Garmin 90 User Manual

Fishfinder 90/140

full feature sonar

Owner’s Manual

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© 2008 Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries

Garmin International, Inc.
1200 East 151st Street,
Olathe, Kansas 66062, USA
Tel. [phone] or [phone]
Fax [phone]

Garmin (Europe) Ltd.
Liberty House
Hounsdown Business Park,
Southampton, Hampshire, SO40 9RB UK
Tel. [phone] (outside the UK)

Garmin Corporation
No. 68, Jangshu 2nd Road,
Shijr, Taipei County, Taiwan
Tel. [phone]

Fax [phone]
0808 2380000 (within the UK)
Fax [phone]

All rights reserved. Except as expressly provided herein, no part of this manual may be reproduced, copied, transmitted, disseminated, downloaded or
stored in any storage medium, for any purpose without the express prior written consent of Garmin. Garmin hereby grants permission to download a
single copy of this manual onto a hard drive or other electronic storage medium to be viewed and to print one copy of this manual or of any revision
hereto, provided that such electronic or printed copy of this manual must contain the complete text of this copyright notice and provided further that any
unauthorized commercial distribution of this manual or any revision hereto is strictly prohibited.

Information in this document is subject to change without notice. Garmin reserves the right to change or improve its products and to make changes in
the content without obligation to notify any person or organization of such changes or improvements. Visit the Garmin Web site (www.garmin.com) for
current updates and supplemental information concerning the use and operation of this and other Garmin products.

Garmin® is a trademark of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries, registered in the USA and other countries. This trademark may not be used without the
express permission of Garmin.

December 2008 Part Number 190-00582-10 Rev. A Printed in Taiwan

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Introduction

Introduction

This manual covers the features and operation of the
Fishnder 90/140.

About This Manual

To get the most out of your Fishnder 90/140, take time to
read this manual and learn the operating procedures for your
unit in detail. This manual is organized into the following
sections.

The Introduction sections contains the Table of Contents,
Product Registration, and Product Support Information.

The Getting Started sections contain information about
sonar and the Fishnder.

The Installing Your Fishnder section provides instruction
on installing the Fishnder and the Transducer. If you
experience difculty installing the Fishnder, contact
Garmin Product Support or an installation professional in
your area.

Fishnder 90/140 Owner’s Manual iii

The Operating Your Fishnder section describes the
features and operation of the Fishnder 90/140.

The Appendix contains unit specications ,optional
accessories, and care information. You can also nd
warranty information, the Software License Agreement and
European Licensing Requirements in the Appendix.

An Index is provided at the end of the manual for reference.

Manual Conventions

This manual uses the term Warning to indicate a potentially
hazardous situation, which, if not avoided, could result in
death or serious injury.

This manual uses the term Caution to indicate a potentially
hazardous situation, which, if not avoided, may result
in minor injury or property damage. It may also be used
without the symbol to alert you to avoid unsafe practices.

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Introduction

Table of Contents

Introduction ............................................................. iii

About This Manual ...........................................................iii

Manual Conventions ........................................................iii

Product Registration ........................................................ v

Contact Garmin ................................................................ v

Warning ........................................................................... vi

Getting Started ......................................................... 1

Understanding the Fishnder ...........................................1

Using Simulator Mode ...................................................... 4

Appendix ................................................................ 19

Specications .................................................................19

Optional Accessories .....................................................19

Caring for the Fishnder ................................................19

Software License Agreement .........................................21

Limited Warranty ............................................................21

Declaration of Conformity (DoC) ....................................23

Index ....................................................................... 24

Installing Your Fishnder ....................................... 5

Installing the Transducer .................................................. 6

Installing the Fishnder Unit ........................................... 10

Installing the Wiring Harness .........................................12

Testing the Transom Mount Installation .........................13

Operating Your Fishnder .................................... 14

Understanding Basic Functions .....................................14

Using the Main Menu ..................................................... 15

Using the Setup Menu ...................................................16

iv Fishnder 90/140 Owner’s Manual

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Introduction

Product Registration

Help us better support you by completing our online
registration today. Go to http://my.garmin.com. Keep the
original sales receipt, or a photocopy, in a safe place.

Contact Garmin

Contact Garmin Product Support if you have any questions
while using your Fishnder 90/140. In the USA, go to

www.garmin.com/support, or contact Garmin USA by

phone at [phone] or [phone].

In the UK, contact Garmin (Europe) Ltd. by phone at 0808

2380000.

In Europe, go to www.garmin.com/support and click

Contact Support for in-country support information,

or contact Garmin (Europe) Ltd. by phone at +44 (0)

870.8501241.

Fishnder 90/140 Owner’s Manual v

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Introduction

Warning

Failure to avoid the following potentially hazardous situations could result in an accident or collision resulting in death or serious
injury.

When navigating, carefully compare information displayed on the Fishnder 90/140 to all available navigation sources, including information
from visual sightings, and maps. For safety, always resolve any discrepancies or questions before continuing navigation.

vi Fishnder 90/140 Owner’s Manual

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Getting Started

Getting Started

To get the most out of your new Fishnder:

• Before you install and use your Fishnder, read the
information in this manual.

• Assemble and install the hardware (page 5).

• Practice using your Fishnder in Simulator Mode
(page 4).

• Use the Fishnder (page 14).

Understanding the Fishnder

The Fishnder 90 or 140 is a fully automatic sonar unit
that allows you to go out on the water and nd sh without
having to congure a lot of settings; or, if from experience
you know exactly how you want your Fishnder screen to
look and function, you can customize each setting to your
specic needs.

If you have used a Fishnder before, and you know how
to interpret the sonar information on the screen, you can
skip this section. If you have not used a Fishnder before,

Fishnder 90/140 Owner’s Manual 1

you might want to learn a bit about sonar: what it is, how it
works, and what you might see on the Fishnder 90 or 140
screen. This manual does not go into technical detail about
sonar, but it can give you a general understanding of those
things that you need to know about sonar that can help you
interpret the screen and nd the sh.

Understanding Sonar

During installation, you connect your Fishnder 90 or 140
to a transducer. The transducer uses sound to determine
information about what is in the water beneath your boat.
Then the transducer sends the information to your Fishnder
to be displayed on the screen for you to view and interpret.

The transducer sends sound waves down into the water
in a cone shape, similar to a ashlight beam (covering a
smaller circular area at the top and angling out to a larger
circular area at the bottom). These sound waves reect off
of any object that they hit, and then the waves travel back
up to the transducer. These objects could be sh, branches,
the bottom, or any other object that has density that is
different from the water. The transducer receives the sound

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Getting Started

wave information, and then sends the information to the
Fishnder. The Fishnder displays the information on the
screen for you to see and interpret. The type of transducer
and settings you choose determine how the information is
shown on the screen.

Understanding Dual Beam Transducer
Coverage

A dual beam transducer can transmit a narrow or a wide
beam. The water area covered by the transmitted sound
waves is determined by the beam width of the transducer
and the water depth. The narrow beam provides crisp detail
of what is under your boat, and is helpful if you are shing
in deeper water where the beam covers more area (for
example, at a 30-foot depth, the narrow beam covers the
area of about a 7-foot circle).

The wide beam is more helpful in shallow water, because
it gives you a much wider view of objects in the water,
including areas beyond the sides of your boat. At a 30-foot
depth, the wide beam covers the area of approximately a
20-foot circle.

Narrow

Beam

Wide

Beam

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Getting Started

Understanding the Fishnder Screen

Experimentation and experience are the keys to successfully
interpreting your Fishnder screen. We recommend that you
take your Fishnder out on familiar water, and spend time
learning to interpret what you see on the Fishnder 90 or
140 screen.

Think of the Fishnder screen as if you took a picture
from the side of an aquarium in your home. You can see
how deep a sh is in the water (how close it is to the top
or bottom), but you cannot tell where the sh is located
horizontally in the water (whether it is near the front or the
back of the aquarium). Remember this when you are trying

Water
temperature at
the transducer

suspended targets

as arches or sh

Water depth

You see

symbols.

Structure

Simulator

mode

indicator

Bottom shape and type

Depth range

to locate exactly where something is in the water.

The strongest sonar returns appear on your screen as solid,
dark areas. The weakest returns appear less intense, less
solid. The bottom of the water body returns the strongest
signal, so you can identify the bottom as the continuous,
solid line running across the bottom of the screen. The
strength of the sonar return can also help you interpret the
hardness of the bottom. The thicker the bottom line, the
harder the bottom.

Fishnder 90/140 Owner’s Manual 3

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Getting Started

The Fishnder 90 and 140 include the latest technology

instead of arches (page 17).
in interpreting bottom signals; they can see through sh,
structures, and thermoclines (shown in the weakest hues).
Even so, large schools of sh or dense structures close to
the bottom can affect water depth return readings.

NOTE: If the Fishnder is unable to track the bottom for

any reason, the digits which indicate depth ash on and off
to alert you that the Fishnder is not tracking the bottom.

Along the top of the screen, you might see a grouping of
intense hues. This area is surface clutter, which can be
caused by waves or any other sonar interference at the
surface of the water. Too much surface clutter can obscure
your view of sh. You can turn down the Gain setting to

Using Simulator Mode

Use Simulator Mode to practice and learn the operation of

the Fishnder. If the Fishnder does not detect a transducer

at startup, it automatically starts in Simulator Mode.

While in Simulator Mode, the Fishnder displays a bottom

scene, and you can control the Fishnder (except the Gain

and Auto Gain options) just as if it were on the water.

If no keys are pressed for two minutes, the Fishnder

automatically resets to default settings while in Simulator

Mode.

To exit Simulator Mode, turn off the Fishnder.
reduce this surface clutter (page 15).

You can see in the previous illustration how the sh are
indicated in a few different ways. By default, sh appear
as arches. Actual sh returns might not always appear as
perfect arches, due to the speed, sh orientation, or other
conditions. You can also turn on the Fish Symbols setting if
you want to see suspended targets indicated by a sh shape

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