Summary of the content on the page No. 1
500 Series™
500 Series™
Operations Manual
Operations Manual
531521-1_A
Summary of the content on the page No. 2
Thank You! Thank you for choosing Humminbird®, America's #1 name in fishfinders. Humminbird® has built its reputation by designing and manufacturing top- quality, thoroughly reliable marine equipment. Your Humminbird® is designed for trouble-free use in even the harshest marine environment. In the unlikely event that your Humminbird® does require repairs, we offer an exclusive Service Policy - free of charge during the first year after purchase, and available at a reasonable rate after the one-y
Summary of the content on the page No. 3
Table of Contents How Sonar Works 1 Single Beam Sonar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Dualbeam Sonar (565 Fishfinders only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 QuadraBeam PLUS™ Sonar (575 Fishfinders only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 What’s On the Display 5 Views 7 Sonar View 8 Understanding Sonar History . . . . . . . . . . . .
Summary of the content on the page No. 4
Table of Contents Sonar X-Press™ Menu 28 Sensitivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Upper Range (Advanced; Sonar, Split Sonar, Big Digits Views only). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Lower Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Chart Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Summary of the content on the page No. 5
Table of Contents Language (International only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Triplog Reset (with Temp/Speed only). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Restore Defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Select Views (Advanced). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Summary of the content on the page No. 6
How Sonar Works Sonar technology is based on sound waves. The 500 Series™ Fishfinder uses sonar to locate and define structure, bottom contour and composition, as well as depth directly below the transducer. Your 500 Series™ Fishfinder sends a sound wave signal and determines distance by measuring the time between the transmission of the sound wave and when the sound wave is reflected off of an object; it then uses the reflected signal to interpret location, size, and composition of an object.
Summary of the content on the page No. 7
When all the echoes are viewed side by side, an easy to interpret "graph" of the bottom, fish and structure appears. The sound pulses are transmitted at various frequencies depending on the application. Very high frequencies (455 kHz) are used for greatest definition but the operating depth is limited. High frequencies (200 kHz) are commonly used on consumer sonar and provide a good balance between depth performance and resolution. Low frequencies (83 kHz) are typically used to achieve greate
Summary of the content on the page No. 8
Single Beam Sonar Your Humminbird® 515, 525 or 535 Fishfinder uses a 200 kHz single beam sonar system with a 20° area of coverage. Depth capability is affected by such factors as boat speed, wave action, bottom hardness, water conditions and transducer installation. DualBeam Sonar (565 Fishfinders only) Your Humminbird® Fishfinder 565 uses a 200/83 kHz Dual Beam sonar system with a wide (60°) area of coverage. DualBeam sonar is optimized to show the greatest bottom definition using a narrow (2
Summary of the content on the page No. 9
QuadraBeam PLUS™ Sonar (575 Fishfinders only) Your Humminbird® 575 Fishfinder supports QuadraBeam PLUS™ sonar. QuadraBeam PLUS™ sonar provides an extremely wide 90° area of coverage. QuadraBeam PLUS™ starts with two fan-shaped 35° 455 kHz Side Structure locating sonar beams to spot fish, bait and structure to the left and right of the boat over an area of the bottom that’s always equal to twice your depth. QuadraBeam PLUS™ finds more fish faster, and can even tell you where to put your bait by s
Summary of the content on the page No. 10
What’s On the Display The 500 Series™ Fishfinder can display a variety of useful information about Depth - water depth; can be set to alarm when the water becomes too shallow. Speed - if a Temp/Speed accessory is attached, your Fishfinder can display the speed of the boat, and can keep a Triplog of nautical or statute miles traveled. Temperature - water surface temperature. Timer - elapsed time with Temp/Speed Accessory. Distance - distance traveled with Temp/Speed Accessory. Average Speed - av
Summary of the content on the page No. 11
the area under and adjacent to your boat, including the following items: 83 kHz, Wide Beam Hollow Fish Symbol (ONLY available on Dual Beam Units) Structure - where fish may be hiding. Fish - fish are displayed as arches and/or fish icons, and the unit can be set to alarm when a fish of a certain size is detected. TM When a target is detected and Fish ID+ is TM on, a Fish ID+ symbol with depth is displayed. The size of the symbol shows the intensity of the sonar return. The unit will clearly sh
Summary of the content on the page No. 12
Views The views available on your Fishfinder are: Sonar views: • Sonar View • Zoom View • 200/83 kHz Split Sonar View (575 Fishfinder only) • Big Digits View • Side Beam View (575 Fishfinder only). NOTE: When you change any menu settings that affect the sonar, the view will update immediately (i.e. you don’t have to exit the menu to apply the change to the screen). For instance, by switching between "Inverse" and "Structure ID®" from the X-Press™ Menu it is possible to quickly alternate between
Summary of the content on the page No. 13
Sonar View Sonar View presents a historical log of sonar returns. Depth is always displayed. Readouts for temperature and speed are automatically displayed if the appropriate accessory is connected. The most recent sonar returns are charted on the right side of the window; as new information is received, the older information is moved across the display to the left. A Digital Depth Readout is displayed in the upper left corner. A scale with Upper and Lower Depth Range readouts appears along th
Summary of the content on the page No. 14
Understanding Sonar History It is important to understand the significance of the display. The display does NOT show a literal 3-dimensional representation of what is under the water. Each vertical band of data received by the control head and plotted on the display represents something that was detected by a sonar return at a particular time. As both the boat and the targets (fish) may be moving, the returns are only showing a particular segment of time when objects were detected, not exactl
Summary of the content on the page No. 15
Bottom Presentation As the boat moves, the unit charts the changes in depth on the display to create a profile of the Bottom Contour. The type of bottom can be determined from the return charted on the display. A Hard Bottom such as compacted sediment or flat rock appears as a thinner line across the display. A Soft Bottom such as mud or sand appears as a thicker line across the display. Rocky Bottoms have a broken, random appearance. Bottom Contour Profile with RTS® Window. Temp/Speed Acces
Summary of the content on the page No. 16
Inverse is a method where weak returns are shown with dark pixels and strong returns with lighter pixels. This has the benefit of ensuring that weak signals will be clearly visible on the display. Structure ID® represents weak returns as light pixels and strong returns as dark pixels. This has the benefit of ensuring that strong returns will be clearly visible on the display. 11
Summary of the content on the page No. 17
WhiteLine® highlights the strongest sonar returns in white, resulting in a distinctive outline. This has the benefit of clearly defining the bottom on the display. Bottom Black displays all pixels below the bottom contour as black, regardless of signal strength. This has the benefit of providing a high contrast between the bottom and other sonar returns on the display. Any targets such as fish, structure and thermoclines will be shown using the Structure ID® method. 12
Summary of the content on the page No. 18
Sonar Zoom View Sonar Zoom View increases the displayed resolution to separate sonar returns that are very close together, such as those caused by fish suspended close to the bottom or within structure. In Zoom View, the display is split to show a narrow slice of the full range view on the right and the zoomed view on the left. The full range view on the right also contains the Zoom Preview Box that shows what part of the full range view is shown in zoom view on the left; the Zoom Preview Box tr
Summary of the content on the page No. 19
200/83 kHz Split Sonar View (575 Fishfinders only) Split Sonar View displays sonar returns from the 83 kHz wide beam on the left side of the screen and displays sonar returns from the 200 kHz narrow beam on the right side of the screen and is only available on the 575 Fishfinder. Depth is always displayed in the upper left hand corner. You can use the Split Sonar View to make side by side comparisons between the sonar returns from the 83 kHz wide beam and the 200 kHz narrow beam. The digital re
Summary of the content on the page No. 20
Big Digits View Big Digits View provides digital data in a large, easy-to-see format. Depth is always displayed. Readouts for temperature, speed and Triplog information are displayed automatically if the appropriate accessory is connected to the system. The Triplog shows distance traveled, average speed, and time elapsed since the Triplog was last reset. The digital readouts in the Big Digits View cannot be customized. Big Digits View Depth Timer shows the time elapsed since Triplog was last
