500 SeriesTM Operations Manual 531521-1_A Thank You! Thank you for choosing Humminbird®, America's #1 name in fishfinders. Humminbird® has built its reputation by designing and manufacturing topquality, thoroughly reliable marine equipment. Your Humminbird® is designed for trouble-free use in even the harshest marine environment. In the unlikely event that your Humminbird® does require repairs, we offer an exclusive Service Policy - free of charge during the first year after purchase, and available at a reasonable rate after the one-year period. For complete details, see the separate warranty card included with your unit. We encourage you to read this operations manual carefully in order to get full benefit from all the features and applications of your Humminbird® product. Contact our Customer Resource Center at either 1-800-633-1468 or visit our website at www.humminbird.com. WARNING! This device should not be used as a navigational aid to prevent collision, grounding, boat damage, or personal injury. When the boat is moving, water depth may change too quickly to allow time for you to react. Always operate the boat at very slow speeds if you suspect shallow water or submerged objects. WARNING! Disassembly and repair of this electronic unit should only be performed by authorized service personnel. Any modification of the serial number or attempt to repair the original equipment or accessories by unauthorized individuals will void the warranty. Handling and/or opening this unit may result in exposure to lead, in the form of solder. WARNING! This product contains lead, a chemical known to the state of California to cause cancer, birth defects and other reproductive harm. NOTE: Not all features discussed in this manual are available on all models. Every effort has been made to identify those features that are unique to specific models only, and to identify which models support those features. Please read the manual carefully in order to understand the full capabilities of your model. Humminbird®, DualBeam PLUSTM, SmartCast®, Selective Fish ID+TM, WhiteLine®, QuadraBeam PLUSTM, RTS®, X-PressTM Menu, Fish ID+TM, WideSide®, Structure ID®, TrueArchTM, UltraBlackTM, Angler Profile PresetsTM, and WeatherSense® are trademarked by or registered trademarks of Humminbird®. © 2006 Humminbird®, Eufaula AL, USA. All rights reserved. i Table of Contents How Sonar Works 1 Single Beam Sonar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Dualbeam Sonar (565 Fishfinders only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 QuadraBeam PLUSTM Sonar (575 Fishfinders only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 What's On the Display Views Sonar View 5 7 8 Understanding Sonar History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Real Time Sonar (RTS®) Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Bottom Presentation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Sonar Zoom View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 200/83 kHz Split Sonar View (575 Fishfinders only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Big Digits View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Side Beam View (575 Fishfinders only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Key Functions POWER/LIGHT Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VIEW Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MENU Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-WAY Cursor Control Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EXIT Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 19 19 20 20 20 Powering Up the Unit The Menu System Start-Up Options Menu Normal Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Simulator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . System Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Self Test. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Accessory Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 22 24 24 25 26 26 27 ii Table of Contents Sonar X-PressTM Menu 28 Sensitivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Upper Range (Advanced; Sonar, Split Sonar, Big Digits Views only). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Lower Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Chart Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Bottom View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Quad Layout (575 Fishfinders only, Side Beam View only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Zoom Level (Sonar Zoom View only). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Sonar Menu Tab 35 Beam Select (575 Fishfinders only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Fish ID+TM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Fish ID Sensitivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Real Time Sonar (RTS®) Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Zoom Width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 83 kHz Sensitivity (Advanced; 575 Fishfinders only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 455 kHz Balance (Advanced; 575 Fishfinders only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Depth Lines (Advanced). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Surface Clutter (Advanced) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Noise Filter (Advanced) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Max Depth (Advanced) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Water Type (Advanced) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Alarms Menu Tab Depth Alarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fish ID Alarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Low Battery Alarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Temp Alarm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alarm Tone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 46 46 47 47 48 Setup Menu Tab Units - Depth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Units - Temp (International only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Units - Distance (with Temp/Speed only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Units - Speed (with Temp/Speed only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . User Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 50 50 50 51 51 iii Table of Contents Language (International only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Triplog Reset (with Temp/Speed only). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Restore Defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Select Views (Advanced). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Select Readouts (Advanced; Sonar View only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Depth Offset (Advanced) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Temp Offset (Advanced). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Speed Calibration (Advanced; with Temp/Speed only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Troubleshooting 500 SeriesTM Doesn't Power Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500 SeriesTM Defaults to Simulator with a Transducer Attached . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Display Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Finding the Cause of Noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 57 57 58 59 500 SeriesTM Fishfinder Accessories Specifications Glossary Contact Humminbird® 60 61 63 81 NOTE: Entries in this Table of Contents which list (International only) are only available on products sold outside of the US by our authorized International Distributors. To obtain a list of authorized International Distributors, please visit our website at www.humminbird.com or contact our Customer Resource Center at 1-800-633-1468 to locate the distributor nearest you. NOTE: Entries in this Table of Contents which list (with Temp/Speed only) require the purchase of a separate accessory. You can visit our website at www.humminbird.com to order these accessories online or contact our Customer Resource Center at 1-800-633-1468. iv How Sonar Works Sonar technology is based on sound waves. The 500 SeriesTM Fishfinder uses sonar to locate and define structure, bottom contour and composition, as well as depth directly below the transducer. Your 500 SeriesTM Fishfinder sends a sound wave signal and determines distance by measuring the time between the transmission of the sound wave and when the sound wave is reflected off of an object; it then uses the reflected signal to interpret location, size, and composition of an object. Sonar is very fast. A sound wave can travel from the surface to a depth of 240 ft (70 m) and back again in less than 1/4 of a second. It is unlikely that your boat can "outrun" this sonar signal. SONAR is an acronym for SOund and NAvigation Ranging. Sonar utilizes precision sound pulses or "pings" which are emitted into the water in a teardrop-shaped beam. The sound pulses "echo" back from objects in the water such as the bottom, fish and other submerged objects. The returned echoes are displayed on the LCD screen. Each time a new echo is received, the old echoes are moved across the LCD, creating a scrolling effect. 1 When all the echoes are viewed side by side, an easy to interpret "graph" of the bottom, fish and structure appears. The sound pulses are transmitted at various frequencies depending on the application. Very high frequencies (455 kHz) are used for greatest definition but the operating depth is limited. High frequencies (200 kHz) are commonly used on consumer sonar and provide a good balance between depth performance and resolution. Low frequencies (83 kHz) are typically used to achieve greater depth capability. The power output is the amount of energy generated by the sonar tran ...