The Autopilot course computer or ACU must be mounted on an accessible secure, vertical surface, meeting the requirements below:
•Install below decks in a dry area
•Mount on a vertical surface, the sides and top must be level
•Location must be at least 1m (3ft.) away from any magnetic compass
•Safe from physical damage and excessive vibration
•Away from any source of heat
•Away from any potential flammable hazard, such as fuel vapors.
In the older legacy autopilot computers the requirement was twofold, these computers contained a gyro sensor which had to be mounted on a vertical surface for optimal performance, also and in common with current ACU computers, the back cover of the housing comprised a heatsink, with cooling fins to dissipate heat, when the autopilot was working hard and for optimal performance this also needed to be vertical.
In all cases please refer to the installation handbooks which are available on the Raymarine website here and here
RAYFAQ#
•Install below decks in a dry area
•Mount on a vertical surface, the sides and top must be level
•Location must be at least 1m (3ft.) away from any magnetic compass
•Safe from physical damage and excessive vibration
•Away from any source of heat
•Away from any potential flammable hazard, such as fuel vapors.
In the older legacy autopilot computers the requirement was twofold, these computers contained a gyro sensor which had to be mounted on a vertical surface for optimal performance, also and in common with current ACU computers, the back cover of the housing comprised a heatsink, with cooling fins to dissipate heat, when the autopilot was working hard and for optimal performance this also needed to be vertical.
In all cases please refer to the installation handbooks which are available on the Raymarine website here and here
RAYFAQ#