NorthStar NS 3100, NS 3100 DEPTH User Manual

NS 3100 DEPTH

Reference

Manual

and

Installation

Manual

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 protec tion 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.

Northstar DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY FOR ANY USE OF THIS PRODUCT IN A WAY THAT MAY CAUSE ACCIDENTS, DAMAGE OR THAT MAY
VIOLATE THE LAW.

This manual represents the NS3100 DEPTH as at the time of printing. Northstar reserves the right to make changes to specifications without
notice.

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 conflict between any Translation of
the Documentation, the English language version of the Documentation will be the official version of the Documentation.

Copyright © 2005 Northstar.

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 protec tion 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.

Northstar DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY FOR ANY USE OF THIS PRODUCT IN A WAY THAT MAY CAUSE ACCIDENTS, DAMAGE OR THAT MAY
VIOLATE THE LAW.

This manual represents the NS3100 DEPTH as at the time of printing. Northstar reserves the right to make changes to specifications without
notice.

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 conflict between any Translation of
the Documentation, the English language version of the Documentation will be the official version of the Documentation.

Copyright © 2005 Northstar.

1 Introduction ..................................................................................................4

2-1 Turn on and off. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2-2 Basic operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2-3 Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2-4 Simulate mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2-5 Key reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

3 Depth, keel offset, too deep alarm, too shallow alarm .............7

3-1 Set depth units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

3-2 Set too deep alarm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

3-3 Set too shallow alarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

3-4 Anchor watch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

3-5 Set keel offset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

4 Systems of several instruments ...........................................................9

4-1 NavBus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

4-2 NMEA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

5 NS3100 DEPTH hardware ................................................................... 10

5-1 What comes with your NS3100 DEPTH. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

5-2 Other parts required . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

5-3 Transducer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

5-4 Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

6 Installation and setup .............................................................................11

6-1 Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

6-2 Set up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

6-3 Resetting to factor y defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Appendix A - Specifications .................................................................... 14

Appendix B - Troubleshooting .............................................................. 15

Contents

4

Northstar NS3100 DEPTH

The NS3100 DEPTH measures and displays the depth
of the water. An installed NS3100 DEPTH usually has
two parts:

The display unit.
A depth transducer, which is attached to the hull

and wired to the display unit.
The unit is powered from the boat’s power supply.
The NS3100 DEPTH is part of the Northstar family

of instruments for boats, which includes instruments
for speed, depth and multi. These instruments can
be connected together to form an integrated data
system for a boat (see section 4).

For maximum benefit, please read this manual
carefully before installation and use.

How the transducer measures depth

The depth transducer generates an ultrasonic (sound)
pulse, which travels down through the water. When
the pulse meets the bottom, some of the pulse is
reflected back up towards the boat and is received by
the transducer.

The display unit analyses the reflections from each
pulse. It removes unwanted reflections (from bubbles
and other objects) and calculates the depth by
measuring the time between sending the pulse and
receiving its echo.

Cleaning and maintenance

Clean the display unit and any plastic transducers
with a damp cloth or mild detergent. Avoid abrasive
cleaners, petrol or other solvents.

When repainting the hull, cover or remove any visible
transducers. Depth transducers may be coated with
a thin layer of antifouling paint; gently sand off any
previous paint first.

1 Introduction

Alarm symbol

Display (backlit)

Four keys
(backlit)

Display normally
shows depth

The NS3100 DEPTH display unit

Depth units

Units

The factory default units
are meters. To change
these units, please refer to
section 3-1 of this manual.

5

Reference Manual and Installation Manual

Simulate mode allows you to become familiar
with the unit off the water. In Simulate mode, the
NS3100 DEPTH functions normally except the
transducer is ignored and the unit generates this
data internally. The word SIMULATE flashes at the
top, left corner of the screen.

Turn the unit on and off with the auxiliary power switch on the boat. The unit does not have its own power
switch. When you turn it off, any settings you have made are retained.

If the word SIMULATE flashes at the top, left of the display, then the unit is in simulate mode (see section 2-4).

The keys

The unit has four keys, labelled

and .

In this manual:

Press means to push the key for less than one second.
Hold for two seconds means to hold the key down for two seconds or more.
Press one key + another key means to push both keys together.

2-1 Turn on and off

2-2 Basic operation

Set backlight for screen and keys

You can set the backlight to one of four brightness levels or off. Press

once to display the current

backlight level, press again to change the level.

The display

The display normally shows depth. If it displays dashes (— —) then it means that
the depth is too deep or unknown.

Backlight level 2

2-3 Alarms

The NS3100 DEPTH can be set to sound an alarm
when the water is too deep or too shallow (see
sections 3-2 and 3-3). When the alarm sounds,
the internal beeper sounds, the symbol on the
display flashes and any external beepers or lights
operate.

Press to mute the alarm. The alarm stays muted until
the depth becomes normal. The alarm will sound if the
depth becomes too deep or too shallow again.

2-4 Simulate mode

To turn Simulate mode on or off:
1 Turn the power off.
2 Hold down

while you turn the power on.