Lowrance X-15B User manual

Toturnthis featureon,simply
pressthe2nd key,thenpress the
"4" key. Thepaperspeed will im-
mediately slowdown,signifying
thatthefunction isenabled.
To turntheAlternate Transmit
and Print feature off, simplypress
the 2nd key andthen press the
"7" key. Thepaper speed will im-
mediately speed up, signifying that
thefunction hasbeen turned off.
When entering anynumber or
combination ofkeysonthe key-
board and you make a mistake,
press
the2nd KEYthen0. This
willclearthekeyboard. Forexam-
ple,ifyouwantedto seta Lower
Limitof50feet nd pressed '40
feet instead,beforepressing the
LowerLimitKeypress 2nd -0
andthe keyboard will becleared.
You couldthenpress5 -0-Lower
Limitforthedesired range.
To cause the X-lSBtoreprint
the level of Discrimination, 5CC,
orPulse Width atthe bottom of
the page, simplypress.2nd and
thenthecorrespondipg key (DISC,
SCC/MARK, or.PULSE) and itwill
bereprinted immediately.
INSTALLATION AND OPERATION MANUAL
X-15B
COMPUTER SONAR
PaperSaving'Feature
APPROXIMATE PAPERSPEED
WithoutAlternateTransmitand Print
LOWER
LIMIT
Minimum
PaperSpeed Maximum PaperSpeed
Inches Hours Inches Hours
RANGE (feet)
10-120 Per Mm Per Roll Per Mm Per Boll 1.0 10 2.35 4.25
130-510 0.5 20 1.4 7.14
520-830 0.15 66 0.75 13.3
Below 840 0.15 66 0.75 13.3
APPROXIMATE PAPER SPEED
WithAlternate Transmitand Print
Minimum Maximum
LOWER
LIMIT PaperSpeed PaperSpeed inches Hours Inches Hours
RANGE (feet)
10-120 .
Per Mm Per Roll Per Mm PerRoll
0.5 20. t4 7.14
130-510 020 50 0.8 . 12.5
520-830 0.15 66 0.75 13.3
Below 840 0.15 66 0.75 13.3
LITHO usA 988-0096-07 I LOWRANCE ELECTRONICS, INC.
12OOO E.SKELLYDR.,TULSA,OKLA.74128
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Service Information .
Introduction
HowItWorks
Installation
Transducer Selection
Basic Operation
Suppressor
PaperSpeed
GRAYLINE®
Range
Lower Limit
Upper Limit
Lines...,.•..
Marker .
Scale
End Of Paper :
ZeroAdjust
HowTo Read
Graphs
PapeLoading
StylusReplacement
Stylus BeltReplacement..
Do's and Dont's
Troubleshooting
Advanced Operation
level whereas the highest value
(4) is thestrongest level and
should be used onlywhen
severe.
noise is present.
Tousethe Discrimination func-
tion,simply press thelevelof
noise rejection deeired, from1 to
4, then press the DISC (Discrimi-
nation) Key. There shouldbe an
immediate change intheamount
ofnoise present onthepaper.The
Discrimination setting is printed at
thebottom ofthe paper each time
thelevel isentered andatinter-
vals thereafter.
TheDiscrimination function can
be disabled atanytime bypress-
ing0 - DISC.
Example: Entera Discrimination
level of2.
Press: 2-DISC
Result:
Transmitand Print Alternate
When usingtheX-15Bin deep
water-orifyouwishtosimplycon-
serve paper, itmaybedesirable to
slowthe paper speed even more
than theautomatic system
allows.
However,when
doingso,youmay
get overprint"
orvery dark,
heavy
printing overan areathatis
difficylt
to read. Much detailcan
also be lost dueto this.
Afeature that isavailable on
theX-15Bis the Transmit and
Print Alternate function which,
whenactivated, causes thestylus
to printevery other revolution in-
steadofeveryrevolution.This
accomplishes fourthings:
1. Sincethe stylus only prints
everyotherrevolution,the
recorded information doesn't
have the overprint"problem,
therefore good records are
attainable,atslower paper
speeds. Also, the scale num-
bersare spread outmore, mak-
ingthem more legible.
2. Reduces the possibilityof
"wrap-around". Thisisthe un-
desirable occurrence ofthe
second orthird bottom echo
printed
onthe paper atthetop
ormiddle ofthe page. Many
timesthiscan interferewithfish
orother
targets
that
youwish
tosee.
3. Reduces the reverberationef-
fect.Thishappens mainly on
lower
frequency units,butit
canhappen on higher
fre-
quency models.Reverberation
isheavy, scattered noisemarks
caused by thetransmittedsig-
nalbecomingtrapped between
the surface and thebottom,
usually scattered in heavy
plankton layers orbaitfish
schools. Thiscauses agreat
manylines tobe printedon the
page. By enabling the Transmit
and Printfunction, thetransmit-
teris triggered only halfas
many timesasnormal, putting
lessenergy intothewater
(same
amount ofpower,just
notas often) which reduces the
amount ofnoiseseen.
4. Slowsthepaperspeed.Asig-
nificant
amount ofpaper can
besavedbyusing
theAlter-
nate Transmitand Print feature.
21
INDEX
Specifications
2
2
3
4
4
5
6
7
7
7
8
9
9
9
10
10
10
11
14
15
16
16
....17
Surface
ClarityControl
(SCC) 17
Feet, Fathoms, Meters 18
Transmitter Pulse Width 18
Discrimination 20
Transmitand PrintAlternate 21
2-——— -— ——-2
- 2'l
——
-— b0-—-t2 0 50 0-2—
Figure 40
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resolution.
Forexample, ifa 50 Its initial
transmitter pulselength is
selected, and the Suppressor
control isrotated tomaximum, the
transmitter pulselength would be
850 is. Returningthe Suppressor
control to minimum willrestore the
unitto a50 'transmitter pulse
length.
TheX-15B
willdisplay the initial
transmitter pulselength atthe bot-
tom ofthe paper when
youovei-
ride the micro-computer.To
distinguish theinitialtransmitter
pulsefromtheotherinformation
printed on thepaper,the graph
will print P-100 (ifthe pulse
is set
to 100 micro-seconds.) A50 Its
initial pulse length would be dis-
played as P-SD.
To setthe initial transmitter
pulse length, simply press on the
keyboard theinitialpulselength
desired and then press the
PULSE key. For example, to set
theinitial transmit pulselength to
150 micro-seconds, press 1 -5-0
- PULSE. Thiswilloverride the
micro-computer's selection and
settheinitialtransmitter pulse
length to 150 micro-seconds.
P-isowill be printed atthe bottom
ofthe paper tosignifythatthe en-
try hasbeen confirmed. (Note:
When aninitialtransmit
pulse
length isset,this length will be
fixedfor all depth settings until
changed.)
To return control backtothe
micro-computer,press 0- PULSE
and the micro-computer will Select
thelnitial pulse lenth.
Example: Settheinitialtransmit
pulse length to 100
mipro-secqnds..
Press; 1 -0- 0 - PULSE
Result:
2—
2'i ——— •——..-..
—-———2b
Nfl
Figure 39
Discrimination
Noisepulses are thelargest
complaint mostoften received
about sonarunits. Lowrance has
had thepatented Suppression
system formany yearswhichis
quiteeffective ateliminating noise
fromthedisplay. (See
Transmit
Pulse Width.) Theonlydrawback
totheSuppression system isthat
itincreases thetransmitter's pulse
length whichdecreases resolution
and causes targets that are close
together
to merge intoone "blob"
instead oftwodistinct
image
Discrimination isaprogram
installed in theX-lSBs
micro-processor thatenables itto
process theoutput
fromthee-
ceiver, determine whichsignals
are noise and eliminate them,
then print only the legitimate
echoes.
Using this concept, the transmit-
ted pulse doesnot have to be
increased, thsrefpre records with
highresolution and high noise
irri-
munity
canbe achieved.
(The Suppressor Control may
beusedwththe Discrimination to
cancel OUTheavy interference er
noiSewhenever high resolution is
notrequfred.)
TherearefourleyetsofDis-
crimination thatcanbe used. The
lowest value(1) isthe weakest
20
SPECIFICATIONS—X-15 B
Depth Ranges:
Feet, fathoms, meters.
Operating Frequency:
192 kHz(192,000cyclesper
second); accuracyiswithin 0.6
percent.
Pulse Length:
(duration of pplse):200-i
000p.s
(30-2000jisprogramable)
Operating Voltage:
Minimum: 10volts•DC
Maximum: 15 volts DC
Operating Current:
0.7to1.8 amps depending on
printing density andoutput
power.
OutputPower:
1600 watts typical peak-to-peak.
(200 watts RMS)
Weight:
8.5 lb. (3.9Kg)
Dimension:
With Gimbal Mount:
Width -121/4"
Height-8%"
Depth - 51/4"
Instrument Only:
Width - 91/2"
Height-71/2"
Depth - 5¼"
NOTICE
Periodically wash the Trans-
ducerFace with soap and water
toremove anyoilfilmthatmay
collect. Oiland dirton the face
willreducesensitivity ormeyeven
preventsounding.
GOTA PROBLEM?LET US
HELP!
If
you have a problem with your
sonar unit,please give us a
chance to helpbefore sending itin
forrepair.
Assistance canoften be ex-
tendedby telephone orletter.
Write orcalloneofourAuthorized
Service Centers or the Lowrance
Electronics, Inc., Customer Ser-
viceDepartment in Tulsa,OK.
Call
[phone].
Please detail
the problem you
are experiencing. OurServiceDe-
partment may be abletosaveyou
theinconvenience ofreturning
yoUrunit.
Ifitisdetermined thatyour unit
mustbe returned, full shipping in-
structions will be provided.
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1. INTRODUCTION
TheLowrance X-1SBis a highly
sophisticated recording depth
sounder.Thanks to a micro-com-
puter,the X-l5Bcando more than
anyothersonarunitin its price
range plus many thatcost much
more. Thanks toawaterproof
key-
board, fullcontrol ofthesystem is
atyour
fingertips
to meet the
changing demandsofvarying bot-
tomconditions, waterdepth, and
boatspeed. You canselect the
unit's
sensitivity, suppression level,
upperand lower
depth range, pa-
per speed, GRAYLINE, and many
more features. Thepatented
Lowrance variable suppression
system
combined withthenew
Discrimination featurenot only fil-
ters outfalsesignals withoutdis-
torting
thereal ones, but is
synchronized withthe GRAYLINE
function toprovide clearsignals
under all conditions.
2. HOWITWORKS
When the Unit is turned on, an
electronically regulated motor
drives
a lightweight belt located at
the right edgeofthe recording pa-
per. Thestylusiséttachedtothis
belt:Whenthestylusisatthetop
ofthe paperasmall mark is
made. Thisiscalled thezero
mark, and represents the surface
ofthe water.Thestyluscontinues
tomove down the edge ofthe
paperwhile thesoundpulseis
traveling through the water, and
when an echo is detected, the sty-
lusmakes another markonthe
paper.Thedepth oftheobject
which reflectedtheechO canbe
read in feetby comparing its loca-
tion on thepapertothe depth
scale printed on the paper.
Thepaper speedis controlled
byavariable speed motor. During
onerevolution ofthe stylus belt, a
verynarrowmark will be made by
theflexible stylus, butthe paper
willmove asmallamountbefore
thenextrevolution. Each markwill
blend intothe one before sothata
composite "picture" ofthe target
will bemade, one tinymarkat
atime.
Due tothe many features
that
thisunit has, this manual has the
operation section splitintotwo
parts. Thefirstsectionisentitled
"Basic Operation" and covers
everything thatisabsolutely
necessary to usethe X-15Bin a
wide variety ofsituations. Itwilltell
you how to usethe basic controls
-Sensitivity, Suppression, Paper
Speed, GRAYLINE, Range, plus a
fewspecial functions. This section
willbeadequate formostsitua-
tions. However,onceyouhave
mastered the basic operation of
theX-15B, youmaywishto try
some ofthefeatures
described in
theSuppressor controlturned
downto minimum whenlooking
forfish.
However, it ishelpful sometimes
to have longerpulse
widthwhen
resolution is notaconcern. When
using a
sonarin deeper water, it is
easier fortheunittodetectalong-
erpulse coming backfromthe
bottomorfromfish. This iscalled
"Probability ofEchoDetection".
Theprobability oftheunit being
abletodetect an echo returning
fromdeep water isdiminished be-
cause thefurtherthe sound pulse
hasto travel, theweakeritbe-
comes. Bybroadening the pulse
length, in essence, alargersignal
istranmitted and itis easier for
the repeivertodetect it.
Forthis reason, the micro-com-
puter in the X-15B automatically
increases the initial pulselength of
the unitasdeeperlowerlimits are
setbythe operator.(Note: Initial
pulse
length isthe pulse length of
theunitwhentheSuppressor con-
trolisturnedtominimum.)
INITIAL
TRANSMIT
PULSE
WIDTH
(micro-seconds)
110
20 •130
30 160.
40-200 200
From 210feetto600feet, the
initial pulselength increases atthe
same rateas thedepth.For ex-
ample, with the LOWER LIMITset
to260feet, the initial transmit
pulse length ouIdbe 26Oxs. If
the LQWER LIMITis setto390
feet, the initial transmit
pulse
would be390 Finally,from
600feetandbelow, theinitial
pulse length remains at600
micro-seconds.
Thetransmit
pulse length can
be increased fromthe initial point
at any
timeby rotating theSup-
pressor control clockwise. The
maximum amount of pulse length
added totheinitial transmitter
pulselength is approximatelyaoo
micro-seconds. Inotherwords, if
the LOWER LIMIT is setto 420
feet, andthe Suppressorcontrol is
rotated tothe maximum position,
thetransmitter pulse length would
be 1220 micro-seconds. (420
initial + 800 = 1220.)
Earlier,wetalked about the rela-
tionshipbetween pulse length and
targetseparation. Aspulselength
increases, targetseparaflon or
resolution isdegraded. However, if
the pulsewidthisdecreased, res-
olution becomes much better.
TheX-159allows youtotake
advantage ofthisfactby making it
possible to override theinitial
transmitter pulse
length setting
fromwhatthe micro-computer
selects according tothe Lower
Limit.
Theinitial transmitter pulse
length canbesetfrom30 tsto
2000 p.s by entering itonthe key-
board. By setting the initial trans-
mitter pulse width to 100 p.5, a
threeinch resolution is obtained,
50 p.s is equivalent toan inch and
ahalf, and 30p.sinitial transmit
pulse
length isequal to one inch
resolution! Noothergraph re-
corderinthe markettodaycan
giveyouthis
feature.Aftersetting
the initia(transmitter pulselength,
thesuppressor control can still be
used tocancel out noise by in-
creasing the pulse length orthe
Discrimination function described
below canbe used to eliminate
noise and still have good
Figure 1
LOWER
LIMIT
(feet)
10
-
r— .--•_—PULLEY
TI] 1 DRIVE
L: +-1STYLUS
• i DRIVE
BELT
STYLUS
GRAPH
PAPER
PAPER
TRAVEL -4-—PuLLEV
2 19
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Feet,Fathoms, Meters
TheX-158will displaythedepth
infeet,fathoms, or meters.Al-
though
the unitwill revert backto
thefeet mode whenever power
is
turned off, illssimpletochange to
anymode you wish by pressing
the2nd key and then 1 forfeet,
2nd- 2forfathoms, and 2nd -
3 formeters.
When theunitis in the Feet
mode, onlyone Ilwill bedis-
played. IntheFathom mode, two
12L'swill bedisplayed.Three
IiI!I.!'swill bedisplayed in the
metersmode.
Example: Display Fathoms
Press: 2nd -2
Result:
Figure 36
longpulses,then theshortpulses
willbecancelled out, andonly the
desired information (fish, bottom,
structure, çtc.) will bedisplayed.
Of course, thetransmitter's pulse
length wouldhave to be increased
atthe sametimesothatthe re-
turnechoes would be accepted by
thereceiver.
Thisis exactlywhatthe Low-
rance suppression system does.
Thetransmitter's
pulselength is
increased by thefrontpane!sup-
pression control, and the receiver
"tracks" the amount of increased
pulse length, cancelling out any
narrow noise
pulses,and display-
ingonlythe return echoes from
fish orthebottom, etc.(Notq: Re-
ceiver
sensitivity is notdiminished
atall bythis process.)
Theonlydisadvantage tothis
systemisresolution, or the ability
toseparate targets,isdiminished
•whenthe pulselength is in-
creased. A200 is(micro-second)
a transmitter pulselength usedon
theX-15B
whenpowerisfirst
turned on,will allowthe unitto
displaytwo fish ortargetsthatare
only6 inches apart. In other
words, iftwo fish thatare 6 irches
apartare displayed on thegraph
paper, theywill show upas two
separate arches whenthetrans-
mitter isoperating with a 200s
pulselength. Now, ifweincrease
thetransmitter's pulse
length to
400 is, (byrotating
the Suppres-
sorcontrol clockwise) thosesame
two fish arches will blend together
and showup as one fish or pos-
siblyeven a "blob"onthepaper.
Witha400 p.s transmit
pulse
width, thosesametwofish will
have tobe atleast12 inches
apartbeforethey will show up as
twoseparate
arches onthegraph.
Thisiswhy it is important to leave
By looking
atthe number of
C's, one candetermine the depth
display modethat the unitisin,
i.e., Feet-, Fathoms-, Meters.
TransmitPulse Width
Thenoise
suppression system
in theX-15B is a patented pulse
length discrimination suppression
circuit, and isthGsaffleas theone
used on allthe Lowrance's varL
able suppression flashers and
graphs. Basically,itworks onthe
principle that most noise pulses
are ofrelatively shortduration, If
the receiver
circuit can bead-
justedsothat itwillacceptonly
the section entitled 'Advanced Op-
eration". Thischapter
will describe
several otherfeatures
that will en-
ablethe serious operator
to get
the maximum benefit fromthis
equipment.
We urgeyou to read thisman-
ual thoroughly and familiarize
yourself
withthe controls. Al-
though this isaveryadvanced
unit,it is easytouse,thanksto
thepowerofthe micro-computer
and thefrontpanel controls.
Should yourequireextrahelp, or
just have aquestion, please call
our Customer
Service Department
tollfree 1-800-331-3889. (Okla-
homa residents callcollect-
1-918-437-6881.) Orchecktheen-
closed litfor a servicecenterin
yourarea.A representative will be
happy to helpyou.
II INSTALLATION
Mounting—
Thedepth sounder maybein-
stalled in any convenient area,
provided the unitcan betiltedfor
the best viewing angle. Hdles in
the bracket baseallowwood
screw orbolt mounting. Awood
stiffener
maybe required onthe
backofthin fiberglass panels to
support
the unit.
Ifthe desired locationiscloser
than 18" to a magnetic compass,
atrial run should be made with
the unitinoperation to besure
thatthecompass readings are
not affected.
Power Connections —
Twelve volt DC power forthe
depth sounder
shouldbe supplied
bytheboat's12voltelectrical sys-
tem. The powercable maybe at-
tached toan accessory orpower
buss, butifyouhave problems
with electrical interference, the
cableshouldbeattached directly
tothe battery.
If a longer
cableis required, use
ordinary #18 lamp cord available
at anyhardware or electrical sup-
plystore. Splices should besol-
dered, however, ifthis isn'tdone,
then use crimp-type splices. Tape
all splices with electrical tape.
An in-linefuseholderwithfuse
issuppliedwith theX-15B. Be cer-
tainto install this as close tothe
powersource (such as the boat
batteryor power buss)aspos-
sible. Thiswill protect both the
sonar unitandthe power cable in
theeventashort occurs. Crimp
connectors are supplied toattach
thefuseholderto the power
cable. Thered wire inthepower
cableisthe positive conductor.
Theblackwire isthe ground or
negative conductor.
Thegraphis protected fromac-
cidental polarity reversals and no
damage will occurifthewiresare
reversed. Theunitwill not operate
until the proper polarity
is applied.
ii— I - '—'U
18 Figure 2
Ground
Negative)
3
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TRANSDUCER SELECTION
Lbwrance offers youthechoice
oftransducers with either an 8de-
greeor20 degree cone angle that
will interchange with anyof our
192 kHzsonar units.In other
words, anyLowrance sonar instru-
mentcan be usedwith anyLow-
rance transducer ofthesame
frequency withoutretuning of any
kind,and no loss of performance.
However, the useofanyother
manufacturer's transducer will re-
sultin alossofperformance.
Nowyou can select thetrans-
ducer design and cone angle to
bestfityourspecific
needs. Gen-
erally, wideconeangle transduc-
ers (20 degree) areideally suited
foroperating in shallowv4ater or
atmedium depths. The20degree
cone angleallows
youtosee
moreoftheunderwater world. In
15 feetofwater,the20 degree
cone angleallows
youtoseean
areaofthebottomthat'sapproxi-
mately 6feet across. The8
degree transducercovers only
about a2footcircle.
Figure 3
Thus, youwoulduse a20 de-
greetransducer whenlooking for
fishor structure, to easily find
drop-offs, and to seefish thatare
arouhd you. . . not
lustbelow you.
However, the20 degree trans-
ducerwont penetrate to greater
depths aswellas-tjie 8degree
transducer, nor will t show a
sharp drop-off as well.Inadeep-
waterenvironment (100feetor
deeper)
the narrowcone angle is
more desirable because itcan
moreaccurately detect the loca-
tiondfthe fish ordrop-off
in
deeperwater. Since thesound
energyis concentrated in a
smaller
area, it canreach to
deeperdepths.
Both the8 degree and the 20
degreeLowrance transducers give
accuratebottom readings, even
though
the bottom signal is much
wideronthe20degree model be-
cause
youare seeingmore ofthe
bottOm. Remember,the shallow
edgeofthesignal shows you the
truedepth. Therestofthe signal
tellsyou thecomposition ofthe
bottom, i.e.whether
youareover
asoftor hard.bottom, etc.
IllBASICOPERATION
On-Offand Sensitivity
Control —
Rotate theSensitivity
knob
50' clockwiseto turnthe unit on. The
Sensitivity
knobworks much like
thevolumecontroi onaradio, that
100' is, weaker
signalswillbe detected
with higher
settings
ofthe knob.
When cruising, or atothertimes
when
just
simplebottom contour
information is desired,
the Sen-
sitivity setting canbe low. Indeep
wateroroversoft, muddy bot-
200' toms,(which produce
weak
8°at3db echos), the setting will have to
behigher.
intotheunit andthetransducer is
in contactwith thewater.
Symptom
Theunitis"ON,butpaperdoes
notmove.
WhatToDo
Tapepaperto cardboard spool on
take-up post.
Symptom
Recorder
marksare faintor dim.
WhatTo Do
Clean viewtng door; replace the
stylus; checkbattery
connections.
Symptom
Recorded marksare veryheavy;
paperistorn by stylus.
WhatTo Do
Bend thestylusslightly
to reduce
pressure on paper.
VI ADVANCEDOPERATION
SurfaceClarityControl (SCC)
Thesurface markings atthetop
ofthe chartpapercan, attimes,
extend manyfeet below thesur-
face. Thisoften interferes withfish
signals orothertargets. Thisis
called SurfaceClutter andis
caused by algaeand plankton, air
bubbles caused by wave action or
boat wakes, baitfish, ortempera-
tureinversions.
Thesurface cluttermarkings
can be reduced oreliminated by
usingthe MARK/SCC control key
on the frontpanel keyboard.
To usethe 5CC,press key1
thru4and then theMARK/SCC
key. 1 hasa minimum effect on
surface clutter, 4 has themax-
imum effecton reducing surface
clutter.2 and 3 haveintermediate
effects.The amount ofSCCthat is
used is printed
atthebottomof
thechart paper. If one level of
SCC isused, thenS-i is printed.
Twolevels, 5-2,etc.
Theeffect on surface clutter
should immediately beseen. Use
only theamount ofSCCrequired
to reduce the clutter, as fish sig-
nals can be eliminated by using
thismethod, also.
Ifyouwishtoturnthe 5CC
function OFF simply press
0-MARK/SCC andthe 5CC
function will bedisabled.
Example: ENTER ASCC
LEVELOF2.
Press:2 - SCC
Result:
(SeeFigure 37.)
4 17
Depth S 23'
'2 Itt. tIn.
520 14 31
III 21 13
224 20 II — 12— ———.-- ——-—-—-—--——---
—lie
bO—--S—2 U ——-—----——---bO—--fl----—-
Figure 37 5CC 11211
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wheels by reversing the proce-
dureusedtoremovethe old
one. BESURE thefingers of
the newstylus arepointed UP.
6. Closethefrontofthecase.
Latch both catchesatthe top
oftheunit.
MAINTENANCE
NOTE:Thestylusmaybe
damaged if itis in front ofthepla-
tenwhentheplaten assembly is
pulled down. Alwaysmove the
stylusto the backside ofthepla-
tenwhenchanging thepaper
rolls. Remember to movethebelt
downto remove the stylus.
Black carbondustis created dur-
ingtherecording process. Use a
soft, oil-free
rag to cleanthe
viewing doorand metal platen be-
hindthe paper. Low pressure
compressed air maybe used to
blowdustoutofthe caseand
away
frommoving parts ifthe air
isdryandfreeof oil.
All mechanical connections
should
be checked periodically to
besure theyhaven'tworked
loose.
HIGH VOLTAGEis present inthe
transmitter sectionwhentheunit
is ON. Noattempt
shouldbe
made by anyunauthorized per-
sontomodify or repairtheelec-
tronicsection.
All electrical connections should
be checked periodically and
cleaned as necessary.
Thefaceofthetransducer, if
mounted on thetransomshould
be washed periodically with mild
soapy
waterto remove
anyac-
cumulated rod grime oroilyfilm.
Thisisessential tohavegood
contact between the transducer
and thewater.
DOSECTION
Do carry a spare fuse,stylusbelt,
androll of paper.
Do use theemptycardboard core
fromthe lastroll of paperonthe
take-uppost.
Do keep the recorded graphs for
futurereference.
-Do clean thestylusbelt, wheels,
and therubber roller afterevery
five rolls ofpaper.
DON'TSECTION
DON'T OPEN THECASE WHEN
THE UNIT IS ON.
Don't
pullthe platen assembly
down whenthestylusis atthe
front.
Don'tstoreany objectsinside the
F caseorbehind theviewingwin-
dow. (Exceptforsmall pieces of
tape.)
Don't
forgettotapethepapeito
thetake-up core.
Don'trotatethe stylusbelt up.
Don'tuseoilycloths, strongsol-
vents,orabrasive cleansers.
TROUBLESHOOTING SECTION
Symptom
On/Offswitch Is "ON", butthe
stylusand paperdon't move.
WhatTo Do
Check fuse; checkconnections at
battery fortightness
and
corrosion.
Symptom
On/Off switchis "ON", havezero
mark, but no echoes or bottom
signal.
WhatTo Do
Besurethetransduceris plugged
When highSensitivitysettings
are used, asecondbottom echo
will appear.Thisis normal and is
caused bythe returning signal re-
flectingoffthe surface ofthe
water, making asecond
trip tothe
bottom and back.
Ifdetailed information about
brush piles, individual fish, orthe
thermoclineisdesired,theSen-
sitivity knob shouldbe rotatedto
approximately the 3/4 point. Refer
tothe illustration
below to see
ft -'
,7't I
—
SENSITIVITY: TOO LOW
U
whateffectthe Sensitivity
control
settinghasonthe recorded
information.
Recording individual fish with an
"arched"
signaturecanusually be
accomplished attrollingspeed
withtheSensitivity knobatthe ¾
point, orhigher. Referto the§ec-
tion"Arched Signatures" for more
information aboutthisimportant
functionofyour recorder.
Suppression Control
TheSuppression Controlis
usedto reduce interferencefrom
noise.Noise, inelectronic
terms,
is anyundesired signal. It canbe
caused
by anelectrical source,
(such as the engine's ignition sys-
tem) orby airbubbles in disturbed
waterwhichis callcavitation. In
both cases, the noisecouldpro-
duce uhwanted markson the
paper. (SeeFigures 7 &8.)
Fortunately, noisepulses are rela-
tivelyshortintimecompared to
real sonar signals.
Advancing the
Suppression knob will causethe
system
to reject theseunwanted,
short pulses withoutreducing the
2
Figure 4
Figure 5
SENSITIVITY: PROPER SETrING
16 5
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sensitivity
in anyway.
Thispatented design is exclu-
sivewith Lowrance. However,with
highsuppression settings, the
graph recordbecomes coarse and
the abilitytoseparate fishfrom
the bottomorfromotherfish will
be decreased. (SeeFigure
9 &
10.) Therefore, the lowerthe
suppression setting, the better.
Advance the knobsetting only as
faras necessary
to remove the er-
ratic, unwanted noise marks. Most
ofthetimeatlow or trolling
speeds,no suppression will be
necessary.
IIIF FtI!tlI
j'ItLiLIikII
Figure 9 SUPPRESSION: TOO HIGH
PaperSpeedControl
Thisknob adjusts tospeed of
thechart paper. Forgood detailed
graphs, inshallowto medium
depths, turnthepaperspeed con-
trolup to at leastthe¾position
when
trolling. Thiswillshowprop-
STYLUS BELT REPLACEMENT
CAUTION —High voltage is pre-
sentintheelectronic section
when theunit isturned on.
1. TURN THE UNIT OFF.
2. Release both catches on the
topofthe case. Pull out and
down onthetop ofthecage
frontandtheplaten toexpose
the stylus belt.
3. Thestylus beltridesovertwo
wheels located attheright
edge ofthe platen assembly.
Referto Figure1 on page2.
Move the frontofthebelt
DOWN to position thestylusat
thecenterofthe platen.
4. drasp the beltatthe stylus
holder
with the thumband
forefinger
and moveitgently
Figure 36
totheleft while pushing the
beltoffthe wheels with the
otherforefinger. (See
Figure36.)
5. Position thenew belt on the
Figure 33
Figure 7
Il-I
Figure 34
29
10
Figure 8
U LI r
,. '' .
rift
Figure 10 PROPER SETrING
Figure 35
APPROXIMATE PAPER SPEED
Without Alternate Transmitand Print
Minimum Maximum
LOWER PaperSpeed PaperSpeed
LIMIT Inches Hours Inches Hours
RANGE (feet) PerMm Per Roll Per Mm Per Roll
10-120 1.0 10 2.35 4.25
130-510 0.5 20 1.4 7.14
520-830 0.15 66 0.75 13.3
Below 840 0.15 66 0.75 13.3 15
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Speed
120'-490' Medium Fast
Paper Speed
500'-790' Mediurri Slow
Paper Speed
Slowest Paper
Speed
Thechart paper maybe slowed
even furtherby adjusting the pa-
per speedcontrol. Remember,if
gaps in the record appear,turnthe
paperspeed downuntil asolid
reOord isachieved. Thepaper
speed may also be slowed when
notlooking
forfish or tosimply
conserve paper. Formore informa-
tion aboutsaving paper, read the
Alternate Transmitand Print func-
tion inthe Advanced Operation
section.
the control toofaroritwill gray<
line on thetargetcompletely,
showing noblack, whichmakes
the targetdifficult to see.
RANGE
TherangQfunctionutilizes the
keyboard to selectany rangebe-
tweenO-10'and2540'-2550'.
Please readthissectioncarefully
togetthe mostoutofyour
X-i5Bs
range capabilities.
Lower Limit
Whenyou firstturn onthe
X-15B, the rangewill be 0-60feet.
(SeeFigure is.)
To change toadeeperrange,
simplypressthe desired depth on
the keyboard, and then pressthe
LOWER LIMITkey.
STYLUS REPLACEMENT erfisharches atlow speeds and
keepshighspeedinformation from
being compressed. Thepaper
speed should be turned down
whenusing the unitin deep water.
Thiswill prevent gapsfromap-
pearing in therecord. Infact,the
microcomputer will autpmatically
slowthemaximum speed ofthe
chart paper
whenoperating in
deep water.Thechartbelow gives
the points where the maximum
speed ofthe paperisslowed.
RANGE PAPER SPEED
iO'-ilO' Fastest Paper
r
- 12
.,'-, .'
•'2M
(
k
, a
/'
p r r
800' & Below
CAUTION —High voltage ispre-
sentintheelectronic section
whentheunitisturned on.
.1. TURN THEUNIT OFF.
2. Release both catcheson the
topofthecase.Pull outand
downonthetopofthe case
fronttoexpose thestylusbelt.
(SeeFigure
25.)
3. Thestylus beltridesovertwo
wheels located attheright
edge ofthe platen assembly.
Move the frontofthebelt
DOWN to position the stylus at
thecenteroftheplaten.
4. Hold the stylus beltstationary
with one finger, and remove
the oldstylusbystarting at its
leftedge and moving itout
fromunderthe tabs on theCty-
lus holder.
5. Before installing the new sty-
lus,.
besureit isbentproperly
by comparing itto Figure 33.
6. Referto Figure34to besure
thenewstylusispositioned
correctly underthetabson the
holder. Besureit moves freely
in the two slots. If not, bend
the stylus away fromtheedge
itis rubbing on until it does
move freely.
7. Afterinstalling, ifthe stylus
won'tprintalltheway down
the paper as shown in Fig-
ure 35,bendthe rightleg down
so thatmorepressure isex-
ertedagainst thestainless
steelplate. Ifitstilldoesnot
printalltheway, bend the left
legdown more(butnotso far
thatitdigs intothe paper).
8. Close thefrontofthe case.
Latch both catchesonthetop
ofthe case.
2b .
Figure 12 GRAYLINE "ON"
Figure32
GRAYLINE CONTROL
The GRAYLINEfunction can be
used to outline the bottom contour
which mightotherwise be hidden
beneath trees and brush; itcan
also give clues to thecomposition
ofthebottofti. Ahardbottom re-
turns averystrong signal causing
awidegrayline. Asoft, muddyor
weedy bottom returns aweaker
signal which is emphasized witha
narrow gray line. Do not advance
14 7
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-. ..
(2—
- —.
90
-01 -u • 60 U—I
Figure 13
Example: Change
range to: 0-80
feet.
Press: 8 -0-LOWER LIMIT
Thedepth will then be displayed.
F1.,lJ' ...L.
lb——.——— —•'--IL'—--——
22
90 ——--—. —--.-'—-—.
69—— :
00 0—i 'u—-' -' -2—i
Figure 14
Anydepth in a multiple often
(10, 20, 30, 500, etc.) may be
used as alowerlimitdisplayed at
the bottomofthe chart paper.
Example: Change range to0-150
feet.
Press:1 -5-0-
Thedepth willthen
(SeeFigure 15.)
Notethatthe paper speed
slows automatically atthis range
setting.,
UPPERLIMIT
Manytimesitisdesirable toex-
JO ' —-——--—' 20—
bO 60—
90 ''' '——— 90--
—20 ——————---—------————- —20—
ISO ' 01—' U- —..-—'-.- ISO'
Figure15
pand asection ofthe areathat is
displayed onthegraphrecorder to
showmoredetail. Thisis made
possible by theX-15Btoshow
segments ofthe underwater world
by using
the UPPER LIMITfunc-
tion.Using the UPPER LIMITkey
allows
youtodisplay anydepth
rangein multiples of 10atthetop
ofthechart paper.
Example: Turnon unitandset
rangeto 20-60 feet.
Press: 2- 0 - UPPER LIMIT
Thedepth willthen be displayed.
20
-—'——-—---———-——-——
20
2——--'-
- Oh — -36
qi
-. 52 - 02
- bil'——'P--I—"'-—'-I.' —-
Figure16
Example: Set range to 40-60 feet.
Press: 4-0-UPPER LIMIT
Therange willthen be displayed:
(See Figure 17.)
TheUppef and Lower Umits
canbe used in various combina-
8. Draw theendofthe paper
across thefaceofthe platen,.
around the friction roller,over
thetake-up core, andtape it
scuarely
tothe take-up core.
(See Figure 30.) Small pieces
oftape maybe stored inside
the housing forthis purpose.
Closethetop ofthe platen
as?embly by pressing thetwo
tabstogether
onthe paper
retainer and returning the re-
tainerbacktothe operating
position. (See Figure 31.) -
9. Turnthe small knob atthe
upperleft hand,
side ofthe
platen assembly to puta
small amount oftension on
the paper. Itshould be snug
against theplaten. (FIgure 32.)
10. Push theplaten assembly
backto itsoperating position.
Be sure itengages
the catch
insidb thetopofthecase.
11. Close thefrontofthecase.
Latch both catchesonthetop
ofthe case.
12. Turnthe unit on. Move the
ChartSpeed knob fully clock-
wise.Watch the paperlong
enough to besure'itismoy-
ingsmoothly and evenly
acrossthe platen. Ifthepa-
perflutters orbegins torun
"uphill",repeat step8.
LOWER LIMIT
bedisplayed:
8 J 13
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4. Pull outand down
onthe tab
atthetopcenterofthe platen
assembly to expose the pa-
per spools. (SeeFigure 25.)
5. To remove thefulltake-uproll
andthe empty supply spool,
pressthetwometal tabsto-
getheronthetop ofthe platen
assembly,andpullout and
downonthe paperretainer.
(SeeFigure
26.) Thefulltake-
uproll can now be easilly re-
moved fromthe papercore
shafts.(SeeFigure 27.)
6. Pull the empty supply core
fromthe right side inthe
samemanner. Install
the empty coreonto the
take-upshaft. (SeeFigure28.)
Alignthetwo notches in the
core with thetabs on the
lower
take-up spool.
7. Slideafresh roll ofpaperin
position
onthe supply side
shafton therightside ofthe
platen assembly.Thepaper
mustspooloffthebottom of
the roll. (See Figure29.)
Note: UseLowrance LPG-605or
LPG-606 chattpaper.
-..---—— -—---
—--—7— 9B--—-—--—-----——-
52 ——-———-- —--——52—
—Sb Sb—
11- bD-I-—--L — LU—
Figure17 -
tionstoshowsegments fromthe
surface tothe bottom andany-
where inbetween. Representative
samples ofchartpaper areshown
inthe backofthis manual.
Ifyou wishtodisplay yourdepth
settingsatanytime, simply press
eitherthe UPPER LIMIT or
LOWER LIMIT keys. Thecurrent
rangewill beprinted onthepaper
immediately. Thiswill not change
the depth setting.
LINES
WhentheX-15Bisfirst turned
on, depth lines will be printed on
the paper. Ifyou desire toturnthe
Unesoff, press the LINES key. To
turnthelinesbackon, press the
LINES key again.
Example: Turn lines off:
Press:LINES key
Result:
MARKER
An eventmarkerfunctionisin-
cluded inthe X-1SBso that events
maybemarked whendesired. To
usethemarker, simplypressthe
MARK key and averticallinewill
be displayed acrossthe entire
page. Hold theMARKkey down
andaverticallinewill be printed
foras long asthekey is held
down.
Example:
Press: MARK
Result:
Figure 19
SCALE
The numbers that indicate the-
depth orscale maybe deleted it
desired.Pressing the SCALE key
oncewill stopthe.printing ofthç
scalenumbers. The scalemaybe
displayedagainby pressing the
SCALE key.
Remember,the scale maybe
displayed
atanytime by pressing
eithertheUPPER LIMITorthe
LOWER LIMIT key.
Example:
Press: SCALE
Result:
(SeeFigure2O)
Figure23 Figure 24
a— — I?——-——— - T 2
-— ---- .
—HE_'-------— . — ________
LU
—
U
Figure 26
3b
Lw
Q1 I! LU INI
12 Figure 18 -
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L'U -. -
Figure 20
END-OF-PAPER MARKER
The graph paperin the X-15B
hasa red line printed atthebot-
tom ofthepaperto signifywhen
thereis only 2to3feet before the
end ofthe paper.
ZEROADJUST
Occasionally,whenchanging
thestylusor stylus belt,thezero
line doesnot print atthe same
place
nearthetopofthe chart
paper.
Azero adjust controlhas been
placed
on thebackinside wallof
theX-158 nearthe upper left
handcornerso thatthezeroline's
positionmay beadjusted on
the paper.
Open thecasefrontand look
forthe decal marked "ZEROAD-
JUST".You may have to pull the
papertransport assembly downto
seethedecalforthefirst time,
Push thetransport closed andturn
ontheunit.(Caution — Keep
hands awayfromthe stylus belt
and stylus. High voltage
is
present.)
Insert a6"-8" longscrewdriver
with a /"blade into thezero ad-
justholeand rotatethe control on
thecircuit board until the zero line
is atthedesired position. (Note:
Thismayalso be adjusted with
theunitturned OFFAdjustthe
control, then remove the screw-
driver andturnpowerbackON.
Repeat until thezero line is in
the desired position.)
IVHOW TO READGRAPHS
"ArchedSignatures"
A remarkable advantage ofthe
X-15B isthat it.canrecord indi-
vidual fishwith acharacteristic
arched mark thatseparates
them
fromtheirstationary surroundings.
Thereason forthisis shown be-
low.Thedistance toafish whenit
moves intothesQnar's coneof
sound isshown as "A".
When thefish hasmoved to
the centerofthe cone, the dis-
tanceto twillbe shorter, (line
"B"),and as itmoves outofthe
cone, thedistance will increase
again as shown in line "C".
0—
10 —
20—
SO —
4°—
50—
60 —
Figure22
Ifapartial arch occursmostof
thetimeonyour unit, (themark
curves up, but notbackdown,
or
vice-versa) itis because the trans-
ducer isnotpointed straight down,
Ifyourtransducer ismountedon
thetransom, adjust
the transducer
until thefishshowthe distinctive
arched sighature. Thismaytake
some trialand erroruntil thecor-
rectmounting isachieved.
Sharp, welldefined signatures
willoccurmost oftenwhenthe
Sensitivityknobisset atthe¾
point, orhigher. Remember, that
theremustbesomemovement
between the boatandthe fish to
develop thearched mark. Usually
this means trolling atvery slow
speeds with the main engine in
gearat minimum throttle
setting.
THERMOCLINES
Thetemperature ofwaterin the
lake isseldom constantfromtop
to bottom. Layers ofdifferenttem-
peratures form, andthejunctionof
awarmandcool layerofwateris
called athermoclino. The depth
and thickness ofthethermocline
canvarywith theseaspnortime
ofday1 In deep lakes theremay
be two ormore, atdifferent
depths. Thermoclines are import-
anttothefisherman because they
are areas where fish are active.
Many times baitfish will be above
thethermocline while larger game
fishsuspend justbelow it.
YourLowrance X-153cande-
tectthisinvisible layerin.tho
water, buttheSensitivity knob will
probably have tobe setatthe 1/2
point,orhigher.
PAPERLOADING
CAUtION—Highvoltage ispre-
sntin the electronicsection
whentheunit isturnedon.
-1, TURN
THEUNIT
OFF.
2. Release both catches on the
topofthecase. Pulloutand
downonthetop ofthe case
fronttoexpose theplaten as'
sembly. (See Figure23.)
3. Move thestylus beltDOWN,
toposition the marking stylus
onthe backside ofthe pla-
ten. NEVER move the beltup
—thestylumaybe.
damaged. (See Figure24.)
PECIAL NOTE: Thestylus
maybe damaged if.theplaten.
assembly is pulled downun-
lessthestylus has been
moved tothebackside ofthe
platen.
Figure21
10 11
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