diodes or interlock devices on the outputs. Ring terminals, insulated, at least 1ft (300mm) from the sensor head; all cables 1.5ft (500mm) from radio equipment and tied in place.
• Low current drives (PLC, AC VFD): a dummy resistor load may be needed, close to the equipment control and not on the base station – Part # 9083 in the text, 9515 on the drawing (as printed).

Registration, Modes and Windlass Set Up

• Each console and base station has a unique ID and must be registered to the others. The registration switch is inside the base station; the ID (e.g. 801D) is on the white label next to it and matches the last 4 digits of the bar code outside.
• Base station LEDs: System (red) steady = power on, flashing = registration active (times out after 5 minutes), slow pulse = sensor connected while the windlass turns. Network (green) steady = master, off = slave. Comms (yellow) flashing = data received.
• Register a console: turn all consoles off, power all base stations, open the master, switch the console on, press and release the registration switch (green stays on, red flashes); registration is automatic and takes up to 30 seconds. Register each console separately with the others off.
• Add a slave base station: consoles off, both lids open and powered; hold the slave's registration button 6 seconds until the green LED goes off, then press and release the master's button. Done when red stops flashing on both. Keep the windlass on the master.
• Remove or replace a base station: deregister it from the console Set Up menu (Modes → base station ID → Not Found → Deregister). Deregistering a master means setting up the system again from new.
• Used base station: hold its registration button 15 seconds until all three LEDs flash (complete factory reset), then register it as new. Used console: Reset Registration in its menu, then register it as new.
• Wireless channel (default channel 2): change only to escape interference, close to the base station, with all other consoles off; it can take up to 20 seconds and two attempts. Slaves follow the master automatically.

• Remote off: Mode → menu → Off, or hold Mode for 6 seconds. It switches itself off after 5 minutes without use; Auto off time is adjustable from 4 to 20 minutes per console (longer shortens battery life).
• General set up: language (default English), units (default metres; metres, feet or fathoms), key beep (default on), auto off time.
• With more than one remote, switch on only one while changing settings; the others update when switched back on.

Modes – what each base station output does

• One base station (6 outputs): 1 windlass + a thruster + 2 options; or 1 dual speed windlass + a thruster with power enable; or 1 windlass + 4 auxiliaries; or 1 windlass + 2 thrusters; or 4 auxiliary outputs.
• Two base stations (12 outputs): 1 or 2 windlasses + 2 thrusters + up to 4 auxiliary or optional functions.

Windlass set up for chain counting

With dual speed enabled, the windlass drops to slow speed at the docking distance.

Appendix 1 – Chain and Rope per Revolution (Maxwell Windlasses)

Chain only windlasses

Rope & chain windlasses

If your windlass or chainwheel is not listed, measure the chain and rope per turn as described in Set Up.