Navman FISH 4500-4600 User Manual
TRACKFISH 6600
FISH 4500/4600
CHA RTPLOTTER AND
FISHFINDERS
FISHFINDER
Installation and
Operation Manual
English ................. 2
Español ................. 38
Português ............. 75
www.navman.com
NAV MAN
This is the Installation and Operation manual for the Navman FISH 4500 and FISH 4600 (here
after referred to as FISH 4500/4600) sh nders. The FISH 4500/4600 is set up with default
units of feet, °F (Fahrenheit), US gallons and knots. See section 3-6 Setup > Units, to change
the units.
FCC Statement
Note: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital
device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable
protection against harmful interference in a normal 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. However, there is
no guarantee that interference 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 following measures:
Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
Connect the equipment into an output on a circuit different from that to which the
receiver is connected.
Consult the dealer or an experienced technician for help.
A shielded cable must be used when connecting a peripheral to the
serial ports.
IMPORTANT
It is the owner’s sole responsibility to install and use the instrument and transducer(s) in a
manner that will not cause accidents, personal injury or property damage. The user of this
product is solely responsible for observing safe boating practices.
NAVMAN NZ LIMITED DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY FOR ANY USE OF THIS PRODUCT IN A
WAY THAT MAY CAUSE ACCIDENTS, DAMAGE OR THAT MAY VIOLATE THE LAW.
Governing Language: This statement, any instruction manuals, user guides and other
information relating to the product (Documentation) may be translated to, or has been translated
from, another language (Translation). In the event of any con ict between any Translation
of the Documentation, the English language version of the Documentation will be the of cial
version of the Documentation.
Fuel Computer: Fuel economy can alter drastically depending on the boat loading and
sea conditions. The fuel computer should not be the sole source of information concerning
available fuel onboard and the electronic information should be supplemented by visual or
other checks of the fuel load. This is necessary due to possible operator induced errors such
as forgetting to reset the fuel used when lling the tank, running the engine with the fuel
computer not switched on or other operator controlled actions that may render the device
inaccurate. Always ensure that adequate fuel is carried onboard for the intended trip plus a
reserve to allow for unforeseen circumstances.
This manual represents the FISH 4500/4600 as at the time of printing. Navman NZ Limited
reserves the right to make changes to speci cations without notice.
Copyright © 2004 Navman NZ Limited, New Zealand. All rights reserved. Navman is a
registered trademark of Navman NZ Limited.
Contents
1 Introduction ............................................................................................4
1-1 Benefits of the FISH 4500/4600 ...................................................................4
1-2 How the FISH 4500/4600 works ...................................................................5
2 Basic Operation ..................................................................................... 6
3 Setting up the FISH 4500/4600 .............................................................8
3-1 Setup > System ............................................................................................9
3-2 Setup > Sonar ..............................................................................................9
3-3 Setup > Fuel ...............................................................................................10
3-4 Setup > Logs .............................................................................................. 11
3-5 Setup > Alarms ...........................................................................................12
3-6 Setup > Units ..............................................................................................12
3-7 Setup > Comms ..........................................................................................13
3-8 Setup > Calibrate ........................................................................................13
4 Using the FISH 4500/4600 ................................................................... 15
4-1 Interpreting the display ...............................................................................15
4-2 Single and Dual frequency fishfinding ........................................................17
4-3 Fish detection and display ..........................................................................19
4-4 Gain ............................................................................................................20
4-5 Range .........................................................................................................21
5 The Displays ........................................................................................22
5-1 Sonar display ..............................................................................................22
5-2 Sonar Zoom display ...................................................................................23
5-3 Sonar Bottom display ................................................................................. 24
5-4 Sonar 50/200 display ..................................................................................24
5-5 Sonar A-Scope display ...............................................................................24
5-6 Fuel display ................................................................................................ 25
5-7 Data display ................................................................................................25
5-8 About display ..............................................................................................26
6 Installation and Maintenance .............................................................27
6-1 What comes with this product? ..................................................................27
6-2 Options and Accessories ............................................................................27
6-3 Mounting and removing the display unit ..................................................... 27
6-4 Power and transducer connections ............................................................28
6-5 Wiring options .............................................................................................29
6-6 Systems of several instruments .................................................................31
6-7 Cleaning and maintenance .........................................................................31
Appendix A - Specifications .................................................................. 32
Appendix B - Dimensions
Appendix C - Troubleshooting .............................................................. 34
Appendix D - How to contact us ...........................................................37
.............................................................................. 33
FISH 4500/4600 Installation and Operation Manual 3
NAVMAN
1 Introduction
Congratulations on choosing a Navman fishfinder. For maximum benefit, please read this
manual carefully before installation and use.
This manual describes how to install and set up
the FISH 4500/4600 and the associated dualfrequency transom transducer. (If a through
hull transducer is used, refer to the Installation
Instructions supplied with that transducer.)
This manual also explains how to operate the
FISH 4500/4600 effectively and provides troubleshooting information and performance tips.
Important
It is vital to the performance of the fishfinder
that the transducer is installed in the best
location. Please follow the installation
instructions very carefully.
1-1 Benefits of the FISH 4500/4600
The FISH 4500/4600 is a high quality, dualfrequency sonar fishfinder that is supplied with
a dual-frequency transducer. It uses TFT (Thin
Film Transistor) technology to provide a color
display for easy daylight viewing that can be
dimmed for night fishing. The bracket mounting
option also allows the fishfinder to be tilted and
swivelled for optimum viewing.
The colors on the sonar displays are customizable, with a choice of four 16 color palettes and
one 8 color palette. The colors represent different signal strengths, making the sonar displays
easy to interpret.
The dual frequency capability enables the
FISH 4500/4600 to operate and display:
• At a high frequency of 200 kHz.
• At a low frequency of 50 kHz.
• Both frequencies side-by-side on a split dis-
play.
• Both frequencies combined together into a
single display.
This capability, combined with a variable power
output of up to 600 W RMS, ensures that the
FISH 4500/4600 operates effectively in shallow
and deep water.
The FISH 4500/4600 can detect the bottom to a
depth of 2000 feet (600 metres) depending on
the clarity of the water, the ultrasonic frequency
chosen and the type of transducer used.
The Navman fishfinder can be used to find fish,
to locate features on the bottom such as reefs
or wrecks and to help recognize favourite fishing
spots from the bottom profile.
The Navman fishfinder can also assist with
navigation by providing depth information to help
identify the depth contours marked on charts.
The FISH 4500/4600 is particularly suited to
work with the TRACKER 5500/5600 - Navman’s
color display GPS chartplotter with worldwide
coverage.
The two instruments can be connected together
using either NavBus or NMEA, so they can
share data.
IMPORTANT NOTE ON USE. While any
fishfinder can be used as an aid to navigation,
accuracy can be limited by many factors, including the location of the transducer. It is the user’s
responsibility to ensure the Navman fishfinder is
installed and used correctly.
With the optional fuel kit, the FISH 4500/4600
also becomes a sophisticated and easy-to-use
fuel computer.
All of the Navman 4000 Series fishfinders use
new proprietary SBN-II Technology for sonar
processing to improve Signal enhancement,
Bottom recognition and Noise rejection.
SBN-II Technology uses digital adaptive filter
algorithms to enhance all returned signals. At the
same time, SBN-II Technology uses active noise
control to reject interference, which can often be
mistaken by fishfinders for true returns.
Using SBN-II Technology, the Navman fishfinder
analyses the reflections from each pulse, filters
false returns and displays what is in the water
under the boat. See section 4-1 Interpreting the
display, for more information.
NAVMAN
FISH 4500/4600 Installation and Operation Manual4
1-2 How the FISH 4500/4600 works
The FISH 4500/4600 has two parts:
- the transducer attached to the hull
- the display unit.
The transducer generates an ultrasonic pulse
(sound that is above the hearing range of the
human ear), which travels down towards the
bottom at a speed of about 4800 ft/sec (1463 m/
sec), spreading out into a cone shape.
When the pulse meets an object, such as a
fish or the bottom, it is partly reflected back
up towards the boat as an echo. The depth
of the object or bottom is calculated by the
FISH 4500/4600 by measuring the time taken
between sending a pulse and receiving the
echo. When an echo has been returned, the
next pulse is sent.
The FISH 4500/4600 converts each echo into
an electronic signal, displayed as a vertical line
of pixels. The most recent echo appears on the
extreme right of the display, with the older echoes
being scrolled towards the left, eventually disappearing off the display.
The scroll speed depends upon the water depth
and scroll speed setting. See section 3-2 Setup
> Sonar and section 4-1 Interpreting the display,
for more information.
The appearance of echoes displayed are affected by:
• the fishfinder settings (frequency selected,
range and gain settings)
• echoes (different fish types, different bot-
tom types, wrecks and seaweed)
• noise (water clarity and bubbles).
See section 4-1 Interpreting the display, for more
information.
FISH 4500/4600 Installation and Operation Manual 5
NAVMAN
2 Basic Operation
Key Names
ESC If a menu is not displayed then go to the sonar
display. If a menu is displayed then cancel any
changes and return to the previous menu.
DISP Shows the Display menu.
, Cursor keys move the selection highlight and
, change settings.
MENU Press to show the Options menu on a display; press
again to show the Setup menu.
ENT Confirms any changes or from a sonar display
shows the Gain controls.
+ Increases the Range.
-- Decreases the Range.
AUTO Selects manual, cruising or fishing mode.
50/200 Changes the frequency between 50 kHz and
200 kHz.
Powers On and Off; shows the Backlight control.
Key Operation
The fishfinder is operated through menus.
To select a menu item:
1. Press DISP or MENU
2. Press
item.
3. Press ENT to select the item.
To change a number, word or setting:
1. Use the cursor keys,
2. Press ENT to confirm; ESC to cancel.
or to move the highlight to the
highlight the number, word or setting and
, , ,
to make the change(s).
to
Power On / Auto Power
Press to turn the fishfinder on.
If the fishfinder is wired for auto power, it turns
on automatically whenever the boat’s ignition
is turned on. This ensures that the engine
hours counter and optional fuel functions are
activated. A title display appears briefly. This is
followed automatically by the Installation menu
the first time the fishfinder is switched on. Use
this menu to specify the language (see section
3-1 Setup > System) and units (see section 3-6
Setup > Units).
At all other times, the title display is followed by
the display that was used most recently.
If the transducer is not connected, the
message: Enter simulate mode? will
appear. Press
or Never. (If the transducer was not intentionally
disconnected, turn off the fishfinder and refer to
the section on Troubleshooting in Appendix B.)
Press ENT to confirm the selection and the
startup sequence will continue.
NAVMAN
to
switch between Yes, No
or
FISH 4500/4600 Installation and Operation Manual6
Power Off
To turn the fishfinder off, hold . A countdown
box appears. Continue to hold for 3 seconds
until the fishfinder turns off.
Note: If the unit is wired for Auto Power
(section 6-5 Wiring options) the fishfinder can
be turned off only when the boat’s ignition is
turned off.
Backlight Adjustment
The display and keys are backlit, with a choice
of 16 brightness levels. To change the backlight
level:
1. Press
controls.
2. Press
3. Press ENT to save setting.
Press
light setting
4. Press ESC to exit.
Menu Note:
Some menu items in the FISH 4500/4600 menu’s
utilize checkboxes.
If the box is selected or
‘checked’ (contains a check
or tick), then that function is
enabled or ON.
If the box is de-selected or
‘un-checked’ (does not contain a check or tick), then that
function is disabled or OFF.
To select or de-select a checkbox, highlight the
menu item and press ENT.
briefly to show the display
to dim or to brighten.
twice to return to the maximum back-
Simulate Mode
An internal simulator allows users to learn how
to operate the fishfinder off the water.
In Simulate mode the word Simulate flashes
on the bottom of the display. The fishfinder
generates data so that all the main displays
appear to be operational.
Use Setup > Simulate as follows:
1. Press MENU twice to show the Setup
menu.
2. Highlight Simulate.
3. Press ENT to select or de-select.
Manual, Fishing and Cruising
Modes
Press AUTO to select one of the three following
operating modes:
• Cruise mode. Use this when on the move.
The FISH 4500/4600 prominently displays
the water depth and automatically adjusts
Range and Gain so that the bottom trace
is displayed. Depth is displayed in large
digits.
• Fishing mode. Use this when fishing.
The FISH 4500/4600 prominently displays
fish, the bottom profile, wrecks, rocks and
all the details that help to find fish. Gain
and Range are optimized automatically,
increasing the sensitivity and fishfinding
ability.
• Manual mode. Use this to fine-tune the
fishfinding ability of the FISH 4500/4600.
Best results are often achieved in manual
mode, but practice and experience are
required to obtain the optimum settings for
different conditions. Gain, gain threshold,
pulse length and pulse power can all be
adjusted. Manual mode stores the most
recent settings, so these do not have to be
reset each time manual mode is selected.
FISH 4500/4600 Installation and Operation Manual 7
NAVMAN
3 Setting up the FISH 4500/4600
Press MENU twice, to show the Setup menu,
then select a particular option using the or
cursor keys. (Section 2 Basic Operation,
describes the basic use of keys.)
The Setup menu and options
System - see section 3-1
Fuel - see section 3-3
Alarms - see section 3-5
The Setup menu and options are summarized
below. The factory default settings are shown
where applicable.
Each Setup menu option is explained in the
following sections.
Sonar - see section 3-2
Logs - see section 3-4
Units - see section 3-6
Comms - see section 3-7
Simulate - see section 2
NAVMAN
Calibrate - see section 3-8
FISH 4500/4600 Installation and Operation Manual8
3-1 Setup > System
Press MENU once or more until the Setup menu
is displayed, then select System:
Language
Select the language for the displays. The options
are: English, Italian, French, German, Spanish,
Dutch, Swedish, Portuguese, Finnish Greek
and Chinese.
Tip: In case you can’t read the current language,
the language setting is found at the top of the
system menu.
Backlight
The backlight control is displayed. The bar setting
represents the current level of backlighting.
Key beep
Enables or disables the beep when a key is
pressed.
Auto power off
Select to ha ve the fishfinder power off automatically
every time the boat’s ignition is switched off. This
applies only if the display unit is wired for Auto
Power. See section 6-5 Wiring Options.
Style
Use this to choose the appearance of the
FISH 4500/4600 interface. Select Classic to
have the fishfinder interface use the same style
as a TRACKER 5500/5600. Otherwise, select 3D
for a strong, proportional font.
Factory reset
This option returns all of the fishfinder settings
(except the language) to the default factory settings shown in section 3 Setting up the FISH
4500/4600.
A warning box asks: Are you sure? Select Yes
and press ENT to confirm.
Sonar (FISH 4600 only)
Select to enable sonar functions. Deselect if the
unit is to be used as a SmartCraft only display.
SmartCraft (FISH 4600 only)
Select to enable SmartCraft functions. SmartCraft is only available with certain Mercury
engines, and requires an optional SmartCraft
Gateway.
3-2 Setup > Sonar
Press MENU once or more until the Setup menu
is displayed, then select Sonar:
Frequency
There is a choice of: 200 kHz, 50 kHz and
Mixed. For information about selecting a suitable
frequency for the water conditions, see section
4-2 Single and Dual frequency fishfinding.
FISH 4500/4600 Installation and Operation Manual 9
Scroll speed
Use this to set the scroll speed on the display.
There is a choice of: Very Fast, Fast, Me-
dium, Slow and Pause. The depth of the water
also affects the speed of the display.
Faster scroll speeds combined with a slow boat
speed (typically between 2 and 6 knots) shows the
most fish detail. Medium or Slow scroll speeds
result in sonar information being displayed over a
longer period, but with less detail. See Section 4-1
Interpreting the display, for more information.
Fish symbols
These appear only in the main sonar displays. Fish
symbols can be shown in three ways:
• As a fish symbol (On).
• As a fish symbol with the depth (On+depth).
The depth is shown beside the fish symbol.
• Switched off (Off) so that echoes are not
converted to fish symbols but are displayed
directly.
See section 4-3 Fish detection and display, for
more information about fish symbols.
NAVMAN
Fish filter
Use this to select the minimum fish symbol size
to be displayed. There is a choice of: Small,
Medium and Large.
Digit size
Use this to remove or change the size of the depth
display on the sonar displays. There is a choice of:
Small, Medium and Large.
Fish sensitivity
Use this function to adjust the minimum fish
detection level. Select High to detect maximum
number of fish.
Depth line
This is a horizontal line that can be moved up or
down using the or cursor keys. The depth
line can be used to find the depth of a fish or
other object shown. When in the Sonar Zoom
display, the depth line marks the centre of the
zoomed area.
If selected, it appears on all the sonar displays.
Color bar
This shows the range of colors used for the
selected color palette.
If selected, it is displayed down the left hand side
of all the sonar displays.
Zoom bar
This shows the vertical range that is enlarged in
the Zoom section.
If selected it appears as a vertical scroll bar
displayed on the right hand side of all the sonar
displays.
Palette
Use this to select a color palette. Each color
within the palette represents a different echo
strength, as shown on the sonar displays
There is a choice of five col or palettes: Black, Blue,
White, Vivid and 8 color. The first four display
more detail, whilst the 8 color palette shows a
greater distinction of signal strength between each
adjacent color. For the 16 color palette, each color
covers 1.5 dB signal range. For the 8 color palette,
each color covers 3 dB signal range.
Interference filter
This filters the echo signal to reduce high-level,
spiky interference, such as engine noise.
Select to add filter.
Pulse length
This can be used to specify the length of the
transmitted ultrasonic pulse. A short pulse length
improves the display detail but contains less
energy, therefore it does not penetrate as deeply
into the water as a longer pulse.
There is a choice of Auto, Short, Medium or
Long. The Auto setting is recommended.
Pulse power
This can be used to specify the power output of
the transmitted ultrasonic pulse. Low power output
conserves the boat’s battery and produces a clear
display in shallow water.
There is a choice of Auto, Low, Medium or
High. The Auto setting is recommended.
3-3 Setup > Fuel
These features can be used only when the optional
single or twin engine fuel kit has been installed.
Press MENU once or more until the Setup menu
is displayed, then select Fuel:
It is recommended that the fuel tank capacity is
measured by draining the fuel tank, then filling
it to capacity. After filling, note the reading from
the fuel dispenser’s gauge.
Note: Beware of air pockets, especially in
underfloor tanks.
Warning
Navman fuel kits are only suitable for petrol/
gasoline engines. Fuel consumption can change
drastically depending upon the boat loading
and the sea conditions. Always carry adequate
fuel for the journey, plus a reserve.
Tank full
Select Tank full each time the fuel tank(s)
are completely refilled. When asked Are
you sure? select Yes. Otherwise, the reading on the Fuel display (see section 5-6 Fuel
Display) and the Low Fuel Alarm (see section
3 -5 Setup > Alarms) are meaningless.
NAVMAN
FISH 4500/4600 Installation and Operation Manual10
Set remaining
Before doing a partial refill of the tank or removing fuel manually from the tank (for example, by
siphoning it off):
1. Note the Remaining reading on the
Fuel display.
2. Note how much fuel is added or removed.
3. Calculate how much fuel is now in the tank.
4. Select Set remaining and update
the reading.
It is essential to do this whenever some fuel
is added or removed. Otherwise, the reading on the Fuel display (see section 5-6 Fuel
Display) and the Low Fuel Alarm (see section
3-5 Setup > Alarms) are meaningless.
Clear used
Select Clear used to set Used (the amount
of fuel used) to zero. Do this to start measuring the
amount of fuel used over a certain time or distance.
When asked Are you sure? select Yes.
Tank size
Enter the capacity of the fuel tank.
Num engines
Set the number of engines to 0, 1 or 2. If 0 is
selected the fuel features are turned off.
Calibrate
See section 3-8 Setup > Calibrate, for information
about calibrating the fuel transducer(s).
3-4 Setup > Logs
Press MENU one or more times until the Setup
menu is displayed, then select Logs:
Flow filter
Most engines do not draw fuel from the tank at a
steady rate. To give a stable fuel flow reading, the
fishfinder calculates the flow value(s) by taking
several measurements and averaging them. Use
the Flow filter to set the period over which the fuel
flow is averaged.
For twin engine installations, the fuel flow for each
engine must be adjusted separately.
The Flow filter can be set from 0 to 30 seconds. Use
the lowest value which gives a stable flow. Usually a
value of 5 to 10 seconds will give a satisfactory result
for two-stroke carburettor engines. Fuel injected or
four-stroke engines may require a larger value.
This setting affects the Fuel flow and Fuel
economy reading on the Fuel display (see section
5-6 Fuel display) but it does not affect the Fuel
used reading.
Speed Source
Select speed input from water speed transducer or
external GPS source (an external GPS source must
be connected to the Fishfinder via NavBus or NMEA
comms – see section 3-7 Setup > Comms.)
The values can be changed independently of
each other. These log values are saved when
the unit is turned off.
Reset trip dist
This resets the trip distance to zero.
Reset total dist
This option resets the total distance to zero.
Reset engine hours
Use this option to reset the engine hours to
zero. This can be useful after an engine service
or to count the engine hours between service
intervals.
FISH 4500/4600 Installation and Operation Manual 11
NAVMAN
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