Clipper ECHO SOUNDER User manual
ENTER SHALL
DEEP
ILLUM
CLIPPER DUET
CLIPPER
ECHO
SOUNDER
METRES
DEPTH
CLIPPER DEPTH
INTRODUCTION
INSTALLING THE DISPLAY
INSTALLING THE TRANSDUCER
NOTES ON ELECTRICAL INTERFERENCE
GETTING STARTED
OPERATIONAL CONTROLS
BACKLIGHT SETTING
CHANGING DEPTH ALARM SETTINGS
ACTIVATING DEPTH ALARMS
CHANGING THE GAIN DELAY SETTING
ENGINEERING MODE
SWITCHING BETWEEN FEET AND METRES
CHANGING THE KEEL OFFSET
CHANGING BETWEEN KEEL AND SURFACE OFFSET
CHANGING THE DISPLAY UPDATE RATE
DISPLAY AVERAGED READINGS
RETURNING TO NORMAL ECHOSOUNDING
REMOTE REPEATER FACILITY
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INTRODUCTION
The Clipper Echosounder is supplied complete with display unit,
transducer and alarm. It is intended for 12V ship’s supply operation
although, because of its lower power consumption, it can be run
from an external dry battery.
INSTALLING THE DISPLAY
Select a convenient position for the display on a panel or bulk-
head.
The site must be flat and the cavity behind the panel must remain
dry at all times. (The cable entry is deliberately not sealed to
ensure adequate ventilation. This prevents misting of the display).
Cut a hole in the panel 87mm wide and 67mm deep. Bring the
wiring through the hole in the panel and connect the black wire to
negative and red to positive. (See Figure 1). It is wise to use a fused
supply to provide protection should a fault occur. The current
consumption is very small, so a 1/4 Amp fuse is more than adequate.
The red wire of the alarm bleeper is also connected to the positive
supply, as shown on Figure 1. The black wire of the alarm bleeper
connects to the green wire from the display unit. The alarm bleeper
is not watertight and must be mounted in a protected position.
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ENTER SHALL
DEEP
ILLUM
NEGATIVE
SUPPLY
BLACK
GREEN
RED
BLACK
RED
ALARM
BLEEPER
Figure 1 - Echosounder and Alarm Bleeper Connections
FUSED POSITIVE
SUPPLY
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Unscrew and remove the two wing nuts from the rear of the
instrument and remove the stainless steel clamping bracket. Fit
the O-ring seal into the groove in the panel mounting face of the
instrument. Ensure that is correctly lying in its groove before
fitting the instrument to the panel, which provides the watertight
seal for the display.
Fit the instrument into the panel, fit the stainless clamp over the
studs, fit and tighten the two wing nuts finger tight only.
It is important that the O-ring rubber seal makes good contact with
the panel to prevent water getting behind the unit and entering the
cavity behind the panel.
It is good practice to run the cables vertically downwards from the
unit, even if they later have to rise to connect to the vessel’s
supplies. Doing so prevents any water that might get onto the
cables from running back along the cables and into the unit.
INSTALLING THE TRANSDUCER
The transducer can be mounted in one of three ways:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
The latter method of installation offers the advantage that the
transducer can easily be removed for examination or installation
elsewhere. It should be mentioned however, that although the
accuracy will in no way be affected by installing the transducer
inside the hull, the maximum range sensitivity may be reduced
The transducer face can be bonded directly to the inside of the
hull. (Some energy is lost to the hull but the loss in
performance is, for most G.R.P. hulls, hardly noticeable).
A through hull mount is available from your dealer.
The transducer can be positioned inside a G.R.P. Hull by
means of an In Hull Transducer Kit.
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depending on the thickness and quality of the glass fibre. The in
Hull Kit is available direct from NASA Marine or your local
chandler.
Whichever method is selected, the best location still has to be
found.
Select a position below the water level where the transducer
will point substantially vertically downwards towards the
seabed, and where the transducer and its cable (do NOT
shorten the transducer cable) will be well clear of equipment
which might be a source of interference. Such sources might
include the engine ignition and starting systems, alternators
and dynamos, electric pumps, etc. This position should also
be well clear of large masses of bubbles or cavitation near
propellers or sudden changes in hull profile which could
disrupt the signal.
To test the suitability of the location when the vessel is in the
water at a reasonable depth, press a little sticky chewing gum on
the surface of the transducer and stick it down to the inside of the
hull (it may be necessary to remove dirt and oily residue first).
The unit can then be tested over a range of speeds and depths.
If the location is satisfactory, the chewing gum must be removed
and the transducer permanently mounted using one of the
methods described previously. (Note: do NOT shorten the
transducer cable).
It is important that the face of the transducer is thoroughly bonded
down to the hull. A single air bubble will cause a considerable loss
in performance.
The transducer and the place of mounting must be kept entirely
free of any antifouling compound as this can also effect the
performance of the unit.
NOTES ON ELECTRICAL INTERFERENCE
External electrical interference is characterised by persistent,
random numbers on the display which obscure the true depth
reading on the depth sounder.
This is cause by large amplitude voltage “spikes” generally
associated with the engine’s alternator and/or ignition system which
has not been properly suppressed. These “spikes” may find their way
into the sensitive amplifier section of the depth sounder in two ways:
(a)
(b)
To reduce the possibility of induced interference from the engine’s
generator and/or ignition system, choose a position as far away
from the engine as possible and run the cable from the transducer
as far as practicable from the engine. Do NOT cut the transducer
cable, but stow excess away from any possible source of electrical
interference.
GETTING STARTED
When the Clipper Echo sounder is first turned on, it automatically
performs a number of self-test processes, and after a brief delay
switches on the backlight illumination at the factory pre-set level. It
then displays a symbol representing the keel offset (which is pre-set
in the factory to zero, as shown on Figure 2) for about one second.
Under normal circumstances, the display then almost immediately
shows the word DEPTH, and the depth below the transducer, as
shown on Figure 3. However, if the transducer has not been
connected, or no echoes are received for any other reason, the word
DEPTH is not displayed and the unit waits for another five seconds
before showing “out”. If that happens, check the connections to the
transducer, and that it has been correctly installed.
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Through the craft’s common power supply or
Through direct radiation from the source of interference.
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METRES
ENTER SHALL
DEEP
ILLUM
Figure 2 - Power-Up Display
METRES
DEPTH
ENTER SHALL
DEEP
ILLUM
VALID DEPTH READING
DEPTH IS NOT LESS THAN
SHALLOW ALARM DEPTH
DEPTH
DISPLAY IN METRES
ALARMS ARE ACTIVE
MAKE DEPTH
SHALOWER
SWITCH TO SETTING
GAIN DELAY
MAKE DEPTH
DEEPER
CHANGE BACKLIGHT
BRIGHTNESS
BACKLIGHT
BRIGHTNESS
DEPTH RATE
INDICATOR
DEPTH IS NOT MORE THAN
DEEP ALARM DEPTH
Figure 3 - Normal Operating Display
When the unit is working normally as shown on Figure 3, it
shows the word DEPTH, and the depth beneath the transducer
in feet or in metres. The display is updated about twice a
second to reduce the variability of the display when there are
bubbles, turbulence, or outboard motor noise. Any such
sources of interference can affect steady readings on the
display.
The depth rate indicators (to the right of the backlight brightness digit,
see Figure 3) are used to assist in interpretation of the bottom profile
as the vessel moves over it, or to indicate the effects of tide and swell.
The display of the depth rate is derived from averaged measurements
of depth. When the depth measurement is steady (the depth is
constant), only the middle bar is lit, as shown on Figure 3. If the depth
is increasing, the right arrow-head is lit instead. Likewise, if the depth
is decreasing (it is becoming shallower) only the left arrow-head is lit.
The depth rate indicators work on an averaging time of several
seconds, and so, when the unit is first turned on, the right arrow is
lit to indicate that the unit’s estimate of the depth is increasing from
its initial value of zero. When the average value has stabilised, the
middle bar lights instead. Whenever the rate at which the depth is
changing is less than about 60 feet per minute (20 metres per
minute), the central bar is lit. When the rate is higher either the left
or right arrow-head is lit.
The depth rate indications are the only displays which cannot be
changed by the user to match the operating requirements. The
Clipper Echo sounder has a number of facilities which can be
changed during normal operation to change the settings of the
backlighting, to alter the depth where swept gain begins, to change
the settings of the depth alarms, and to switch depth alarms on or
off. All these facilities are described below.
OPERATIONAL CONTROLS
BACKLIGHT SETTING
Backlighting is provided to allow the unit to be seen at night. The
backlight area is restricted in the top corners of the display to
concentrate the lighting in the areas of interest. The brightness of the
backlighting is adjusted by pressing the ILLUM button at any time
during normal echo-sounding operation. Each press of the button
increases the brightness by one in the range 0 to 7, shown by the
backlight indicator in the bottom left of the display (see Figure 4).
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METRES
ENTER SHALL
DEEP
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DEPTH
Figure 4 - Backlight Setting
A setting of zero switches the backlighting off, and a setting of 7 is full
on. A setting of 7 is succeeded by a setting of zero, and then on again
to 1, 2, 3, etc. In common with all the other settings in the unit, the
backlight setting is stored even when the unit is switched off, so that it
returns to the chosen setting again whenever the unit is switched on.
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