User manual VEXILAR FL-8 COLOR FLASHER

[. . . ] FL-8 Owner's Manual CONTENTS General Description Specifications Unit Installation Power Connection Transducer Installation Operation Typical Indications Maintenance Operational Questions & Answers Trouble Shooting Chart Transducer Beam Angle Chart Transducers Service and Support 2 3 4 4 5-8 9 - 10 10 - 14 15 16 - 20 21 22 23-25 26 Founded in 1965, Vexilar, Inc. has a long history of bringing revolutionary technology to the sport fishing industry. Just some of the Vexilar firsts include: the first liquid crystal display, the first fish alarm, the first three color display, and the first CRT and straight line paper graphs, for the sport fisherman. 1 GENERAL DESCRIPTION The FL-8 is a compact and lightweight depth sounder designed for serious anglers. Besides indicating depth, the unit also shows changes in bottom content and conditions. [. . . ] Clutter can include bait fish, plankton, floating debris, or air bubbles. Noise is, usually, electrical noise which is in the engine ignition, radios, or trolling motors. It can be displayed as red, orange, or green lights that flash as the interfering equipment is operated. 13 HIGH SPEED OPERATION The FL-8 can accurately read depths at almost any boat speed. Here high speed is defined as any speed at or above the planning speed of the boat. Once the boat starts to plane out, turbulence will develop behind the transom. If you have the wrong type of transducer, or it is poorly mounted, the unit will lose the bottom at a certain boat speed. This is due to all of the air bubbles in the turbulent water. ICE FISHING Ice fishing brings out the best in the FL-8. The stable platform of ice lets you concentrate on your bait and the fish around it. Unlike open water use, the direction in which the transducer is pointed is very critical. You want your bait to be located in the dead center of the cone sound. This way you can see very small baits at low gain settings and also see fish come in from all sides. If you are not using the Ice-Ducer system, the transducer must be attached to an adjustable arm so that it can be manually pointed directly at the bait. Sometimes it helps to attach a bubble level to the transducer so that you know when it's straight. After your system is properly set up, adjust the gain until you see your bait as a green target. If you are using a swimming bait or a lure that darts to the side as it's jigged, you will see the color change as the bait moves. Sometimes it may even disappear if the bait goes out of the cone of sound. If the fish moves closer to the bait it will change from green to orange. If it moves up, right next to the bait, it will change to red. 14 MAINTENANCE PERMANENT MOUNT With permanent mount applications, the power cord is left connected to the source, the transducer is not easily removed, and the gimbal bracket is screwed to the seat, deck, or dash. Under these conditions maintenance is very simple because nothing changes once the unit is installed. Because of this though, problems can sneak up on you if you're not careful. The unit should be removed from the bracket whenever the boat is parked to guard against theft. Connections made to battery posts need extra attention because of the battery acid. [. . . ] Open water fisherman usually can't see this because the boat moves too much. The more green and orange in the softer the bottom Why is the Bottom Indication so Wide? While fishing in a depth of 30 feet, a normal width of a bottom indication is from 5 to 12 feet wide. The width of the bottom is actually the summation of the radius of coverage on the bottom and is controlled by the gain control. The color beyond is the area, within the cone of sound, that is around the center point of the circle you are covering on the bottom. 20 Trouble Shooting Chart 21 Transducer Beam Angle Verses Diameter of Coverage 22 Transducers and Accessories TB0044 19 Degree Transom Mount High Speed Transducer. [. . . ]