Eagle FishEasy 250 DS Installation And Operation Instructions Manual Download Page 1

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Pub. 988-0151-421

www.eaglesonar.com

FishEasy 250 DS

& SeaFinder 250 DF

Fish-Finding & Depth-Sounding Sonars

Installation and Operation

Instructions

Summary of Contents for FishEasy 250 DS

Page 1: ...Pub 988 0151 421 www eaglesonar com FishEasy 250 DS SeaFinder 250 DF Fish Finding Depth Sounding Sonars Installation and Operation Instructions ...

Page 2: ...sy 250 Seafinder 250 are registered trademarks of LEI Eagle Electronics may find it necessary to change or end our policies regulations and special offers at any time We reserve the right to do so without notice All features and specifications subject to change without notice All screens in this manual are simulated For free owner s manuals and the most current information on this product its oper...

Page 3: ...m Transducer Assembly and Mounting 11 Trolling Motor Bracket Installation 15 Transducer Orientation and Fish Arches 16 Shoot Thru Hull Preparation 18 Shoot thru hull Installation 21 Power and Cable Connections 22 Mounting The Sonar Unit In Dash or Bracket 24 Portable Installation 27 Portable Transducer Assembly 28 Section 2 Operation 31 Keyboard Basics 31 Memory 32 Menus 32 Display 33 Full Chart 3...

Page 4: ...s 47 Shallow Alarm 48 Deep Alarm 49 Battery Alarm 49 Noise Rejection and ASP 50 Depth Display 52 Temperature Display 52 Voltage 54 Units 54 Backlight 54 Contrast 55 Simulator 55 Set Language 56 Software Information 56 Reset Options 57 Troubleshooting 59 ...

Page 5: ...performance of your Eagle sonar Improper installation can cause problems down the road especially if the transducer is badly mounted After you ve read the installation instructions install the unit and ac cessories Then read the rest of the manual The more you know about your sonar the better it will work for you Capabilities and Specifications FishEasy 250 DS SeaFinder 250 DF General Case size 5 ...

Page 6: ... is packed with the unit Watts SeaFinder 250 DS 2 400 watts peak to peak 300 watt RMS FishEasy 250 DS 1 500 watts peak to peak 188 watts RMS Depth capability SeaFinder 250 DS 1 300 feet 396 meters with 50 kHz FishEasy 250 DS to 1 000 feet 305 meters with 83 kHz Actual capability depends on transducer configuration and in stallation bottom composition and water con ditions All sonar units typically...

Page 7: ...or SOund NAvigation and Ranging a tech nology developed during World War II for tracking enemy submarines A sonar consists of a transmitter transducer receiver and display In simple terms here s how it finds the bottom and the fish The transmitter emits an electrical impulse which the transducer con verts into a sound wave and sends into the water The sound frequency can not be heard by humans or ...

Page 8: ...or sonar perform ance at all depths from very shallow up to 1 000 ft and provides up to 120º of fishfinding coverage Preparations You can install the sonar system in some other order if you prefer but we recommend this installation sequence Caution You should read over this entire installation section before drill ing any holes in your vessel 1 Determine the approximate location for the sonar unit...

Page 9: ...proximate location for the transducer and its cable route 3 Determine the location of your battery or other power connection along with the power cable route 4 Install the transducer and route the transducer cable to the sonar unit 5 Install the power cable and route it to the sonar unit 6 Mount the sonar unit ...

Page 10: ...6 Notes ...

Page 11: ...t can easily be pushed back into place without tools Read these instructions carefully before attempting the installation Determine which of the installation methods is right for your boat Remember the transducer installation is the most critical part of a sonar installation Recommended Tools and Supplies If you prefer the option of routing the cable through the transom you will need a 5 8 drill b...

Page 12: ...n the outside of the hull create large amounts of turbulence at high speed These boats typically have large outboard motors capable of propelling the boat at speeds faster than 35 mph Typically a good location on alumi num boats is between the ribs closest to the engine 2 The transducer should be installed with its face pointing straight down if possible 3 If the transducer is mounted on the trans...

Page 13: ...m bangs and bumps Align transducer centerline with hull bottom If you want to adjust the transducer slightly higher or lower the slots in the mounting brackets allow you to loosen the screws and slide the CAUTION Clamp the trans ducer cable to transom near the transducer This will help prevent the transducer from entering the boat if it is knocked off at high speed Good location Good location Poor...

Page 14: ...ru hull installa tion often called thru hull In that case a hole is cut in the hull and a specially designed transducer is mounted through the hull with a threaded shaft and nut This puts the transducer in direct contact with the water Typically shoot thru hull installations give excellent high speed opera tion and good to excellent depth capability There is no possibility of transducer damage fro...

Page 15: ... transducer so that it s parallel with the ground 1 Assembling the bracket Press the two small plastic ratchets into the sides of the metal bracket as shown in the following illustration Notice there are letters molded into each ratchet Place each ratchet into the bracket with the letter A aligned with the dot stamped into the metal bracket This position sets the transducer s coarse angle adjustme...

Page 16: ...transom Again check to see if you can move the transducer so it s parallel with the ground If you can then go to step 3 If it doesn t repeat step 2 but use a different alignment letter until you can place the transducer on the transom correctly Insert bolt and check transducer position on transom 3 Assembling the transducer Once you determine the correct posi tion for the ratchets assemble the tra...

Page 17: ...enter of each slot for the mounting screw pilot holes You will drill one hole in the center of each slot Drill the holes using the 29 bit for the 10 screws Position transducer mount on transom and mark mounting holes Side view left and shown from above right 5 Attaching transducer to transom Remove the transducer from the bracket and re assemble it with the cable passing through the bracket over t...

Page 18: ... transducer so that it s parallel to the ground and tighten the nut until it touches the outer washer then add 1 4 turn Don t over tighten the lock nut If you do the transducer won t kick up if it strikes an object in the water Align transducer centerline with hull bottom and attach to transom 6 Route the transducer cable through or over the transom to the sonar unit Make sure to leave some slack ...

Page 19: ...stallation be sure to seal the hole with the same marine grade above or below waterline sealant used for the mounting screws 7 Make a test run to determine the results If the bottom is lost at high speed or if noise appears on the display try sliding the trans ducer bracket down This puts the transducer deeper into the water hopefully below the turbulence causing the noise Don t allow the transduc...

Page 20: ...t Use plastic ties not included to attach the transducer cable to the troll ing motor shaft Make sure there is enough slack in the cable for the motor to turn freely Route the cable to the sonar unit and the trans ducer is ready for use Transducer mounted on trolling motor side view Transducer Orientation and Fish Arches If you do not get good fish arches on your display it could be because the tr...

Page 21: ...he arch is printed then the nose of the transducer is angled too far down and needs to be raised NOTE Periodically wash the transducer s face with soap and water to re move any oil film Oil and dirt on the face will reduce the sensitiv ity or may even prevent operation Transducer aimed too far back Transducer aimed too far forward Proper transducer angle Partial fish arches Full fish arch ...

Page 22: ... on your hull can result in damage that could sink your boat Contact your boat dealer or manufac turer to confirm your hull specifications Epoxy the transducer to a solid portion of the hull Some but not all manufacturers use a layer of fiberglass then a core of balsa wood finishing with an outer layer of fiberglass Removing the inner layer of fiberglass and the balsa wood core exposes the outer l...

Page 23: ...f Auto Sensitivity Auto Depth Range and ASP Try a range setting that is two to three times the water depth The harder more rocky the bottom the easier it will be to get a second bottom signal Do not touch the controls once they have been set Example of a second bottom signal Unit is in 30 feet of water with range set at 80 feet and sensitivity set to 87 percent 2 Next take the transducer out of th...

Page 24: ...s is especially true if you have to turn sensitivity all the way up to get a decent bottom signal 4 Most people can get good results by following steps 1 through 3 so this step is optional If you want to make an extra effort to be abso lutely sure that your selected location will work under all conditions make a test run with the boat on plane and observe the bottom signal You will need to figure ...

Page 25: ...ding After sanding clean the hull and transducer with rubbing alcohol to remove any sanding debris Epoxy transducer to hull WARNING Use only the epoxy available from LEI It has been for mulated to work with these installation procedures Other epoxy types may be too thin or may not cure to the right consistency for optimum transducer perform ance 2 The epoxy consists of the epoxy itself and a harde...

Page 26: ... to hold the transducer in place while the epoxy cures Be careful not to bump the transducer while the epoxy is wet Leave the weight in place for a minimum of three hours Allow the epoxy to cure for 24 hours before moving the boat 5 After the epoxy has cured route the cable to the sonar unit Power and Cable Connections The unit works from a 12 volt battery system For the best results at tach the p...

Page 27: ...wer and transducer connections for sonar units direct battery connection shown WARNING Do not use this product without a 3 amp fuse wired into the power cable Failure to use a 3 amp fuse will void your warranty This product must be independently fused with the enclosed 3 amp fuse or equivalent even if you connect to a fused accessory or power buss If a malfunction happens inside the unit extensive...

Page 28: ...verse polarity protection No damage will occur if the power wires are reversed However the unit will not work until the wires are attached correctly Mounting The Sonar Unit In Dash or Bracket You can install the sonar unit on the top of a dash with the supplied bracket It can also be installed in the dash with an optional dash mounting kit The FM 5 mount kit will work for both the FishEasy 250 DS ...

Page 29: ...vided there is clearance when it s tilted for the best viewing angle You should also make sure there is enough room behind the unit to attach the power transducer cable Holes in the bracket s base allow wood screw or through bolt mounting You may need to place a piece of plywood on the back side of thin pan els to reinforce the panel and secure the mounting hardware Millimeters Inches ALWAYS VERIF...

Page 30: ...tion Some customers however prefer to mount the bracket to the side of the cable hole it s a matter of personal preference After drilling the hole pass the connector up through the hole from under the dash If you want you can fill in the hole around the cable with a good ma rine sealant compound Some marine dealers stock cable hole covers to conceal the opening No matter what type of installation ...

Page 31: ...acket using the supplied gimbal knobs and washers Slide the rubber washers onto the gimbal knobs then loosely screw the knobs into their sockets Slide the unit into the bracket with the rubber washers to the outside of the bracket arms Tilt the unit to the desired viewing angle and tighten the knobs finger tight Portable Installation Like many Eagle products this sonar unit is capable of portable ...

Page 32: ...bly Recommended tools for installation include a slotted screw driver and two adjustable wrenches Assemble the transducer and bracket as shown in the following figure Attach the transducer to the bracket with the supplied hardware Make sure there is one washer on each side of the transducer inside the bracket Slide the other washer over the end of the bolt and thread the nut onto it D cell battery...

Page 33: ...loss of the transducer if it comes off the boat Portable transducer assembly rear view left and side view right Clean the chosen area of the hull before attaching the suction cup Lo cate the transducer on the hull as shown in the following figure Don t allow the bracket to extend below the hull because water pressure against it can cause the suction cup to come off at speed Washer Washer Nut Bolt ...

Page 34: ...e sonar unit Your portable sonar is now ready for use NOTE For optimum operation the portable transducer should be adjusted so that it is parallel to the ground For more information on this see the earlier segment on Transducer Orientation and Fish Arches Portable transducer installed on boat transom Hull Suction cup Bracket Transducer ...

Page 35: ...y explanations below Eagle FishEasy 250 DS 1 PWR CLEAR In this manual the Power Clear key is referred to as PWR Press this key to turn the unit on and off It also clears menus and menu selec tions from the screen To clear a menu from the screen press PWR NOTE Hold the PWR key down for five seconds to turn off the unit 1 2 3 ...

Page 36: ...s unit has permanent memory that saves the following user settings when power is turned off Units of Measure Temp Size Depth Size Fish I D mode Noise Reject mode Range mode Zoom Sensitivity Grayline Chart Speed Battery Alarm Display Contrast Backlight Language Fish Alarm Battery Alarm and Shallow and Deep alarms It does not require nor does it use an internal backup battery so you never have to wo...

Page 37: ...o turn the backlight on or off Press PWR to clear the menu from the screen The unit will show the Full Chart Page or mode The depth range is displayed as the upper and lower limit on the left side of the screen In the following figure the screen shows a depth range from 0 to 80 feet and the bottom depth is 36 9 feet shown by the digital sonar The wa ter temperature is 34 5 F ...

Page 38: ...the surface The bottom depth determined by the digital sonar can be displayed in the up per left corner of the screen If the transducer with a built in temperature sensor is connected a digital display for water temperature also will be shown This tempera ture display can be turned on and off Fish symbols Grayline Bottom signal Digital depth Depth range at bottom of depth scale Surface signal Wate...

Page 39: ...tal lines on the display s far right side The rest of the screen continues to operate normally Full sonar chart showing surface clutter a thermocline and some fish echoes Grayline Fish arches Bottom signal Digital depth Water Temp Depth range at bottom of depth scale Surface clutter Structure or cover Bait fish Surface Clutter Thermocline with fish echo Fish echoes ...

Page 40: ...t always keeps the bottom dis played in the lower portion of the screen You can override automatic depth range control and manually select a depth range To do this repeatedly press MENU until the DEPTH RANGE menu appears Press to select MANUAL then press MENU UP to display the RANGE menu Use the arrow keys to select a desired depth range When you are fin ished press PWR to clear the menu from the ...

Page 41: ...ress PWR to clear the menu Zoom feature turned off left Zoom set to 2X zoom right You can tell when the display is in Zoom mode by the zoom range indica tor at the bottom of the screen In the example above right 2X is dis played at the bottom of the zoomed in display window To turn off the zoom feature repeatedly press MENU until the ZOOM menu appears Press to select OFF then press PWR to clear th...

Page 42: ... will show 20 feet of the water column with echoes magnified to twice their normal size You can select from these zoom ranges 0 10 7 14 10 20 15 30 20 40 30 60 40 80 50 100 75 150 100 200 150 300 200 400 300 600 400 800 500 1000 750 1500 1000 2000 and 1500 3000 Sensitivity Sensitivity adjusts the way echoes are displayed on the screen If you want to see more detail try increasing the sensitivity a...

Page 43: ...set to Auto then press MENU UP to access the sensitivity scroll bar Press to increase sensitivity to decrease it When it is set at the desired level press PWR to clear the menu If you reach the maximum or minimum sensitivity level a tone will sound To adjust sensitivity in Manual Mode If you want to change the sensitivity in Manual Mode repeatedly press MENU until the SENSITIVITY menu appears Pres...

Page 44: ... percent Fig 4 Sensitivity set at 90 percent Grayline Grayline lets you distinguish between strong and weak echoes It al lows you to tell the difference between a hard and soft bottom For ex ample a soft muddy or weedy bottom returns a weaker signal which is shown with a narrow line or no gray line at all A hard surface returns a strong signal which will be displayed as a wide gray line Fig 3 Fig ...

Page 45: ...ish weeds from trees and fish from structure A small amount of Grayline indicates a soft bottom left probably sand or mud More Grayline indicates a harder rocky bottom right Grayline is adjustable Since Grayline shows the difference between strong and weak signals adjusting the sensitivity may also require a different Grayline level Wider Grayline Thin or no Grayline ...

Page 46: ... The speed at which echoes scroll across the screen is called the chart speed The default for this unit is max 100 percent We recommend you leave the scroll speed setting there for most fishing conditions Chart Speed scroll bar You however might consider experimenting with chart speed when you are stationary or drifting very slowly Sometimes you may achieve better images as you decrease the chart ...

Page 47: ...ls at 83 kHz and 200 kHz The SeaFinder 250 DF is packed with a Dual Frequency transducer that transmits at 50 kHz and 200 kHz The 200 kHz signal is best used in shallow water about 300 feet or less This frequency is the best choice for about 80 percent of the fresh and salt water sport fishing applications When you get into very deep salt water up to 1 000 feet the 83 kHz or 50kHz frequencies will...

Page 48: ...nd eliminates sur face clutter thermoclines and other undesirable signals The Fish I D feature displays symbols on the screen in place of the ac tual fish echoes There are three symbol sizes small medium and large These show the relative size between targets In other words it displays a small fish symbol when it thinks a target is a small fish a medium fish symbol on a larger target and so forth F...

Page 49: ...s on the screen when actually there are no fish The reverse is also true Fish I D can actually miss fish that are present Does that mean Fish I D is broken No the feature is interpreting so nar returns in a specific way to help take some of the work out of reading the screen Remember Fish I D is one of the many tools we provide so you can analyze your sonar returns for maximum fish finding informa...

Page 50: ... Press to select ON or OFF then press PWR to clear the menu from the screen FishTrack The FishTrack feature shows the depth of a fish symbol when it ap pears on the display To turn it on repeatedly press MENU until the FISH ID menu appears Press to select TRACK ON then press PWR To turn it off repeat those steps then press to select OFF If you want to turn off FishTrack but leave Fish I D on press...

Page 51: ...n on Fish I D repeatedly press MENU until the FISH ID menu ap pears Press to select ON then press MENU UP and the FISH ALARM menu will appear Press to select ON and press PWR To turn off the fish alarm repeatedly press MENU until the FISH ALARM menu appears Press to select OFF then press PWR to clear the menu Fish Alarm menu Depth Alarms The depth alarms are triggered only by the bottom signal No ...

Page 52: ...nter the first number in the dialog box then press MENU DOWN to move to the next digit Repeat those steps until the desired depth has been entered in the dialog box To move the cursor back to any of the previously entered numbers press MENU UP Press PWR to return to the Shallow Alarm menu Use to select ON which will turn on the alarm then press PWR to clear the menu When your vessel en ters water ...

Page 53: ...ox then press MENU DOWN to move to the next digit Repeat those steps until the desired depth has been entered in the dialog box To move the cursor back to any of the previously entered numbers press MENU UP Press PWR to return to the Deep Alarm menu Press to select ON which will turn on the alarm then press PWR to clear the menu When your vessel en ters water deeper than the alarm s setting an ala...

Page 54: ... will turn on the alarm then press PWR to clear the menu If the voltage value falls be low the alarm s setting the alarm will sound and a message will ap pear on the screen Press PWR to silence the alarm Noise Rejection and ASP The ASP Advanced Signal Processing feature is a noise rejection system built into the sonar unit It constantly evaluates the effects of boat speed water conditions and elec...

Page 55: ...irst turned on noise rejection is set on low If you have high noise levels try using the high ASP setting If however you are having trouble with noise we suggest you take steps to find the interference source and fix it rather than continually using the unit with the high ASP setting There are times when you may want to turn off ASP This al lows you to view all incoming echoes before they are proc...

Page 56: ... Depth Repeatedly press MENU until the DEPTH menu appears Use to select the size of the depth display Press PWR to clear the menu Depth menu with Depth display turned off left Depth display set to Medium right Temperature Display Temperature may be displayed on the screen in a small or medium size or can be turned off completely ...

Page 57: ...ght To display Temperature Repeatedly press MENU until the TEMPERATURE menu appears Use to select the size of the temperature display Press PWR to clear the menu Voltage menu with the voltage display turned off left and with volt age set to a small display size right ...

Page 58: ... of measure between Feet and Fahrenheit and Meters and Celsius To switch units of measure repeatedly press MENU until the Units menu appears on the screen Use to select the desired unit of meas ure FEET or METERS Press PWR to clear the menu from the screen Units set to Feet which displays temperature in Fahrenheit left Units set to Meters which shows the temperature in Celsius right Backlight The ...

Page 59: ...ears To decrease screen contrast press or to increase the level of contrast press If you reach the maximum or minimum con trast level a tone will sound Press the PWR key to clear the menu Simulator This unit has a built in simulator that shows simulated sonar returns with fish signals This lets you practice with the unit as if you were on the water All the unit s functions and features are usable ...

Page 60: ...nish Italian Danish Swedish Russian Czech Dutch and Finnish To select a language 1 Repeatedly press MENU until the Languages menu appears 2 Use to select the desired language All menus now appear in the language you selected Press PWR to clear the menu from the screen Software Information To show the unit s software system information repeatedly press MENU until the SOFTWARE INFORMATION screen app...

Page 61: ...ts This is useful when you have changed several settings and want to reset the unit to basic automatic operation First turn off the unit Next press and hold and the MENU DOWN key at the same time then press the PWR key Release the keys as the unit powers up The unit will turn on with the factory settings restored ...

Page 62: ...58 Notes ...

Page 63: ...tor It should be at least 11 volts If it isn t the wiring to the unit is defective the battery terminals or wiring on the terminals are corroded or the bat tery needs charging Unit turns on only in simulator mode There is a problem with the transducer or the transducer cable Check the cable for damage Unit freezes locks up or operates erratically 1 Electrical noise from the boat s motor trolling m...

Page 64: ...ontinuously It may change the range to limits far greater than the water you are in If this happens place the unit in the manual mode then change the range to a realistic one for exam ple 0 100 feet and increase the sensitivity As you move into shallower water a bottom signal should appear 4 Check the battery voltage If the voltage drops the unit s transmitter power also drops reducing its ability...

Page 65: ...play to show much more detail 4 The boat must be moving at a slow trolling speed to see fish arches If the boat is motionless fish stay in the cone showing on the screen as straight horizontal lines NOISE A major cause of sonar problems is electrical noise This usually ap pears on the sonar s display as random patterns of dots or lines In se vere cases it can completely cover the screen with black...

Page 66: ...art the engine Increase the RPM with the gearshift in neutral If noise appears on the display the problem could be one of three things spark plugs alternator or tachometer wiring Try using resistor spark plugs alternator filters or routing the sonar unit s power cable away from engine wiring Again routing the power cable directly to the battery helps eliminate noise problems Make certain to use th...

Page 67: ...63 Notes ...

Page 68: ...64 Notes ...

Page 69: ... OR REPLACEMENT OR REFUND AS JUST DESCRIBED IS THE EXCLUSIVE REMEDY AVAILABLE TO YOU AGAINST US FOR ANY DEFECT MALFUNCTION OR NON CONFORMITY CONCERNING THE PRODUCT OR FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE RESULTING FROM ANY OTHER CAUSE WHATSOEVER WE WILL NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES BE LIABLE TO ANYONE FOR ANY SPECIAL CONSEQUENTIAL INCIDENTAL OR OTHER INDIRECT DAMAGE OF ANY KIND Some states do not allow the exclu...

Page 70: ... change or end our shipping policies regulations and special offers at any time We reserve the right to do so without notice in Canada If you re in Canada and you have technical return or repair questions please contact the Factory Customer Service Department Before any product can be returned you must call customer service to determine if a return is necessary Many times customer service can reso...

Page 71: ...becomes necessary to send a product for repair or replacement you must first receive a return authorization number from Customer Service Products shipped without a return authorization will not be accepted When shipping we recommend you do the following 1 Please do not ship the knobs or mounting bracket with your unit 2 If you are sending a check for repair please place your check in an envelope a...

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