Lowrance electronic X-55 User's Manual
Contents
1. DISPLAY ZONE BAR When the zone alarm is on the zone bar doesn t normally show on the screen To turn the zone bar on continuously first press the MENU key until the 3rd menu page appears Now pressthe key nextto the DISPLAY ZONE label To turn the zone bar off press the MENU key until the third menu page appears then press the key adjacent to the REMOVE ZONE BAR label Note Tuming the zone bar on also turns the zone alarm on DIGITAL SONAR When the X 55 is turned on for the first time the digital depth display is located at the top left corner of the screen This display comes from a separate digital sonar built into the unit It displays only the bottom depth If it loses the bottom the last known depth will flash on the display When the digital finds the bottom it will automatically display the bottom depth again The digital sonar can be turned off however this also turns all automatic features off also such as auto sensitivity auto ranging and the Fish feature To turn the digital sonar off press the Menu key three times Now press the key adjacent to the TURN DIGITAL SONAR OFF label To turn it back on again repeat the same steps MENU PAGE 4 FASTRAK This feature converts all ech oes to short horizontal lines on the display s far right side The graph continues to operate normally FASTRAK gives you a rapid update of conditions directly under the boat This makes it use2. a DEFTH 51 1 FT TEMP GROUP WINDOWS SUMMARY All ofthe window groups used by the X 55 are shown on the following pages To view these groups simply press the WINDOWS key then repeated press the down arrow key This will cycle the unit through all groups Remember each group can be customized how ever the group will revert to the ones shown on these pages when the unit Is turned off wal wy INTRODUCTION The X 55 is a high quality wide screen sonar with performance that is second to none in its class Using menufeatures and soft key operation the X 55 is also one of the easiest to use sonars that Lowrance has ever built The wide Clearvision screen shows the underwater world with high resolution and detail The display and keyboard are also lighted for night operation The X 55 also has digital depth boat speed surface water temperature and distance travelled log displays In order to use the digital speed temperature and log displays you must purchase and install an optional ST T transom mount or ST H through hull mount speed temperature sensor Read this manual and take It with you the first few times you use your unit makes a great reference if you need it MOUNTING Install the X 55 in any convenient location provided there is clearance behind the unit when it is tilted for the best viewing angle Hole
3. automatic feature on If you turn automatic off when the Fish feature is on the Fish feature will be turned off also DISPLAY CONTRAST The unit s display contrastis adjustable to suit different lighting conditions To adjust first press the menu key The first menu page appears Now press the key next to the ADJUST DISPLAY CONTRAST label A screen similar to the one below appears Now press the key adjacent to the left arrow to decrease the contrast Press the key adjacent to the right arrow to increase it The per centage of contrast in use changes as the arrow keys pressed The bar chart also gives a graphical indication of the contrast level You can see the change on the screen as you press the keys Afteryou ve made the adjustment press the CLEAR key to erase the menu DISPLAY ALIT DRE F f USE NUMERI CHANGE VALUE USE RIGHT ARROW TO BACKSPACE After you ve entered the de sired alarm depth press the key next to the ACCEPT la bel This enters the alarm depth into memory and automatically turnsthe shallow alarmon Now press the key next to the AC CEPT label The screen shown at right ap SHALLOW pears next The shallow alarm BES is now set If the bottom goes shallower than 10 feet the alarm will sound anda warning message appears the screen at the same time A label also appears letting you mute the alarm if desired To return to the sona
4. displayed on the X 55 may not arch at all This is due to the narrow cone diameter and the resolution limitations of the display 27 MENU PAGE 5 ADJUST CHART ADJUST CHART SURFACE 3 SURFACE CLARITY CLARITY OFF MED HIGH CHART NOISE REJECTION HIGH The markings extending down ward from the zero line on the chart are called surface clut ter These markings are caused by wave action boat wakes temperature inversion and other natural causes The Surface Clarity Control SCC reduces or eliminates surface clutter signals from the display SCC varies the sensitivity of the receiver decreasing it near the surface and gradually increasing it as the depth increases The maximum depth that SCC will affect is 75 of the selected depth range For example on a 0 60 foot range with maximum SCC surface clutter will be reduced down to 45 feet There are three levels of SCC available on the X 55 low medium and high When it s turned on for the first time the SCC level is low To change it press the MENU key five times then press the key adjacent to the ADJUST CHART SURFACE CLARITY label until the black box is on the desired SCC level Press the key next to the EXIT label when you re finished ASP Advanced Signal Processing The ASP feature is a noise rejection system built into the X 55 that constantly evaluates the effects of boat speed water conditions and interference This automatic feature gi
5. menu key three times Now press the key adja cent to the TURN CHART CURSOR OFF label The X 55 returns to the sonar screen without the chart cursor DISPLAY ZOOM BAR When the unit is inthe zoom mode the zoom bar doesn t normally show on the screen The zoom bar shows the section of water on the right side of the screen that the zoom feature displays on the left side To turn the zoom bar on con tinuously first press the MENU key until the 3rd menu page appears Now press the key next to the DISPLAY ZOOM label ite as To turn the zoom bar off press the MENU key until the third TURN DIGITAL BOX OFF The digital box is displayed in the upperleft corner of the full sonar screen It has the digital depth and automatic manual indicators To turn this box off press the MENU key twice then press the key adjacent to the TURN DIGITAL BOX label Repeat the above steps to turn the box on CONSTRUCT DIGITAL BOX The X 55 can display the depth speed surface water temperature and distance log in the upper left portion of the screen When the X 55 is first turned on only the depth is displayed You can turn each digital display on as desired or turn all of them off as desired To select the digital displays menu first press the menu key three times Next press the key adjacent to the CONSTRUCT DIGITAL menu A screen appears that is similar to the one below Now press
6. most functions CLEAR This key clears menus and erases entries from the screen ALARM Press this key to activate any of the sonar alarms STOP When this key is pressed the chart stops scrolling This doesn t affect the digital display however ARROW KEYS These keys are used to make menu selections and to move objects on the screen ON The ON key turns the X 55 on OFF Press and HOLD the Off key to turn the X 55 off DISPLAY General The lights are turned on for approximately ten seconds when the X 55 is first turned on Menus appear at the same time To keep the lights on press the key adjacent to the Light label It controls the backlighting used on the display and keyboard If you don t want the lights on wait ten seconds and the lights will automatically turn themselves off The menus will also disappear after ten seconds or you can turn them off by pressing the CLEAR key at the bottom of the screen The Metric label at the top of the screen works the same way Press the key adjacent to the Metric label to change the depth from feet to meters This also changes the temperature display to degrees Celsius speed to knots and log to kilometers on the X 55 The Display menu at the bottom of the screen lets you adjust the display s contrast for the best viewing angle Pressing the left arrow key decreases the contrast the right arrow increases it After setting the contrast for the best viewing angle
7. narrow cone diameter and the resolution limitations of the display FISH ARCHES Fish arches are created when the cone of sound passes over a fish The distance to a fish when the cone first strikes it is shown as A on the next page When the center of the cone strikes the fish the distance is shorter as shown As the cone leaves the fish the distance increases again as shown in Very small fish probably will not arch at all Medium sized fish will show a partial arch or a shape similar to an arch if they re in deep water Large fish will arch but turn the sensitivity up in deeper water to see the arch Because of waterconditions such as heavy surface clutter thermoclines etc the sensitivity sometimes cannot be increased enough to get fish arches One of the best ways to get fish arches is to expand or zoom a segment Now press the down arrow key until the screen shown at right appears These are the side scan win dows Both windows show the digital depth display from the transducer pointed at the bot tom Not the side scan trans ducer The window on the left shows a Fish ID symbol when the unit identifies a target as a fish When this happens the digital depth display at the bottom of the window changes from DEPTH to FISH and shows the distance from the side scan transducer to the target shown as a fish symbol The window on the right shows all return echoes These echo
8. press the CLEAR key to erase the menu or wait approximately ten seconds will automatically erase Seethe Display Contrast section for more information on this feature When the 55 is first turned on the display will appear simi larto the one at left The word AUTO in the upper left cor ner of the display indicates the automatic feature is on The digital bottom depth is also displayed in this box IMPORTANT SERVICE INFORMATION If your unit is not working or if you need technical help please use the following troubleshooting section before contacting the factory customer service department It may save you the trouble of returning your unit Unit won t turn on 1 Check the power cable s connection at the unit Also check the wiring 2 Make certain the power cable is wired properly The red wire connects to the positive battery terminal black to negative or ground 3 Check the fuse 4 Measure the battery voltage at the unit s power connector It should be at least 11 volts If it isn t the wiring to the unit is defective the battery terminals or wiring on the terminals are corroded or the battery needs charging Unit freezes locks up or operates erratically 1 Electrical noise from the boat s motor trolling motor or an accessory may be interfering with the sonar unit Re routing the power and trans ducer cables away from other electrical wiring on the boat may help Route the s
9. press the key next to the Shal low label To adjust the deep alarm press the key nexttothe Deep label Both alarms ad just identically We ll use the shallow alarm as an example Pressing the key next to the Shallow label moves the black box from the OFF postion to the number on the right side of the arrow Anew label appears at the bottom of the screen CHANGE LIMIT Press the key next to that label A new screen appears as shown at the top of the next page Use the numbered keypad on the right side of the unit to enter the shallow alarm setting We used 10 feet in this example 16 MENU PAGE 2 ADJUST BACK LIGHT LEVEL The X 55 has internal lights for the display and keyboard To SPEAKER VOLUME LOW hte adjust the intensity of the light ing press the MENU key twice TURN DIGITAL BOX OFF then press the key adjacent to the ADJUST BACK LIGHT LEVEL label The screen shown below appears Now press the left arrow key to de crease the light level Press the right arrow key to increase it The percentage of back light in use changes as the arrow keys are pressed The bar chart also gives a graphical indication of the level After you ve made the adjustment press the CLEAR key to erase the menu BACK LIGHT ON OFF To turn the back lighting on press the menu key twice then press the key adjacent to the BACK LIGHT label This moves the black box from OFF to the ON position To tu
10. sonar to automatically increase its Discrimination or noise rejection feature This cause the unitto eliminate weaker signals such as fish or even structure from the display Try using resistor spark plugs or routing the sonar unit s power and transducer cables away from other electrical wiring on the boat No fish arches when the Fish ID feature is off 1 Make certain transducer is pointing straight down This is the most common problem if a partia arch is displayed See the Fish Arch section in your owner s manual for more information 2 The sensitivity may not be high enough In order for the unit to display afish arch it has to be able to receive the fish s echo from the time it enters the cone until it leaves If the sensitivity is not high enough the unit displays the fish only when it is in the center of the cone 3 Use the Zoom feature It is much easier to display fish arches when zoomed in on a small range of water than a large one For example you will have much better luck seeing fish arches with a 30 to 60 foot range than a 0 to 60 foot range This enlarges the targets allowing the display to show much more detail 4 The boat must be moving at a slow trolling speed to see fish arches If the boat is motionless fish stay in the cone showing on the display as straight horizontal lines B TRANSDUCER CONNECTIONS See the transducer owners manual included with the unit for complete transducer installation inst
11. the menu key to selectthe next menu Ifyou ever get lostina menu simply press the CLEAR key HELP An extremely useful feature incorporated into the X 55 series is the Help menus Virtually every feature has a help menu labe that when pressed gives one or more pages of text describing how to use that feature For example pressing the AUTO key brings up a menu letting you switch the unit into or out of the automatic mode A help label also appears on the screen Pressing the key adjacent to the help label gives you a description of how automatic works and how it affects different functions WINDOWS You can change the displays on the X 55by using the windows feature This lets you customize displays to your own fishing or boating situations This feature also gives you 15 window display screens on the X 55 The screens available in the windows mode are divided into two or more windows per screen Each screen of windows is called a group Group A as shown at right has the digital displays in one window and the sonarchart in the other a To use the windows feature first press the WINDOWS key A screen similar to the one shown at left appears The menu at the bottom of the screen lets you switch between the pages of displays These are lettered A through O Group A shows first Press the down arrow key to move GROUP A forward through the screens Press the up arrow key
12. DUCER CONE ANGLES The sound waves from the transducer spread out into the water cone shaped beam This looks much like the beam from a flashlight The angle between the outside edges of the cone is the cone angle Lowrance offers a choice of transducers with either an 8 or 20 degree cone angle The transducer supplied with the X 55 has 20 degree cone angle Typically wide cone angle transducers 20 degrees are ideal for operat ing in shallow to medium water depths 20 degree cone angle allows you to see more of the underwater world In 15 feet of water the 20 degree cone covers an area about six feet across The 8 degree transducer covers only about a two foot circle The 20 degree transducer is almost always the bestto use in fresh water the 8 degree mostly in salt water In a deep water environment 300 feet fresh water 100 feet salt water the narrow cone angle is more desirable Since the sound energy is concentrated ina smaller area itcan penetrate to much deeper depths Both 8 degree and 20 degree transducers give accurate bottom readings even though the bottom signal is much wider on the 20 degree model This is because you are seeing more of the bottom Remember the shallow edge of the signal shows you the true depth The rest of the signal tells you whether you are over rocks mud etc if the cone passes over a fish in shallow water the signal displayed on the X 55 may not arch at all This is due to the
13. LITHO IN U S A 988 0136 07 LOWRANCE X 55 INSTALLATION AND OPERATION INSTRUCTIONS OWRANCE ELECTRONICS INC 12000 E SKELLY DR TULSA OK 74128 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION MOUNTING CONNECTIONS TRANSDUCER KEYBOARD BASICS DISPLAY VIEWING WINDOWS OPTIONS MODIFYING GROUPS RESETTING ALL GROUPS SIDE SCAN OPERATION SONAR OPERATION AUTOMATIC SENSITIVITY RANGE Upper and Lower Limits ZOOM Automatic Operation ZOOM Manual Operation sawia 2 EREE ETENEE E E N AEA 14 ALARM EE EE E PAE L EE E EEA EENE suse 14 ZONEALARM abba ced aA E en 15 DEPTH ALARMS 16 ALARM MUTE ern 18 CHART SPEED EE ESE 18 CRAY INEO an coved 18 ss 19 DISPLAY CONTRAST 20 MENU PAGE 2 vee 21 ADJUST BACK LIGHT LEVEL cesssssescccessesscecersesanssssssensansassseseraaesesesseserssersecensecavsatate
14. RN FASTRAK OFF label appears instead of the TURN FASTRAK ON label SELECT UNITS OF MEASURE The X 55 can display the water depth in feet fathoms or meters surface water temperature in degrees Fahrenheit or Celsius speed in statute miles per hour kilometers per hour or knots and distance log in miles kilometers or nautical miles To change the units of measure press the key adjacent to the SELECT UNITS OF MEASURE label The screen shown below appears The black box on each line shows the unit of measure currently in use In the screen shown below the units of measure are in feet for the depth temperature in degrees Fahrenheit and both speed and log are in statute miles per hour Press the key adjacent to the f DEPTH fae unit that you wish to change For example press the key next Tiam e to the DEPTH label two times to switch from feetto meters This moves the black box two times from the FT to the When you have the units of measure set as desired press the key next to the EXIT label CLEAR DISTANCE LOG The X 55 starts counting distance as soon as the X 55 is tumed on To reset the distance log to zero press the MENU key until the CLEAR DISTANCE LOG label appears then press the key adjacentto that label oF menu page appears then press the key adjacent to the REMOVE ZOOM BAR label Note Turning the zoom bar on also turns the zoom feature on
15. TO UPPER la bel Now use the arrow keys to move the top of the bar higher or lower When you have the zone alarm bar set as desired pressthe CLR key to erase the menus The above steps automatically turn the zone alarm on ifit was off To turn the zone alarm off press the ALARM key then press the key next to the Zone Alarm Off label at the bottom of the screen Normally the zone alarm bar disappears from the screen after you make adjustments To leave the zone alarm bar on the screen all of the time see the Display Zone Alarm Bar section in this manual for instructions DEPTH ALARMS The depth alarms sound atone when the bottom signal goes shallower than the shallow alarm s setting or deeperthan the deep alarm s setting For example if yousetthe shallow alarm to ten feet the alarm will sound a tone if the bottom sig nal is less than ten feet It will continue to sound until you mute it or until the bottom goes deeper than 10 feet The deep alarm works just the opposite It sounds a warning tone ifthe bottom depth goes deeper than the alarm s setting Both depth alarms work only off the digital bottom depth signals No other targets will trip these alarms These alarms can be used at the same time or by themselves To set the depth alarms first press the ALARM key then press the key next to the SET DEPTH ALARMS label The screen at the top of this page appears To adjust the shallow alarm
16. ch function perfectly in shallow water or when the boatis at rest In nearly all cases the cause of the malfunction will be the location and or angle of the transducer The face of the transducer must be placed ina location that has a smooth flow of water at all boat speeds Read your transducer owner s manual for the best mounting position 3 The water may be deeper than the sonar s ability to find the bottom lf the sonar can t find the bottom signal while it s in the automatic mode the digital will flash continuously It may change the range to limits far greater than the water you are in If this happens place the unit in the manual mode then change the range to a realistic one for example 0 100 feet and increase the sensitivity As you move into shallower water a bottom signal should appear 4 Check the battery voltage If the voltage drops the unit s transmitter power also drops reducing its ability to find the bottom or targets Bottom echo disappears at high speeds or erratic digital reading or weak bottom echo while boat is moving 1 The transducer may be in turbulent water It must be mounted in a smooth flow of water in order for the sonar to work at all boat speeds Air bubbles in the water disrupt the sonar signals interfering with its ability to find the bottom or other targets The technical term for this is Cavitation 2 Electrical noise from the boat s motor can interfere with the sonar This causes the
17. die out when stocked in lakes that remain too cold during the summer While some fish have a wider temperature tolerance than others each has a certain range within which it tries to stay Schooling fish suspended over deep water lie at the level that provides this temperature We assume they are the most comfortable here The temperature of water in the lake is seldom constant from top to bottom Layers of different temperatures form and the junction ofa warm and cool layer of water is called a thermocline The depth and thickness of the thermocline can vary with the season or time of day In deep lakes there may be two or more atdifferent depths Thermoclines are important to fishermen because they are areas where fish are active Many times bait fish will be above the thermocline while larger game fish will suspend in or just below it The X 55 can detect this invisible layer in the water but the sensitivity will probably have to be turned up to see it VIEWING WINDOWS OPTIONS To see all of the available win dow options press the WIN DOWS key then press the MENU key Now press the key adjacent to the MAIN MENU label Finally press the key next to the VIEW ALL WIN DOWS label The screen at right appears 28 2 Digital Depth _ WATER DEPTH DISPLAY DEPTH ALARMS AND UNITS OF MEASURE ARE SET IN MENU The first window appears in the upper right corner of the screen A descrip
18. ease the range The available ranges are 0 5 10 20 30 40 60 100 150 200 300 500 800 and 1000 feet After the desired range is displayed press the CLEAR key to erase the range menu PA NOTE The depth capability of the X 55 depends on the transducer installation water and bottom conditions and other factors RANGE Upper and Lower Limits The 55 lets you change the upper and lower range limits when it s in the manual mode This lets ye on segments of the water as small as 5 feet In other word etthe upper limitto 30 feet and the lower limitto 35 feet regardle om depth This in essence gives you a5 foot zoom Youc 4 segment of the water as long as the distance between themwe 1694 lower limit is 5 feet 2 meters 1 fathom or more Using the zoom feature described in the next section lets you view a segment of the water on the screen s right side for example from 20 to 30 feet and a zoom of that segment on the left To change the upper or lower limit first make certain the unit is in the manual mode 1 Next press the RANGE key The menu shown on the previous page appears Now press the key next to the CHANGE UPPER LIMIT label to change the upperlimit or CHANGE LOWER LIMIT label to change the lower limit We re changingthe upper limit in this example Af ter pressing the key next to the CHANGE UPPER LIMIT la bel the screen shown at right appears TD ESPACE Usi
19. es appear as short horizontal lines The thickerthe line the stronger the return echo The distance to these targets can be determined by comparing the position of the echo to the range markers on the side of the display To change the range press the RANGE key A new menu appears at the bottom of the display Use the up or down arrow keys to change the range ofthe side scan mode from ten to sixty feet Either wait a few seconds after you ve changed the range and the menus will automatically disappear or press the CLEAR key to erase the menus SONAR OPERATION AUTOMATIC When the X 55 is first turned on the Automatic feature is enabled This is indicated by the word AUTO at the top of the screen The Automatic feature adjusts the sensitivity and range so the bottom signal is displayed in the lower half ofthe screen at all times Toturn Automatic off first press the AUTO key A menu ap pears at the bottom of the screen above the left and right arrows Press the left arrow key to switch to the manual mode The letters Man ap pear the upper left corner of the display indicating the unit AUTO _ is inthe manual mode To tum Automatic on press the AUTO key again then press the right arrow key SENSITIVITY The sensitivity key on the X 55 controls the ability of the unit to pick up echoes A low sensitivity level excludes much of the bottom information fish signals and other target information Hig
20. fish Keep a few marker buoys in the boat ready to toss overboard When the X 55 indicates a school of fish throw the buoy out With the school thus marked you can make your turn and come back to fish in exactly the right spot This is essential when you re far from shore on a big lake Unless you mark the school of fish when you re over it you may not be able to find it again BAIT FISH The importance of bait fish to successful fishing can t be over empha sized They are the principle food of all game fish in most waters Bait fish are the plankton feeding forage fish such as minnows and shad Bait fish can also be the young of game fish such as crappies bluegill and bass Most bait fish concentrate within five feet of the surface where sunlight promotes the growth of the plankton on which they feed One method of fishing is to use the X 55 to find the bait fish first With the Fish ID feature off a school of bait fish will look like a cloud on the display Usually game fish will be nearby often directly beneath the schoo of bait fish 32 MENUS The X 55 uses menus sively to guide you through the functions and features of eer GRAYLINE ot the unit The menu key ac cesses many of these fea tures allowing you to custom ize the unit to your particular needs and water conditions Although you may have to leave one menu and enter an otherto reach the desired func tion allyou have to dois press
21. ful for ice fishing or when you re fishing at an Pressing the key adjacent to the 2X 4X label enlarges ech oes from two times to four times their normal size To switch between the split screen zoom and full screen zoom press the key adjacent tothe SPLIT FULL label The screen instantly splits into two sections as shown at left All targets on the left are shown at four times the size of the ones on the right If you Switch to the 2X zoom mode echoes on the left side of the screen are shown at twice the size as the ones onthe right The echoes that scroll across the screen are the exact same echoes on both sides ofthe screen They re simply enlarged on the left side This feature tracks the bottom keeping it on the display at all times when the automatic feature is on Once you ve set the zoom as desired press the CLEAR key to erase the menus ZOOM MANUAL MODE When you press the zoom key while the unit is in the manual mode the screen shown below appears All of the menus on this screen work identically as described above However one additional menu item is shown when the unit is in the manual mode ADJUST To adjust the zoom press the key adjacent to the ADJUST label A screen similar to the one below appears A zoom bar and adjust arrows appear on the screen The echoes on the left side of the screen are the ones that appear between the top and the bottom of the zoom bar Press the up or dow
22. h sensitivity levels enables you to see this detail but it can also clutterthe screen with many undesired signals Typically the best sensitivity ievel shows a good solid bottom signal with Grayline and some surface clutter When the 55 is in the Automatic mode the sensitivity is automatically adjusted to keep a solid bottom signal displayed plus a little more This gives it the capability to show fish and other detail However situations occur where it becomes necessary to increase or decrease the sensitivity This typically happens when you wish to see more detail so an increase in sensitivity is indicated The procedure to adjust it is the same whether the unit is in the automatic or manual mode To adjust the sensitivity press the SENS key The sensitivity adjust menu appears at the bottom of the screen The sensitivity menu has left and right arrows plus a zontal bar graph The graph gives a visual indication of the sensitivity level The number above the INC arrow also shows the percentage of sen sitivity in use To increase thesensitivity level press the right arrow key As you press the key the menu s bar graph will grow wider and the percentage will increase in value You can also see the difference on the chart record as it scrolls When the sensitivity is at the desired level release the key To decrease the sensitivity level press the key adjacent to the left arrow The bar graph and percentage wil
23. ience where and at what depth they can expect to find the fish they want at any season And they realize that these productive areas change throughout the year depending on water level temperature food and other factors of the water For example from 45 to 60 feet The smaller the segment the better the screen resolution will be The easiest way to do this on the X 55 is with the Zoom feature This feature expands the echoes making it easier to see detail For the best results turn the sensitivity up as high as possible without getting too much noise on the screen In medium to deep water this method should work to display fish arches If you see fish signals when the unit is the manual mode but don t get fish symbols when the Fish D feature is on try increasing the sensitivity WATER TEMPERATURE AND THERMOCLINES Water temperature has an important if not controlling influence upon the activities of all fish Fish are cold blooded and their bodies are always the temperature of the surrounding water During the winter colder water slows down their metabolism At this time they need about a fourth as much food as they consume in the summer Mostfish don t spawn unless the water temperature is within rather narrow limits A surface temperature meter helps identify the desired surface water spawning temperatures for various species Trout can t survive in streams that get too warm Bass and other fish eventually
24. l decrease Whenthe sensitivity is at the desired level release the key When you reach either the maximum or minimum limit a tone sounds 10 However there are times when you may want to tum the ASP feature off This allows you to view all incoming echoes before they are processed by the ASP feature To change the ASP level press the MENU key five times Then press the key next to the ADJUST LEVEL OF CHART ASP label until the desired level is obtained SIGNAL INTERPRETATION Your X 55 gives an accurate picture of the bottom that your boat is passing A bottom of firm sand gravel shell or hard clay returns a fairly wide signal ifthe automatic mode is off andthe signal narrows down then itmeans that you have moved overa mud bottom Mud absorbs the sound wave and returns a weak signal Tum up the sensitivity to see a better bottom signal Big rocks or stumps on a smooth bottom send back signals above the bottom level signal The height of the signal depends on the target s height As you pass over a post it should be clearly visible as a short line extending above the bottom signal A steep slope retums a wide signal the steeper the wider Signals returned from a high underwater cliff are usually the widest of all When the Fish D mode is off the depth of the water will affect the size and shape of the fish arch due to the cone angle diameter For example if the cone passes over a fish in shallow water the signal
25. n arrow keys to ove the zoom bar up or down As you adjust the zoom bar the echoes move on the left side of the screen at the same time The zoom adjust menus will automatically clear a few seconds after you ve pressed the last key Remember the X 55 won ttrack the bottom when it s the manual mode SONAR ALARMS The X 55 has three different types of sonar alarms The first is the Fish Alarm It sounds when the Fish I D feature determines an echo or group of echoes is a fish Another alarm is the Zone Alarm which consists of a bar Any echo that appears inside this bar triggers the alarm The last alarm is called the Depth Alarm Only the bottom signal will trigger this alarm This is useful as an anchor watch a shallow water alert or for navigation See the GPS section for information on GPS alarms To adjust an alarm first press the ALARM key The screen shown below appears Press the key next to the SET DEPTH OR GPS ALARMS to adjust the shallow or deep digital alarms When you press the key next to the SET DEPTH OR GPS ALARMS the menu shown at the top of the next page appears The zone alarm has its own menu which 7 is shown described inthe DEPTH ALARMS zone alarm section Once you seethis screen pressthe down arrow key until the black box is on the desired alarm In this example the shallow alarm is selected Now press the key next to the CHANGE VALUE label Use the numbered keys t
26. ng the numbered keys en ter a number for the upper limit we entered 40 giving a 20 foot ee te zoom When you ve entered the desired upper limit press the up arrow key at the bottom of the screen The unit returns to the sonar screen with the new upper limit Change the lower limit the same way Using the upper and lower limits in this manner lets you expand a segment of water quickly and easily ZOOM Enlarging or zooming the picture is a common method used to show small detail and fish signals The X 55 gives you two different zoom sizes plus a split screen zoom option The zoom operation and adjustment is different in the automatic and manual modes ZOOM AUTOMATIC MODE To zoom the display in the automatic mode firstpress the ZOOM key All targets on the display are enlarged four times normal size automatically The menus shown at right also ap pear Turn the zoom feature on or off by pressing the key adja cent to the OFF ON label SSM EPE TE 12 chor Since the unit is not mov ing fish signals are long drawn out lines on a normal chart display FASTRAK converts the graph toa vertical bar graph that with practice makes a useful addition to fishing at a stationary location To turn FASTRAK on press the menu key four times then press the key adjacent to the TURN FASTRAK ON label To turn it off repeat the same steps The TU
27. ns 21 BACKLIGHT ON OFF iR eio yian 21 SPEAKER VOLUME E 21 TURN DIGITAL BOX 22 00 CONSTRUCT DIGITAL 22 MENU PAGE wee 23 CHART CURSOR 23 DISPLAY ZOOM BAR wee 23 DISPLAY ZONE BAR 24 DIGITAL SONAR 24 MENU PAGE 4 24 FASTRAK 24 SELECT UNITS OF MEASURE neson oinas 25 CLEAR DISTANCE LOG 25 MENU PAGE S 2 26 ADJUST CHART SURFACE 26 ADVANCED SIGNAL PROCESSING ASP wen 26 SIGNAL INTERPRETATION weer OF TRANSDUCERS AND CONE ANGLES 28 FISH ARCHES lt 0 coscsssccsssiecessaicsocssse iovsasesuccevacecsauen we 28 WATER TEMPERATURE AND THERMOCLINES ce 30 SURVEYING 81 BAIT FISH 0 82 SONAR TROUBLESHOOTING uu ceccsssssessesessessececessoeusssssucasncasneecenssavacavsneesssesseusecaneessesseseseceens 33 Copyright 1992 Lowrance Electronics All rights reserved All features and specifications subject to change without notice All screens in this manual are simulated GROUP N
28. nu To stop the chart press the STOP key in the unit s lower left corner To start the chart press the STOP key again GRAYLINE GRAYLINE lets you distinguish between strong and weak echoes It paints gray on targets that are stronger than a preset value This allows you to tell the difference between a hard and soft bottom For example a soft muddy or weedy bottom returns a weaker signal which is shown with a narrow or no gray line A hard bottom returns a strong signal which causes a wide gray line If you have two signals of equal size one with gray and the other without then the target with gray is the stronger signal This helps distinguish weeds from trees on the bottom or fish from structure GRAYLINE is adjustable Since GRAYLINE shows the difference be tween strong and weak signals adjusting the sensitivity may require a 18 Oe Ty GRAYLINE ON different GRAYLINE level also The level chosen by the X 55 at power on is usually adequate for most conditions Experiment with your unit to find the GRAYLINE setting that s best for you To adjust GRAYLINE press the MENU key then press the key adjacent to the ADJUST GRAYLINE label A screen similar to the one at right ap pears Now press the left arrow Prose the right arrow key to aa increase it The percentage of 8 eee GRAYLINE in use changes as Paper LINE l the arrow keys are pressed The barcha
29. o set the alarm For example to setthe shallow alarm s value to 10 feet press the 1 key then press the 0 key When the desired value has been entered press the key next to the ENTER label The unit returns to the ALARMS screen FISH ALM OW TURN 20 ALM OH When either depth alarm sounds a Silence Alarm label appears at the bottom of the screen Press the CLEAR key to mute the alarm When the alarm is triggered again the alarm will also sound The following section describes each sonar alarm and its limits FISH ALARM Use the fish alarm for a distinctive audible alarm when fish or other suspended objects are detected by the Fish feature A different tone sounds for each fish symbol size shown on the display MENU PAGE 3 CHART CURSOR TURN CHART CURSOR OH The X 55 has a chart cursor DISPLAY ZOOM BAR that allows you to pinpoint target s depth The cursor is simply a horizontal line that extends across the display from left to right A depth box atthe end of the line on the rightside shows the line s depth In the example below the cursor line is at 30 0 feet To display the chart cursor press the menu key three times Now press the key adjacent to the TURN CHART CURSOR ON label A screen similar to the one atthe bottom of this page appears Use the up or down arrow keys to move the cursor up or down to the desired depth To turn the chart cursor off press the
30. onar unit s power cable directly to the battery instead through a fuse block or ignition switch 2 Inspect the transducer cable for breaks cuts or pinched wires 3 Check both the transducer and power connectors Make certain both are securely plugged in to the unit Weak bottom echo digital readings erratic or no fish signals 1 Make certain transducer is pointing straight down Clean the face ofthe transducer Oil dirt and fuel can cause a film to form on the transducer reducing its effectiveness If the transducer is mounted inside the hull be sure it is shooting through only one layer of fiberglass and that it is securely bonded to the hull Do NOT use RTV silicone rubber adhesive or Marinetex 2 Electrical noise from the boat s motorcan interfere with the sonar This causes the sonar to automatically increase its Discrimination or noise rejection feature Thiscan cause the unit to eliminate weaker signals such as fish or even structure from the display 37 With the X 55 anyone can eliminate guesswork and concentrate on the areas where fish are likely to be Even if it s the first time on the lake The most efficient way to become acquainted with a body of water is to survey it with your X 55 Start with a map of the lake if possible and indicate the promising spots in relation to landmarks on shore As you go about your survey your X 55 will tell you the depth and type of bottom It will also reveal suspended
31. or power buss This will protect both the unit and the power cable in the event of a short The X 55 uses a 3 amp fuse IMPORTANT Do not use this product without a 3 amp fuse wired into the power cable Failure to use a 3 amp fuse will void your warranty If you re installing an optional speed temperature sensor read the speed temperature sensor s installation manual for mounting instructions Route the sensor s cable to the X 55 s power cable and plug it into the connector marked SPEED TEMP CABLE 3 amp FUSE TO SPEED TEMP SENSOR 12 VOLT BATTERY X 55 POWER CONNECTIONS NOISE A major cause of sonar problems is electrical noise This usually appears on the sonar s display as random pattems of dots or lines In severe cases it can completely cover the screen with black dots or cause the unit operate erraticly or not at all To eliminate or minimize the effects of electrical noise first try to determine the cause With the boat at rest in the water the first thing you Should do is turn all electrical equipment on the boat off Make certain the engine is off also Turn your X 55 on then tum off ASP Advanced Signal Processing There should be a steady bottom signal on the display Now turn on each piece of electrical equipment on the boat and view the effect on the sonar s display For example turn on the bilge pump and view the sonar display for noise If no noise is present turn the pump off then
32. place it on the left side of the screen PREW WINDOW ELECT 15 WINDOW Continue with the window selections until the screen is filled The unit will stay in the windows mode using your new customized screen If you don t want to fill a screen and only use one two or three windows in a group simply press the key adjacent to the STOP label This saves the group and exits the modify windows made Remember you can always return to the full screen sonar mode by pressing the 0 key in the upper left corner To switch back to your customized screen from the full screen sonar simply press the WIN DOWS key then use the down arrow key to switch to the group you customized NOTE Turning the unit off erases all customized screens and user settings RESETTING ALL GROUPS To return all of the groups to their factory settings without turning the unit off and on again press the WINDOWS key then press the MENU key then press the key adjacent to the MAIN MENU label Now press the key adjacent to the RE PROGRAM A GROUP label Finally press the key next to the RESET ALL GROUPS label SIDE SCAN OPERATION Two different side scan displays are available when the X 55 is in the Windows mode To use the side scan feature first install the ScanPac transducer on your trolling motor Next press the WINDOWS key on the X 55 unit 8 degree TRANSDUCER CONE ANGLES lt BOAT S DIRECTION OF TRAVEL TRANS
33. r screen press the key nexttothe EXIT label ALARM MUTE When either the shallow or deep alarm is triggered an audio tone sounds A different tone sounds for the shallow than the deep alarm thus letting you know which alarm is sounding without looking at the unit Once a depth alarm is triggered it keeps sounding until you change depth For example if the shallow alarm is set to 10 feet and you move into and stay in water that s five feet deep you re going to get tired of listening to the alarm beeping all the time To keep this situation from happening a new label appears on the sonar screen whenever a depth alarm sounds This label says Silence Alarm This turns the alarm s sound off until it s triggered again MENU PAGE 1 CHART SPEED The rate echoes scroll across the screen is called the chart speed It s adjustable by first pressing the menu key then pressing the key adjacent to the ADJUST CHART SPEED label The chart speed menu appears at the bottom of the screen Increase the chart speed by pressing the right ar row key or decrease it by press ing the left arrow key The per centage of chart speed in use changes as the arrow keys are pressed The bar chart also gives a graphical indication of the chart speed You can see the change on the screen both on the menu and on the chart record as you press the keys After you ve made the adjust R amp S ment press the CLEAR key to erase the me
34. rn the backlights off repeat the same steps SPEAKER VOLUME The speaker volume has two levels high or low When the X 55 is first turned on the speaker volume is high To changeit press the MENU key twice then press the key next to the SPEAKER VOLUME LOW HIGH key This switches the volume from high to low A short tune sounds letting you hear the volume To switch back to high simply press the key again To exit from this menu press the CLEAR key outwards from a group of limbs is the hardest object for the Fish I D feature to distinguish from fish You may see Fish I D symbols on the screen when actually there are no fish Practice with the unit in both the Fish I D mode and without to become more familiar with the Fish I D feature To turn the Fish D feature on press the menu key then press the key adjacent to the Turn Fish ID On label Echoes will continue to scroll across the screen however the surface clutter at the top will no longer be displayed Any targets the micro computer determines are fish will be displayed as fish symbols To turn the Fish I D feature off again first press the menu key Next press the key adjacentto the Turn Fish I D Off label The menu immediately disappears and the sonar screen returns Remember the Fish D feature can t be used when the X 55 is in the manual mode If you turn the Fish I D feature on when the X 55 is in manual the micro computer will turn the
35. rtalso gives a graphical indication of the GRAYLINE level You can see the change on the screen both on the menu and on the chart record as you press the keys After you ve made the adjustment press the CLEAR key to erase the menu FISH I D The Fish feature identifies targets that meet certain conditions as fish The micro computer analyses all echoes and eliminates surface clutter thermoclines and other signals that are undesirable In most instances remaining targets are fish The Fish I D feature displays symbols on the screen in place of the actual fish echoes There are fourfish symbol sizes tiny small medium and large These are used to designate the relative size between targets In other words it displays a small fish symbol when it thinks a target is a small fish a medium fish symbol on a larger target etc The micro computer is sophisticated but it can be fooled It cannot distinguish between fish and other suspended objects such as trotlines turtles submerged floats air bubbles etc individual tree limbs extending 9
36. ructions SIDE SCAN The X 55 has optional side scan capability To use this feature you must purchase the ScanPac accessory To install it follow the instructions enclosed with the ScanPac See the Side Scan Operation section in this manual for information on using the side scan feature SPEED TEMPERATURE DISTANCE LOG To use the speed temperature and distance log features you mustinstall an optiona speed temperature sensor Lowrance manufactures thru hull sensor transducer combination unit and a transom mount speed temp only sensor KEYBOARD The keyboard has keys arranged in two vertical columns plus a horizontal row at the bottom The keys in the left column are used to enter numbers and menu selections The keys in the right column activate the windows feature and the basic sonar functions The menu key in the bottom right corner of the keyboard activates the first menu page The keys along the bottom of the screen are used to activate the alarm menu stop the chart and make menu selections with the arrow keys WINDOWS This key gives you access to the windows mode which lets you customize displays SENS Press this key to adjust the unit s sensitivity RANGE This key lets you adjust the range when the unitis in the manual mode ZOOM The X 55 gives you 2X and 4X zoom capability with this key AUTO This turns the automatic feature off and on MENU Press this key to show the menus and gain access to
37. s in the bracket base allow wood screw or through bolt mounting You may need to place apiece of plywood on the back of thin fiberglass panels to Secure the mounting hardware Make certain there is enough room behind the unit to attach the power and transducer cables The smallest hole that will pass one power or transducer plug is one inch Afterthe hole is drilled pass the transducer connector up through the hole first then pass the power cable down through it After the cables have been routed fill the hole with a good marine sealing compound Offset the bracket to cover the hole Route the power cable through the slot and break out one of the other slots in the bracket forthe transducer cable POWER CONNECTIONS The X 55 works from a twelve volt battery system For the best results attach the power cable directly to the battery You can attach the power cable to an accessory or power buss however you may have problems with electrical interference Therefore it s saferto go ahead andattach the power cable directly the battery If the cable is not long enough splice 18 gauge wire onto it The powercable has two wires red andblack Red is the positive lead black is negative or ground Make certain to attach the in line fuse holderto the red lead as close to the powersource as possible For example if you have to extend the powercable to the battery or power buss attach one end of the fuse holder directly to the battery
38. the key adjacent to the desired display For ex ample to turn the temperature display on press the key adja cent to the INCLUDE TEMP label Once you do this the digital display in the corner of the screen will show the tem perature in additiontothe depth The temperature menu label now shows REMOVE TEMP You can turn each display on or off individually Press the CLEAR key to exit from this menu or wait approximately ten seconds and the menus will automatically clear To turn the entire digital box off press the MENU key twice then press the key next to the TURN DIGITAL BOX OFF label The unit will return to the sonar display with the digital box erased from the screen To turn it on again repeat the above steps The label on the second menu page now reads TURN DIGITAL BOX ON ZONE ALARM The zone alarm consists of a bar that appears on the right side of the screen Any echo that appears on the screen between the top and bottom of the zone alarm s bar will trip the zone alarm Note The zonealarmisn tavail able in the Windows mode To set the zone alarm press the ALARM key Now press the key next to the Set Zone Alarm label A screen similar to the one shown below appears The zone alarm bar shows on the right side of the screen Use the arrow keys to move the bottom of the bar higher or lower To move the top of the bar first press the key next to the CHANGE
39. tion of the screen shows in the box at the bottom of the screen Now press the key adjacent to the NEXT label This changes the displayed window and description When you ve finished viewing the windows press the CLEAR key MODIFYING GROUPS To modify or customize a group first press the WIN ALL WINDOWS DOWS key then press the a la et MENU key Now pressthe key adjacent to the MAIN MENU label at the bottom of the screen The screen shown be low appears Now press the key adjacent to the RE PROGRAM A GROUP label The screen shown below appears Select the letter of the group youwishto customize by press ing the key adjacent to the group s label If the label isn t shown on this page press the key adjacent to the MORE label In this example the key next to the GROUP A label was pressed The screen shown at the top of the next page appears The depth window appears in the upper right corner of the screen Press thekey adjacent to the NEXT WINDOW label to move through the windows If you reach the last window or if you wish to go backwards throughthe windows press the key next to the PREV WIN DOW label When the desired windowis onthe screen press the key next to the USE WIN DOW label Thescreen clears placing the new window in the upper left corner of the screen If the new window takes up half the screen the unit will
40. to move backward Forexample pressing the down arrow key once shows the group B screen which is the side scan screen To return to the full sonar screen press the key next to the FULL CHART la bel at the top of the screen Every one of the group screens can be modified to some ex tent For example press the MENU key while group is displayed Four new labels appear on the display as shown above Two of these labels are window menus Pressing the key adjacent to one of the window menu labels gives you a menu with functions that relate only to that window For example if you press the key adjacent to the window menu label on the sonar chart window the screen will clear and you will have a new menu with selections such as ADJUST CHART SPEED and ADJUST GRAYLINE Other window menus let you change the units of measure or adjust alarms To exit from a window menu press the CLEAR key THESE ADJUSTMENTS AFFECT ALL CHART WINDOWS 2 83 78 SURFACE LAYER ABSORBS HEAT FROM THE SUN 77 EPILIMNION ees THERMOCLINE MOST PRODUCTIVE ZONE FOR FISHING 68 56 VARIES IN DEPTH DUE WIND CURRENTS SEASONS SURVEYING A LAKE The most successful anglers on any body of water are those who fish it day after day and year after year Eventually theylearn the hot spots that produce fish consistently They discover through exper
41. turn on the VHF radio and transmit Keep doing this until all electrical equipment has been turned on their effect on the sonar display noted then turned off lf you find noise interference from an electrical instrument trolling motor pump or radio try to isolate the problem You can usually re route the Sonar unit s power cable and transducer cable away from the wiring that is causing the interference VHF radio antenna cables radiate noise when transmitting so be certain to keep the sonar s wires away from it Youmay need to route the sonar units powercable directly to the battery to isolate it from other wiring on the boat lf no noise displays onthe sonar unit from electrical equipment then make certain everything exceptthe sonar unitis tumed off then startthe engine Increase the RPM with the gearshift in neutral If noise appears on the display the problem could be one of three things spark plugs alternator or tachometer wiring Try using resistor spark plugs alternator filters or routing the sonar unit s power cable away from engine wiring Again routing the power cable directly to the battery helps eliminate noise problems Make certain to use the in line fuse supplied with the unit when wiring the power cable to the battery When no noise appears on the sonar unit after all of the above tests then the noise source is probably cavitation Many novices or persons with limited experience make hasty sonar installations whi
42. ves you the best display possible under most conditions The ASP feature is an effective tool in combating noise In sonar terms noise is any undesired signal It is caused by electrical and mechanical sources such as bilge pumps engine ignition systems and wiring air bubbles passing over the face of the transducer even vibration from the engine In all cases noise can produce unwanted marks on the display The ASP feature has two levels Normal and High If you have high noise levels try using the High ASP setting However ifyou are having trouble with noise we suggest that you take steps to find the interference source and fix it rather than continually using the unit with the high ASP setting To turn the menus off press the key adjacent to the CLEAR key at the bottom left side of the unit or wait a few seconds and the menus will disappear RANGE Automatic When turned onfor the first time the X 55 automatically places the bottom signal in the lower half of the screen This is called Auto Ranging and is part of the automatic function The range cannot be changed manually while the unit is in automatic RANGE Manual The X 55 gives you control over the range when it s in the manual mode To change the range first make F certainthe X 55 is in the manual mode Next pressthe RANGE key The range adjustment menu appears inthe lowerright corner of the display Press the up or down arrow keys to de crease or incr
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