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Pub. 988-0152-021
www.lowrance.com
M56 S/Map
Fish-finding Sonar & Mapping GPS
Installation and Operation
Instructions
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Copyright © 2003 Lowrance Electronics, Inc. All rights reserved. ® Lowrance is a registered trademark of Lowrance Electronics, Inc. Marine-Tex is a trademark of Illinois Tool Works Inc. Lowrance Electronics may find it necessary to change or end our policies, regulations, and special offers at any time. We reserve the right to do so without notice. All features and specifications subject to change without notice. All screens in this manual are simulated. For free owner's manuals and other info
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Table of Contents Sec. 1: Read Me First! ....................................................................1 Capabilities and Specifications: M56.................................................. 3 How your Sonar Works....................................................................... 4 How your GPS Works......................................................................... 5 Introduction to GPS and WAAS ........................................................ 5 How to Use this Manual:
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Fish I.D. (Fish Symbols & Depths)............................................... 51 FishReveal ..................................................................................... 52 FishTrack....................................................................................... 54 Grayline ........................................................................................... 54 Overlay Data..................................................................................... 55 Ping S
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Find Distance from Point to Point................................................... 97 Icons................................................................................................... 98 Create Icon on Map ...................................................................... 98 Create Icon at Current Position................................................... 98 Delete an Icon ............................................................................... 99 Navigate to an Icon........
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Pop-Up Help.................................................................................... 123 Reset Options.................................................................................. 124 Screen Contrast and Brightness.................................................... 124 Set Language .................................................................................. 125 Set Local Time ................................................................................ 126 Show WAAS Ala
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Section 1: Read Me First! How this manual can get you out on the water, fast! Welcome to the exciting world of digital sonar and GPS! We know you're anxious to begin finding fish, but we have a favor to ask. Before you grab the unit and begin installing it, please give us a moment or two to explain how our manual can help you get the best performance from your combination fish finder and GPS receiver. First, we want to thank you for buying a Lowrance sonar/GPS unit. Whether you're a first time u
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When you come to a sonar menu command on the unit's screen, you can look it up in the manual by skimming over the table of contents or the in- dex, or just flipping through Section 3 or scanning through the sonar op- tions in Section 4. If you're having difficulty with your sonar, you can find an answer to the most common problems in Section 5, Sonar Troubleshooting. The manual switches from sonar to navigation in Section 6, which in- troduces you to Basic GPS Operations. This section features a
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Capabilities and Specifications: M56 General Display:............................ High-contrast Film SuperTwist LCD. Diago- nal viewing area: 3.5" (8.9 cm). Resolution:...................... 160 pixel x 240 pixel resolution; 38,400 total pixels. Backlighting:.................. LED backlit screen with multiple lighting lev- els; backlit keypad. Input power:................... 10 to 17 volts DC. Current drain: ............... 170 ma lights off; 240 ma lights on. Case size:.........................
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GPS Receiver/antenna:......... Internal 12 parallel channel GPS/WAAS. Position updates: .......... Every second. Position points: ............. 1,000 waypoints; 1,000 event marker icons. Man Overboard:............. MOB feature precisely marks man overboard location with special icon, then automatically displays navigation data to that position. Audible alarms: ............. Arrival/off-course/destination passed/anchor. Graphic symbols for waypoints or event marker icons: ................. 42. Ro
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The receiver amplifies this return signal, or echo, and sends it to the display, where an image of the object appears on the scrolling sonar chart. The sonar's microprocessor calculates the time lapse between the transmitted signal and echo return to determine the distance to the object. The whole process repeats itself several times each second. How Your GPS Works You'll navigate faster and easier if you understand how this unit scans the sky to tell you where you are on the earth — and, where
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tion, look over this segment describing how GPS and its new companion WAAS work together to get you where you're going. The Global Positioning System (GPS) was launched July 17, 1995 by the United States Department of Defense. It was designed as a 24- hour-a-day, 365-days-a-year, all weather global navigation system for the armed forces of the U.S. and its allies. Civilian use was also avail- able at first, but it was less accurate because the military scrambled the signal somewhat, using a proc
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Like most GPS receivers, this unit doesn’t have a compass or any other navigation aid built inside. It relies solely on the signals from the sat- ellites to calculate a position. Speed, direction of travel, and distance are all calculated from position information. Therefore, in order for the unit to determine direction of travel, you must be moving and the faster, the better. This is not to say that it won’t work at walking or trolling speeds — it will. There will simply be more "wandering" of
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menu command to use by finding the boldface command text. The fol- lowing paragraphs explain how to interpret the text formatting for those commands and other instructions: Arrow Keys The arrow keys control the movement of dotted cross-hair lines on your mapping screen called the cursor. The arrow keys also control a hori- zontal line depth cursor on the sonar screen. The arrow keys help you move around the menus so you can execute different commands. They are represented by symbols like these,
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Section 2: Installation & Accessories Preparations You can install the sonar and GPS systems in some other order if you prefer, but we recommend this installation sequence: CAUTION: You should read over this entire installation section before drill- ing any holes in your vehicle or vessel! 1. Determine the approximate location for the sonar/GPS unit, so you can plan how and where to route the power/transducer cable. This will help you make sure you have enough cable length for the desired con- f
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Remember, the transducer location and installation is the most critical part of a sonar installation. Recommended Tools and supplies If you prefer the option of routing the cable through the transom, you will need a 5/8" drill bit. NOTE: The following installation types also call for these recommended tools and required supplies that you must provide (supplies listed here are not included): Transom installation Tools include: two adjustable wrenches, drill, #29 (0.136") drill bit, flat- head scr
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boat hulls have a flat keel pad that offers a good mounting surface. On vee hulls, try to place the transducer where the deadrise is 10° or less. Deadrise less than 10° Strakes Pad Left, vee pad hull; right, vee hull. A pod style transducer is shown here, but the principle is the same for Skimmers inside a hull. 4. If the transducer is mounted on the transom, make sure it doesn't interfere with the trailer or hauling of the boat. Also, don't mount it closer than approximately one foot from t
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Transom Transducer centerline Hull bottom Align transducer centerline with hull bottom. However, there are times when you may need to adjust the transducer slightly higher or lower. (The slots in the mounting brackets allow you to loosen the screws and slide the transducer up or down.) If you fre- quently lose bottom signal lock while running at high speed, the trans- ducer may be coming out of the water as you cross waves or wakes. Move the transducer a little lower to help prevent this. If you
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Second, the transducer angle cannot be adjusted for the best fish arches on your sonar display. (This is not an issue for flasher-style sonars.) Lack of angle adjustment can be particularly troublesome on hulls that sit with the bow high when at rest or at slow trolling speeds. Third, a transducer CAN NOT shoot through wood and metal hulls. Those hulls require either a transom mount or a thru-hull installation. Fourth, if your Skimmer transducer has a built in temp sensor, it will only show the
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Reassemble the transducer and bracket and place them against the transom. Again, check to see if you can move the transducer so it's parallel with the ground. If you can, then go to step 3. If it doesn't, repeat step 2, but use a different alignment letter until you can place the transducer on the transom correctly. Ratchets Insert bolt and check transducer position on transom. 3. Assembling the transducer. Once you determine the correct posi- tion for the ratchets, assemble the transducer as s
