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Perfect Pass at slower speeds.


chadwick02

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Hey guys, I am looking at adding perfect pass (most likely star gazer) to my 02 21LSV, but have very limited experience with it (have only used pro on a MC a few times), and have a few questions. I personally slalom most of the time, mostly free, some course, but I really want speed control for "slower speed" sports, mainly wakeboarding and surfing. I have a VERY hard time getting the boat to hold a correct speed while boarding and surfing, especially when it is weighted down heavily (even on straight-aways). I almost want the speed control more for my sanity rather than the riders (but Im sure I will be able to benefit from it when I ride too).

So:

1. How accurate is PP at slower speeds? Does it behave the same way as it does when skiing?

2. We often need to make minor tweeks in the speed while surfing (to clean up the wake) or boarding to adjust to the rider. Can the speed be easily adjusted on the fly? What is the smallest increment? 1/10th MPH?

3. The difference between stargazer and wakeboard pro is only a few hundred bucks, which is fairly small when compared to the total cost of the system, the effort and time to install, and the years of benefit I will get out of it - but I am wondering if SG will be well worth the extra $? Is star gazer really the system I need? I am not a supper competitive slalom skier. We do not have magnets in the course, and I probably wouldn't notice if the speed was off by ½ a MPH (never mind 1/10th!). Would wakeboard pro (3 event) work just as well for what I need it to do? Where will I see the biggest differences between the two? I do NOT want to have to mess around with RPM's, boat weight..etc like on some of the other systems. It is my understanding that star gazer still uses a paddle wheel, so how will the GPS benefit me for boarding and surfing? Are the displays the same? Are the user interfaces the same?

Thanks guys. I am a PP noooob.

- Chad

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1. It's good at lower speeds. Yes workssimilar but no skier weights etc needed, just speed (via paddle wheel, or GPS & paddlewheel or rpm)

2. Yes. Got mine set to kph so can't comment.

3. Will leave that to others to comment in detail. Personally I'd opt for SG as it will help future resale.

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I only have experience with PP Wakeboard Pro, but I do know that I love it. It will hold within a tenth or two if you set it up correctly for your boat (prop, weight, etc.) You need to get into the manual and take the time to make the necessary adjustments, but it will be well worth it. I notice no speed variation while wakeboarding (even through turns and doubleups) and when we are surfing it holds speed right on. You can make adjustments down to 2/10 mph. As far as adjusting on the fly, it's a matter of pushing the up or down arrow a couple of times.

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I only have experience with PP Wakeboard Pro, but I do know that I love it. It will hold within a tenth or two if you set it up correctly for your boat (prop, weight, etc.) You need to get into the manual and take the time to make the necessary adjustments, but it will be well worth it. I notice no speed variation while wakeboarding (even through turns and doubleups) and when we are surfing it holds speed right on. You can make adjustments down to 2/10 mph. As far as adjusting on the fly, it's a matter of pushing the up or down arrow a couple of times.

Thanks dude! That answers one of my biggest questions! Welcome.gif Awesome info for a first time poster!!

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I am getting ready to order PP in a week or two and I am going to get WB Pro. I haven't used the Star Gazar, but the WB Pro works so well in other boats that I have been in that it is really all I need.

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Arg, I cant figure out why I'm having such a tough time deciding between wakeboard pro and SG. My instinct tells me to go with SG, but I cannot figure out why, maybe its re-sale ability, maybe its the coolness factor of satellites Rockon.gif , maybe it really will make a difference performance wise? I talked to the guys at PP, and even they said wakeboard pro should work just fine for what I want.

I am pretty frustrated that they no longer offer a combination tachometer\multi line display. I realize they were having problems with the tach, and thats probably why they discontinued it. I am not excited about pulling one of my analogue gauges out to put PP in. Analogue gauges are much simpler to read at a glance while cruising..etc (at least to a dummie like me!). I would probably replace the speedo with the PP gauge, since my speedo is the old pitot tube system which is far less accurate than the PP paddlewheel, i think. I also want to have a mechanical tach just as a point of reference and for red line\over-rev engine status. I do not want to put PP down by my knee.

Do the paddle wheels ever come out of calibration or need adjustment? Does SG do re-calibrate the speed automatically since it compares the speed of the paddle wheel to the GPS speed (overlay)?

Also, some people have mentioned that the user interface and information display on SG is much better and more intuitive than the new wakeboard pro multi line display. Has anyone got any input on that? If SG is easier to use for the CFO, that is worth the extra $$ right there...

Thanks,

Chad

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I only have experience with PP Wakeboard Pro, but I do know that I love it. It will hold within a tenth or two if you set it up correctly for your boat (prop, weight, etc.) You need to get into the manual and take the time to make the necessary adjustments, but it will be well worth it. I notice no speed variation while wakeboarding (even through turns and doubleups) and when we are surfing it holds speed right on. You can make adjustments down to 2/10 mph. As far as adjusting on the fly, it's a matter of pushing the up or down arrow a couple of times.

Plus1.gif

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No, from what I understand they do not offer the tach/PP combo display.

Now I'm looking at buying a used (well, its still new in the box) unit off a member from another site. Its a wakeboard pro system that was bought last august to be put on a I/O with a 5.7L mercruiser, but never installed. I talked to PP and they seemed to think it wouldnt be too much trouble to install it. I called PP, and they said that a new throttle cable and a new gauge, and that should be about it. They were very helpful! Can anyone else think of any issues installing a new "used" kit made for a merc onto an indmar?

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Is large tacho really needed though ? After all the engine has a rpm range and you ski or board by speed, not rpm so what's it really matter if it takes 2 seconds to read the smaller digital number versus 1 second for a big analogue guage. You only check rpm it very occassionally.

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Just an FYI for those interested...

I was looking into PP Wakeboard Pro minus the paddlewheel (just RPM mode) and Gary @ PP told me there is a Stargazer-Wake Edition coming out in a few weeks (they say) that uses GPS instead of the paddlewheel sensor for speedcontrol.

I don't want to install the paddlewheel sensor because I plan on using an airdock boatlift which could damage it.

____

OK, no problem to put a WakeboardPro on that model. RPM Mode will work, but if wakeboarding is your prime use you really need speed interface.

In a few weeks we are launching Star Gazer-Wake Edition which will use GPS. Would that be of interest?

Gary Allen

PerfectPass Control Systems Inc.

Phone: (902) 468-2150

Fax: (902) 468-8837

____

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I'm surprised you have a hard time holding speed when surfing. We don't have PP in our boat and can hold speed all day using the tach. I would like it for wakeboarding and slalom though. As far as pulling a gauge, just pull the speedo and leave the tach in. The PP display gives you a speed readout in big fat numbers that's more accurate than your pitot-fed speedo.

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Just an FYI for those interested...

I was looking into PP Wakeboard Pro minus the paddlewheel (just RPM mode) and Gary @ PP told me there is a Stargazer-Wake Edition coming out in a few weeks (they say) that uses GPS instead of the paddlewheel sensor for speedcontrol.

I don't want to install the paddlewheel sensor because I plan on using an airdock boatlift which could damage it.

____

OK, no problem to put a WakeboardPro on that model. RPM Mode will work, but if wakeboarding is your prime use you really need speed interface.

In a few weeks we are launching Star Gazer-Wake Edition which will use GPS. Would that be of interest?

Gary Allen

PerfectPass Control Systems Inc.

Phone: (902) 468-2150

Fax: (902) 468-8837

____

2 questions:

1. How will the system handle the situation when it loses the satellite fix for a brief time while you have PP engauged?

2. Will there be an "upgrade path" for current PP owners?

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2 questions:

1. How will the system handle the situation when it loses the satellite fix for a brief time while you have PP engauged?

2. Will there be an "upgrade path" for current PP owners?

Good questions. I'm only just looking into PP myself so I forwarded your ?'s on to Gary@PP. I'm curious to see his response.

I'm thinking it would revert back to RPM mode and hold the RPM that correlated to that speed when signal was lost until GPS signal is received again, but that is just a guess!

I know it's doable since Zero Off GPS control (http://www.zerogps.com/) has an AWSA tournament approved setup - but it only works with the newer drive-by-wire boats (2006 and newer) which my boat is not...

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And here's his response:

"Given we only need 4 satellites at a time (and normally we are seeing 14) we do not expect this to be an issue.

Yes, current WakeboardPro owners will be able to easily upgrade.

Gary"

I think I will hold out for this Stargazer Wakeboard Edition. At ~$1150 it's not much more the the current WakeboardPro and you don't have to drill into your boat for the paddlewheel.

Mike

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Thanks Guys!

Mark @ PP did tell me a little bit about the new GPS speed control system. Basically its alot like star gazer, but requires no paddle wheel, requires no magnets to set up the timing, and should cost somewhere between what WB pro and SG cost now. Upgrading should be very similar to upgrading a current system to SG. Im not afraid of drilling into my boat, but I do like the idea of GPS. I just picked up a new WB pro system for a great price, but now im not sure if I want to install it right away. I might just hold out a few weeks to see what happens with the new satellite system before I do much else.

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