LC-10 Operation Manual CONTENTS General Description Specifications Assembly Installation Operation Menu Functions Typical Indications Maintenance Trouble Shooting Other Products Optional Transducers Service and Support 2 3 4 6 10 13 15 19 20 21 24 27 Founded in 1965, Vexilar, Inc. has a long history of bringing revolutionary technology to the sport fishing industry. Just some of the Vexilar firsts include: the first liquid crystal display, the first fish alarm, the first three color display, and the first CRT and straight line paper graphs, for the sport fisherman. 1 GENERAL DESCRIPTION The Boundary Waters model LC-10 is a compact and light-weight liquid crystal depth sounder. It indicates depth, shows changes in bottom content, and conditions. It can also discriminate between large underwater targets, such as fish, and smaller targets such as bait fish and plankton. The unit transmits bursts of high frequency pulses which are converted from electrical to mechanical energy by the transducer. These "sound" pulses radiate from the transducer downward and are reflected back up to the transducer where the energy is converted back to electrical signals. The LC-10 then processes these signals and displays them. The graphic display is accomplished by activating individual or groups of pixels, or dots, on the LCD. The first vertical column of pixels, on the right edge of the display, shows the most current information. This column is then moved to the next place, to the left, as soon as a new column is ready. This process is repeated continually to make up the graphic display. Thus what you see on the display is a brief history of what the boat just went over. The LC10 displays the depth as an easy to read number in the lower corner of the display. 2 SPECIFICATIONS · Operating Voltage: · Current Draw: · Power Output: · Frequency: · Beam Angle: · Resolution: · Sounding Rate: · Display Size: · Dimensions: · Weight: 8.5 - 15 Volts (12 Volts Nominal) 50mA (100 mA w/Backlight On) 400 Watts (Peak to Peak) 200 Khz 22 Degree 64 x 64 Pixels 750/Min. 2" x 2 1/4" 5.9"H x 6.4"W x 2.5"D 1.6 Lbs. (No Batteries) · Depth Ranges: 0-5', 0-10', 0-15', 0-20', 0-30', 0-40', 0-60', 0-80', 0-120', 0-160', 0-240', 0-320', and 0-400'. Figure 3 3 ASSEMBLY Set the battery tray down and place the unit, face down, inside. Line up the bracket holes and install the gimbal knobs. Make sure the rubber washers are in place. Turn the knobs in, but tighten only slightly. INSTALLING THE BATTERIES Turn the unit over to access the battery compartment door. Unscrew the two retaining screws and remove the compartment door. The screws are restricted from falling out so you don't need to worry about losing them. Install eight AA batteries (not included) by following the imprinted guides in the battery compartment. Use ALKALINE or NICAD rechargeable batteries. Replace the compartment door and tighten the screws back into place. Make sure that the power cord from the battery pack is plugged into the bottom (3 pin) jack on the LC-10 and that the retaining ring is screwed down tight. Note-- The battery compartment is not sealed. Water may leak inside. After use, , if it is wet inside, remove the batteries and leave the compartment open. This will allow it to dry and minimize any corrosion that may develop. Figure 4 4 ASSEMBLING THE TRANSDUCER Locate the transducer and bracket assembly. This includes: 1 - Transducer 1 - Metal angle bracket 1 - Suction cup 1 - Short panhead screw 2 - Short machine screws 2 - Nuts 2 - Washers 2 - Long panhead screws 1 - Safety rope The two longer wood screws, if included, are for permanently mounting the transducer bracket to the boat. They do not apply here. The suction cup installs using the single short screw. Attach it to the slot in the angle bracket. Center the vertical adjustment and tighten the screw until the suction cup can no longer rotate. Note - The small fin at the edge of each cup is meant to help you remove the cup from the surface it is stuck to. Figure 5 5 Now locate the transducer and the remaining hardware. Install the transducer onto the angle bracket. The flat edge of the transducer should be facing the boat. Install the two short screws through the transducer slots and into the angle bracket slots. Place the washers and then the nuts onto the screws and tighten, only slightly. Slide the transducer up and forward in the bracket as far as it will go and then tighten the screws firmly. Finally, install the safety rope. Tie the rope around the upper end of the slot in the metal angle bracket. You will tie the other end to the boat. TRANSDUCER INSTALLATION The suction cup bracket is meant to be mounted on the transom or side of a boat. You may need to adjust the transducers position in the bracket to match the angle in which you mount it on your boat. Ideally, it should point straight down when your boat is normally loaded. Wet the suction cup and press the assembly onto the surface of the hull in the area where you are going the attach it. Slide the assembly up or down until the bottom edge of the transducer is close to the bottom edge of the hull. Tie the end of the safety rope to the boat. Leave as little slack in the rope as you can. If the suction cup lets loose, the rope may save your transducer and depth sounder from being lost. If your boat has a flat transom and you wish to get clear readings while the boat is moving at a faster speed, you 6 may need to purchase the optional Tri-Cup bracket shown in figure 6. ALTERNATE TRANSDUCER MOUNTING Figure 6 If you choose not to use the suction cup mounting method, you can permanently mount the transducer to your boat. This can, often, give better results, but you will lose the portability of the transducer. TRANSOM MOUNTING The LC-10 transducer can be mounted, permanently, on the transom of the boat. Proper installation will allow a clear depth reading at any boat speed. Attach the angle bracket to the transducer (flat edge facing forward). Locate a spot at the bottom of the transom that is clear of ribs and rivets that would be just in front of the transducer. Hold it up to the boat. Mark the first hole on the transom, or mounting plate, so that when the bottom of the transducer is flush with the bottom of the boat, the hole is located at the bottom of the bracket slot. This gives you room to "fine tune" the position of the transducer and optimize your reading after you've put the back boat in the water. 7 Drill out the hole, install one screw, and tighten the bracket down securely. Be sure to seal any holes drilled into the transom with silicone to prevent water from leaking into the boat. Figure 7 If you have trouble keeping a clear reading, try tilting the transducer in the bracket so that the back, rounded, edge is slightly lower than the front, straight, edge. If readings are still not clear, adjust the bracket on the boat downward until the reading becomes clear. Once you have verified that the unit reads at all boat speeds, drill out the second hole and install the second mounting screw. IN-HULL MOUNTING This method, gluing the transducer to the hull, gets the same results as if you were mounting the transducer externally, only there are no holes to drill in the boat and there is no transducer on the transom to get damaged by impact. This method works well for canoes and small boats that are moved in and out of the water often. Finding the best location for the transducer before mounting is critical. Choose a flat smooth spot near the center of the bilge and near the back of the boat. It is a good 8 idea to make a "test run" before you permanently install the transducer to make sure that you can indeed get a reading through your hull and at all speeds. Put about a half inch of water in the bottom of the boat and hold the transducer in the intended location. Move the transducer around until you get the best reading. Mark the spot. To install the transducer, first clean the spot of mud and oil. Using an epoxy or silicone glue, make a puddle, about the same size as the transducer, on the inside of the hull. Place the transducer in the glue. Press it down firmly, gently twisting it back and forth, making sure that there are no air bubbles in the glue between the transducer and the hull. Let the glue dry completely before turning the unit on. PERMANENT MOUNTING (Optional) You can permanently mount the LC-10 to your boat, yet maintain the easy portability for times when you go fishing in another boat. You will need to have a battery in your boat to power the unit. Also, you will need to order the optional Boundary Figure 8 Waters Mounting Kit. This kit contains a swivel gimbal mount, a transducer mounting bracket, and power cord. 9 OPERATION Figure 9 shows the main controls of the LC-10. ON/OFF Turns the LC-10 ON and OFF. Simply turning the unit on will start the Automatic System. This will give good results in most conditions. If you choose to modify any of the control features, your settings will be saved in memory when the unit is turned off. When you turn it on again the unit will operate the same way as it did when you last used it. Figure 9 AUTO Press the AUTO button to turn on or off the automatic range control feature. This feature will automatically change the depth range for you when the depth of the water moves outside the current range. When the AUTO feature is off you must change the range manually by pressing the SHALLOW or DEEP buttons. 10 RANGE CONTROL The two buttons at the top right of the control panel set the depth range when the Auto Mode is off. Pressing the SHALLOW button changes the range to the next shallowest range. Pressing the DEEP button changes the range to the next deeper range. LIGHT ON/OFF Press the LIGHT ON/OFF button to turn on the Backlight. Press it again to turn the backlight off. NOTE The backlight will double the current requirement of the LC-10, thus cutting your battery life in half. FISH ID ON/OFF Press the FISH ID ON/OFF button to turn the fish identification feature on or off. When the feature is on, any target that the LC-10 sees will be judged as to whether or not it is a fish. If the unit determines that there is a good chance the target is a fish it will display a fish shaped symbol on the display. ALARM ON/OFF Press the ALARM ON/OFF button to turn on or off the fish alarm feature. When ON this feature will sound an alarm when a fish is detected. This feature works independently from the FISH ID feature. 11 EXPANSION EXP. ON/OFF displays only the bottom half of the water depth when selected to ON. This doubles the display resolution making it much easier to see targets near or on the bottom. Pressing the EXP. ON/OFF button once puts the LC-10 in EXPANSION mode. Pressing it again will go back to the normal view. MENU Pressing the MENU button opens the menu page. Pressing it again will go back to the normal view. Each item in the menu will be explained in the next section. Figure 10 12 MENU FUNCTIONS SWEEP Press the MENU button and then the LIGHT button to enter the SWEEP settings. SWEEP controls how fast the information moves across the display. There are 4 steps of sweep speed. The top selection, four arrows, is the fastest setting. The bottom selection, one arrow, is the slowest. The sweep speed should roughly match the boat speed to get the most accurate reading. Press the MENU button to resume to the normal view. A-MODE Press the MENU button and then the FISH ID button to enter the A-MODE settings. A-MODE is a vertical representation of the depth that is near "real time" speed, unlike the scrolling display which has more delay. It will be displayed to the right of the normal display on the screen. The default mode is off. To turn the feature on press the FISH ID button while you are in the A-MODE setting page of the menu. Pressing the ALARM button turns off the A-MODE and replaces it with a depth scale that can help when trying to judge the depth of a target. Press the MENU button to resume to the normal view. 13 TEMP ADJ Press the MENU button and then the ALARM button to enter the TEMP ADJ settings. This page allows you to adjust or calibrate the temperature reading if you have the optional temperature probe installed on your LC-10. Pressing the LIGHT button will decrease the read temperature by one tenth of a degree each time you press it. Pressing the FISH ID button will increase the reading. RESET Press the MENU button and then the EXP. button to enter the system reset setting. RESET returns all setting back to the factory original settings. Press the FISH ID button to reset the system. Use this feature to trouble shoot problems or to get back to a "known" state . RESUME While in any menu page, press the MENU button to return back to the normal view. SIMULATOR There is a built-in simulator that will allow you to operate the LC-10 without being on the water. To activate it, turn the unit off. ...