Northstar 1201, 1202 User Manual

Northstar 1200 Series Display

Owner’s Guide

(P/N GM1200UG, Revision A2)

Northstar Technologies

30 Sudbury Road

Acton, Massachusetts 01720

(978) 897-6600

P/N GM1200UG Rev. A2

Table of contents

Welcome - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1

Features - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 Optional Features with the Northstar vBox - - - - - 2

What’s in this Manual - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 3

Turning the Display On - - - - - - - - - - - - 3 Adjusting the Brightness - - - - - - - - - - - - 3 The DATA and VIDEO Buttons - - - - - - - - - - 3 Turning the Display Off - - - - - - - - - - - - 4 Using Picture-In-Picture on the 1202 - - - - - - - 4

Front Panel - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 5

The POWER Button - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 6 The Brightness Control - - - - - - - - - - - - - 6 The DATA Button - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 6 The VIDEO Button - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 6 The RED Button - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 6 The HI/LO Button - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 7 The MENU Button - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 7

Using the Setup Menu - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 8

1201 Setup Menu - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 10 1202 Setup Menu - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 12

Connections - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 18

The Power Connector - - - - - - - - - - - - 18 The vBox Connector - - - - - - - - - - - - - 19 The VGA Connector - - - - - - - - - - - - - 19 The Video (BNC) Connector - - - - - - - - - - 19

Configurations - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 20

Without Optional vBox - - - - - - - - - - - - 20 With Optional vBox - - - - - - - - - - - - - 21

Installation - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 22

About Video and VGA Cables - - - - - - - - - 23 Choosing a Mounting Location - - - - - - - - 25 Connecting the Power Cable - - - - - - - - - 27 Other Connections - - - - - - - - - - - - - 28

Optional vBox - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 29

Choosing a Mounting Location - - - - - - - - - 29 Installing the vBox - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 29 VBox Connections - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 30 PIP with the vBox - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 33

Maintenance - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 36

Troubleshooting - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 38

Symptoms and Possible Causes - - - - - - - - - 38 Restoring Factory Defaults - - - - - - - - - - - 39

Service - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 40

How To Get Service / Technical Support - - - - - 40

Limited Warranty Policy - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 42

Contacting Northstar - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 43

Appendix A — Installation Checklist - - - - - - - - 44

Appendix B — Specifications - - - - - - - - - - - - 46

Welcome

Overview

Congratulations on your purchase of the Northstar 1200 Series Marine Display. Now you can enjoy clear, crisp, bright images from sources such as “black box” marine electronics, onboard computers, entertainment and security systems.

Your Northstar display has been designed for easy setup and operation. To help you get the best results, please read through the brief, easy-to-understand instructions in this manual.

Features

Your new display features an easy-to-use, sunlight-viewable, clear, crisp 12.1” display. As shown in the table below, the 1201 supports VGA and SVGA inputs. The 1202 supports up to UXGA including the popular SXGA used on black box radars and other marine electronics.

Product

Northstar 1202 12” Display

Northstar 1201 12” Display

The display provides front panel controls to switch between one data input (VGA data such as black box electronics, computers etc.) and one video (NTSC/PAL from sources such as cameras, VCR’s, DVD’s, etc.) input.

1200 Series Display, Rev. A2 Welcome — Page 1

Compatible Resolutions

UXGA (1600 x 1200) SXGA (1280 x 1024) XGA (1024 x 768) SVGA (800 x 600) VGA (640 x 480)

SVGA (800 x 600) VGA (640 x 480)

Native

Resolution

SVGA (800 x 600)

There are no PC boards to install, no software drivers to load. Just plug your existing data and video source outputs into the display. You can switch between them by pressing and

VIDEO

on the front panel.

DATA

Optional Features with the Northstar vBox

With the optional vBox, your input capacity will double to two data inputs and two video inputs. The vBox also adds two useful nighttime viewing features: Red mode and Hi/Lo mode.

Red Mode

The RED feature tints the VGA display (whatever’s plugged into the Data port) to a reddish hue for enhanced nighttime viewing. It’s like adding a night palette to all your marine electronics automatically. This is particularly useful if your navigator is connected to your display and you use it at night.

Hi / Lo Mode

The HI/LO function allows both video and data displayed to be at a lower intensity for better nighttime viewing.

How’s the Manual?

Your feedback is important to us. Please take a minute to drop us an email and let us know what you think of the manual. Send your comments and suggestions to us at:

docs@NorthstarNav.com

Page 2 — Welcome 1200 Series Display, Rev. A2

What’s in this Manual

This manual is in three basic parts. The first part consists of information related to getting started as well as basic information about the display.

The second part of the manual, beginning on page 22, addresses the installation process. Typically only the installer will use this section. However, it does provide ideas and pointers for locating your display as well a list of installation tips.

Finally, the third section, beginning on page 38, describes how to troubleshoot the display and how to get service should the need arise.

Getting Started

Turning the Display On

To turn the display on, simply press until the display lights up. Within a few seconds, you will see a picture if an active source is plugged into either the Data or Video connector on the back panel.

PWR

Adjusting the Brightness

The brightness control is located on the right hand side of the display. Press the up arrow to make the screen brighter and the down arrow to make the screen dimmer.

The DATA and VIDEO Buttons

These two buttons control what image is displayed on the screen. Simply press the button corresponding to the image you wish to view.

Press to see what you’ve connected to the VGA Data connector on the back of the display. Press to display

1200 Series Display, Rev. A2 What’s in this Manual — Page 3

DATA

VIDEO

what’s connected to the BNC Video connector. Press both buttons at once to view Picture-In-Picture (see below).

With the optional vBox, you can have up to four inputs: your original Data and Video source, plus an Auxiliary Data and Video source. Each time you press the display will

DATA

switch between the two Data sources you have connected. The same is true for .

VIDEO

Using Picture-In-Picture on the 1202

The 1202 includes a feature called Picture-In-Picture (PIP) which allows display of a full screen of data with a smaller video image on top of it. This is useful if you want a view of your engine room in the corner of your navigator display. PIP is available only on the 1202. More complete information about PIP settings can be found on page 14.

Turning the Display Off

To turn the display off, simply press and hold for a few seconds until the display shuts off.

PWR

Page 4 — What’s in this Manual 1200 Series Display, Rev. A2

Front Panel

The Northstar 1201 and 1202 displays have several buttons along the bottom of the display that are used to select data sources as well as Hi/Lo* and Red* modes.

There is also a control to adjust the brightness of the display.

ORTHST

1202

HI/LO

RED

DATA

MEN

IDE

Brightness Control

PWR

HI/LO

RED

DATA

VIDEO

The figure above shows the front panel and its controls. Each control is described below.

* Note that Red mode and Hi/Lo mode require the optional vBox.

1200 Series Display, Rev. A2 Front Panel — Page 5

The POWER Button

This key turns the display (and vBox, if connected) on and

PWR

off. You must hold it for a few seconds to turn the display

off. This delay prevents accidental shutoffs.

The Brightness Control

Press the up arrow to make the screen brighter. Press the down arrow to make the screen dimmer.

The DATA Button

DATA

choices and adjust various values lower.

If the optional vBox is installed, repeated presses of this key will alternate between the primary and auxiliary data input.

Displays the VGA data source connected to the DATA input. This key is also used in the Setup Menu to make

The VIDEO Button

VIDEO

make choices and adjust various values higher.

If the optional vBox is installed, repeated presses of this key will alternate between the primary and auxiliary video input.

Displays the NTSC/PAL video source connected to the VIDEO input. This key is also used in the Setup Menu to

The RED Button

RED

mode does not alter Video.

The Red Mode feature is available only when the optional vBox is connected and affects only Data. This

Page 6 — Front Panel 1200 Series Display, Rev. A2

Red Mode turns data images to a reddish hue, both in Hi and Lo mode. This is particularly useful for running at night when your navigator is displayed on your 1201/1202. Press again to turn off.

The HI/LO Button

HI/LO

displayed data or video image. Lower intensity images are more useful at night.

This feature is available only when the optional vBox is connected. It selects a day (Hi) or night (Lo) range of the

The MENU Button

picture quality, Northstar recommends that you don’t adjust the factory settings.

This button configures picture quality settings in your display. Since changing these settings can degrade your

1201

Northstar ships your 1201 pre-adjusted for the

1201

encing problems with image quality, follow the guidelines in the section on troubleshooting beginning on page 38.

maximum video quality. Only in rare cases will further adjustment be necessary. If you are experi-

1202

1202 users will use primarily to turn the Picture-In-Picture (PIP) feature on and off as described on page 4.

is also used for adjusting image quality. Only in rare cases will adjustment be necessary. If you are experiencing problems with image quality, follow the guidelines in the section on troubleshooting beginning on page 38.

1200 Series Display, Rev. A2 Front Panel — Page 7

Using the Setup Menu

The Setup Menu is used to configure the display. The 1201 and 1202 have different Setup Menus. Follow the steps below for your specific model.

NOTE: Always make note of a setup value be-

fore changing it. Then if you don’t like

The Setup Menu will disappear by itself after a certain amount of time. This time can be set in both the 1201 and the 1202.

The 1201 uses a line-based Setup Menu. When making

1201

eter you wish to modify and press and to adjust the value. When you have finished making changes, press and hold

adjustments, simply press to activate the menu. Use the up and down arrows on to select the param-

once again to exit the Setup Menu.

the change, you can restore the previous setting.

DATA

VIDEO

Please read Setup Menu details carefully as it is possible to misadjust the display and adversely affect display quality.

The 1202 uses an icon-based Setup Menu. To activate

1202

it, press once. The menu appears as two rows of

icons. One of these icons is highlighted. This highlighted icon represents the set of parameters to be modified. To advance to the next icon, press .

Once at the desired icon, use the up and down arrows on to select the parameter you wish to modify. Then use and

VIDEO

to change the value or setting of that item. To exit the

menu, press and hold until the menu disappears.

Page 8 — Using the Setup Menu 1200 Series Display, Rev. A2

DATA

1200 Series Display, Rev. A2 Using the Setup Menu — Page 9

1201 Setup Menu

Brightness

Adjusts the brightness of the displayed image itself, not the backlight. Brightness controls how dark the dark parts of the image appear. If this is turned too high, the display will become saturated and visual distortion will occur.

Contrast

Adjusts the contrast (strength of the white part of the image) of the displayed image. If the contrast is too high, the image may appear washed out.

Tuning (Only When Viewing Data Input)

Used to correct subtle timing differences between the display and the input source. Misadjustment of this can cause jitter, ghosting, or even light vertical lines in the image.

Auto Setup (Only When Viewing Data Input)

Pressing while this line is highlighted will cause the display to adjust certain display parameters (position, size, tuning, etc.) for their optimum settings.

VIDEO

Color (Only When Viewing Video Input)

Used to increase or decrease the color intensity in the displayed image — similar to the control on your television.

Tint (Only When Viewing Video Input)

Used to adjust the color values in the displayed image — similar to the control on your television set.

Input

Selects the input source. Use and instead.

Page 10 — Using the Setup Menu 1200 Series Display, Rev. A2

DATA

VIDEO

Image adjust

Used to adjust image-related parameters such as image position, size, and color/tint levels manually.

Reset to RGB Default causes the display to re-calibrate its

colors automatically when displaying an image from the

data input. When displaying a new VGA data source for

the first time, this calibration helps set colors properly.

OSD Menu

This line provides adjustments to the Setup Menu screen such as position, time-out, etc.

System Info

This line provides information such as input resolution, etc.

Extended Menu

These settings should not be changed.

Exit Menu

Press while on this line to exit the Setup Menu.

VIDEO

As a shortcut, you can also hold down until the Setup Menu disappears.

1200 Series Display, Rev. A2 Using the Setup Menu — Page 11

1202 Setup Menu

Brightness and Contrast

These controls adjust the brightness and contrast of the actual LCD panel. Brightness, in this case,

is different from the backlight adjustment. It adjusts how dark the dark parts of the image appear. The contrast adjusts the strength of the white part of the image.

These two settings are somewhat interactive. It is possible to dramatically degrade the display quality using these two settings. Always remember the previous value before you change either one so you can return to the old setting.

Color Temperature

Adjusts the warmth of the image displayed. The higher the color temperature, the brighter and cooler the displayed image appears.

Video Adjustment (Only When Viewing Video Input)

This icon contains adjustments that are very similar to the controls on your television; such as Color, Tint and Sharpness.

The Picture Type adjustment allows selection between the two settings: Motion and Still. In general, the Still setting will provide a sharper picture, but may exhibit ghosting or jitter when viewing rapidly changing images.

Similarly, Video Type provides subtle changes between its DVD and VCR settings.

Frequency and Phase (Only When Viewing Data Input)

Frequency adjusts the horizontal size of the image.

Page 12 — Using the Setup Menu 1200 Series Display, Rev. A2

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