Z Box question

[WBLskier]

I am considering upgrading perfect pass classic to stargazer w/ Z-box. 98 Malibu Echelon with mechanical throttle. Our course is on a public lake, we move it every couple of weeks, and it moves slightly most days when we tug it tight to straighten it out. With that said, would Z-box be a pain as I'd have to map it every time I ski or how might that work? Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Orlando76]

That's One of the main reason I'm riding out the PP Classic. Our course shifts just enough too that I'd think surely we'd have to remap it frequently. Plus reading up on Zbox it's seems like it'll either work great or terrible.

[sgregg]

No course mapping required if you run Stargazer with a smart timer...the system automatically propagates a GPS course when it senses the first magnet. This has worked great for us (98 SN/SG/ZBox)

[WBLskier]

Sgregg--thanks. I can't picture how that works. Can you expand on it a bit?

[Chef23]

@WBLskier Stargazer with a smart timer works off the magnet in the course at the entrance gate. If you have no magnet timing you would need to map the course if it moved. If you have magnets no need to do any mapping. I use SG and ski two different courses on our lake and SG just picks up the magnet at the entrance gates and works from there.

[BraceMaker]

Will stargazer GPS behave differently comparing mapped entry gate vs magnet entry? Particularly when changing skier weight?

 

In other words does SG run different entry speeds for diff weights when GPS mapped?

[BCM]

Re-mapping the course is super quick and easy. Idle to entrance gates, push arrow. Drive to other side, idle through gates, push other arrow, done. I ski at a private site and have to re-map every month or so. The two promo boats (ZO) and other SG boats have to do the same, maybe wobbles in the earths axis, or aliens, ancient aliens?

 

When I skied on a public lake I would usually idle down course before anything at speed to be sure there wasn't anything dangerous in the course (like logs or fisherman), great time to map the course. I would also have to re-calibrate the baseline RPMs for every speed (28-36) every few weeks due to changes in water temp, depth, and/or cleanliness. I don't miss PP Classic...

 

 

[34mph]

with a 2005 196 with the classic to upgrade to star / zbox its plug and play ? I don't have to install a paddle wheel or anything ?

[storm34]

@34mph Correct. No paddle wheel needed for stargazer w/Z-box.

[WaterSkier12]

Heard nothing good about Z-box...

[sgregg]

@WBLskier, as far as I know, the only difference between running SG with a smart timer/magnets vs mapping the course is how the timer is triggered - if you map a course and run with a smart timer, it starts timing/propagates a GPS course based on the first thing it passes (mapped GPS coord or magnet). The guys at Perfect Pass advise not to map if you are going to use a smart timer, either map/no smart timer or smart timer/no mapping. As @BCM mentions, the mapped GPS position of the gates vs where they actually are can drift - very simple to fix by re-mapping, but if your course has magnets, a smart timer eliminates the "drift"

 

@WaterSkier12 - SG/ZBox works great for us ('98SN/ACME422). We split our time between a couple of SN200s and the '98, SG/ZBox isn't ZO, but n our case, the '98 pull feels much closer to ZO with ZBox than running SG without it

 

[paco]

@sgregg , I installed zbox on my boat as I researched here and other places that it's the closest thing out there to zero off. I actually like it better, seems to have a softer pull, but that may be from comparing my lower hp boat to the zero off boats I ski behind. Here's my question, when mapping the course, pp recommends idling through the gates and mapping at engine box. My ski partners map their zero off at the GPS puck. Which way is correct? Will these differences in mapping make them seem so different?

Thanks

[DanE]

@paco You can firm up the response by increasing ZBX value, hp really have nothing to do with it unless you have a really weak engine (for example a 310 hp GT-40 is very easy to tune the ZBX value so it becomes much firmer than a new 6.2 litre engine).

Then you can also play with ABC adjust to move the engagement so it matches the feel of newer ZO boats. You really have to tune this system individually for each boat you put it in to get it close.

[sgregg]

@ PACO, I haven't mapped with ZO and not sure which is "correct" - I think AWSA tournament rules for GPS mapping are to map when the pylon is aligned with the gates - perhaps someone that is familiar with ZO can explain why they are using puck location

 

If you are using different references on the boat (puck location/engine box/etc) to map gate location, I suspect you might notice slight differences in where the timer starts running from boat to boat - but once the timer start running, it really is a question of fine tuning your system

 

[paco]

@DanE do you know where in the settings I would go to adjust zbox value? I've really tried not to tinker with it too much as I'm afraid I'll mess something up. To my understanding, I thought all I needed to do was calibrate each individual speed. And only adjustments from there were three A1-C3...

 

@sgregg I just kinda figured it was a zero off thing to set by the puck. Still makes me wonder though, because their location vs mine is about 6' different.

[DanE]

@paco It is all in the manual, can't draw it from the top of my head but don't be afraid to change background setttings you can always go back to original settings if you get lost. Bottom line is you probably do have to tweak a bit before you are satisfied.