NorthStar 490 Echosounder User manual

Northstar 490
Echo Sounder
Operations Manual

Limited warranty policy
Northstar Technologies, Inc. warrants the Northstar 490 to be free from defects in materi-
als and workmanship for a period of two (2) years. This warranty applies to the original
purchaser and to any subsequent owner during the warranty period, which begins on the
date of shipment of the unit, F.O.B. Acton, Massachusetts, to an authorized Northstar
dealer.
Systems may not be returned to Northstar without a Returned Materials Authorization (RMA)
number. Call your Northstar dealer or Northstar for instructions.
During the unit's warranty period, Northstar will repair or replace, at its option, any part of
the unit it finds to be defective due to faulty material(s) or workmanship. All such repairs
and/or replacements will be promptly performed by Northstar free-of-charge to the owner,
excluding freight costs incurred in shipping to the factory. Return shipments from North-
star to points within the United States are made via ground transportation, freight prepaid.
Special shipping charges (overnight, two-day, and so on) are the responsibility of the
owner.
To be covered by this warranty, the Northstar equipment must have been in normal use.
The warranty does not apply to units with defects caused by improper installation, physical
damage, abuse, tampering, lightning or other abnormal electrical discharge, or to units
with defaced or altered serial numbers, or to units repaired by unauthorized persons or
repaired in a manner that violates Northstar’s recommended service procedures.
All repairs and/or replacements made under this warranty must be performed at North-
star’s facilities in Acton, Massachusetts. Performance of warranty work elsewhere will not
be authorized, and Northstar will not pay for any charges for such work. Northstar will not
be responsible for payment of any charges imposed by a Northstar dealer or other party for
services requested by and/or performed for a unit's owner in connection with this war-
ranty. Such services might include removal of the unit from a vessel, inspection, packag-
ing, handling, reinstallation, and the like.
Northstar Technologies assumes no responsibility for any consequential losses of any
nature with respect to any of its products or services sold, rendered, or delivered. The fore-
going is the only warranty expressed or implied. No other warranty exists.

490 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Rev. B2 Page i
Contents
Welcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1
Welcome to the Northstar 490 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
Using this manual. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
Technical support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
How echo sounding works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5
Powering the 490 on and off. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7
Setting up the 490. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7
Quick Start: Using the Echo Sounder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
Displaying the echo sounder’s picture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
Using demo mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4
Introducing the displayed information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
Using automatic mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
Changing the frequency of echoes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
Zooming in and out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Setup functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Adjusting the Echo Sounder Picture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1
The picture menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Adjusting the gain (strong echoes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Adjusting the clutter (weak echoes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Adjusting the signal level (weak echoes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Suppressing interference (the noise limiter). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Selecting the color bar (hue) and white level. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Understanding Depth Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Viewing the seabed depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Viewing the depth marker. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Changing the depth settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Setting the picture’s shift (starting depth) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3
Setting the picture’s range. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4
Other Functions: Using the MORE key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
Using the MORE key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
Changing the advance speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
Displaying the A-scope. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
Setting the ECHO screen data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
Introducing snapshots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Setting up the video image overlay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9

Page ii 490 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Rev. B2
Reviewing past echoes using SoundTrac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Viewing past echoes using SoundTrac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Marking fish as waypoints. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Navigating to a past echo position. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Setting the Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
Understanding the alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-2
Setting the fish alarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-2
Setting the bottom alarm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-4
Setting the temperature alarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-6
Troubleshooting 490 Operations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1
Troubleshooting the echo sounder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-2
Checking the transducer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4

490 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Rev. B2 Page 1-1
Welcome
Welcome to the Northstar 490 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
Using this manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
Technical support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
How echo sounding works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5
Powering the 490 on and off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7
Setting up the 490 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7
This chapter introduces the Northstar 490 Operations
Manual, explains how to contact Northstar for technical
support and service, and describes the 490’s basic set-up and
power on/off procedures.

Chapter 1 - Welcome
Page 1-2 490 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Rev. B2
Welcome to the Northstar 490
Congratulations on your purchase of the Northstar 490 Echo
Sounder. The 490 connects with a Northstar navigator and a
third-party transducer to add echo sounding capability to the
Northstar 961, 962, 957, and 958 navigators. See the Northstar
490 Installation Manual (part number GM491) for
recommended transducers.
You may be adding the 490 to your existing Northstar
navigator for echo sounding, or you may have purchased your
navigator complete with echo sounding. In either case, the 490
should be installed and configured by a qualified marine
technician.
To get started right away, see ”Quick Start: Using the Echo
Sounder” starting on page 2-1.
Using this manual
Organization Chapter 1 introduces you to the 490 echo sounder and to this
operations manual.
Chapter 2 gives you a quick-start introduction to get you
started with echo sounding as soon as the 490 has been
installed and configured.
Chapter 3 tells how to adjust the echo sounder’s display—the
gain, clutter, colors, etc.
CAUTION!
Proper installation and configuration of your Northstar
490 is of utmost importance for accurate and effective
performance under a variety of conditions. To get the
best performance from your 490, Northstar strongly rec-
ommends installation and set-up by a qualified marine
technician. For installation procedures, see the Northstar
490 Echo Sounder Installation Manual (Part Number
GM491).

Chapter 1 - Welcome
490 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Rev. B2 Page 1-3
Chapter 4 describes how to adjust the depth settings to choose
what portion of the water under the vessel you’ll display.
Chapter 5 explains other functions—the A-Scope, etc.
Chapter 6 describes Northstar’s exclusive SoundTrac™ feature,
for accessing past echoes and navigating back to their
locations.
Chapter 7 tells how to use the echo sounder’s alarms: the fish
alarm, bottom alarm, and temperature alarm.
At the back of the manual are a glossary and an appendix
outlining the 490’s specifications.
Conventions Specific conventions are used to provide a consistent way to
recognize certain information, as follows:
• is the universal symbol used for caution and warning
information that pertains to your personal safety or pre-
vents damage to the 490. The CAUTION and WARNING
boxes contain critical information—please read them!
•NOTE is the type style used for titles of reader notes. These
notes contain valuable information purposely highlighted
so that you don’t miss it while reading the main text.
•KEY is the type style used to refer to the menu keys on
the display screen.
•DISPLAY TEXT is the type style representing text on the
display screens.
• A bulleted list contains a series of related items or topics.
• A numbered list contains a series of steps in a procedure.

Chapter 1 - Welcome
Page 1-4 490 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Rev. B2
Technical support
After you follow the instructions in this manual, if you need
technical support or if you have any other questions, you can
contact Northstar by email, fax, phone, or U.S. mail as follows:
Hearing from you Your feedback is important and helps ensure that this manual
is a valuable resource for all 490 users. Send your questions,
comments, or suggestions about this manual to:
[e-mail]
Service and repair In case of an operating problem with your Northstar 490, you
may contact your dealer or return the unit to the Northstar
factory for diagnosis and repair. When describing an operating
problem, be as complete and accurate as possible. Be sure to
have your 490’s serial number available whenever contacting
or corresponding with either your dealer or the Northstar
factory. The 490’s serial number is located at the top of the
unit. If you need help, feel free to call the Northstar Service
Department at 978-897-6600 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
weekdays, excluding major holidays.
Table 1: Contacting Northstar
Email:
Service: [e-mail]
Sales: s[email protected]om
Fax:
Service: 978/897-1595
Sales: 978/897-7241
Telephone:
978/897-6600 or 800/628-4487
U.S. mail:
30 Sudbury Road
Acton, MA 01720
Web site:
www.NorthstarNav.com (you can send email to
Northstar directly from this site)

Chapter 1 - Welcome
490 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Rev. B2 Page 1-5
The Northstar 490 is covered by a two-year limited warranty
(see the Limited Warranty Policy at the beginning of this
manual) which, in summary, states that if the 490 is returned
to the Northstar factory by the owner or dealer during the
warranty period, Northstar will repair or replace, free of
charge, any part found to be defective due to faulty materials
or workmanship, if the 490 has been properly installed and
hasn’t been abused. The only cost to the owner will be the
one-way shipping charges and any associated charges that
may be imposed by the dealer.
To prevent delays, it is critical that you first obtain a Return
Materials Authorization (RMA) number before returning your
unit to the factory. If you purchased your 490 through a
dealer, to get an RMA number, call the dealer with the serial
number. The 490’s serial number is located at the top of the
unit.
The 490 should be shipped in a properly designed carton with
packing material. Please reference the RMA number on the
outside of the carton.
Shipments to Northstar should be made to the following
address:
Northstar Technologies
30 Sudbury Road
Acton, MA 01720
If you have overnight or second-day shipping requirements,
please call the Northstar factory for turnaround time and
freight costs before shipping your 490.
How echo sounding works
An echo sounder produces high-voltage electrical pulses that
the transducer converts into sound waves (called “pings”). The
sound waves are sent downward through the water. When a
sound wave hits and reflects off an object, such as fish, debris,
seaweed, or the seabed, the reflected sound wave (an “echo”)
returns back to the transducer along an imaginary vertical line
called a “water column.” The transducer converts this echo
into a tiny electrical pulse. The 490 digitizes these pulses and
sends them to the navigator, so that echo sounding pictures of

Chapter 1 - Welcome
Page 1-6 490 Echo Sounder Operations Manual Rev. B2
the water and seabed can be displayed and analyzed on the
echo sounder screen. In essence, this system lets you see a
real-time cross section of what’s happening underneath your
vessel.
The model 490-S is a 600-watt single channel echo sounder
designed to be used with a transducer having a single ceramic
element capable of 50 and 200 kHz.
The model 490-D is a 1000-watt dual channel echo sounder
designed to be used with a transducer having dual ceramic
elements, one each for 50 and 200 kHz.
Figure 1, ”957 echo sounder system components,” below, and
Figure 2, ”961/962 echo sounder system components,” below,
show how the 490 connects to these navigators to enable echo
sounding functions.
Figure 1: 957/958 echo sounder system components
957
Navigator
490
module
2201
antenna
Transducer
Ship's
Power
10-foot cable
(Northstar-supplied)
10-foot cable
(Northstar-supplied)
33-foot cable
(part of transducer)