Simrad SX90 - DATASHEET FOR NAVAL AND COAST GUARD REV... User manual

Operator manual
Simrad SX90
Fish nding sonar
TECHNOLOGY FOR SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES
www.simrad.com

Simrad SX90
Operator manual
This manual provides you with basic information required
to operate the commands, menus, operational modes and
options provided by the Simrad SX90 Fish finding sonar.
For detailed operational information, refer to the Simrad
SX90 Reference manual.
WARNING: The sonar must never be powered up when
the ship is in dry dock. The transducer will be damaged
if it transmits in open air. To prevent inadvertent use of
thesonar,pulloutthemainsplugontheProcessorUnit
whenever the vessel is in dry dock.
307672/B
19 October 2007

Document history
Document number: 307672 / ISBN-10: 82-8066-086-0 / ISBN-13: 978-82-8066-085-5
Rev.A 25 May 2007 SW 1.4.0. First version of manual.
Rev.B 19 October 2007 SW 1.6.0. New operational procedures created. Misprints
corrected.
Copyright
©2007 Kongsberg Maritime AS
The information contained in this document remains the sole property of Kongsberg Maritime AS. No part
of this document may be copied or reproduced in any form or by any means, and the information contained
within it is not to be communicated to a third party, without the prior written consent of Kongsberg
Maritime AS. The document, or any part of it, may not be translated to any other language without the
written approval from Kongsberg Maritime AS.
Disclaimer
Kongsberg Maritime AS endeavours to ensure that all information in this document is correct and fairly
stated, but does not accept liability for any errors or omissions.
Warning
The equipment to which this manual applies must only be used for the purpose for which it was
designed. Improper use or maintenance may cause damage to the equipment and/or injury to personnel.
The user must be familiar with the contents of the appropriate manuals before attempting to install,
operate or work on the equipment.
Kongsberg Maritime AS disclaims any responsibility for damage or injury caused by improper
installation, use or maintenance of the equipment.
Support
If you require maintenance on your Simrad equipment, contact your local dealer. You can also contact
Simrad using the following address:[e-mail]. If you need other information about
this product, or any other Simrad products, visit www.simrad.com. On our web site you will also find
a list of our dealers and distributors.
Kongsberg Maritime AS
Strandpromenaden 50
P. O . B o x 1 1 1
N-3191 Horten, Norway
Simrad
Telephone:[phone]
Telefax:[phone]
[email protected]
www.simrad.com

Operator manual
Table of contents
INTRODUCTION ................................................................ 7
Important matters .....................................................................................................8
GETTING STARTED............................................................ 9
Power on/off procedures...........................................................................................9
How to switch on the sonar............................................................................ 9
How to switch off the sonar ......................................................................... 10
How to perform basic operations ........................................................................... 11
Echo presentation and menu ........................................................................ 11
Temporary menu......................................................................................... 12
The menu structure ..................................................................................... 13
Control the cursor ....................................................................................... 14
Menu buttons.............................................................................................. 14
Changing a parameter value......................................................................... 15
Visual aids .............................................................................................................. 17
Common information on the display ............................................................ 17
Moving the boundary lines .......................................................................... 17
Cosmetics ...............................................................................................................18
On-line help............................................................................................................21
OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES .......................................... 22
Menu procedures .................................................................................................... 23
How to hide the menu ................................................................................. 23
How to simplify the menu ........................................................................... 23
Gain adjustment procedures ...................................................................................24
How to adjust the gain................................................................................. 24
How to adjust the AGC ............................................................................... 24
How to adjust the RCG ............................................................................... 24
How to adjust the TVG ............................................................................... 25
How to adjust the display gain ..................................................................... 25
Mode procedures ....................................................................................................26
How to select operational mode ................................................................... 26
How to define the function of the Mode buttons............................................ 26
How to sort the operational modes ............................................................... 27
Markers and symbols procedures ........................................................................... 27
How to add target and circle markers ........................................................... 27
How to add an own ship symbol .................................................................. 28
How to add a gear symbol ........................................................................... 28
How to investigate marker and symbol information....................................... 29
How to delete a marker or symbol................................................................ 30
Storage procedures ................................................................................................. 30
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Simrad SX90
How to store sonar images........................................................................... 30
How to recall sonar images.......................................................................... 31
How to keep sonar images........................................................................... 32
How to delete sonar images ......................................................................... 33
How to rename sonar images ....................................................................... 33
How to print sonar images........................................................................... 34
How to burn sonar images on a CD .............................................................. 34
How to copy sonar images to a USB memory stick ....................................... 35
Automatic search and tracking procedures ............................................................35
How to start the horizontal search program................................................... 36
How to start the vertical search program....................................................... 36
How to enable position track ....................................................................... 36
How to enable target track........................................................................... 37
How to add a target tracking line.................................................................. 38
User setting procedures ..........................................................................................38
How to save the current user setting ............................................................. 38
How to load a user setting ........................................................................... 38
How to rename a user setting....................................................................... 38
How to delete a user setting ......................................................................... 39
How to load the factory settings................................................................... 39
DISPLAY MODES ............................................................. 41
OPERATING PANEL ......................................................... 43
Operating panel fields.............................................................................................43
MENU DESCRIPTIONS..................................................... 45
Active menus..........................................................................................................45
Horizontal menu ......................................................................................... 45
Vertical menu ............................................................................................. 47
Vertical 180 menu....................................................................................... 48
Display menu ............................................................................................. 49
Setup menu ................................................................................................ 50
Objects menu.............................................................................................. 52
Temporary menus ...................................................................................................53
Cosmetics menu ......................................................................................... 53
Store/Recall menu....................................................................................... 53
System Test menu....................................................................................... 53
Sort Modes menu........................................................................................ 53
BASIC THEORY................................................................ 54
Settings ...................................................................................................................54
What is TVG? ............................................................................................ 54
What is AGC? ............................................................................................ 55
What is the PP Filter?.................................................................................. 55
About pulse form and length........................................................................ 55
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Operator manual
About beam widths ..................................................................................... 56
About Gain................................................................................................. 56
What is RCG? ............................................................................................ 57
About search sectors ................................................................................... 57
About tilt.................................................................................................... 57
Noise and reverberation..........................................................................................58
Cavitation................................................................................................... 59
Reverberation ............................................................................................. 59
Blocking .................................................................................................... 60
Check the noise yourself! ............................................................................ 60
Layers and deflections ............................................................................................60
Temperature and salinity layers.................................................................... 61
Deflections ................................................................................................. 61
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Simrad SX90
6307672/B

Introduction
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this manual is to give you a short introduction to
the operational use of the Simrad SX90 Fish finding sonar. It is
not possible to explain all the functionality and possibilities in
detail, it is therefore important that you familiarize yourself with
the reference manual also provided with the sonar.
Know your sonar!
Your Simrad SX90 Fish finding sonaris a large and expensive
instrument. It is still relatively easy to operate once you get to
know the menus and buttons. The sonar comprises the following
units:
• A colour display monitor
• A computer for operation (Processor Unit)
• A computer for beamforming (Beamformer Unit)
• A control panel (Operating Panel)
• A transmitter- and receiver unit (Transceiver Unit)
• A hull unit with a transducer array
In this publication we will focus on the basic use of the display
and control panel.
Click “Help”!
Installed on your SX90 sonar you will also find a comprehensive
on-line help system. You may not be able to find your language,
but everything written in the SX90 Reference manual is also
available on the sonar display. When you click the Help button
you will first see a small help text in a window below the menu.
In this window you can click Free to open the complete manual.
To close the manual, click the Free button at the lower left side of
the large window.
But remember: When you open the complete on-line help
manual, it will place itself on the top of the sonar picture!
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Simrad SX90
Important matters
As with all advanced instruments, there are a few important
matters about the SX90 that you must remember.
Before you switch on the sonar
When you power up the sonar, the transducer is lowered down
below the vessel’s hull. Make sure that you have sufficient water
depth before you do this!
Whenthesonarisnotinuse
To protect the sonar when it is not in use, we strongly advice you
to hoist the transducer, even though you may not switch off the
power. In narrow or shallow waters this is very important, since
you may - in worst case - run the transducer into the bottom.
This will damage the transducer and the transducer shaft, and
extensive repair is required.
When you dock the vessel
It is very important that the sonar system remains switched off
when the vessel is in dry dock. If the transducer is subjected
to transmit power when it is in open air, it will be damaged.
As a safeguarding measure, you can remove the power fuses
on the sonar system before the vessel is docked. As an extra
safeguarding measure, the sonar is by default powered up with
the transmit power switched off.
If something breaks down
If you think that something has been damaged on the sonar,
contact your local dealer for advice.
8307672/B

Getting started
GETTING STARTED
These sections provide the basic information required to get you
started up.
Power on/off procedures
These procedures explain how to switch the sonar system on
and off.
How to switch on the sonar
POWER
Down
1Press the Power button on the colour display monitor.
2Press the Power button on the Operating Panel, and keep it
depressed for approximately two seconds.
• The green lamp on the right side of the button will flash
to indicated that the power has been switched on, and that
the computer is starting up.
• After a few seconds the Processor Unit starts up. Once
up and running, it automatically starts the Beamformer
Unit. You can observe the progress on the TRU On/Off
dialogue boxes that appear.
• After a short period (approximately 2 minutes) you will
see the sonar picture on the display.
3Check the water depth beneath the keel is sufficient to lower
the transducer.
4Press the Down button on the control panel to lower the
transducer.
• The green lamp next to the button will flash, and an
audible signal indicates that the transducer moves
downwards.
• When the bottom position has been reached, the lamp
will be lit continuously, the audible signal stops, and
the top button in the Status parameter dialogue shows
Transducer:Down.
• By default the transmit power is disabled when the
sonar is powered up. This is for safety reasons. On the
Horizontal menu, you will see that the TX power button
flashes to remind you of this.
5Click the TX power to select Full.
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Simrad SX90
Note
If the sonar system has been disconnected from AC power, the
Processor and Beamformer Units must be started manually.
Remove the protective panels on the front panels (above the
fans), and use the on/off switch.
How to switch off the sonar
Up
POWER
1Press the Up buttonontheOperatingPanel.
• The green lamp next to the button will flash, and an
audible signal indicates that the transducer is hoisted.
• When the upper position has been reached, the lamp will
illuminate continuously, the audible signal stops, and the
upper button in the Status menu shows Transducer: UP.
2Press the Power button on the Operating Panel, and keep it
depressed for approximately two seconds.
• The sonar is switched off. Note that you must not use the
on/off switch on the Processor and Beamformer Units,
only this Power button on the Operating Panel.
3Switch off the display monitor.
If the sonar is switched off by mistake before the transducer has
be hoisted, or you have problems with the electrical power, you
can also hoist the transducer manually.
Note
If the sonar is switched off uncontrolled with the transducer in
its lowered position, the transducer must be raised manually by
means of the hoist/lower switch in the Motor Control Unit, or
with the hand crank provided.
10 307672/B

Getting started
How to perform basic operations
Observe this brief procedure to familiarize yourself with the
basic operations with echo presentations and menu operations.
Echo presentation and menu
1Once the sonar system is up and running, observe the layout
of the display presentation:
•Onther
ight side, observe the menu system (A).
•Onthel
eft side, observe the sonar echo presentation (B).
2On the Operating Panel, press the Menu button (located
above the large trackball).
3On the display, observe that the menu disappears.
4On the Operating Panel, press the Menu button one more
time, and observe that the menu reappears.
Figure 1 Basic menu (A) and echo presentation (B)
(CD015008A)
A
B
When the menu is removed the echo presentation is extended to
cover the entire display.
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Simrad SX90
Temporary menu
1On the Operating Panel, press the Menu button to remove
the menu.
2On the display, observe that the menu disappears.
3Use the trackball, and move the cursor over to the left side
of the display.
4Observe that the menu reappears on the left hand side, and
that the remaining echo presentation area is not re-scaled.
5Move the cursor towards the right side of the display again,
and observe that the temporary menu disappears.
6On the Operating Panel, press the Menu button one more
time, and observe that the menu reappears on the right hand
side.
Figure 2 Temporary menu (A) appearance
(CD015008C)
A
12 307672/B

Getting started
The menu structure
The menu on the right hand side of the sonar display contains
several different buttons, tabs and parameter dialogues.
(CD015009A)
C
D
E
F
A
B
The following elements are in use on the menu:
(A) Sonar type:Thisfield simply states the name
of the sonar.
(B) Mode: Click here to change display mode.
If you click on the middle of the button you will
open a dedicated menu for mode selection. If
you click on the right or left side of the button
you can scroll through the available modes.
(C) Tab: Click on a tab to bring forward the
menu. In this example, when you click on the
Display tab, you will open the Display menu.
(D) Menu: This is the body of the menu. Each
menu holds one or more buttons.
(E) Button: Click on a button to change the
applicable parameter. If you click on the middle
of the button you will normally open a dedicated
parameter dialogue for parameter selection. If
you click on the right or left side of the button
you can scroll through the available choices.
(F) Parameter dialogue: When you click a
button, the relevant parameter dialogue opens
at the bottom of the menu. Each parameter
dialogue holds one or more buttons or menus.
To close a parameter dialogue, click the Close
button. Most dialogues provide a Help button
for access to the on-line help. In this example
you can see the Status dilalogue, which is
replaced when a parameter dialogue is opened.
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Simrad SX90
Control the cursor
CURSOR
SONAR OPERATING PANEL
Menu Select View Object
(CD015022L)
A
B
Operate the trackball (A) on the Operating
Panel.
Observe that the cursor moves on the sonar
display, and that it changes its form depending
on its location.
Observe the location of the Select button (B).
Press this button to make a selection.
The View and Object buttons above the trackball
are used to open specific menus.
Menu buttons
Each menu contains several buttons. Each button shows both the
function and the current parameter. The majority of the buttons
in each menu field have three functions:
• You can select a lower parameter value.
• You can select a higher parameter value.
• You can open the applicable parameter dialogue.
(C )D015010A
+
-
BA C
(A) Click here to decrease
the parameter value
(B) Click here to increase
the parameter value
(C) Click here to open the
parameter dialogue.
Use the trackball on the Operating Panel, and position the
cursor over the left side of the button (A). Observe that
the shape of the cursor changes to a “minus” sign. This
means that the value of the parameter will decrease when
you press the Select button on the Operating Panel.
Position the cursor over the right side of the button (B).
Observe that the shape of the cursor changes to a “plus”
sign. This means that the value of the parameter will
increase when you press the Select button.
Position the cursor on the centre of the menu button (C).
Observe that the shape of the cursor changes to a “menu”
symbol. This means that the applicable parameter dialogue
will open when you press the Select button. The dialogue
appears in the lower part of the menu field.
14 307672/B

Getting started
Changing a parameter value
Observe this generic procedure to change a parameter value.
Once you have gained more experience, and have become more
familiar with the available options, you will select the parameters
directly from the buttons.
Figure 3 Changing a parameter value
(C )D015010B
B
C
D
A
1Move the cursor to the middle of the menu button (A).
Observe that the cursor changes its shape to a menu symbol.
2Press the Select button on the Operating Panel.
3Observe that the corresponding parameter dialogue (B)
opens at the bottom of the menu.
4Move the cursor down to the dialogue, position the cursor
over the requested parameter value (C), and press the Select
button again.
5Observe that the change you have requested takes immediate
effect on the sonar.
• This makes it easy to test the effect of each parameter
setting. Note however that transceiver related parameters
will first be operational in the next ping.
6Move the cursor down to the Close button (D), and press
the Select button again.
7Observe that the parameter dialogue closes.
Note
In this manual, the phrase “Click the button” means that you
shall position the cursor over the menu button, and then press
the Select button on the Operating Panel.
Certain parameter settings are identified with an asterisk (*). This
symbol indicates the default setting known to perform well under
normal conditions. If you get “lost“ in the parameter settings, the
307672/B 15

Simrad SX90
Default settings function will bring up these normal parameters.
The Default setting function is available on the Setup menu, and a
dedicated parameter dialogue is used.
In the Simrad SX90 sonar, all parameters are stored. This
function will cause the sonar to remember all the selected
parameter settings, even when the sonar is switched off.
16 307672/B

Getting started
Visual aids
The sonar display contains not only the sonar picture and the
menu system, but also other information that is useful for
efficient operation.
Common information on the display
In nearly all display modes, the following information is
provided.
Figure 4 Visual aids
(CD015013A)
AB CD
EF
(A) Current gain.
(B) Current range.
(C) The cursor’s current geographical position (provided that the
necessary sensor is connected to the sonar).
(D) The cursor’s current bearing relative to the vessel or true
north (provided that the necessary sensor is connected to the
sonar).
(E) Current tilt.
(F) Current range and depth to the target.
Moving the boundary lines
In most display modes with multiple views, the size of each view
can easily be modified by moving the boundary line between the
views. Observe the following procedure:
1Place the cursor on the boundary line. Observe that it
changes its shape to a double arrow (↔).
2Press and hold the Select buttonontheOperatingPanel.
3Move the cursor with the Select button depressed. Observe
that the boundary line is moved.
4Release the Select button.
5Observe that the boundary line has been relocated to the new
cursor position.
307672/B 17

Simrad SX90
Cosmetics
The choices in the Cosmetics menu allows you to enable or
disable a range of visual aids in the sonar picture.
1Click the Display tab to open the Display menu.
2Click the Cosmetics button to open the Cosmetics menu.
3Observe a range of parameters available to provide you with
additional information on the sonar picture.
Figure 5 Bearing Card (A), Wind Marker (B) and Distance
Rings (C)
(CD015013B)
N
S
WE
100
200
300
400
A
C
B
The Bearing Card (A) shows the current bearing relative to the
vessel. The markers are shown as short white lines for every 10th
degree along the outer circle of the sonar view.
The Wind Marker (B) is shown as an arrow drawn from the
Compass card pointing towards the centre of the display. If a
wind sensor is connected to the sonar, it will automatically show
the current wind direction. Otherwise, the wind direction may be
entered manually. The arrow has a fixed length, it is not scaled
according to the current wind speed.
The Distance Rings (C) are shown as dotted rings, each with a
range read-out on the left hand side of the display centre.
18 307672/B