EAGLE Z-6100 INSTALLATION AND OPERATION MANUAL P.O. BOX 669, CATOOSA, ORLA. 74015 Limo IN USA. 988-O1O624 EAGLE ELECTRONICS PDF compression, OCR, web-optimization with CVISION's PdfCompressor TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Installation Power Connections Noise Keyboard Basics Operation On Off ..'Li; 2 2 3 4 5 7 7 8 10 10 11 SURVEYING A LAKE The most successfulanglers on any lake or reservoir are those who fish it day after day and year after year until they learn the hot spots that produce fish consistently. They discover through experiencewhere, and at what depth,they can expect to find the kind of fish they want at any season.And they realizethat these productive areas change throughout the year dependingon water level,temperature,food, and other factors. Withthe aid of the Z-6100,anyone can eliminateguessworkand concentrate on the areas where fish are likely to be--evenif its the first time on the lake! Themost efficentway to become aquainted with a body of water is to survey it with your Z-6100. Start out with a map ofthe lake, if possible, and indicate the promising spots in relation to landmarkson shore. As you go about your survey, your Z-6100 will tell youthe depth and kind of bottom. It will also reveal suspendedfish. Multiple signals on the dial usually indicate a good school offishand it's worth it to stop and fish for them.You maynot get any further. Keep a few markerbuoys in the boat, ready to toss overboard.When the Z-6100 indicatesa school of fish, throw a buoy out.Thestring will unwind until the sinker hits bottom. Then, because of the marker'sflat shape, itwon't unwind anyfurther. With the school thus marked,you can make your turn and come backto fish in exactly the right spot This is essentialwhenyou're far from shore on a big lake. Unlessyou mark the school of fish when you're over it, you may not be able to find it again. Auto Sensitivity Automatic SensitivityAdvanced Chart Speed Range Lower Limit Zoom Auto Range with Zoom BottomTrack Zone Alarm Di ital LIght 11 12 13 14 15 16 16 17 18 Transducers and Cone Angles Signal Interpretation Fish Signals Surface Clutter Water Temperatureand Thermoclines Surveying a Lake BaitFish 20 20 22 22 BAIT FISH The importance of baitfish to successfulfishing can't be overemphasized.They are the principle food of all game fish in most waters. Bait fish are the planktonfeeding forage fish, such as minnows and shad. Bait fish can also be the young of gamefish, such as crappies, bluegill,and bass. Most baitfish are concentrated within five feet ofthe surface where sunlight promotes the growth of the plankton on which theyfeed.One method offishing is to use the Z-6100 to find the baitfish first.A school of baitfish will look like a "cloud" on the1-6100's display.Usually, game fish will benearby, often directlybeneath the school of baitfish. PDF compression, OCR, web-optimization with CVISION's PdfCompressor 1 22 Most fish dont spawn unlessthe watertemperatureis within rather narrow limits. To find the differenttemperatures,a surface temperature meter, such as the EDT-20 is a valuable aid to your boat Thisunit providesan extremelyquick response to identifyingthe desired surface water spawningtemperaturesforvarious species. Trout can'tsurvive in streams thatget too warm; bass and other fish eventuallydie out when stocked in lakes that remain too cold during the summer. While some fish have a widertemperaturetolerance than others, each hasa certain range within whichit tries to stay. Schooling fish suspendedover deep water lie at the level that provides this temperaturein which, we assume, they are the most comfortable. The temperatureofwater in the lake is seldom constantfromtop to of differenttemperaturesform, and the junction of a warm and cool layer ofwater is oalled a thermoclirie. Thedepth and thickness of the thermocline can vary with the season or timeof day. In deep lakes there may be two or more at different depths.Thermoclines are important to fishermen becausethey are areas where fish are active. Many times bait fish wilFbeabove the thermocline while larger game fish will suspendin or just below it. bottom. Layers INTRODUCTION When the Z-6100 Liquid Crystal Graph (LCG) is turned on, it will automaticallyfind and display the bottom signal and other targets. As the depth of the bottom changes, the Z-@100 will automaticallychange the range and sensitivityto always keep the boffom signal on the display.If desired, the only key that needs to be touched is the ON key. Howeve the automatic mode can be disabled which allows the Z-6100 to be manuallyadjusted. The Z-6100 is nitrogenfilled and sealed for complete waterproof protection. The liquid crystal display and keyboard are lacklightedfor easy use at night, plus it's covered by a full one year warranty which includes all parts and labor for one year from the date of purchase. To get started with your Z-610p, first read the installation section. This is where it all begins,and improper installationcan cause problems downthe road. Afteryou've read these instructions and installed your Z-6100, read the rest of this manual in detail. The more you know when you get to the water, the more yourZ-6100 will do for you. The Z-6100 can detect this invisible layer in the water, but the sensitivitywill probably have to be turned up to see it I'll" AUTO. IWSTALLATION ILl III .. Mounting TheZ-6100 can be installed in anyconvenient location, provided there is clearance when tilted for the best viewing angle. Holes in the bracket base allowwoed screw or through bolt mounting.Thebracket can be aftached to aluminumpanels with sheet metal sdrews. However, we suggest placing a piece of plywood on the backof thin fiberglass panels to secure the mountinghardware. Make certain there is enough room behind the unit to attach the power and transducer cables. A 1½" hole in the base of the gimbal bracket allowsthe power and transducer cables to be routed straight downthrough the mounting surface. The smallest hole that will pass the transducer connector through is 3%" This will allowthe transducer connector and cableto be passed up through the hole and gimbal bracket then the power cable wire can be pushed DOWN through the bracket and dash. Afterthe cables have been routed, the hole may be filled with silicone rubber adhesive (RTV), or the bracket can be offset so that the majority of the hole is covered. 2 TI-IERMOCLINE U.S Figure 17 HO Simulated Pictures PDF compression, OCR, web-optimization with CVISION's PdfCompressor 21 Power Connections The Z-6100 operatesfrom a 12 volt battery system. The power cable can be attached to an accessory or power buss, but if you have problems with electrical interfemnce (random dots or lines that show whenever the boats engine or an accessory is on), then attach the cable SURFACE CLUTTER The markings at the top of the screen representthe surfaceof the water.They can extendmany feet below the surface which can interfere with fish signals or othertargets. These markings are called "surface clutter and are caused by algae, plankton, bait fish, and air bubbles created by boat wakes or wave action. These marks are normal and can be seen at any time during the year. directlyto the battery. The power cable has two wires, red is the positive lead and black is negative or ground.An in-linefuse holder containing a 3 amp fuse is supplied with the Z-6100.This attaches to the red wire on the power cable with the crimp connector.The other end of the fuse holder attaches to the battery or accessory buss, Ifthe cable is not long enough, splice ordinary #18gaUgewire onto it Be certain that the fuse holder is as closeto the power source (batteryor accessory buss) as possible. This protects the power cable and your Z-6100 in the event of a short. The Z-6100 is protected from accidental polarity reversals and will not be harmed if the wires are reversed. (However, the unit will not work until the correct polarity is applied.) - srns,r,VTv SURFACE CLU1TER .4 .e. fl. - POWER C6tE '4- tizu SPLi.L OLOER S/mu/aled 40 Figure 16 Pklure EL AT1 ER WATER TEMPERATUREANb THERMOCUNES -- SIDE OF 3A1TER OR Figure 1 3 Water temperaturehasan important--ifnot controlling--influence upon the activities of all fish. Fish are cold blooded and their bodies are always the temperatureof the surroundingwater. Duringthe winter, colderwater slows downtheir metabolism so thattheyneed about a fourth as much food as they consume in the summer, 20 PDF compression, OCR, web-optimization with CVISION's PdfCompressor Remember, there must be some movementbetween the boat and the fish to developthe arch. Usuallythis means trolling at very slow speeds with the main enginein gear at a minimum throttle sefting. 'FRANSDU CER Installationinstructionsforthe permanentmounttransducer are supplied with the transducer in a separatepackage. Please read the instructions carefully before you start installing the transducer. The depth of the water will alfectthe size and shape of the fish arch due to the cone angle diameter. For example, if the cone over a fish in shallow water, the signal displayed on the Z-6100 passps arch at maynot all, due to the narrow cone diameter and the resolution imitations of the display.Even the 20 degree transducer has only a 3 foot diameter at this depth. NOISE Electrical noise picked up by the powercable can be minimized by routing it away from other possible sources of electrical interference.One of the largest noise generatorsis the engine's wiring harness that runs from the engineto the instrumentpanel. This harness usually contains a wire for the tachometerwhich radiates RF (radio frequency)energy.For bestresults,keep the power and transducer cables away from the engine wiring. Also, bilge pump wiring can sometimes radiate noise so try to keep the Z-6100's cables away from those wires. VHF radio antenna cables radiate RF ehergy at higherpower levels than even the engine'swiring harness, It is very important to keep the Z-6100's power and transducer cables as far away as possible from a VHF radio antenna cable. Compared to a paper graph, aZ-6100 cannot show as fineof detail becausethe pixels (dots on the screen) are much arger than a paper graph's markings.Therefore,the Z-6100 cannot show fish arches as well as a graph, and it requiresa bit more work initially to read and interpret the screen than a peper graph. Very small fish probably will not arch at all, whilemedium sized fish will showa partial.arch,or a shape similar to an arch if they're in deep.water, Large fish will arch, but the sensitivityneeds to be turned up in deeper water to seethe arch. Because of water conditions, such as heavy surface clutter, thermoclines,etc., the sensitivity sometimescannot be turned high enoughto get fish arches. One of the best ways to getfish arches is to expand or "zoom" a segment of the water, for example30 to 60 feet The smaller the segment, the better the screen resolution will be. Then, turn up the sensitivityas high as possible without getting too much noise on the screen. In medium to deep water, this method should workto display fish arches. Imumamam ilOPib fl;iiiii;uii dO Ifthere is no noise--interference--onthe unit whenthe boat is sifting still with the engine running in neutral, but interferencebegins at slow boat speeds, worsening as the boat speed increases,then a probable caUse is acoustic noise, or cavitation.This noise is not electrical, but rather mechanically induced noise from the transducer.Usually, acoustic noise is created by air bubbles passing over the face of the transducer. The faster a boat travels, the more air bubbles increase and generate noise on the display.To eliminatethis problem, read the transducer owner's manualfor proper mounting techniques. Simulated Pictures Figure 15 PDF compression, OCR, web-optimization with CVISION's PdfCompressor 4 19 KEYBOARDBASICS SENSITIVITY These keys control the graph's sensitivi'. (The dIgital's Snsltivityis automaticallyadjusted.)The receiver sensitivityhas 32 speeds whichallows adjusr,entovera wide range ot conditions. Theleft arrowkey decreases lhe sensitivity,the right arrowkey increases ii FISH SIGNALS Thesignals displayed on the Z-6100 by fish can be identifiedby Variousshaped markings in certain patterns, as opposedto random marks created by noise, or the solid, continUous markings made bythe bottom. Individualfish can, at times, be distinguishedby a characteristic arch that separatesthem from their stationarysurroundings. The'reaé'on for this is shown below.The distance to a fish when it moves into the sonar's cone of sound is shown as "A" Figure 14. When the fish has moved into the center of the cone, the distance to it will be shorter,"B' and as it moves out of the cone, the distance will increaseagain as shown in "C". If a partial arch occursmost of the time on your unit(the mark curves up, but not backdown, or vice-versa)it could be the tr ...