Eagle 101 Install Manual

an echo is also returned from any object between the trans- ducer and the bottom. As you move away from shore on a deep lake, the bottom signal will gradually move around the dial until it reaches zero. If the dial is calibrated to a depth of 100 feet, the water is 100 feet deep. Continue further, and the bottom signal will start around again. Add whatever figure it shows to 100 to get the correct depth. Other Eagle models have dual ranges that allow you to change to a deeper scale when you go deeper than 100 feet. SIGNAL INTERPRETATION Because your Eagle is both ex- tremely sensitive and powerful, it can give you an accurate pic- ture of the kind of bottom over which your boat is passing. A bottom of firm sand, gravel, shell, or hard clay returns a bright, fairly wide signal. If you are traveling over such a bottom and the signal weakens, it means that you have moved over a soft mud bottom. A soft bottom absorbs the sound waves and re- turns a weak signal. In this case, simply turn up the sensitivity to get a good bottom reading. A level bottom with scattered rocks returns the usual bottom signal — plus secondary signals both above and below it. This is caused by the different distances the sound waves travel. Those that go straight down, hit a rock, and come back indicate, cor- rectly, that the top of the rock is above the level of the bottom. But the sound waves that hit a rock toward the outer edge of the cone of sound waves and are re- flected back to the transducer travel further. Consequently, their signals appear below the bottom signal. A smooth bottom of solid rock returns a wide, bright signal. Broken rock of various sizes sends back an even wider one, with occasional flashes above and below the level of the true bottom, though these signa]s aren't so distinct as the ones re- turned by scattered rocks on a smooth bottom. Big rocks or stumps on a smooth bottom send back signals above the level of a smooth bottom, the distance depending on their height. If you watch as you ap- proach a post or a tree, however, you will often see the signal climb up, then descend the other side as you continue. A steep slope returns a wide sig- nal, the steeper the wider, with the signal returned from a high underwater cliii being the widest. The sure proof of a drop-off is the sudden change of the regular depth signal to a wide one, then back.to the usual width, but either more shallow or deeper as the boat moves past. Brush will return flashes of varying heights above the bot- tom signal. Weeds also tie in with the bottom, although they return weaker signals than brush or tree limbs. In most lakes, weeds don't grow in water more than 12 or 15 feet deep be- cause of the lack of sunlight. Weeds make a great many thin, pale signals on the dial. The nicest bottoms to survey with your EAGLE are those that return a clear, bright signal, with no spikes either above or below it from scattered rocks. This is the easiest bot- tom signal of all to read and fish at any depth above it show up plainly on the dial. Nothing is more gratifying than to find a big school of largemouth bass over clean gravel or wall- eyes over a smooth sandbar — places that these two popular fish like and that are easy to fish by the bottom- bumping technique. It is easy to get mul- tiple signals on the dial from bottoms of this type. If you are over water 20 feet deep, for example, and turn up the gain you'll get signals at 20 and 40 feet. 9 10 DETECTING A SMOOTH BOTTOM 0 I Gravel or Hard Ciay Ag. 14 PDF compression, OCR, web-optimization with CVISION's PdfCompressor

trol on your EAGLE might be compared to the volume on a radio. 'ibm the sensitivity knob to the right and you increase the re- ceiver sensitivity; turn it to the left and you reduce it. This feature is provided so that you can use your EAGLE over both deep and shallow water and you should always adjust the gain so that a bright bottom signal shows on the dial, re- gardless of depth. If you fail to do so and have only a faint bot- tom signal the dial will fail to show fish in the water between the transducer and the bottom. This condition is shown in the draw- ing above — the fish are there but they aren't shown on the dial because the gain is set too low. constant speed behind the dial on a disc driven by an accurately governed motor. The bulb is lighted every time the transmit- ter fires. This provides a visual reference point on the dial which is used as a starting point to measure depth, and as an indi- cator that the depth sounder is on. Even though the neon bulb flashes, it happens so. often that the human eye sees it as a nearly constant light. The bulb also flashes at the point on the dial that indicates the depth. Fhe point is indicated by the length of time it takes the sound waves to reach the bottom and return. In addition, echoes ieturned from any object in the vater between the surface and bottom fire the bulb, too. Since these echoes are also timed, they show the exact depth of any fish — or any number of fish — in the water. And because the sound Waves from the transducer go down into the water in a nar- row cone angle, they tell, within a matter of a few feet, the fish's location as well as the depth. At a depth of 10 feet, the cone covers a circle that is approxi- mately one foot in diameter; at 15 feet it is two feet wide, at 20 feet, three feet wide, the cone diameter is four feet wide. Re- gardless of depth, the cone of WEAK SIGNAL INDICATES GAIN TOO LOW Fig. 12 Fish, 17 ft. Depth, 35 ft. Fig. 15 ii S PDF compression, OCR, web-optimization with CVISION's PdfCompressor

the underwater detail as well as fish. Depths greater than 100 feet can also be measured on the Eagle. For instance, as the water depth goes from 90 feet to 110 feet, you will see the bottom signal on the dial move past the "zero" signal to the 10-foot marlc on the outer scale. Thus, on the second revo- lution, depths of 100 to 200 feet may be read by adding 100 feet to the reading on the dial. If in doubt as to depth, turn unit off until scan disc stops. Thrn unit back on and watch to see if bottom signal completes one rev- olution before stopping. If it does, you are at the depth shown plus 100 feet. If the signal travels around the dial two times, you will be at the depth shown plus 200 feet. HOW TO USE YOUR EAGLE DEPTH SOUNDER 'rhe word "Sonar" is an abbrevi- ation of Sound, Navigation, and Ranging. It was developed dur- ing World War II as a means of tracking enemy submarines. Sound travels at approximately 4,800 feet per second through water as compared to approxi- mately 1,100 feet per second through air. transmitted into the water. When this wave strikes an ob- ject, it rebounds. Since the speed of sound through water is known, the time lapse between the transmitted signal and the received echo can be measured and the distance to the object determined. The Eagle depth sounder trans- mits a high frequency sound wave (which is inaudible to fish as well as humans) through the water. At the same time, a high intensity neon bulb whirls at a Some fish, including bass, catfish, walleyes, and crappies, occa- sionally lie right on the bottom. Even here the EAGLE will show them as you pass over, provided the bottom is smooth sand, shell, or gravel. Signals will appear on the dial both above and below the clear bottom sig- nal, just the same as over a rocky bottom. The reason for this is that the signal re- turning from a fish near the center of the cone of sound doesn't travel so far as the signal that hits a fish near the outer edge of the cone. Con- sequently, the signal from the fish in the middle shows above the bottom while the signal from the fish near the edge shows below the bottom. HARD CLAY, SAND, GRAVEL, SHELL BOTTOMS PRINCIPLE OF SONAR )flfl)flflflflflflfl)flfl ((((( (((N SIGNAL SENT BY LOCATOR BOUNCES BACK 'FRoM TARGET. TIME LAPSE INDICATES DISTANCE TO TARGET Fig. 11 4. Sand bottom Fig. 16 7 12 PDF compression, OCR, web-optimization with CVISION's PdfCompressor

ing fish, with the gain adjusted properly to return a clear, bright signal from a bottom of gravel, sand, or shell, you will some- times see the signal disappear. This doesn't mean that you have suddenly come to ex- tremely deep water — the dial would have shown the drop-off with a wide band of signals in this case. Instead, your boat is now above a mud bot- tom. Mud absorbs the sound waves. Thrn up the gain. The bottom signal may be faint from a bottom of de- caying vegetation under deep water Fish will still show on the dial, however. Back over a hard bottom, you'll get multiple signals. the mounting holes at the top of the slots in the bracket. 6. Mount the assembly to the transom with two #10 screws. Align the face of the trans- ducer with the bottom of the hull with a straight edge. Tighten all screws. 7. Route the transducer cable to the depth sounder unit. Do not cut the transducer cable. If it is too long, coil and store the excess in an out-of-the- way location. 8. Make a test run to determine the results. Some boat hulls require lowering the back edge of the transducer 2° to 6°. If the run was satisfactory, drill two more holes in the bottom of the slots and install two more #10 screws. Note: The transducer must be against the transom for good results. After locking in place, fill any voids between the transom and the transducer with caulking compound, epoxy, or silicone adhesive. OPERATION SENSITIVITY AND "ON-OFF" KNOB This knob operates in a manner similar to the volume control on a radio. timing the knob clockwise will turn the unit on, and turning the knob back the full counterclockwise position will turn the unit off. timing the knob in a continued clockwise manner will increase the receiver sensitivity and weaker echos from deeper water can and will be observed on the dial. After mounting the trans- ducer, turn the unit on by turn- ing the sensitivity knob clockwise. You will see the con- stant surface signal at zero. Be- fore long, you will see another signal — at ten feet if the water is ten feet deep. This signal indi- cates the bottom. It, too, should always show. Continue turning the Sensitivity control toward the right and you will see a second bottom signal at double the depth of the first, or 20 feet. The sound waves have hit bottom, bounced back, hit the surface of the water, then bounced down and up again. Over a firm bottom you can in- crease the sensitivity until the dial shows three or four bottom signals at multiples of true depth. The sensitivity is adjustable and you should always set it to re- turn a steady bottom signal — nearly as bright as the zero sig- nal — regardless of depth. 'lUrn the knob counterclockwise when you begin to get the double bot- tom signal; clockwise when the bottom signal begins to fade. lb show fish the sensitivity control should be set to show a strong, bright bottom signal. Many fishermen prefer to run the sen- sitivity control very high with the second bottom signal show- MUD BOTTOM CAUSES THE SIGNAL TO FADE Mud and decayed vegetation FIg. 17 13 6 PDF compression, OCR, web-optimization with CVISION's PdfCompressor

epoxy to bond the transducer to the hull. Do not use silicone rubber sealer or any adhesive that does not get rock hard. Follow the instruc- tions on the epoxy package and mix it thoroughly. Apply a small amount on the entire face of the transducer and pour 1/16" thick level into the area contained by the clay dam. Place the transducer into the epoxy by pushing and turning to force all of the air bubbles out from under the transducer face. The trans- ducer face should be parallel with the boat hull, with a minimum amount of epoxy between hull and transducet Weight the transducer down until the epoxy cures. 7. Route the transducer cable along gunwales and away from power cables. TRANSOM MOUNT 1. Loosely attach the brackets to the transducer with the hardware provided. 2. Locate the bracket where the flow of water is smoothest with minimum turbulence and bubbles. Also, the bracket or transducer should not in- terfere with the boat trailer or hauling of the boat. 3. 'T'pically, the transducer should be located halfrway be- tween the center of the transom and the outside edge of the hull. (See Figure 8.) The transducer should be mounted away from stakes, ribs, or other hull fittings that can cause turbulence. 4. If the hull deadrise exceeds 4 degrees, a shoot-thru-hull mount on the centerline of the hull or an optional trans- ducer should be used. (See Figure 9.) 5. Place the bracket against the transom in the selected area with the bottom of the traps- ducer flush with the bottom of the hull. Align the transducer with the bottom of the boat hull by using a straight edge. Mark thetransom for drilling Your EAGLE trans- lates time into dis- tance — the farther the sound waves go, the longer it takes them to return to the transducer and the greater the depth shown on the dial. Nowhere is this shown more clearly than when your boat passes over a steep, rocky underwater ledge or cliff, either vertical or inclined at a steep angle. Assume the top of the cliff is 15 feet be- neath the surface of the water, and the bot- tom is 50 feet deep. Sound waves will hit rough spots on the cliff all the way down. As the result, the signals on the dial will cover an area extending from 15 to 50 feet — a condition that could easily lead to confu- sion until you under- stand it. 5 14 SIGNALS FROM STEEP, ROCKY LEDGES Fig. 9 k DEAD \ RISE 100 Fig. 18 PDF compression, OCR, web-optimization with CVISION's PdfCompressor

fiberglass and gel coat are face of the transducer and the Small minnows or bait fish appear on the jlial as thin pale lines. If they are tightly schooled they may cover a depth of from five to ten feet on the dial with a few pale lines for individual minnows at the bottom of the school. Your EAGLE will indicate even a single minnow 30 feet beneath the surface of the water. Obviously, the back of a big fish offers a larger surface to re- flect the signal than the back of a small fish. Consequently, you get a wider and brighter signal on the dial and, even though you can't tell the exact size of the fish from the signal, it does give you a good clue so that you can instantly tell big ones from little ones. 15 Fig. 19 exposed. The transducer can then be epoxied directly to this outer layer. (See Figure 5.) When epoxy is poured into the hole and the transducer placed into the epoxy, the hull is still structurally rigid and no weak points are made. 2. The chosen area should be in the aft one-third of the hull on planing boats, and forward of the engines and/or water intakes in displacement hulls. Water should flow smoothly in thjs area and it should stay in the water at all speeds. 3. Before permanently bonding the tratisducer to the hull, trial runs are recommended to find the best mounting lo- cation. Once an area has been determined to be a good spot for the transducer to be mounted, add some water to the area, and place the trans- ducer in it face down. This will eliminate air between the 4 hull. Plug the transducer into the unit and turn the depth sounder on. Operate the boat at all speeds and move the transducer until the best loca- tion is found for maximum signal reception and minimum cavitation noise (cavitation is caused by water turbulence and shows up as narrow signals all around the sonar dial.) 4. If the chosen area is void of potential problems, sand the surface of the hull and the face of the transducer with 100 grit sandpaper. The sur- face must be flat enough so that the entire transducer face is in contact with the hull prior to bonding. 5. Build a small dam out of caulking compound or model- ing clay around the chosen area of the transducer. (Do not use PLAY-DOH.) (See Figure 7.) PDF compression, OCR, web-optimization with CVISION's PdfCompressor

tended longer than 10 feet, the depth sounder and transducer will need to be returned to the factory for re-alignment. Fig. 2 XD-2 'IWo other transducers are avail- able for your EAGLE depth sounder. Model XD-2 is a high speed plastic unit that can be transom mounted or can shoot- thru-hull. It works well on deep vee hulls and aluminum boats. The other transducer (Model XD-3) is for trolling motor mounting or shoot-thru-hull. Fig, 3 XD-3 Ii A special bracket is available for the XD-2 transducer that will put it below the severe cavita- tion layer that is sometimes present on aluminum boats. The model number for this bracket is XMB-2. 1. Mounting inside the hull is recommended for fiberglass hulls in an area that does not have air bubbles in the resin or separated fiberglass layers. The sonar signal must pass through solid fiberglass. A successful transducer installa- tion can be made on hulls that have flotation materials (such as wood or foam) in be- tween layers of fiberglass if the material is removed from the chosen area. For example, some manufacturers use a layer of fiberglass, then a core of balsa wood, and then the. outer layer of fiberglass. By removing the inner layer of fiberglass and the balsa wood core, the outer layer of SIGNALS RETURNED BY A ROCKY BOTTOM Fig. 20 'Plie signals returned from a rocky bottom are quite confusing when you first see them. The EAGLE's dial will indicate the level of the bottom at the correct depth, but it will also show clear, thin signals above and below the wider main bottom signal. This is explained by the fact that the rocks near the outer edge of the cone of sound waves are farther from the transducer than those in the center, while the tops of the latter are closer than the bottom. This drawing also shows the typical sig- nals indicating a school of white bass or bluegills at a depth of twenty feet. The sig- nals are brighter than those returned by bait fish. Fig. 4 XMB-2 SILENT IDi SHOOTING THROUGH THE HULL PDF compression, OCR, web-optimization with CVISION's PdfCompressor

The signals on the dial shown here indi- cate an underwater tree with a few fish above it. The water is 50 feet deep, the tree 20 feet tall, and the fish are between ten and 13 feet deep. Limbs at various depths return indi- vidual signals and ac- count for the wide band of signals on the dial. Brush appears similar, though not so tall. Bass and panfish often hang around submerged vegetation, not only near the sur- face but down to depths of 25 or 30 feet, depending on the thermocline To detect them, anchor bow and stern so your boat can't move. Constant signals indicate tree limbs. Signals that come and go or shift up and down are fish — limbs don't move. IMPORTANT When installing the power cable, make certain that the in-line fuse supplied with the unit is at- tached to the red conductor of the power cable as close to the power source as possible. This will protect both the unit and the power cable in case either is ever shorted. A connector is supplied to attach the fuse to the power cable. The positive conductor in the power cable is the red conductor. The unit is protected from acci- dental polarity reversals and no damage will result if battery connections are wrong. However, the unit will not work. MOUNTING The depth sounder can be in- stalled in any convenient loca- tion which has a flat surface. The adjustable yoke permits mounting on either a bottom or overhead supporting surface. If the unit is to be located in the vicinity of a compass, run it in position temporarily to make sure it does not affect compass readings. If compass heading changes, choose an alternate lo- cation. Note: the unit must be running when you make this test. Holes in the base of the bracket allow wood screw or bolt mounting. Thread both knobs partially into the mounting bushings on the case. The gimbal bracket has slots in the top of it that allows the unit to "snap" in without removing the gimbal knobs. These slots will clear the threads of the gimbal knobs, but not the mounting bushing on the case. 2 The bracket sides will have to be spread slighlty to clear the gim- bal bushings, but will return to their original position when re- leased. Holes in the gimbal bracket align with the gimbal bushings on the case and will not allow the unit to come off even in severe wave conditions. Th remove the unit, simply loosen the gimbal knobs, spread the bracket sides away from the case, and pull the unit up and out of the bracket. TRANSDUCER INSTALLATION IWo different mounting methods are available to install your EAGLE transducer, either transom mount or shoot-thru- hull. Although the transom mount will work on most hulls, we recommend that the shoot- thru-hull method be used only on solid fiberglass hulls. The transducer signals will penetrate single thicknesses of fiberglass, but will not go through porous materials such as wood or foam. The signals also will not pass through air pockets or voids in the fiberglass laminations. Re- gardless of which mounting method is used, the installation should be made in an area that has minimum water turbulence, air bubbles, and where the water is the smoothest. The transducer cable should be routed away from other electri- cal wiring. Do not cut the trans- ducer cable if it is too long. In- stead, coil it and store the excess in an unobtrusive area. IIans- ducer extension cables Model TEC-lO are available that will extend the cable 10 feet. If the Fig. 21 PDF compression, OCR, web-optimization with CVISION's PdfCompressor

proof EAGLE depth sounder. We believe that it is the finest unit available today, manufactured right here in the U.S.A. to preci- sion tolerances. 'Tb fully enjoy the advantages this equipment brings to you, we suggest that you read this man- ual thoroughly before any at- tempt at installation or use of this product. Please fill out the warranty card and mail it to EAGLE ELEC- TRONICS. This will register your 1 year FULL warranty We suggest that you keep the original carton that the EAGLE was shipped in, so that if it ever needs to be returned to the fac- tory for repairs, a suitable con- tainer will be available. Power for the depth sounder is supplied by the boats 12-volt DC electrical system. Power may be picked up at an accessory or power buss, but if you have prob- lems with electrical interference, which is indicated by extraneous flashes on the dial, it can he minimized by connecting power directly to the battery (See Figure 1.) If a longer power cable is re- quired, use ordinary #18 lamp cable available at any hardware or electrical supply store. Splices should be soldered. If this can't be done, use crimp-type splices. Simple twisting of splices may result in intermittent power connections which can cause in- terference. Thpe all splices with electrical tape. FISH SIGNALS Here are some things that will help you understand the signals that are displayed on your Eagle: A big fish returns a wide signal while a small fish returns a narrow one. A school of bait fish or minnows, nearly always near the surface, returns a great many thin, rapid signals. Wide signals beneath indicate the game fish which are often pres- ent under the school of little fel- lows to feed on them. If you are cruising at three miles per hour while hunting fish with your Eagle, a single fish 30 feet deep will return a signal for ap- proximately one second. (Three miles per hour is 4.4 feet per second and the diameter of the circle covered by the transducer is approximately four feet at that depth.) The signal returned by a fish l54eet deep would last half a second, and from a fish 60 feet deep the signal would last approximately two seconds. This is a good point to remember because fish often school in a horizontal plane, sometimes rather widely scattered in that exact level, but not all vertically, and a signal that lasts longer has to be made by more than one fish. Of course, fish suspended at different levels, even if only a few inches higher or lower in the water, will return different sig- nals at the corresponding depths on the dial. Remember, many kinds of game fish like sharp drop-offs, rocky ledges, and underwater cliffs. But, as your boat moves across these spots, the Eagle will be unable to show the fish because the sloping bottom sends back such a wide signal. Many kinds of fish remain sus- pended between the water sur- face and bottom during hot weather. Crappies will usually lie at a uniform depth similar to a horizontal blanket in the water. A big school may extend 100 feet in each direction and as you pass over it you will get an almost constant signal, plus other flash- ing a few inches above and be- low A school of white bass isn't likely to cover such a big area as a school of crappie sometimes - does, especially in the summer and fall. The signals will show these fish occupying a greater spread vertically (8 to 10 feet). The larger game fish such as bass and walleye aren't likely to be so tightly grouped as white bass, crappie, or other panfish, and the individual members, being larger, return stronger signals. 1 18 INTRODUCTION POWER CONNECTIONS SPECIFICATIONS Dimensions with knobs and gimbals . TB x 8"W x 6"D Dial 0-100 feet Voltage 12 volts D.C. (operates volts) 10-15 Current Drain 250 ma., one echo Pulse Width 200-1000 j.ts, adjustable Output Power 200 watts peak to peak (typical) 25 watts RMS 4 AMP FUSE Fig. 1 To 12 Volts DC (Positive) Ground (Negative) PDF compression, OCR, web-optimization with CVISION's PdfCompressor

• SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM & PARTS LIST Should you desire a schematic and parts list for your EAGLE depth sounder, send $1.00 to the address above and it will be mailed to you promptly. Please be sure and give us the model and serial number of your EAGLE. MODEL SILENT 101 Litho in U.S.A. • A Division oL Lowrnnrn Eleclrnrircs iii Eagle Electronics will provide quick and efficient service with genuine Eagle parts should you ever require it. If you do require service, call or write us at the address below before sending in the unit. We maybe able to save you the inconvenience of sending the Unit back for repairs. If you do have to return the unit for service, please enclose a letter stating the problem that you are having with the unit. This will assist us in the testing and repair of your depth sounder. Mail to: EAGLE ELECTRONICS P.O. BOX 669 CATOOSA, OKLAHOMA 74015 If you live out of the state of Oklahoma, call 1-800-331-2301. If you live in the state of Oklahoma call collect 918-266-5373. EAGLE INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS EAGLE ELECTRONICS P0. BOX 669, CAT.OOSA, OKLA. 74015 PDF compression, OCR, web-optimization with CVISION's PdfCompressor