Instruction/ maintenance manual of the product Echo Sounder 491 NorthStar
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Northstar 4 9 1 Echo Sounder Operations Manual This manual is for using the 491 sounder with the Northstar 957, 958, 961 and 962 navigators. For the Northstar 6000i , information in Section 6 of its manual can be used instead.
Contents 1 Welcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Welcome to the Northstar 491 . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Using this manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Technical support . . . . . . . . . . . .
Introducing snapshots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Setting up the video image overlay . . . . . . . 49 6 Reviewing past echoes using SoundTrac . . . . . 51 Viewing past echoes using SoundTrac . . . . . 52 Marking fish as waypoints . . . . . . .
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491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 1 1 W elcome Welcome to the Northstar 491 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2 Using this manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2 Technical support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Page 2 491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual W elcome to the Northst ar 4 91 Congratulations on your purchase of the Northstar 491 Echo Sounder. The 491 connects with a Northstar navigator and a third-party transducer to add echo sounding capability to the Northstar 957, 958, 961, and 962 navigators.
491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 3 Chapter 4 describes how to adjust the depth settings to choose what portion of the water under the vessel you’ll display.
Page 4 491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual T echnical support After you follow the instructions in this manual, if you need technical support or if you have any other questions, you can contact Northstar by email, fax, phone, or U.
491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 5 T o prevent delays, it is critical that you first obtain a Return Materials Authorization (R MA) number before returning your unit to the factory . If you purchased your 491 through a dealer , to get an R MA number , call the dealer with the serial number .
Page 6 491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Figur e 1: 957 /95 8 echo sounder system components Figur e 2: 9 61/96 2 echo sounder system components 957/958/6000i Navigator 491 module GPS antenna T ransd.
491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 7 Pow ering the 4 91 on and off As part of its power-up sequence, the navigator automatically activates the 491. The 491 is automatically shut off by the navigator when you press and hold PWR until the screen goes dark.
Page 8 491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual 4. Check that the FORMAT option is set to “49 0. ” If not, set it now . Using the 4 91 with the 957 /95 8 Before starting, you should double-check that the navigator’s AUX port is set to the Sounder option: 1.
491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 9 Figur e 3: Figur e 4: 9 61/96 2 echo sounder menu structure ST AR key A uto Picture F requency Zoom Depth More ECHO SCREEN Gain Clutter Noise Limiter Hue Sign.
Page 10 491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Figur e 5: 957 /95 8 echo sounder menu structur e ST AR key A uto Picture F requency Zoom Depth More ECHO SCREEN Gain Clutter Noise Limiter Hue Signal le v e.
491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 11 2 Quick St art: Using the E cho Sounder Displaying the echo sounder’s picture . . . . 2-12 Using demo mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14 Introducing the displayed information . . . . 2-15 Using automatic mode .
Page 12 491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Displaying the echo sounder’s pictur e Once the navigator has been configured to operate with the 491, you’re ready to start viewing echo sounding data. To see the echo sounding screen at any time, press STAR from any screen.
491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 13 real-time echoes. For details, see “Reviewing past echoes using SoundTrac” starting on page 51. Figur e 7: Illustr ated SOUNDTRAC screen NOTES: All of the alarm messages always appear on all of the echo sounder’s screens.
Page 14 491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Using demo mode The echo sounder can be operated in “demo mode” for training and familiarization. Simulated echo data generated by the 491 will be displayed. To enter demo mode: 1. Press STAR several times to display the ECHO SOUNDER SETUP screen.
491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 15 Intr oducing the display ed information The following information can be displayed on the ECHO screen. E cho sounding • echo sounder data • echo sounder .
Page 16 491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Using automatic mode To operate the echo sounder automatically, just press AUTO . All of the 491’s adjustments will be set to produce a useful picture under most conditions.
491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 17 Manually ov erriding automatic mode You can always manually change any of the echo sounder’s settings: the gain, clutter, noise limiter, shift, and range. Changing the appearance of the picture (colors, gain, clutter, and the noise limiter) is described in Chapter 3.
Page 18 491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual • when adjusting the picture, you can see the effect of changes on the right side Figur e 8: ECHO scr een with b oth frequencies display ed To change the display frequency: 1. On the ECHO screen, press FREQUENCY until you display the desired frequency or frequencies.
491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 19 When using the zoom feature (which also splits the screen into halves), both sides of the screen always display the same frequency. Zooming in and out On the ECHO screen, the echo sounder’s zoom feature expands a portion of the echoes.
Page 20 491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual • marker zoom The original unzoomed echoes are on the right side, and the magnified area is shown on the left side of the screen.
491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 21 Using b ottom lock/ center zoom When you select bottom lock/center zoom , the sea bottom is flattened out and displayed in the center of the screen. You can see any fish near the bottom, as with the bottom lock zoom, and also examine the seabed’s composition.
Page 22 491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual the magnified area up or down, press the CURSOR PAD to move the depth marker. Leaving zoom mode You can return to the normal unzoomed display just by pressing and holding ZOOM for more than one second, or by pressing ZOOM repeatedly until you have cycled through all the zoom modes.
491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 23 961/962 echo sounder setup screen 957/958 echo sounder setup screen Entering numerical v alues When changing the numerical value of the echo sounder’s settings, you can either press the CURSOR PAD to increase or decrease the value, or use the KEYPAD to manually type in the desired value.
Page 24 491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual T ransducer depth This option specifies how far below the surface of the water the transducer is mounted. The number is added to all depths measured by the 491 so they will refer to depth from the surface, not from the transducer.
491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 25 sequence number restarts at 00, and the oldest waypoints with this same name will be overwritten (unless they have been renamed). To turn this feature on or off, or to change the maximum number of each of these waypoints: 1.
Page 26 491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual 957958/ sensor setup screen To simplify operation, the “sensor installed” options can be set to “No” to remove all references to temperature and speed from all the screens. Highlight the appropriate line and press EDIT to change an option.
491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 27 3 Adjusting the E cho Sounder Pictur e The picture menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-28 Adjusting the gain (strong echoes) . . . . . . . . 3-28 Adjusting the clutter (weak echoes) . . . .
Page 28 491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual T he pictur e menu You can adjust the appearance of echoes in five different ways: • gain (for high intensity ec hoes) • clutter (for lo w intensity echo.
491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 29 3. At the GAIN windo w , press the CURSOR PAD left or right to adjust the gain, or use the KEYPAD to manuall y enter the desired gain value. The available settings range from zero (minimum) to 75 (maximum). Gain window The window shows the effect of adjusting the gain.
Page 30 491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual displayed. If you select 5 , for example, all weak and moderate echoes will be displayed using the background color (just as if they weren’t there). You might choose this setting to eliminate high levels of background noise and echoes from turbulence or plankton.
491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 31 desired signal range, Signal Level completely removes the weaker colors and their echoes. To adjust the signal level: 1.
Page 32 491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Selecting the color bar (hue) and white lev el Underst anding the color bar The color bar displayed at the extreme left of the ECHO screen shows the range of colors used to display different echo strengths.
491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 33 Hue and white level window 4. Press RETURN to go back to the ECHO screen. Setting the white lev el You can replace any single color in the color bar with white. On the HUE AND WHITE LEVEL window, press the CURSOR PAD up or down to select that color.
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491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 35 4 Underst anding Depth Settings Viewing the seabed depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-36 Viewing the depth marker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-36 Changing the depth settings . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Page 36 491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual V iewing the seab ed depth The seabed depth (the “bottom”) is displayed in a black box at the left edge of the ECHO screen. You can change the size and location of the depth box on the ECHO screen. Its size on the SOUNDTRAC screen is always small.
491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 37 you can manually override these auto values for your specific needs at any time. There are two depth settings: • shift (how far belo w the surface the echo.
Page 38 491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual In the large rectangle on the right, the blue area at the top (with waves) represents the surface of the water , and the brown area below represents the seabed. The number at the bottom is the depth of the picture, and the seabed depth is also labelled.
491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 39 Range window The vertical black arrow in the SET RANGE window ind- cates the values that this window adjusts: the range of the echo sounder picture, relative to the depth of the water . The white number in the black box indicates the current range setting.
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491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 41 5 Other Functions: Using the MORE k e y Using the MORE key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-42 Changing the advance speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-42 Displaying the A-scope . . . . . . . . . .
Page 42 491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Using the MORE k e y Pressing the MORE key accesses the following functions: • alarms (described in Chapter 7) • advance speed • A- scope • data (num.
491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 43 The A-Scope shows every ping received, even when the advance speed setting causes pings to be averaged before display Displaying the A-scope The echo sounder’s A-scope lets you look closely at present or past echoes by horizontally magnifying the echo from each ping.
Page 44 491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Using the A-scope with dual fr equencies If you’re displaying both 50 and 200 kHz echoes, the A-scope magnifies echoes from the frequency shown on the right side of the screen.
491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 45 Echo screen data selections Bottom depth b ox Press BOTTOM BOX to set the size and location of the box displaying the bottom depth (white numbers on a black background). Press this key again to cycle through the available sizes: small, medium, large, and huge.
Page 46 491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual T emper ature gr aph Press TEMP GRAPH to turn the temperature graph on or off. The temperature graph displays an orange temperature scale at the left of the screen, and an orange line tracing out the varying water temperature measurements, superimposed on the echoes.
491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 47 Snapshot screen (961/962 only) To rename a stored snapshot, from the SNAPSHOT screen, press the CURSOR PAD to highlight the desired slot, and press RENAME . Use the KEYPAD to enter a new name and press ACCEPT .
Page 48 491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Ar chiving and r estoring snapshots with a Zip disk If your 961/962 has a zip drive installed, you can save up to 10 snapshots on each disk. To save a stored snapshot onto a zip disk, from the SNAPSHOT screen, press the CURSOR PAD to highlight the desired slot, and press ARCHIVE .
491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 49 Setting up the video image ov erlay If you’ve connected the 957/958 to an NTSC-compatible device, you can display the image on the echo sounder screen. To display the video image on the ECHO SOUNDER screen, first press MORE , then press VIDEO .
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491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 51 6 Reviewing past echoes using SoundT r ac Viewing past echoes using SoundTrac . . . . 6-52 Marking fish as waypoints .
Page 52 491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual V iewing past echoes using SoundT r ac On the SOUNDTRAC screen, you can use Northstar’s exclusive SoundTrac feature to look back and examine past echo data. To enable SoundTrac, at the ECHO screen, press the CURSOR PAD to the left.
491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 53 Echoes from the last 3000 pings are stored. The number of minutes of past echo data available depends on two factors: • the depth of the water • the advance speed In deeper water, the 491 pings at a slower rate, so the echo sounder saves data over a longer period of time.
Page 54 491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual • to add a past echo position to the end of an alread y dis- played route Going to a past echo position is described below. The other options are described in the Operator’s manuals for your Northstar navigator.
491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 55 7 Setting the Alarms Understanding the alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-56 Setting the fish alarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-56 Setting the bottom alarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Page 56 491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Underst anding the alarms The echo sounder’s alarms work just like the other alarms. Their status is updated every second, and their messages are displayed.
491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 57 4. Follo w the instructions below f or each of these five settings. Fish alarm window Setting the alarm’s echo str ength level To set the fish alarm’s minimum echo-strength level: 1. At the FISH ALARM window, press SET ALARM LEVEL .
Page 58 491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual 2. Press the CURSOR PAD up or down to set the depth, or use the KEYPAD to manually enter the desired depth. The depth is displayed in the tab below the SET UPPER MKR key . To set the depth of the lower marker: 1.
491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 59 To set the bottom alarm: 1. At the ECHO screen, press MORE . 2. Press ALARM . 3. At the ALARM screen, press BOTTOM ALARM .
Page 60 491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual T urning the b ottom alarm on and off To turn the alarm on, at the BOTTOM ALARM window, press TURN ALARM ON . To turn the alarm off, press TURN ALARM OFF . T he alarm When the bottom is detected, the alert tone sounds and the message “Bottom Collision!” is displayed.
491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 61 Setting the upper and low er temper ature limits You can set the upper and lower temperature limits. When the water temperature is either inside or outside these limits, the temperature alarm will sound. To set the upper temperature limit: 1.
Page 62 491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual T he alarm When the temperature alarm sounds, an alert message is displayed. This message clears automatically after 20 seconds and the alarm is reset.
491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 63 8 T r oubleshooting 4 91 Oper ations Troubleshooting the echo sounder . . . . . . . 8-64 Checking the transducer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-65 T his chapter explains how to troubleshoot the echo sounder system before returning the equipment for factory service.
Page 64 491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual T r oubleshooting the echo sounder Figur e 9: T r oubleshooting the echo sounder (9 61/96 2) No echoes display ed when ST AR ke y is pressed.
491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 65 Figur e 10: T r oubleshooting the echo sounder (957 /95 8) Checking the tr ansducer To provide the best possible performance with the 491 echo sounder, Northstar recommends the use of an Airmar No echoes displayed on sounder screen.
Page 66 491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual transducer. The models below can be purchased from Northstar. Airmar Technology Corporation may be reached at 35 Meadowbrook Drive, Milford, New Hampshire 03055-4613; phone 603/673-9570; fax 603/673-4624.
491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 67 A 4 91 Featur es and Specifications T able 4: 4 9 1 echo sounder featur es Perf ormance characteristics Output Single/Dual Channel, 50/200kHz, 600W Alarms F.
Page 68 491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Screen notations Echo data Seabed depth (various size digits) Frequency of each window Speed through water (if connected) Water temperature (if connected) De.
491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 69 Manual controls Gain 0 to 75 db Clutter 0 to 9 Signal level 0 to 5 Noise limiter ON/OFF White level Any single color Other Screen color palette Depth marker .
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491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Page 71 G Gloss ary A-scope A horizontally magnified view of each echo, where the strength is shown by the width as well as the color of the line. COG C ourse- O ver- G round. The actual path of your vessel relative to the surface of the earth.
Page 72 491 Echo Sounder Operations Manual longitude Imaginary lines on the Earth's surface running North/South and expressed in degrees (0-180) east or west of the Prime Meridian (a line running from the North to South Pole, passing through Greenwich, England).
An important point after buying a device NorthStar Echo Sounder NorthStar 491 (or even before the purchase) is to read its user manual. We should do this for several simple reasons:
If you have not bought NorthStar Echo Sounder NorthStar 491 yet, this is a good time to familiarize yourself with the basic data on the product. First of all view first pages of the manual, you can find above. You should find there the most important technical data NorthStar Echo Sounder NorthStar 491 - thus you can check whether the hardware meets your expectations. When delving into next pages of the user manual, NorthStar Echo Sounder NorthStar 491 you will learn all the available features of the product, as well as information on its operation. The information that you get NorthStar Echo Sounder NorthStar 491 will certainly help you make a decision on the purchase.
If you already are a holder of NorthStar Echo Sounder NorthStar 491, but have not read the manual yet, you should do it for the reasons described above. You will learn then if you properly used the available features, and whether you have not made any mistakes, which can shorten the lifetime NorthStar Echo Sounder NorthStar 491.
However, one of the most important roles played by the user manual is to help in solving problems with NorthStar Echo Sounder NorthStar 491. Almost always you will find there Troubleshooting, which are the most frequently occurring failures and malfunctions of the device NorthStar Echo Sounder NorthStar 491 along with tips on how to solve them. Even if you fail to solve the problem, the manual will show you a further procedure – contact to the customer service center or the nearest service center
