Humminbird TFX IDF Operation Manual

TFXIDF

Operations Manual

Thank you for choosing Teleflex Sonar, manufactured by Techsonic
Industries, for your sonar fishfinder and depthsounder. Techsonic has
built its reputation by designing and manufacturing top-quality, thor­oughly reliable marine equipment. Techsonic has designed your
Teleflex Sonar unit to be trouble free even in the harshest marine envi­ronments.

In the unlikely event that your Teleflex Sonar product does require
repairs, Techsonic offers an exclusive Service Guarantee - free of
charge during the first year after purchase, and available at a reason­able rate after the one-year period. Complete details are included at
the end of this manual.

We encourage you to read this operations manual carefully in order to
get full benefit from all the features and uses of your Teleflex Sonar
product. Also, to register your purchase and help us learn more about
you, please fill out the included warranty registration card

WARNING! This device should not be used as a navigational
aid to prevent collision, grounding, boat damage, or personal
injury. When the boat is moving, water depth may change too
quickly to allow time for you to react. Always operate the boat
at very slow speeds if you suspect shallow water or sub­merged objects.

THANK YOU

WARNING:

Dis-assembly and repair of this electronic unit should only be performed by authorized
service personnel. Any modification of the serial number or attempt to repair the original equipment or
accessories by unauthorized individuals will void the warranty. Handling and/or opening this unit may
result in exposure to lead, in the form of solder.

WARNING: This product contains lead, a chemical known to the State of California to
cause cancer and birth defects and other reproductive harm.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Controls and Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Signal Interpretation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Maintenance and Warranty

Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Service Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Customer Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

SPECIFICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0-40 feet (outer scale)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0-80 feet (outer scale x 2)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0-120 feet (inner scale)

Pulse Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0-40 feet 100 µsec (microseconds)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0-80 feet . . . . . . . . . . . .200 µsec

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0-120 feet . . . . . . . . . . .300 µsec

Frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 kHz

Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 to 99° F

Output power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 600 watts peak to peak

Target Separation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.43"

Voltage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 vdc nominal, 9-16 vdc

Current Drain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40ma/80ma w/backlight

Dimensions: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4" OD, .250"bezel height,

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.85: depth 2.025 clearance

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .from top surface of dash.

SPECIFICATIONS

P/N 531070-1 Rev 11128E

2

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the World of Real-Time Sonar™. Only Real-Time Sonar™ can
truly tell you what is under your boat-instantly and accurately.
By reading this manual you will realize the maximum features of your new
sonar. Please read carefully before installing and using your unit.

Depth Range
Button selects
40', 80' or 120'

Present Depth Range

Inner 120' scale

Outer 40' scale

Present Water Temperature from 32° to 99°F
Displays Sensitivity level with same numerals.

Power-Light Button

Electro Luminesent backlight for

nighttime use.

140 Segment RealTime™
3 Level Grayscale Display

Noise

Suppression

Button

Suppression

ON

Increase

Sensitivity

from 0 to 32

in logarithmic

steps.

Decrease
Sensitivity

Sensitivity
Display
active

SUPPRESSION

S
E
N

• Instantaneous Real-Time Sonar™

display

• Digital sensitivity control for super

fine gain adjustments

• 600 watts of peak to peak output

power

• 3.4 inches of target resolution

• Three levels of gray scale

• Time Variable Gain (TVG)

• LCD panel display – no moving parts

• Readable in direct sunlight and

extreme viewing angles

• Readable with polarized glasses

• Minimum depth reading of 1.5 feet

• 200kHz operating frequency

• Weatherproof

• Full one year warranty

• Made and assembled in the USA

FEATURES

3

USING THE IDF SERIES

CONTROLS AND OPERATIONS

CONTROLS AND OPERATIONS
POWER: Press the PWR/Light, switch on the front panel of the IDF unit to turn the

unit on, a second push will turn the backlight on. Push a third time to turn the
backlight off.A long depression of the PWR/Light switch will power the IDF off.

SENSITIVITY: The logarithmic nature of the Sensitivity Control allows improved

fine tuning of the unit‘s gain. From the zero setting to the 32 setting of the
sensitivity key the gain is increased from zero to full.At the 10 Position the
gain is approximately 20% with full gain being achieved at the 32 setting as
shown on the display.

RANGE: The unit powers up on the 40' RANGE and can be changed to the

80' or 120' RANGES by depressing the RANGE button. The selected RANGE
will be displayed in the center of the

IDF. A shallow RANGE selection may not

display a bottom return.

SUPPRESSION: The unit will power up without SUPPRESSION.To add SUPPRESSION,

press the S

UPPRESSION key. Pressing the key again will eliminate SUPPRESSION.

S

UPPRESSION

provides an advanced level of control over the amount of visi­ble detail on the unit. You can choose the setting that works best for your
style of use.

With S

UPPRESSION

set to OFF, the

IDF

displays increased detail, showing more
thermoclines, structure, fish and even your bait when it falls within the sonar
cone. However, this extreme sensitivity requires you to optimize the installation
of your unit and transducer so that “noise” generated by a moving boat is not
picked up by the fishfinder.

With S

UPPRESSION

set to ON, excessive clutter often caused by interference from

other fishfinders, your boat‘s engine, or from noise generated by the hull at
high speeds is reduced in the display. This provides a cleaner image on the dis­play in most cases. Adjust SENS (S

ENSITIVITY

) for best display at various speeds,

from trolling on up to your boat's maximum speed with RealTime™ Sonar.

BACKLIGHT ON: To turn the display BACKLIGHT on press the Power Light

switch once.To Turn the Backlight off, press the Power Backlight Switch momen­tarily. Continued Depression will turn the Unit off.

USING THE IDF SERIES

SIGNAL INTERPRETATION

4

SIGNAL INTERPRETATION

Remember, sound waves bounce off a target and return with the strength of
its density. More dense targets (i.e. large fish) return and display a strong sig­nal. Less dense objects (i.e. weed, schools of small fish) return and display a
weak signal. Dense objects on the edge of the cone return a weaker signal.

This

IDF Series unit is extremely

sensitive and powerful. It will
give a very detailed representa­tion of the environment beneath
the transducer. Information on bot­tom hardness and content, weeds,
brush, steep slopes and fish are readily
attainable.

The Zero mark will be on at all times.
This mark represents the start of the
Sonar Depth scale, which is relative to
the placement of your transducer.

Sensitivity is adjusted using the SENS - and the
SENS + keys, the present setting adjusted and
shown when either key is depressed

As With all sonar units, experience is the best device for interpreting the target
returns accurately.To aid in the interpretation on the display, the following
examples are provided.

A hard bottom starting at 20' with a
Big fish giving a strong return at 15'.
If a fish moves horizontally through a
sonar cone, it will start at one level,
move up and then back down again
as it moves beneath the transducer.

5'

10'

15'

20'

Hard Bottom: The illustration at the bottom of

the previous page identifies a hard bottom at 18
feet. You can determine a hard bottom because of the strength of the return
(clear, black signal). A second echo would normally appear at 36 feet.
However, the IDF unit has a feature to prevent wrap on all scales to assist in

differentiating bottom, second echo and fish.

Soft Bottom: A soft bottom is displayed on

the

IDF as a gray return. Soft bottoms absorb

the sound waves and thus return a weak signal. Adjust the sensitivity level for
a better bottom signal.

SUPPRESSION

5

USING THE IDF SERIES

SIGNAL INTERPRETATION

Hard bottom at 18'

A hard bottom starting at 20' with a
smaller fish giving a weak return at 15'.

Soft bottom about 18'

5'

10'

15'

20'

Suspended Fish: This display is read-

ing suspended targets at 11' over an

18' bottom.

Fish near the Bottom: The IDF offers a

3.43" target separation. The result is the abil-

ity to identify targets laying on or very close to the
bottom. This illustration shows a fish one segment from a hard bottom. Most
other electronic units would not read this fish since they offer a target separa­tion of 6" to 12".

USING THE IDF SERIES

SIGNAL INTERPRETATION

6

SUPPRESSION

Strong Bottom Return 18'

Fish near Bottom

SUPPRESSION

Fish at 11'

7

USING THE IDF SERIES

SIGNAL INTERPRETATION

SUPPRESSION

Grayscale: The grayscale feature on the IDF will identify the 1) size of a target,

2) presence of baitfish 3) bottom content and 4) fish on the edge of the cone
angle. Here, a fish at 16' is moving either in or out of the transducer cone,
while another fish is directly under the transducer cone near 17'.

Fish at 17' and either baitfish or
larger fish at edge of cone at 16'.

SUPPRESSION

Dead Zone: Any and all sonar devices will have a dead zone in certain
instances, such as sharp drop offs. Anything below the shallowest return in the
cone cannot be seen.

A sloping bottom causes a “Dead Zone”.
In this illustration, the Dead Zone starts
at 20' and continues to 26'

20'
26'

SUPPRESSION

USING THE IDF SERIES

SIGNAL INTERPRETATION

8

Trees: the signals here indicate an underwater tree or brush pile. The water is
18' deep and the tree extends to 7'. Limbs at various depths return individual
signals. Since fish relate to submerged trees and similar cover, these are excel­lent areas to fish. To detect fish, anchor your boat and watch for signals that
come and go or move to different depths. Trees, of course, will appear station­ary. Another way to identify fish is to reduce the sensitivity and grayscale to
minimize the number of segments. Dark segments may be fish.

Structure such as trees give returns at
various depths.

SUPPRESSION

Weeds: Fish also relate to weeds so the ability to identify weeds is very important.
Solid weeds can appear as part of the bottom. If this is the case, use the sensitivity
control to grayscale out the weeds and mark targets holding in the cover.

17' bottom with low dense weeds changing
to sparse weeds at 14', a possible fish at 13'
and clear water from 11' up.

9

MAINTENANCE AND WARRANTY

TROUBLESHOOTING/MAINTENANCE

TROUBLE SHOOTING

If you have trouble with your IDF, consult the following troubleshooting guide
before contacting Customer Support.

SYMPTOM POSSIBLE CAUSE

• Check power cable connection and
fuse.Verify red lead to positive (+)
battery terminal, black lead to nega­tive (-) battery terminal. Verify
12 VDC at power cable.

• Sensitivity adjusted too low

• RANGE set shallow

• Transducer not plugged in

• Defective or damaged transducer

• Poor transducer placement.

• Sensitivity adjusted too high

• Suppression off

• Interference from other electrical

equipment or boat/motor.

• Sensitivity to high

No grayscale

Unit operates fine when boat is
not moving and at slow speeds,
but random flashes occur at
higher speed.

Unit turned on but unit displays
zero at all times. Night light
operates but no bottom display.

Unit turned on but unit displays
zero at all times and light does
not operate.

MAINTENANCE

Your

IDF

is designed to provide years of trouble free operation with virtu-

ally no maintenance. Follow these simple procedures to ensure your

IDF

continues to deliver top performance.

• If the unit comes into contact with salt spray, simply wipe the affected
surfaces with a cloth dampened in fresh water. Do not use a chemical
glass cleaner on the lens. Chemicals in the solution may cause cracking in
the lens of the unit.

• When cleaning the LCD protective lens, use a chamois and non-abrasive,
mild cleaner. Do not wipe while dirt or grease is on the lens. Be careful to
avoid scratching the lens.

10

TECHSONIC ONE YEAR FULL WARRANTY

First year repairs (from original date of purchase) on your

IDF

are absolute­ly free. This does not include physical damage to the unit or its accessory
items. Any modification or attempt to repair the original equipment or
accessories by unauthorized individuals will void the warranty. Return the
warranty registration card and retain your bill of sale for warranty verifica­tion. Accessories not manufactured under the Techsonic Teleflex Sonar
trade name are not covered by our warranty.

The customer is responsi-

ble for shipping charges to Techsonic.

This warranty applies to the orig-

inal purchaser only.
This warranty is in lieu of all other warranties expressed or implied and no

representatives or persons are authorized to provide for any other liability in
connection with the sale of our products. Techsonic reserves the right to
perform modifications or improvements on its products without incurring
the obligation to install the changes on units previously manufactured, sold,
delivered, or serviced.

THIS IS A FULL WARRANTY AS DEFINED BY THE FEDERAL WARRANTY ACT,
EFFECTIVE JULY 4, 1975.

SERVICE POLICY

This Service Policy is valid in the United States only. This applies to Teleflex
Sonar units returned to our factory in Eufaula, Alabama, and is subject to
change without notice.

All repair work is performed by factory-trained technicians to meet exacting
factory specifications. Factory serviced units go through the same rigorous
testing and quality control inspection as new production units.

• If your boat remains in the water for long periods of time, algae and other

marine growth can reduce the effectiveness of the transducer. Periodically
clean the face of the transducer with hot water. Pivoting the transducer up
in the bracket may allow better access for inspection or cleaning.

•If your boat remains out of the water for a long period of time, it may take

some time to wet the transducer when returned to the water. Small air
bubbles can cling to the surface of the transducer and interfere with prop­er operation. These bubbles dissipate with time, or you can wipe the face
of the transducer with your fingers after the transducer is in the water.

•Never leave the

IDF

in a closed car or trunk—the extremely high temper-

atures generated in hot weather can damage the electronics.

MAINTENANCE AND WARRANTY

WARRANTY AND SERVICE POLICY

MAINTENANCE

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

Even though you’ll probably never need to take advantage of our incredi­ble service guarantee, it’s good to know that we back our units this well.
We do it because you deserve the best. We will make every effort to repair
your unit within three working days from the receipt of your unit. This does
not include shipping time to and from our factory. Units received on Friday
are usually shipped by Wednesday, units received Monday are usually
shipped by Thursday, etc.

We reserve the right to deem any product unserviceable when replacement
parts are no longer reasonably available or impossible to obtain.

After the original warranty period, a standard flat rate service charge will be
assessed for each repair (physical damage and missing parts are not includ­ed). Please call our Customer Support Department to verify the service
charge for your unit.

If shipping charges are not prepaid, the unit will be returned C.O.D. If you
are experiencing problems related to bottom or depth readings, please send
your transducer along with your unit when sending for repair.

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

If you have any questions, call our Customer Support Hotline:

334-687-0503

Throughout the U.S. and Canada, hours are Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.
to 5:00 p.m. Central time.

If after reading “Troubleshooting” you determine your unit needs fac-
tory service, please attach a description of the problem and send it
with the unit to the address below.

If you are including a check, please attach it to the unit.

Techsonic Industries Inc.
Service Department
108 Maple Lane
Eufaula, AL 36027
USA

11

A Division of Teleflex Marine