Eagle Electronics 502cDF manual Set Keel Offset

Set Keel Offset

This unit measures water depth from the face of the transducer. Since the transducer is installed below the water surface, the distance dis- played by the digital depth, chart depth scale, chart cursor or fish sym- bols is not the exact water depth. If the transducer is 1 foot below the surface, and the screen shows the water depth as 30 feet, then the ac- tual depth is 31 feet.

On sailboats or other large vessels with deep drafts, the distance be- tween the transducer installation and the keel or lower engine unit can be several feet. In those cases, an inexact depth reading could result in grounding or striking underwater structure. The Keel Offset feature eliminates the need for the navigator to mentally calculate how much water is under his keel.

Keel Offset lets you calibrate the digital depth, chart depth scale, chart cursor depth and fish symbol depth displayed on the screen. To calibrate the depth indicators, first measure the distance from the face of the transducer to the lowest part of the boat. In this example, we will use 3.5 feet. This will entered as a negative 3.5 feet, which makes the depth indi- cators perform as if the transducer's lower in the water than it really is.

1.Press MENUMENU↓ to SONAR SETUPENT↓ to SET KEEL OFFSETENT.

2.The Keel Offset dialog box appears. Press ↓ to change the plus (+) sign to a minus (–) sign.

3.Press → to the first number, then press ↑ to change the number to 3

4.Press → to the second number, then press ↑ to change the number to

5and press EXIT. The depth indicators now accurately show the depth of water beneath the keel.

NOTE:

If knowing the exact depth of water beneath the keel is less important, calibrate the depth indicators so they show actual water depth from surface to bottom. To do this, measure the distance from the face of the transducer up to the surface — the water line on the boat. In this ex- ample, we will use 1.5 feet. This will be entered as a positive 1.5 feet, which makes the depth indicators perform as if the transducer is higher in the water than it really is.

1.Press MENUMENU↓ to SONAR SETUPENT↓ to SET KEEL OFF-

SETENT.

2.The Keel Offset dialog box appears with a plus (+) sign at the front of the box.

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