Mini-manual Simrad SH40 High frequency sonar www.SIMRAD.
Simrad SH40 Mini-manual This manual provides you with the basic information required to operate the Simrad SH40 High frequency sonar. For more detailed information, refer to the Operator manual.
Document history Document number: 302656 / ISBN-10: 82-8066-067-4 / ISBN-13: 978-82-8066-067-4-1 Rev. A March 2006 First version. Copyright ©2006 Simrad AS Disclaimer The information contained in this document remains the sole property of Simrad AS. No part of this document may be copied or reproduced in any form or by any means, and the information contained within it is not to be communicated to a third party, without the prior written consent of Simrad AS.
Mini-manual Table of contents INTRODUCTION ................................................................ 5 IMPORTANT MATTERS ...................................................... 6 RELEASES ......................................................................... 7 SH40 Release history ...............................................................................................7 POWER ON/OFF ................................................................ 8 How to switch on the sonar ................
Simrad SH40 Automatic search and tracking procedures ............................................................28 How to start the horizontal search program................................................... 28 How to start the vertical search program....................................................... 29 How to enable position track ....................................................................... 29 How to enable target track ....................................................................
Introduction INTRODUCTION The purpose of this booklet is to give you a short introduction to the operational use of the SH40 sonar. It is not possible to explain all the functionality and possibilities in detail, it is therefore important that you familiarize yourself with the operator manual provided with the sonar. Know your sonar! Your SH40 sonar is a large and expensive instrument. It is still relatively easy to operate once you get to know the menus and buttons.
Simrad SH40 IMPORTANT MATTERS As with all advanced instruments, there are a few important matters about the SH40 that you must remember. Before you switch on the sonar When you power up the sonar, the transducer is lowered down below the vessel’s hull. Make sure that you have sufficient water depth before you do this! When the sonar is not in use To protect the sonar when it is not in use, we strongly advice you to hoist the transducer, even though you may not switch off the power.
Releases RELEASES The SH40 sonar is based on advanced software. We are continuously improving our products, and for this reason the sonar software is upgraded. New software versions will in most cases provide you with new functionality. To find out which software your sonar uses, click the System tab, then click Test in the menu, and finally About. SH40 Release history SW 1.3.X New feature Noise filter implemented on the Horizontal menu.
Simrad SH40 POWER ON/OFF This chapter explains how to switch your sonar system on and off. WARNING Before you start: Make sure that the water depth below the keel is sufficient to lower the transducer! How to switch on the sonar Observe the following procedure. MAIN SW. POWER A Up B Middle C Down D (CD015022B) 1 Press the Power button on the colour display monitor. 2 Press the Power button (A) on the Sonar Control Panel, and keep it depressed for approximately two seconds.
Power on/off How to switch off the sonar Observe the following procedure. MAIN SW. POWER A Up B Middle C Down D (CD015022B) 1 Press the Up button (B) on the Sonar Control Panel. • The transducer will automatically be hoisted, and it will stop when it has been fully retracted. The dialogue at the bottom right corner of the display will tell you when the transducer has been fully retracted.
Simrad SH40 SONAR CONTROL PANEL The sonar control panel is organized into fields. The buttons within each field control a specific function on the sonar. SIMRAD MAIN SW.
Sonar control panel Mode These four buttons provide fast access to the four operational modes you select, or to four pre-defined user configurations. You must select which four modes or user configurations to select, and in which order they shall appear. To choose button function, click Mode button on the Display menu. To define the order of the operational modes, click Sort modes on the System menu. Gain This is where you set up the gain in both horizontal and vertical plane.
Simrad SH40 OPERATIONAL MODES The SH40 sonar provides you with several different display modes. These have been created to cover all your operational needs. Only the most common modes are described here. Bow up When Bow up is selected, the vessel symbol is stationary on the screen with the bow pointing upwards. The echo presentation covers 360 degrees around the vessel, and all echoes are updated for every ping. The distance from the vessel symbol to the outer echo ring is equal to the selected range.
Operational modes symbol reaches the edge of the screen, it will automatically be moved back to the centre, or to a position determined by the Off Centre button. This position is reset to the screen centre whenever the mode is changed. When you select Target Track, the target will automatically be moved to the screen centre. Dual The Dual modes are both kind of “two sonars in one” operation, where each presentation is updated for every second transmission.
Simrad SH40 USING THE MENUS The SH40 sonar is equipped with an extensive menu system, and you will use this to choose operational modes and to control the functionality. In order to select active menu and to click the various buttons, you must use the cursor. The cursor is controlled by the trackball on the Sonar Control Panel, and to “click” you simply press the Select button. Menu structure The menu field on the SH40 sonar display contains several different buttons, tabs and parameter dialogues.
Using the menus tabs for each display mode. In order to select a new menu, move the cursor to the tab, and press the Select button on the Sonar Control Panel. (D) Active menu: The next field contains the actual menu. Depending on operational mode and the menu properties, this menu can contain a number of buttons or other information. (E) Menu button: Each menu button allows you to define the parameters for the specific function.
Simrad SH40 How to hide the menu The menu is normally located on the right hand side of the display, but if you don’t need it, you can easily remove it. 1 Press the Menu button on the Sonar Control Panel. The Menu button will act as a toggle switch. Press once to remove the menu, and one more time to retrieve it. You can also use an alternative method: 1 Press the Display tab. 2 Click the Full screen: Off button.
Using the menus • PP Filter: The Ping-to-Ping filter will only show you the echoes if they are still present after several consecutive pings (2, 4 or 8). This function will provide you with a more stable echo presentation, as spurious echoes will disappear. • Noise level: This button presents a value for the noise in the cursor beam. This information is used during noise tests. Vertical menu The Vertical menu is only shown in modes with a vertical slice function.
Simrad SH40 Display menu The Display menu is shown in all display modes, and provides access to parameters controlling the visual presentation of the sonar views. Some of the choices on the menu are simple on/off buttons. • Full screen: Click this button to remove or retrieve the menu. • Audio mute: Not used. • Resolution: Select 16 or 64 colours in the display presentation. The chosen resolution is shown in the colour bar below the button.
Using the menus • School: This parameter is used to obtain information of the volume estimation of a school in the automatic target tracking program. • Dead reckoning: This function is used to improve the position of the historical track line from the vessel, relative to the actual position of the drifting fishing gear. • Stabilizer: When this function is active, the sonar will automatically adjust the sonar picture to compensate for the ship’s movements in the sea.
Simrad SH40 • Default setting: Click this button to retrieve the factory settings.
Common procedures COMMON PROCEDURES This chapter presents how to perform the most common procedures on the SH40 sonar. Note that the “power on/off” procedures have been previously explained. Menu procedures This section provides general procedures for menu handling. How to hide the menu The menu is normally located on the right hand side of the display, but if you don’t need it, you can easily remove it. 1 Press the Menu button on the Sonar Control Panel. The Menu button will act as a toggle switch.
Simrad SH40 How to adjust the gain You can adjust the sonar gain by means of the control buttons on the Sonar Control Panel, or by using the Gain button on the Horizontal and Vertical menus. Using the Sonar Control Panel: 1 Locate the Gain field on the Sonar Control Panel. 2 Press the Gain H+ or Gain H- to increase or decrease the horizontal gain. 3 Press the Gain V+ or Gain V- to increase or decrease the vertical gain.
Common procedures How to control the TVG The TVG (Time Varied Gain) controls the gain in the signal amplifier. The gain is weakest just after the ping, and increases in accordance with time (and therefore range). A number of standard gain curves are available, as well as Off and Auto. By using TVG, the gain is adjusted in such way that a school of fish with a certain size and density will be presented with approximately the same strength on the screen in any position inside the regulated TVG range.
Simrad SH40 How to define the function of the Mode buttons The Mode buttons on your SH40 Sonar Control Panel can either be used to select operational mode, or user settings. To switch between these options, observe the procedure. 1 Click the Display tab to open the menu. 2 Click the Mode Buttons: button to select Mode or User. How to sort the operational modes Your SH40 sonar provides you with a selection of operational modes. This list of modes can be sorted to suit your preferences.
Common procedures • Click the middle of the button to open the parameter dialogue for direct access to the requested setting. 4 Click the Store button. 5 When all images have been stored, click the Close button to close the Store/Recall menu. Once the Store has been activated, the sonar will save sonar images as defined by the Store mode setting. Each image is added to the list of temporary files located below the buttons. Each file name reflects the date and time.
Simrad SH40 How to keep sonar images When you store new sonar images, they will by default be added to the list of Temporary files. This list will contain maximum 100 images, and when this limit has been reached, the oldest files will be automatically removed. Observe the following procedure to keep selected sonar images from being deleted. 1 Click the Setup tab to open the menu. 2 Click the Store/Recall button to open the Store/Recall menu. 3 Observe the list of images in the Store/Recall menu.
Common procedures • Make sure that you do not delete the file name extension .bmp. 7 Click the necessary characters on the on-line keyboard to build a new file name. 8 Click the Close button in the parameter dialogue when you have completed the new file name. You are also permitted to change the file name on images in the Temporary files field.
Simrad SH40 • Observe that the standard Windows® Taskbar appears, and that the Start menu is shown in the lower left corner of the display. 8 On the on-line keyboard, click once on the four-coloured Windows button. 9 Observe that the Start menu is removed, and that the Taskbar is still shown. 10 Press and hold the Object button on the Sonar Control Panel depressed, and click the Start button on the Taskbar. 11 On the menu that appears, choose Explore.
Common procedures 2 Hold the Auto search button depressed while you also press one of the two “arrow” buttons in the Train field. 3 Observe that the opening angle of the search sector is adjusted accordingly. 4 Press and hold one of the two “arrow” buttons. 5 Observe that the centre of the search sector is trained accordingly. To exit the search program, press the Manual button. How to start the vertical search program Observe the following procedure to run the automatic search program.
Simrad SH40 How to enable target track Observe this procedure to initiate a target track. 1 Place the cursor over the desired target. 2 Press the Target track button in the Train field on the Sonar Control Panel. A circle will appear on the display and its position automatically tracked by the system using the strongest echo centred in the "window" represented by two lines on the audio line. The "window’s" size may be selected by the Track Window button in the Setup menu.
Basic theory BASIC THEORY This chapter explains some of the basic theory related to settings, error sources and noise conditions. Settings A sonar will transmit a sound wave into the water around the vessel. When this sound wave hits fish, bottom, or other objects in the water, a part of the sound will be returned as echoes. These echoes are collected by the sonar, interpreted by the sonar computers, and presented on the display.
Simrad SH40 PP Filter PP Filter means “Ping-to-Ping Filter”. When this function is activated, the sonar will compare the echoes from one ping with the echoes from the next pings. If an echo is present at the first ping, but then disappears at the next, the sonar will interpret this as noise and reverberation, and remove it. If you choose setting Weak, the sonar will only compare two consecutive pings. If you choose settings Medium or Strong the sonar will compare four and eight pings respectively.
Basic theory Tilt The sonar beam can be tilted vertically in steps of 1 degree, and the chosen tilt is shown on the sonar picture. At 0 degrees tilt you will transmit the sonar beam in parallel with the sea surface, while 90 degrees tilt will direct it straight down. The maximum tilt on the SH40 sonar is 60 degrees. C A B (CD015005D) The challenge will always be to find a tilt that prevents the fish echoes to be buried in reverberation and bottom echoes.
Simrad SH40 The most common cause of acoustic noise is the propeller and the cavitation caused by its rotation. Other typical noise sources on board your vessels are winches, refrigerating plants, power generators, pumps and cranes. If you experience problems you think are caused by noise, try to find out which system that causes the noise, and contact your dealer for advice.
Basic theory Be aware of that other vessels close to you will also generate reverberation due to the water disturbance caused by the wake, the propellers and the cooling water spill. Blocking The movement of your vessel through the water will often — especially in higher sea states — cause air bubbles to be generated, and these bubbles will move along the hull. This is called blocking.
Simrad SH40 Layers and deflections Your sonar operations may also be disturbed by environmental situations that you are unable to control. Two typical conditions are temperature and salinity layers, and deflections caused by increasing or decreasing water temperature. Temperature and salinity layers You may experience that temperature and/or salinity layers exist in the water column.
Basic theory On cold days, you may experience the opposite: the cold water will be close to the surface, and the water temperature increases with increasing depth. A B (CD015005H) When the temperature decreases (A) closer to the surface, the sonar beam is deflected up as indicated by the illustration. The school of fish (B) you thought you would see is once again not visible at all, and you will also see a ring of surface echoes.
ISBN-10: 82-8066-067-4 ISBN-13: 978-82-8066-067-4-1 ©2006 Simrad Simrad AS Strandpromenaden 50 P.O.Box 111 N-3191 Horten, Norway Telephone: +47 33 03 40 00 Telefax: +47 33 04 29 87 www.simrad.com simrad.sales@simrad.
