I just installed a new SSB on Lucia and the reception was great. Today I broadcast for the 1st time and someone 500 miles away said they heard me loud and clear. So I decided to go for a sail to celebrate. Motoring out to the bay I engaged my belowdecks autopilot, and she it was not happy (and neither was I). She is off 120* from the ships compass, and when I move the dial to go to port she steers the boat to starboard and visa versa. The SSB was off during all of this, and the autopilot was off during my SSB transmission.

Could there be a connection between my autopilot problem and my SSB? I have heard that while the autopilot is steering an SSB transmission can cause it to misbehave, but when one was on the other was off. Could my SSB transmission and the resulting RF toasted my autopilot? Help!