Lowrance AIRMAP 100 User Manual

®

AirMap 100

INSTALLATION AND

OPERATION INSTRUCTIONS

®

Copyright © 1996, 1997, 1998 Lowrance Electronics, Inc.
All rights reserved.

AirMap™ 100 is a trademark of Lowrance Avionics .
Lowrance® is a registered trademark of Lowrance Electronics, Inc.
Jeppesen® is a registered trademark of Jeppesen Sanderson, Inc.

WARNING!
USE THIS UNIT ONLY AS AN AID T O NA VIGA TION. A CAREFUL NA VI­GATOR NEVER RELIES ON ONLY ONE METHOD TO OBTAIN POSI­TION INFORMA TION.

Never use this product while operating a vehicle.

The background map built into this unit is not intended f or navigation and
its accuracy has not been verified. This map is deriv ed from U .S. govern­ment sources which rely on ground and aerial surveys and satellite data.
Since there can be inaccuracies in the data used to create the maps and
in the map’s resolution, plus position inaccuracies in the navigation sys­tem, use caution when using this product.

CAUTION

When showing navigation data to a position (wa ypoint), this unit will show
the shortest, most direct path to the waypoint. It pro vides navigation data
to the waypoint regardless of obstructions. Therefore , the prudent naviga­tor will not only take advantage of all a vailable na vigation tools when trav­elling to a waypoint, but will also visually check to make certain a clear,
safe path to the wa ypoint is alw ays available.

The operating and storage temperature for y our unit is from -4 degrees to
+167 degrees Fahrenheit (-20 to +75 deg rees Celsius). Extended storage
temperatures higher or lower than specified will cause the liquid crystal
display to fail. Neither this type of failure nor its consequences are cov­ered by the warranty. F or more inf ormation, consult the factory customer
service department.

All features and specifications subject to change without notice.
Lowrance Avionics may find it necessary to change or end our policies,

regulations, and special offers at any time . We reserve the right to do so
without notice.

All screens in this manual are simulated.

This device complies with P art 15 of the FCC Rules. Oper ation is subject
to the following two conditions: (1) this device may not cause harmful
interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received,
including interference that may cause undesired oper ation.

Note:

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a
Class B digital device, pursuant to P art 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits
are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interfer­ence in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can
radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accor­dance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio com­munications. How ever , there is no guarantee that interf erence will not oc­cur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful inter­ference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turn­ing the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the
interference by one or more of the f ollo wing measures:

• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

• Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.

• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to
which the receiver is connected.

• Consult the factory customer service department for help.

Specifications

Dimensions................................................. 6.75” L x 2.25” W x 1.625” D

Display.................................................................. 160 H x 104 W pix els

P o w er ....................................................................................... 5-35 vdc

Waypoints.........................................................................................750

Routes ................................................................................................9 9

Wa ypoints per Route (maximum)........................................................ 99

Total Wa ypoints used in Routes......................................................1500

Icons............................................................................................... 1000

Sava ble Plot Trails.................................................................................3

Maximum Plot Trail P oints..................................................3000 per trail

DEFINITION OF TERMS/ABBREVIATIONS

Due to space considerations, the digital displays use abbreviations for
some names. They are as follows:

ALT ............... Altitude

BRG ............. Bearing - The direction from your present position to a

waypoint.

CDI ............... Course Deviation Indicator - Shows your distance to the

side of the desired course line.

CLOCK......... Your local time.

TRK .............. T r ack - The direction you’re trav elling.

DIS ............... Distance - Distance remaining between your present po-

sition and a waypoint.

DNT/UPT...... Countdown timer (DNT) and Count up timer (UPT)

ETA............... Estimated Time of Arrival

ETE .............. Estimated Time En route

ICON ............ A symbol you can place on the map, representing a land-

mark.

POSITION .... Your present position.

GS ................ Ground Speed - Your actual speed.

UTC.............. Coordinated Universal Time - Time at the prime meridian

at Greenwich, England. Formerly known as GMT.

VOLTS .......... Electrical system voltage.

VMG ............. Velocity Made Good - Your ground speed towards a re-

called waypoint, airport, etc.

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................1

SA - What is it? ........................................................................................................2

Don’t Get Lost ..........................................................................................................2

GETTING STA RTED ......................................................................................................3

Power ................................................................................................................. 3

BATTERIES ..............................................................................................................3

Battery Installation .............................................................................................3

NiMH Battery .....................................................................................................3

External Antenna ..................................................................................................... 4

Yoke Mount ..............................................................................................................5

OPERATION ................................................................................................................. 6

Turning Power On ....................................................................................................6

Satellite Status Screen ............................................................................................6

Finding Y our Position................................................................................................8

Auto Search.......................................................................................................8

Manual Initialization........................................................................................... 8

Position Acquisition ........................................................................................... 9

POSITION/NAVIGATION SCREENS ......................................................................9

Navigation Screens ...........................................................................................10

Course Deviation Indicator (CDI)................................................................11

Map ................................................................................................................. 12

Cursor .........................................................................................................14

Map Symbols ..............................................................................................14

Obstructions................................................................................................ 15

Airspace ......................................................................................................16

Map Setup...................................................................................................18

Map Options ......................................................................................................18

Map Orientation .......................................................................................... 18

Autozoom ....................................................................................................20

View Destination .........................................................................................21

Range Rings/Grid Lines..............................................................................21

Earth Map Options ............................................................................................ 22

Earth Map On/Off .......................................................................................22

Text Labels ..................................................................................................22

Locations..................................................................................................... 22

Map Detail ...................................................................................................22

Gray Fill.......................................................................................................23

Map Boundaries ..........................................................................................24

Air Map Options.................................................................................................24

Runway Extensions ....................................................................................25

Plot Trail Options ...............................................................................................26

Clear Trail ....................................................................................................26

Flash Trail ....................................................................................................26

Update Options ...........................................................................................26

Save Trail .................................................................................................26

Show Trail.................................................................................................27

ICONS ...............................................................................................................27

MAP DOWNLOADING ...................................................................................... 29

WINDOWS.........................................................................................................31

Reprogram Window Groups .......................................................................36

Reprogram Boxes ....................................................................................... 37

RESET GROUPS ..............................................................................................38

DATABASES...................................................................................................... 38

Aviation Database.......................................................................................38

User Database - Waypoints ........................................................................42

WAYPOINTS......................................................................................................42

Waypoint Menu ...........................................................................................42

Saving Your Present Position as a Waypoint (Quick Save Method)...........42

Saving The Cursor Position as a Waypoint ................................................43

Saving Your Present Position as a Waypoint (Select Number Method) .....43

Saving a New Position ................................................................................44

Waypoint Averaging .................................................................................... 44

Project a Waypoint ......................................................................................45

Selecting a Waypoint .................................................................................. 46

Editing a Waypoint ......................................................................................46

NAVIGATION............................................................................................................47

Navigating to a cursor location..........................................................................47

Navigating to a Waypoint using the Map...........................................................48

OTHER WAYPOINT OPTIONS .........................................................................49

Move a Waypoint.........................................................................................49

Delete a Waypoint .......................................................................................49

Delete All Waypoints ...................................................................................49

“Nearest” Feature........................................................................................50

ROUTES ................................................................................................................. 51

Create a Route ..................................................................................................51

Delete a Waypoint from Route .......................................................................... 53

Waypoint Statistics ............................................................................................ 53

Following a Route..............................................................................................53

Waypoint Information ..................................................................................54

Delete a Route...................................................................................................55

CANCEL NAVIGATION ............................................................................................55

Navigation Notes......................................................................................................55

SYSTEM SETUP .....................................................................................................56

Sound ................................................................................................................ 56

Contrast .............................................................................................................56

Set Local Time...................................................................................................57

Units of Measure ...............................................................................................57

NMEA / DGPS ...................................................................................................57

NMEA Output ....................................................................................................58

DGPS.................................................................................................................58

Serial Communication Setup.............................................................................59

Reset Options.................................................................................................... 60

Reset Groups .................................................................................................... 61

System Info ........................................................................................................ 61

GPS SETUP ............................................................................................................61

Power Save........................................................................................................ 60

Position Format .................................................................................................60

DATUM............................................................................................................... 62

PCF (Position Correction Factor) ......................................................................63

POSITION PINNING ......................................................................................... 64

ALARMS ................................................................................................................. 65

SUNRISE/SET MOONRISE/SET CALCULATOR ...................................................67

SIMULATOR .............................................................................................................67

E6B COMPUTER.....................................................................................................68

AVIATION DATA DOWNLOAD.................................................................................71

JEPPESEN® DATABASE UPGRADE.....................................................................73

DATUM LIST ............................................................................................................74

UPS RETURN SERVICE.........................................................................................79

WARRANTY.............................................................................................................81

DATABASE LICENSE AGREEMENT ......................................................................82

DATABASE WARRANTY .........................................................................................83

INTRODUCTION

Thank you for purchasing a Lowr ance Avionics AirMap 100. With its large
LCD screen, easy to use menus, and outstanding performance, we think
you’ll be happy with y our AirMap 100 f or man y y ears. No other handheld
GPS receiver on the market today has the AirMap’s combination of 12
channel receiver , Jeppesen® database with obstacles (U.S. only), ground
and hydrographic mapping capability, and programmable screens in a
handheld unit.

The Global Positioning System (GPS) w as developed by the United States
Department of Defense as a 24-hour a day, 365 days a year global navi­gation system for the military . Civilian availability was added (b ut with less
accuracy) using the same satellites. T w enty-four satellites orbit the Earth.
Three of these satellites are spares, unused until needed. The rest virtu­ally guarantee that at least four satellites are in vie w of anyplace on Earth
at all times.

The system requires three satellites in order to determine a position. This
is called a 2D fix. It takes four satellites to determine both position and
elevation, (y our height abov e sea le v el - also called altitude.) called a 3D
fix.

Remember, the unit must have a clear view of the satellites in order to
receiver their signals. Unlike radio or television, GPS works at very high
frequencies. The signals can be blocked easily by trees, buildings, even
your body. Fortunately, they do travel through glass and plastic, so your
receiver will work in the aircraft, if it has a clear view of the satellites
through the windshield or side windows. Let someone else dr ive if you
use it in a car or other vehicle.

Never use this GPS receiver while operating a vehicle!

The first time you use this unit, walk outside and turn it on in your back­yard, an open field or park. Once it locks onto the satellites, you can ex­periment with it around buildings and trees. This will give you some idea
of its sensitivity to blockage.

Like most GPS receivers, this unit doesn’t have a compass or any other
navigation aid built inside. It relies solely on the signals from the satellites
to calculate a position. Speed, direction of travel, and distance are all
calculated from position information. Theref ore, in order for it to determine
direction of travel, you must be moving and the faster, the better. This is
not to say that it won’t work at walking speeds - it will. There will simply be
more “wandering” of the data sho wn on the displa y.

1

SA - What is it?

Another factor that greatly influences the receiver’s ability to deter mine
position is SA. The United States government intentionally degrades the
satellites signal for civilian users. They introduce small errors into the
satellite’s signals that makes the GPS receiver less accurate. These er­rors are called selective av ailability , or SA. Ho w bad is it? The y guarantee
that the position reported by a GPS receiver that meets their specifica­tions is within 100 meters horizontally and 150 meters vertically 95% of
the time. (The position can be better than that or worse than that the other
5% of the time.) In other words, the position shown on your receiver is
within 100 meters of your actual position, 95% of the time. That’s o ver 300
feet! Not exactly pinpoint accur acy, but then few people need positioning
accuracy greater than this. However, if you do want better performance,
(and who doesn’t?) many manufacturers (including Lo wrance) sell a DGPS
receiver that attaches to your GPS receiv er . The DGPS system transmits
correction signals that nullify the effects of SA. The DGPS receiver takes
signals from these land-based transmitters and gives them to the GPS
receiver which then uses them to show a more accurate position. The
ironic part is the federal government implemented SA and is also operat­ing many DGPS transmitters. (You can use the signals from all of the
Coast Guard DGPS stations for free, b y the wa y.) The downside to this is
it requires another piece of electronic gear (the DGPS receiver) which
usually isn’t small enough to carry with you, but will work nicely on a
vehicle. And you ha ve to be close enough to a station to receive the DGPS
signals.

Don’t Get Lost

Generally, you find that using your GPS receiver without DGPS is both
easy and amazingly accurate. It’s easily the most accurate method of
electronic navigation available to the general public today. Remember,
however that this receiver is only a tool. Always have another method of
navigation available, such as a chart or map and a compass. It’s a good
idea to carry spare batteries with you, especially if you’re venturing into
unknown territory .

Also remember that this unit will always show navigation information in
the shortest line from your present position to a waypoint, regardless of
terrain! It only calculates position, it can’t know what’s between you and
your camp, f or example. It’ s up to you to saf ely navigate around obstacles,
no matter how you’re using this product.

2

GETTING STARTED
Po wer

The AirMap 100 operates from AA batteries, a DURACELL® NiMH re­chargeable battery, or from 5 to 35 volts DC using the external power
cable. If the power cable is used, the AirMap 100 automatically switches
to it if the external power is greater than the battery voltage. If for any
reason the external power fails, the unit automatically switches to the
batteries.

BATTERIES

The unit requires four AA batteries. W e recommend you use alkaline bat­teries for the best trade-off between battery life and cost. However, you
can use nickel-cadmium (ni-cad), or lithium batteries. You can also use
rechargeable alkaline batteries such as RayOVac® Renewals®. With the
exception of lithium, none of the abov e batteries will last as long as stan­dard alkaline batteries. We recommend DURACELL® brand, but others
will work. Do not use “heavy-duty” batteries or any type other than the
ones listed above. Do not mix different types of batteries. (For example,
don’t use both alkaline and ni-cad batter­ies at the same time.)

Battery Installation

First turn the unit so that its back is facing
you. Push the two tabs to the left and re­move the battery cover as shown at right.
Install the batteries according to this dia­gram. (There’s a decal in the battery com­partment showing the correct polarity,
also.) Replace the battery compartment
cover and the unit is ready f or use.

NiMH Battery

The DURACELL® DR-121 nickel-metal
hydride (NiMH) battery replaces the four
standard batteries. It is sold as an acces­sory , model BR-1 which includes a charger
custom designed for the DR-121. The battery never needs to be remo ved
from the unit, since the charger connects to the GPS receiver and charges
the DR-121. You can even use the receiv er while the battery is charging!

To install the NiMH battery, remove the battery cover and place the bat­tery into the compartment as shown on the next page. It will only fit one
way, so if it’s difficult to install, simply turn it over and drop it into place.
Replace the compartment cover and follow the charging instructions in­cluded with the BR-1.

3

(Note: The DR-121 is the only batter y that
can be recharged in this unit! Using the ex­ternal power cable alone does not charge the
battery! You must use a charger supplied by
Lowrance in order to charge the battery . Also,
this charger will only charge a DR-121. It will
not charge any other type of battery installed
in the unit, including ni-cads or rechargeable
alkallines.)

External Antenna

Although this GPS receiver is e x­tremely sensitive, it can be used
in locations where the built-in an­tenna simply cannot receive sig­nals from enough satellites. An e x­ternal antenna is supplied with your unit
to use when conditions warrant. Usually, it’s
best to use the external antenna when the unit is attached to the yoke
mount.

A second connector on the back
of the unit is for an external an­tenna. The external antenna in­cluded with your unit plugs di­rectly into this connector.

To use the antenna, first as­semble the bracket, antenna, and
suction cups as at right. Two screws are
provided to attach the bracket to the an­tenna.

4

WINDSHIELD

DASH

Moisten the suction cups and press them firmly against the inside of the
windshield, away from y our line of sight. Route the antenna’ s cable to the
GPS receiver and it’s ready for use.

Y OKE MOUNTING

Included with your AirMap is a yoke
mounting bracket. It secures to the
yoke’s shaft with a clamp. Fasten the
cradle packed with your unit to the
yoke mount with four 2 mm screws.
Follow the instructions included with
the yoke mount to assemble and at­tach it to your aircraft. The AirMap sim­ply snaps into the cradle.

The AirMap can operate from batteries or the external power cord when
it’s attached to the y oke mounting brack et. To use the external power cord,
simply plug one end into the power connector on the AirMap and the
other end into the aircraft’s cigarette lighter.

Some pilots like to keep
fresh batteries in their
units, even when using
the external power . If the
power fails, the unit will
automatically switch to
the batteries, thus keep­ing the unit on without
interruption.

5

OPERATION

Keyboard

There are 12 keys on the keyboard. You navigate through the menus,
adjust the chart’s cursor, and enter data using the arrow keys. The five
major modes of operation are accessed
using the PAGES key. Press the MENU k ey
to select or adjust a feature from a list. The
Z-IN and Z-OUT keys zoom-in or z oom-out
the view on the plotter screen. The ENT and
EXIT keys are used to enter or clear data or
screens. Save and edit wa ypoints using the
WPT key. The PWR key turns the unit on
and off. Pressing it once while the unit is
operating turns on the screen’s backlight. T o
prevent an accidental shutdown, you must
hold the PWR key down for a few seconds in order to turn the unit off.

Menus

Most of the unit’s f eatures are f ound on “men us’. Y ou can view the men us
by pressing the MENU key. This product has “Intelligent Menus”. There
are many menus that pertain to only the map, for example. When you
press the MENU key and the plotter is sho wing, menu items for the plotter
show in addition to the normal menus. For e xample, if the navigation screen
is showing, and you press the MENU ke y, plotter menu items won’t show
on the list. This helps you find the needed item without scrolling through
unnecessary menus.

PAGES WPT

MENU EXIT

ZIN ENT

ZOUT

PWR

Turning Power On

To turn the unit on, simply press the PWR key. A GPS
logo screen appears, then the screen similar to the one
at right appears. Read the message on the screen,
then press the EXIT key to erase it or wait a few sec­onds and it automatically clears. The satellite status
screen shown at the top of the next page appears ne xt.

Satellite Status Screen

This screen shows a graphical view of the satellites that are in vie w . Each
satellite is shown on the circular chart relative to your position. The point
in the center of the chart is directly overhead. The small inner ring repre­sents 45° above the horizon and the large ring represents the horizon.
North is at the top of the screen. You can use this to see which satellites
are obstructed by obstacles in your immediate area if you hold the unit
facing north.

6

The GPS receiver is tracking satellites that are sur­rounded by a black box. If the satellite number is not
surrounded by a box, then the receiver hasn’t locked
onto that satellite and it isn’t being used to solve the
position.

Beneath the circular graph are the bar graphs, one f or
each satellite in view . Although the unit has twelv e chan­nels, it dedicates one channel per visible satellite. There­fore, if only six satellites are visib le, only six bar charts show at the bottom
of the screen. The higher the bar on the graph, the better the unit is re­ceiving the signals from the satellite.

The number in the upper left corner is the “expected horizontal position
error” or e xpected error from a benchmark location. In other words , if the
expected error shows 50 f eet, then the position sho wn by the unit is esti­mated to be within 50 feet of the actual location. Ho we v er , this n umber is
only valid if you’re using DGPS or if S/A is tur ned off. Due to S/A, the
accuracy can only be less than 100 meters, 95% of the time, per U.S.
government specifications. Although the expected error is not accurate
unless you hav e a DGPS receiv er, it does give you an indicator of the fix
quality the unit currently has. The smaller the expected error n umber , the
better (and more accurate) the fix is.

If the expected error is flashing, then the unit has not locked onto the
satellites, and the number shown is not v alid.
The fix indicator on the left center shows either 2D or 3D . A 2D fix means
the unit has locked onto three satellites and has calculated its position. A
3D fix means the unit has locked onto at least four satellites and has
calculated both the position and altitude. (Remember, it tak es three satel­lites to determine the position - four to determine position and altitude.) If
neither 2D nor 3D are showing, then the unit doesn’t hav e the position or
altitude.

A battery level indicator on the lower right side of the screen shows the
approximately how much life is in the batteries. This r uns from “F” (fully
charged) to “E” (e xpired).

A light bulb indicator at the top right corner of the screen appears when
the backlights are on.

7

Finding Y our Position
Auto Search

To lock onto the satellites, the GPS receiver needs to know it’s current
position, local time, and date. (Elev ation (altitude) is also used in the equa­tion, but it’ s rarely required to determine a position.) It needs this data so
that it can calculate which satellites should be in view . It then searches for
only those satellites. When your GPS receiver is turned on for the first
time, it doesn’t know what your position or elevation (altitude) is. It does
know the current UTC time and date since these were programmed into it
at the factory and an internal clock keeps the time while the unit is turned
off. It begins searching for the satellites using the above data that it ac­quired the last time it was turned on. This probably was at the Lowrance
factory. Since it’s almost certain that you’re not at the Lowrance factory,
it’s probab ly looking for the wrong satellites . If it doesn’t find the satellites
it’s looking f or after fiv e minutes, it s witches to A uto Search. The receiver
looks for any satellite in the sky. Due to advanced technology, the auto
search time has shrunk to about five minutes, so the longest time you
should ever ha ve to w ait is ten minutes from the time y ou turn the unit on
until it locks onto the satellites and shows a position. Once the unit loc ks
onto the satellites, it should take less than a minute to find your position
the next time it’s turned on, provided you haven’t moved more than ap­proximately 100 miles from the last location it was used.

Manual Initialization

If you don’t want to wait for the Auto Search, then you may be able to
speed up the initialization process by using the manual initialization f ea­ture. Using this feature tells the unit it’ s approximate position. Once it knows
it’s location, it determines exactly which satellites should be in view and
starts looking only for those satellites.

To manually initialize the unit, press the MENU key.
Now press the down arrow ke y until the “GPS SETUP”
label is highlighted. Press the right arrow k ey . The “INIT
GPS” (Initialize GPS) label is highlighted. Press the right
arrow key again. The screen at right appears. Use the
arrow keys to mo ve the crosshairs to your appro ximate
location on the map. You may use the ZOUT key to
zoom the map out. This will mak e it easier and faster to
find your location on the map. Once you have the
crosshairs on your location, press the ENT key. The
unit returns to the satellite status screen.

Using the manual initialization method loads a position that’s close to
yours into the GPS receiver. It should now have position, time , and date,

8

thereby giving it the data it needs to determine which satellites are in
view . Once the satellites are known, the receiver searches for only those
satellites, making a lock f aster than an auto search method.

Position Acquisition

When the receiver locks onto the satellites and calculates a position, it
shows the message “Position Acquired” on the screen. All position and
navigation data flashes until the unit acquires a position.

any data that is flashing!

When the numbers are flashing, the y represent

Do not rely on

the last known values when the unit lost it’s lock on the satellites.
(Note: The altitude data may still flash even if the unit shows a “Position

Acquired” message and all other data is not flashing. The unit must be
locked onto at least f our satellites to determine altitude. It only tak es three
satellites to determine position. You can navigate with this unit if the alti­tude is flashing, simply ignore the altitude display until it quits flashing.)

REMEMBER, DO NOT NAVIGA TE WITH THIS UNIT UNTIL THE

NUMBERS STOP FLASHING!

Once the unit has acquired the satellites and is showing a fix on the sta­tus screen, or the position acquired message appears, it’s ready f or use .

POSITION/NA VIGA TION SCREENS

This unit has four modes: status, map, navigation, and window groups.
Use the PAGES and arrow keys to switch between the different screens.
The four def ault screens are shown belo w.

STATUS NAVIGATION MAP WINDOWS

9

(GROUP “A”)

To change modes, simply press the PAGES key. A
screen similar to the one at right appears. Use the up
or down arrow keys to change modes. (The windows
mode is shown as “groups”. Group “A” is the first win­dows group .)

Press the right arrow key while the above menu is showing to switch
between different versions of each mode. When the desired screen ap­pears, press the EXIT key to erase the men u.

Navigation Screens

There are two different na vigation screens. Nav screen number one shows
a graphical view of your trip, Nav screen number 2 shows all navigation
details in large digital numbers. You can also customize both navigation
screens to show data other than the default. See the “Prog ramming Box es”
section for more information.

Nav Screen #1

This screen has a compass rose that shows not only
your direction of travel, but also the direction to a re­called waypoint. The navigation screen looks like the
one at right when you’re

not

navigating to a wa ypoint.
Your position is shown by the airplane in the center of
the screen. Your trail history, or path you’ve taken is
depicted by the line extending from the arro w. The ar­row pointing down at the top of the compass rose indi­cates the current track (direction of tra vel) you are tak­ing. This is also shown in the “TRK” (track) box in the
upper right corner of the screen. On the example shown at right, the tr ack
is 24°. The current ground speed (GS) shows in the box in the lower
center of this screen.

When navigating to a waypoint, Nav screen number
one looks like the one at right. Bearing to the destina­tion waypoint is in the bo x in the upper left corner. Bear­ing is also shown by the large arrow pointing up to­wards the compass, abov e the present position arrow .
Distance from the present position to the waypoint (DIS)
shows beneath the compass on the lower left side of
the screen.

10

Lines on either side of the present position show the current cross track
error range. Cross track error is the distance you are off-course to the
side of the desired course line. The course line is an imaginary line draw n
from your position when you started navigating to the destination way­point. It’s sho wn on the screen as a vertical dotted line. The default f or the
cross track error range is 0.25 mile. For example, if the present position
symbol touches the right cross track error line, then you are .25 mile to
the right of the desired course. You need to steer left to return to the
desired course. The cross track error is also shown in the “XTK” box. In
the upper right corner is the course (CRS) box show­ing the direction from your starting position to the way­point. Remember, a course is a proposed path from
the starting position to the destination. Track is your
actual direction of trav el.

A circle depicting your destination appears on the
screen as you approach the waypoint as sho wn on the
screen at right.

Nav Screen #2

This navigation screen shows all navigation informa­tion in large digital numbers. To view this screen, press
the PAGES key, then press an arrow key until the
“NA V1” label is highlighted. While it’s highlighted, press
the right arrow key . The screen shown at right appears.
Press the EXIT key to erase the menu.

This screen is composed of eight digital boxes. Track
(TRK) and ground speed (GS) data are all that show if
you’ re not na vigating to a wa ypoint. If y ou are navigat­ing to a waypoint, then bearing (BRG), distance to
waypoint (DIS), estimated time en route (ETE), cross track error (XTK),
destination arrow , and the CDI also operate. See below f or more informa­tion on the CDI.

The destination arrow shows the direction to the destination when the top
of the screen is pointing in your direction of trav el.

Course Deviation Indicator (CDI)

Once navigation to a destination is established, the CDI shows y our dis­tance to the left or right of the desired course. The vertical line in the box
shows both the direction you must steer to get back on course and the
distance to the course line. For example, if you’re travelling straight to-

11

wards the destination, from the start, then the line stays in the center. If
you drift off course to the right, the line moves to the

left

. This signifies that
you need to steer to the left to get back on course. This is called “chasing
the needle”. If you steer to wards the line (needle), y ou’ll alwa ys be head­ing in the correct direction to get back on course.

The CDI’s range shows beneath the CDI label. On the
screen at right, the CDI range is .20 mile, which is the
default. You can adjust the range by selecting the
“ALARMS/CDI” label on the main menu. This is also
shown by the dotted lines at the far left and right side of
the CDI. If the solid line is on either of the dotted lines ,
then you are 0.20 mile off course. Remember, if the
line moves to the left, then you are too f ar to the

right

of

the desired course line and vice-versa.
Using the CDI with a mapping screen helps you visu-

alize your position in relation to the course. The map
screen on the right shows that we are off course to the
right. The vertical bar on the CDI shown above has
moved to the left side, sho wing the direction to the de­sired course line. The CDI gives you a quick, easy to
read visual indicator of your relationship between your
direction of travel and the desired direction.

Map

The AirMap 100 has a ground map of the world built inside. This map has
the majority of its detail in far southern Canada, the continental United
States and Hawaiian islands, northern Mexico, the Bahamas, and Ber­muda. The map screens show your course and track from a “birds-eye”
view . If you’ re navigating to a wa ypoint, the map shows your starting loca­tion, present position, course line, and destination. You don’t hav e to navi­gate to a waypoint, however, to use the map.

A complete aviation database is included using Jeppe­sen® data . Airports, NDBs, V ORs, and other airspace
information (including obstructions such as radio and
TV towers) are ov erlaid onto the ground map .

Using the map is as simple as pressing the PAGES
key, then highlighting “MAP 1”. A screen similar to the
one at right appears. The airplane symbol in the center
of the screen is your present position. It points in the
direction you’ re travelling. The solid line extending from

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the airplane symbol is your plot trail, or path you’ve taken. The map’s
range shows in the lower left corner of the screen. In this example, the
map’s range is ten miles from the left edge of the screen to the right.

MAP-1

MAP-2 MAP-3

There are three different mapping screens. T o vie w the other map screens,
press the PAGES key, highlight the MAP label, and press the right arrow
key until the desired map screen appears. Press the EXIT key to erase
the menu. Map-2 (shown below) has navigation data added at the bottom
of the screen, beneath the map. The data includes bearing to waypoint
(BRG), track (TRK), and distance to wa ypoint (DIS).

Map-3 is similar to Map-2. It shows ground speed (GS), tr ack (TRK), and
the CDI at the bottom of the screen.

As you travel, the map slides past your present position, which always
remains at the center of the screen. The line e xtending from your position
shows the path you’ve tak en.

The Z-IN and Z-OUT keys zoom-in and out all maps to enlarge or reduce
their coverage area. The availab le ranges are: 0.1, 0.15, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.6,

0.8, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 60, 80, 100, 150, 200, 300,
400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500, and 2000 miles.

Jeppesen™ data shows at all zoom ranges, however, Lowrance has a
unique method of displaying this data. If you were to turn on all airports,
VORs , NDBs, and controlled airspaces at the same time without filtering
the data, the map screen would become so cluttered that it would be
useless. The AirMap 100 turns off virtually all aviation data at large ranges,
selectively turning on more data as you zoom in closer to your present
position or cursor location. The background land data also shows more
as you zoom in.

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Cursor

Pressing an arrow key turns on two dotted lines that intersect at the present
position symbol. These lines are called a “cursor” and hav e many uses. T o
turn the cursor on, simply press the arrow key in the direction you want
the cursor to move. This lets you view areas on the map that are away
from your present position. The zoom-in and zoom-out keys work from
the cursor’s position when it’s active - not the present position. You can
zoom in on any detail, anywhere. You can also place icons and w aypoints.

The cursor has an extremely useful f eature that lets you identify airports,
VOR’ s, NDB’ s, intersections, and user-defined wa ypoints. In this e xample,
an airpor t is identified. First, move the cursor to the airport. When the
label on the airport is highlighted, press the WPT key . The w aypoint screen
appears with the highlighted airport’s data showing. You can navigate to
this airport by pressing the right arrow key , view other inf ormation by high­lighting the “COMM FREQ”, “RUNWAYS”, or “SERVICES” labels. Press
the EXIT key to erase this screen. You can select another feature in the
same manner or press the EXIT key to erase the cursor . The unit centers
your present position on the screen after erasing the cursor.

MAP SYMBOLS
Airports, VORs, NDBs, and Intersections

All airpor ts are shown as a square with its identifier beneath it. Larger
airpor ts are shown the same way until you zoom in closer, then their
runways become visible. Zoom in farther, and the runway numbers also
appear. VOR’ s are shown as a circle with a dot inside, while NDB’ s hav e a
triangle. Intersections are depicted as an “X”.

AIRPORT WITH

SMALL RUNWAY(S)

AIRPORT WITH

LARGE RUNWAY(S)

VOR NDB INTERSECTION

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Obstructions

Your Airmap has obstruction capability. The database
installed in your unit lets you see ground obstructions
on the map display such as radio and television tow­ers. The obstruction portion of the database covers all
of the continental United States, Alaska, and parts of
Canada, Mexico , and Bahamas.

On the screen shown at right, three obstructions are
shown. Three diff erent symbols are used to show them,
depending on their height. They are:

SMALL - 205 to 499 feet

MEDIUM - 500 to 999 feet

LARGE - 1000 feet and abov e

The elevation shows beneath the symbol. If a line is beneath the eleva­tion, then the height is AGL, or above ground level. If no line shows be­neath the height, then it is MSL or above mean sea le v el.

For e xample, this obstruction is

315 feet AGL:

This obstructions is 315 feet MSL:
Typically, you'll need to zoom in to a range of 40 miles or less to see the

large obstruction symbols, and smaller ranges to see the larger
obstruction's height and smaller obstructions. T o vie w smaller obstruction's
height, you may need to z oom in to the 5 mile range.

Obstructions are off by default. To tur n them on, press the MENU key,
while a map is showing, then select the “MAP-1 SETUP” label and press
the right arrow key. Now select “AIR MAP OPTIONS” and press the right

15

arrow key. Finally, select “OBSTR UCT OPTIONS” and
press the right arrow key. The screen at right appears.
The defaults are: obstr uctions from 205 to 499 feet
(shown as 200-500 on the menu) off. Obstructions 500
feet and above off. MSL defaults on. You can change
any of these by highlighting the desired menu, then
pressing the left or right arrow keys.

Airspace

This unit can show the following airspaces: Class B and
C airspace, control zones, control areas (CTA), Termi­nal Control Areas (TMA), prohibited, restricted, MOA’ s
(including training, danger, and caution areas), and alert
areas.

In this example, the Class C airspace surrounding Tulsa
International airport (TUL) is clearly visible as two dark
circles. The control zone airspace around Richard Jones
(Riverside) airport (RVS) is shown in gra y.

This screen shows the Eureka MOA east of Wichita,
Kansas on the 80 nautical mile range.

All airspace defaults are on for this unit e xcept warning
and alerts. An airspace alarm can be set that will warn
you if any of the above airspaces are within a preset
radius of your position. Another airspace alarm will “look­ahead” and show how soon you will cross into an air­space. See the alarms section for more inf ormation.

Airspace Status

You can view information about the airspace you’re in
using the airspace status feature. To do this, press the
MENU key , then highlight “AIRSP A CE ST ATUS” sho wn
at the top of the next page.

16

With “AIRSPACE ST ATUS” highlighted, press the right arrow k ey . The center
screen above shows ne xt. In this e xample, we’ re in Tulsa class “C” airspace.
The time and distance remaining until we leave the inner ring of the airspace
(assuming we keep the present track and speed) shows on this screen
above the ceiling and floor of the airspace. Since we’re near the center of
the class “C” airspace, (see the map at the bottom of the previous page)
page one shows information about the inner ring, page two shows outer
ring information. To view page two, simply press a right or left arrow k ey.
Press the EXIT key to erase the status screens .

Airspace Information

You can identify an airspace without physically entering it by using the
cursor. To do this, press any arrow key while a map is showing. In this
example, we’ re using Map 1. The cursor appears. Now move the cursor to
the desired airspace as shown below left. (Note: You may have to z oom-in
and/or zoom-out to view the airspace.)

With the cursor moved to the airspace, press the MENU key. A screen
similar to the one in the center appears.

Now highlight the “AIRSPACE INFO” label and press the right arrow key.
A message screen appears as shown above right.

17

This is the information for the airspace that the cursor is resting on. If
there are more pages of information about the airspace, press the left or
right arrow keys to view them. To erase this screen, simply press the EXIT
key. To see information about another airspace, simply move the cursor to
that airspace and repeat these steps.

MAP SETUP

The map has many customization options. To change
them, first press the MENU key while a map is showing
on the screen. The “MAP SETUP” screen is highlighted.
Press the right arrow key. A screen similar to the one
at right appears.

Change Maps

Changes made to the map using the options in the
Map Setup is normally limited to only to the current
map screen. The change can be all map screens, however, by switching
the “THIS MAP” to “ALL MAPS” in the “CHANGE” menu. To do this, simply
highlight the “CHANGE” label, then press the right arrow key. To switch
back, repeat the above .

MAP OPTIONS

The following map options are listed under the “Map
Options” menu: Map Orientation, Auto Zoom, View
Destination, Range Rings, and Grids.

Map Orientation

By default, this receiver shows the map with north al­ways at the top of the screen. This is the way most
maps and charts are printed on paper. This is fine if
you’ re always tra velling due north. What you see to your
left corresponds to the left side of the map, to your
right is shown on the right side of the map, and so on. However, if you
travel any other direction, the map doesn’t line up with your view of the
world.

To correct this problem, a track-up mode rotates the map as you turn.
Thus, what you see on the left side of the screen should alw ays be to your
left, and so on. A course-up mode keeps the map at the same orientation
as the initial bearing to the waypoint.

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In the north-up view shown at right, we're travelling
southeast towards camp, saved as waypoint number

14. In this view, the present position indicator appears
to move to wards the lo wer right corner of the screen.

NORTH-UP

In the track-up view , the present position mov es straight
towards the top of the displa y . A "N" shows to help you
see which direction is north when the track-up mode is
on. Remember, in the track-up mode, the screen ro­tates as you change direction. It always keeps your
direction of travel (track) heading towards the top of
the screen.

TRACK-UP

In the course-up mode, the screen is locked into your
original bearing to the recalled waypoint, regardless of
your track.

COURSE-UP

To select the desired mode, first press the MENU key, select “MAP 1
SETUP”, then select “MAP OPTIONS”. Finally , select “R OTA TE” and press
the right or left arrow key until the desired mode appears. Press the EXIT
key to erase this men u.

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AUTOZOOM

This receiver has an autozoom f eature that eliminates much of the button
pushing that competitive units force you to make. It works in conjunction
with the navigation features. First, recall a waypoint. (See the waypoint
section for more information on navigating to a w a ypoint.) Then, with the
autozoom mode on, the unit zooms out until the entire course shows,
from the present position to the destination waypoint (recalled wa ypoint).
As you trav el towards the destination, the unit automatically begins zoom­ing in, one zoom range at a time, keeping the destination on the screen.

The screens below show a slice of the progression of a trip to Mangham
Regional airport in Nacogdoches, Texas. Screen number one is the start
and is on the 200 mile range. Intermediate stages progressiv ely zoom in
as it gets closer to the destination.

12 3

456

20

To use the autozoom feature, first press the MENU key, select “Map 1
Setup”, then “Map Options”. Highlight “Auto Zoom”, then press the right
arrow ke y to turn it on. Press the EXIT key repeatedly to er ase the menus.

VIEW DESTINA TION

The GPS receiver normally centers the present position on the screen
and moves the map past it. If a waypoint is recalled, the unit can center
the waypoint on the screen, instead of the present position. To do this,
press the MENU key, select “Map 1 Setup”, then “Map Options”. Highlight
“View Dest”, then press the right arrow key to turn it on. Press the EXIT
key repeatedly to erase the men us.

VIEW DESTINATION

OFF

VIEW DESTINATION

ON

Range Rings/Grid Lines

The map screen can be customized with rings that are 1/4 of the range
and/or grids that divide the map into equal segments of latitude and longi­tude. To do this, press the MENU key, select “Map 1 Setup”, then “Map
Options”. Highlight the desired option, then press the right arrow key to
turn it on. Press the EXIT key repeatedly to erase the menus. A sample
screen of each type shows below.

RANGE RINGS GRID

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BOTH RINGS & GRID

EARTH MAP OPTIONS

The earth map consists of the built-in background map
of the world. To change the Earth map options, first
press the MENU key, then select the Earth Map label.
Press the right arrow key. The screen shown at right
appears.

Earth Map On/Off

The background map can be turned on or off using the
“Earth Map” menu. The ear th map is the background
map that shows on the map screens. Simply highlight
the menu, then press the left arrow key to turn it off.

EARTH MAP ON

EARTH MAP OFF

T ext Labels

Select “Map Text” to turn all names on the map (such as Lake Tahoe or
Mississippi River) off or on. The def ault is “on”. Press the left arrow key to
turn them off.

Locations

Normally, text disappears as you zoom out. This
declutters the screen, making it easier to see signifi­cant map detail. T urning “Locations” on from the earth
map menu places a dot on the screen where a text
label should be when the screen is zoomed out. The
arrows on the screen at right show two locations where,
if zoomed in, text will show. (Note: this doesn’t affect
air data, just the earth map.)

Map Detail

The detail shown on the background map diminishes as the screen is
zoomed out. This prevents cluttering of the display, or overlapping of text

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