Addendum to the Northstar 6000i Reference Manual Revision B This Addendum replaces Chapter 5 of the Reference Manual and describes new radar functionality, including the new Northstar 2kW radar P/N GM6KUMA Rev B . Press Trigger Level repeatedly to set the signal strength that causes an alarm: low, medium, high, or off (no alarm). The alarm is temporarily turned off while you are displaying the radar markers menu keys. It automatically turns back on after a minute passes with no further adjustments, or when you press Done. ­ 25 ­ and two straight lines extending outward from the vessel as shown in Figure 3. You can turn each zone on or off, change its boundaries, and set the echo strength that will cause an alarm. How radar works The word "radar" is an acronym for "Radio Detecting and Ranging." A radio transmitter sends out a very short microwave pulse, and then a receiver listens for that signal's echo when it's bounced back from a target in its path. Targets, which may be other boats or ships, navigational markers, flocks of birds, or land masses, are displayed on the 6000i's screen. By knowing how long it takes for a signal to return, the distance to a target can be determined. As the radar antenna scans through a 360-degree rotation, it shows the target's location relative to your position. By watching repeated scans of a target, such as another vessel, you can see how that target is moving. Guard Zone Point A Point B Figure 3: Guard zone Press the following keys to adjust each guard zone. Press Guard Zone repeatedly to select zone 1, 2, or 3 for adjustment. Press Visibility to show or hide the zone selected above. When a zone is hidden, it doesn't alarm and its Edit and Trigger Level keys aren't available. You can set the boundary and size of each guard zone by moving Point A and Point B. Press Edit to select Point A or Point B. Then press the CURSOR PAD to move the selected point and create an arc-shaped zone. As you change Point A or B, the coordinates of that point are updated in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. ­ 24 ­ Guard Zone Zone 2 Northstar radar models There are two types of radar units from Northstar. The 4kW, 6kW, 12 kW and 25kW units all are operated in the same way. The new 2kW Northstar radar works slightly differently, and these differences are clearly indicated in this manual. The major differences are: · in the 2kW radar, auto modes do not continuously adjust themselves · ranges of manual settings are different between the two types of units · the 2kW unit does not have a STC curve adjustment ­1­ Turning the radar transmitter on and off Each time you turn on the Northstar 6000i, the radar transmitter must be turned on separately, as a safety feature. When you first press the RADAR key after turning the system on, the unit displays: The Radar TX is off. Do you want to turn it on? · VRM A -- to control the size of the VRM circle at the vessel · VRM B -- to control the size of the VRM circle at point B For the floating EBL, select: · Point C-- to move the point at one end of the EBL · Point D -- to move the point at the other end of the EBL · VRM C -- to control the size of the VRM circle at point C · VRM D -- to control the size of the VRM circle at point D Press ENTER to turn it on, or CLEAR to access the radar adjustment pages without turning the transmitter on. NOTE: The radar remains in standby mode for a minute and a half after power is applied. Shortcut for moving the fixed EBL On page 1 of the radar screen, you can use the cursor pad to change the position of the fixed EBL and read the measurements displayed. You can also turn the transmitter on or off using the menu keys: 1. Press RADAR to display the radar screen. 2. Press Radar TX so it indicates On or Off, as desired. Guard zones Press the Guard Zone menu key to control this feature. You can designate up to three EBL / VRM guard zones that the 6000i monitors for radar echoes. Any echoes inside a guard zone and as Guard Zone strong as or stronger than the Zone 1 designated trigger level are displayed in red and cause an alarm. Each zone is bounded by red lines -- an inner and an outer arc centered on the vessel, ­ 23 ­ NOTE: Even though the transmitter has been turned off, the radar is still in standby mode and draws power. ­2­ the screen. Again, there's a variable range marker at each end of the line. The following information about the EBLs and VRMs appears on your screen: · In the upper right-hand corner, you'll see: > The coordinates of Point A, B, C or D (whichever point you selected) > The ETE and ETA to the selected point Displaying radar The radar image includes: Note: It's important that you do not use Demo Mode when a radar is interfaced to the Northstar 6000i. · A north indicator to show the direction of true or magnetic north. · The current radar scale, shown by the numbers in the upper left corner of the radar image. Rng is the distance from the center to the largest range ring, and RR is the spacing between the range rings. · A dashed white heading line. This line indicates your heading, not Course-OverGround, and can be used to compare the radar presentation with the view in front of the vessel. · A gray course predictor line. · In the bottom right-hand corner, you'll see the radius of the VRM(s). These numbers are color coded blue for the fixed EBL and pink for the floating EBL. · In the bottom left-hand corner, you'll see the length of the electronic bearing line(s). These numbers are also color coded blue for the fixed EBL and pink for the floating EBL. Press the following keys to adjust the electronic bearing lines. Press EBL to select either the fixed or the floating EBL. The selected EBL can be adjusted with the following two controls: Press Visibility to show or hide the EBL selected above. When an EBL is hidden, its Edit key is also unavailable. Press Edit repeatedly to select what part of the EBL is controlled by the cursor pad: For the fixed EBL, select: · Point B -- to move the point at the far end of the fixed EBL For information about rotating and scaling the radar, see Changing radar scale and rotation, starting on page 8. A special demo mode for simulating radar echoes based on the chart information is available. Radar demo mode is activated whenever the chart demo is turned on. ­ 22 ­ ­3­ Point B Variable Range Marker A A Variable Range Marker B B Point A Electronic Bearing Line Your Vessel Figure 1: Fixed EBL Variable Range Marker D Radar screen Variable Range Marker C C Point C Point D D Using the radar's main menu keys The radar's main menu keys allow you to: · overlay the radar image on the chart (if the chart is also displayed) · switch control between the radar and chart (if the chart is also displayed) · rotate the radar image · access the radar markers · access the radar adjustment pages · show more navigation information on the info bar at the bottom of the screen Electronic Bearing Line Your Vessel Figure 2: Floating EBL The fixed EBL is a blue line from your present position (Point "A") to Point "B." You can move Point B to a point of interest using the cursor pad. At the end of the line, a blue circle called a variable range marker (VRM B) surrounds Point B. Another VRM circle (called VRM A) surrounds your vessel's position. You can change the size of each VRM to measure distances from Point A or Point B to any point of interest on the screen. The floating EBL is a pink line connecting Point C and Point D. It's similar to the fixed EBL, except that both points can be moved, to allow measuring distances between any two points on ­4­ ­ 21 ­ mode: Auto 1 rain clutter, sea clutter and gain are set to useful values for each range interference rejection: Off trails: Off expansion: Off range rings on/off: On bearings: True/mag echo colors: The first set (green) sweep: Analog fade: Off STC curve: 4 (not present on 2kW model) tune mode: Auto tune preset: 79 (not on 2kW model) Radar screen (split) Using the Radar Markers keys Press Radar Markers to display EBL / VRM controls for the 6000i's electronic Floating bearing lines (EBLs), variable range markers (VRMs), and guard Guard Zone zones. The two upper menu keys select whether you control the EBL/VRMs or the Guard Zones for adjustments. When finished, press Done to return to the main radar menu keys. All settings are retained while the system is turned off. Controlling radar In order to control the radar, the Control key (if present) must indicate Radar. Control Radar If necessary, press the Control key repeatedly until it indicates Radar. Rotating the radar image Press Rotate repeatedly to choose the screen rotation. You can choose north up, course-up, heading-up, or leg-up. For more information, see Changing radar scale and rotation, on page 8. Electronic Bearing Lines (EBLs) Electronic bearing lines (EBLs) are markers that you can place on top of the radar image to aid in navigation and to keep track of your surroundings. The 6000i uses two types of EBLs: fixed and floating. ­ 20 ­ ­5­ Adjusting the radar Press the Page 2 key to display the Page 2 first of several pages of radar adjust- (adjustments) ments. For more information about using these keys, see Using the radar adjustment keys, on page 14. Restore... Press to display the restore menu keys (see Restore factory settings, on page 19). Installation settings These keys are described in the Northstar radar installation manual, P/N GMKRadIM (GMKRad2KIM for the 2kW unit), and settings should not be changed unless their functions are fully understood. Using the radar markers Press Radar Markers to display the controls for the 6000i's electronic bearing lines (EBLs), variable range markers (VRMs), and guard zones. For more information about using these keys, see Using the Radar Markers keys, starting on page 20. Tuning page These keys are described in the Northstar radar installation manual, P/N GMKRadIM (GMKRad2KIM for the 2kW unit), and settings should not be changed unless their functions are fully understood. Transmitter control When the radar image is displayed full-screen by pressing the RADAR key, a menu key allows you to turn the radar transmitter on or off. Restore factory settings The Restore functions can be used to set many adjustments back to their factory-set values. Press the Restore... key to access these keys. Restore Auto, Restore Harbor, Restore Range Rider and Restore Manual each set the Clutter and Gain adjustments back to the factory settings for the specified operating modes. Restore Factory Settings sets the following values: Viewing more info Press More info to display an "info bar" at the bottom of the screen. Each additional press of More info shows the following information: · your vessel's present Speed-Over-Ground (SOG), Course-Over-Ground (COG), and heading · your vessel's distance (dist) and bearing (brg) to the current waypoint, if any, along with a steering indicator ­6­ ­ 19 ­ minute, 3 minutes, 6 minutes, always (points are recorded continuously), or off (points are not recorded). If trails are left on continuously, the recorded points may eventually fill up a large part of the screen. Zooming in or out will erase all recorded trail points. Expand Press Expand to turn echo expansion off or on. Select On to make small echoes appear larger and easier to see. · your vessel's position in lat/lon (or TDs, if enabled) · the water depth, water temperature, and Speed Through Water (STW) reading from the sounder (if interfaced) Overlaying radar on the chart To overlay radar onto the chart, press CHART to switch to the chart screen, then press Overlay to display Radar in the key's blue box. Radar can be displayed on the main radar screen, or as an overlay on the chart screen, or as part of a split screen. All radar functions are controlled in the same way, regardless of how radar is displayed. Just press the Control key so that it displays Control Radar. Radar adjustments on Page 4 Press Radar TX to turn the radar transmitter On or Off. The radar transmitter is automatically turned off every time you shut down the 6000i. Turning the transmitter off when it is not in use saves electrical power and allows you to work safely in the vicinity of the rotating antenna. Prefs... Press to display the user preferences menu keys (see Setting user preferences, on page 9). Install... Press to display the installation settings menu keys. These keys are described in the Northstar radar installation manual (P/N GMKRadIM) and settings should not be changed unless their functions are fully understood. ­ 18 ­ Setting radar transparency When you overlay a radar image on a chart, you can choose whether the radar should be opaque (the chart doesn't show through) or transparent (the chart shows through faintly): 1. Press Page 2, then Page 3, Page 4 and Prefs... . 2. Press Fade to select Off (no transparen ...