background image

10 

Rev 20201007

 

 

GPS SET-UP 

The GPS (Global Positioning System) will pinpoint your location by 
triangulation. How does it work? In order to pinpoint your location, 
the receiver (built inside of the MX-7GPS) must be locked on to at 
least three satellites, and locking on to 4 or more will add to the 
accuracy and allow elevation and speed to be determined as well.  
 
The MX-7GPS is ONLY compatible with Navionics® Mapping 
Software, and for best results it is recommended that you purchase 
one that is specific to the lakes in your area if you want to see 
contour lines. The MX-7GPS comes with a base map that shows 
only basic land and water features. 
 
These are the Navionics® Chartplotter Cards that we recommend: 
 

Navionics® + 
Pl 

 

 

Platinum Hot Maps 

 
When the MX-7GPS is first powered up it will be in SONAR/MAP 
SPLIT screen with Navionics® Basemap on the right. The map will 
appear with a diamond in the center; this is the cursor showing your 
location (If you are locked into 3 or more satellites). The default 
location will be shown upon activating the GPS panel. For the MX-
7GPS to lock into your location, you must be outside, away from 
buildings, trees or other things that may block the satellite signal. It 
may take up to an hour for the GPS to lock in the first time you use 
it, but after the first time it should take 10 minutes or less.  
  
Map Information: 
Along the bottom of the screen is where your Latitude/Longitude is 
displayed, along with elevation and other data. As your physical 
location changes, the cursor will move along with it, leaving a trail.   
  
Zoom in/Zoom out is accomplished with the PLUS (+) button to 
zoom in and the MINUS (-) button to zoom out. Searching the map 
must be done with four directional ARROW keys to move the map 
across the screen. 

Summary of Contents for MX-7GPS

Page 1: ...1 Rev 20201007 MX 7GPS Digital Sonar GPS System User Manual www MarCumTech com ...

Page 2: ...15 Zoom Window 15 Cone Angles 8 20 degree 15 Sonar Mode Gain 1 2 16 Max Ping Rate 16 GPS Map Settings 17 19 2D 3D Mode 17 3D Pitch 17 Rotation 17 Colors 17 Details 18 2D Shading 18 Presentation US 18 Easy View 18 Dynamic Icons 18 Community Edits 18 Sonar Charts 18 Depth Contour 18 Safety Depth 19 Layers 19 Transparency 19 Advanced Map Options 20 21 Sonar Chart Live 20 Sonar Log 20 Mode 20 Mode Col...

Page 3: ...ault 30 Night Mode 30 Keypad Sound 30 Map Cartridge Notification 31 Interpreting Signals 31 33 Digital Depth 31 Reading Bottom 31 Reading Fish 32 Reading Lures and Jigs 33 Deciding which configuration to use 34 39 Circular Flasher Display 34 Vertical Display 34 Scrolling Chart Display 35 Cone Angle 36 Zoom Info 36 38 Simulator 38 39 Open Water Application 39 Firmware Updates 39 40 Two Year Warrant...

Page 4: ...at is happening below ice all while staying true to the number one aspect that makes ice fishing sonar specific to our sport real time In a stationary vertical game of cat and mouse where latency and sonar lag are unacceptable MarCum s response time is completely unrivaled That lighting fast sonar reaction has been a hallmark of the MarCum brand and has made it the most sought after ice sonar plat...

Page 5: ...monitor and the monitor can now be positioned how you want it Once the monitor is positioned tighten the knobs again to hold the monitor in place Look behind the monitor and hook up the MX 7PGS s power cord to the battery terminals While you are at it remove the entire system from the soft pack so you can see exactly how everything connects this makes it easier down the road if you ever need to ch...

Page 6: ...atically and allow you to use the MX 7GPS in the most popular configuration Be sure to explore all the options available to customize your Dashboard Display With five different sonar portals four color palettes two cone angles and a myriad of other settings there are many possibilities Changing your settings is easily done on the fly but experimenting while using the simulator at home will help yo...

Page 7: ...ere is really no danger of overcharging your battery with a low amp charger and most chargers automatically go into maintenance mode once a full charge has been achieved TO CHARGE YOUR BATTERY Your battery has a wiring harness attached to it that has piggyback terminals on it enabling you to keep the power cord from the system attached to the battery as well as having the wiring harness with recep...

Page 8: ...DUCER FOR ICE FISHING When used in conjunction with the retractable pivoting transducer arm and rubber stopper the MX 7GPS s transducer will automatically level itself in your ice hole To begin operation take the transducer out of the recessed holder and rotate the adjustable ice arm out from inside the shuttle Extend the transducer arm the cable should already be threaded through it with stopper ...

Page 9: ...Similarly you may need to quickly remove your transducer from the hole when about to land a fish We have seen anglers in a panic grab the shuttle itself and toss the entire system to the side This is no way to treat any piece of electronics a much better approach is to simply lift the transducer out of your way by the cord and the shuttle itself can be gently set aside Whenever you are moving via ...

Page 10: ...red up it will be in SONAR MAP SPLIT screen with Navionics Basemap on the right The map will appear with a diamond in the center this is the cursor showing your location If you are locked into 3 or more satellites The default location will be shown upon activating the GPS panel For the MX 7GPS to lock into your location you must be outside away from buildings trees or other things that may block t...

Page 11: ...ent settings and dashboard arrangements in SIMULATOR mode CONTROL PANEL The following is an explanation of each button on the control panel and what it does Some of the button functions can also be accessed in the main menu Pressing any of the Control Panel buttons will cause a window to open enabling the user to make the desired adjustments Any changes made to the settings will activate when the ...

Page 12: ...sed to increase or decrease various settings or to Zoom in and out on your map X EXIT Exit the menu or to Exit from exploring your map MENU OPTIONS To access the menu options start by pressing the Menu button just above the power button Use the arrow buttons to highlight the desired sub menu and access other functions of the MX 7GPS You can also press the Menu button multiple times to switch betwe...

Page 13: ...ith the Sensitivity function highlighted Pressing the PLUS MINUS will adjust your sensitivity and the sensitivity setting will now be digitally displayed on the SENS gauge display The best SENS setting is achieved by turning up your sensitivity until you receive a clear and steady bottom reading start between 15 and 20 To see your lure or bait turn up the SENS some more until you just begin to dis...

Page 14: ...e Deep water and hard bottom will increase the likelihood that one or more of the competing sonars will experience interference Besides experimenting with different levels of IR the anglers experiencing interference can also try having their transducers set at different levels going to narrow cone angles different Gain modes and reducing sensitivity settings Target Adjust This feature allows the a...

Page 15: ...he MINUS or ENTER button to deselect the checkmark to enter Manual Mode We offer the manual range functions because in some circumstances the AUTO range functions can behave erratically In situations where there is heavy weed growth uneven bottom contours or very shallow water it is suggested that the user manually selects a fixed depth range Dynamic Range ON This setting will maximize the space o...

Page 16: ...OM menu keep in mind that it times out after 6 seconds Auto Zoom This feature activates Bottom Lock Zoom Zoom Window The actual size of the Zoom window can be adjusted to four different ranges 5 10 20 or 40ft scale Cone Angle All transducers send down a signal that is shaped somewhat like a cone Your MX 7GPS easily switches from a 20 degree cone angle good for general use to a narrow 8 degree cone...

Page 17: ...r experiment with both to see which one works better for you To switch from Gain 1 to Gain 2 simply press your Menu button highlight the Sonar Settings Then highlight Sonar Mode and use the PLUS MINUS buttons to highlight the desired selection Max Ping Rate Adjusting this setting will increase the response time of signals from your transducer to the screen If fishing shallow water less than 20 fee...

Page 18: ...3D Pitch Changes the pitch viewing angle of the map when in 3D mode This functionality is available only for Navionics Platinum products Rotation Choose between North Up or Track Up North Up keeps North at the top of the screen Track Up keeps compass directions according to the direction you are traveling Colors Changes your map colors for Day Night or Bright for the Map ...

Page 19: ...rs of the nautical chart and wording for U S Presentation Easy View Magnifies the size of chart symbols and text Note There is no indication on the chart showing that this feature is active You will have to go to your GPS Map Settings submenu tab to see if this feature is activated Community Edits Turns on the chart detail including Navionics edits These are user edits and information uploaded by ...

Page 20: ...displayed in white DRYLINE areas will be displayed in green This option is based on your boat s parameters Layers Shows Satellite images of map if compatible with your Navionics chip This functionality is available only for Navionics Platinum products Land Only Land and Shallow Water Land and Sea Transparency This allows for the Map Overlay s transparency to be set The lower numbers i e 50 will al...

Page 21: ...to view what you ve recorded Off to shut off your Sonar Log and stop recording Mode Color What you have recorded will show with the select color over your map to show where you have recorded Transparency Increase or decrease how visible the selected color of Mode shows i e 50 is visible color i e 100 eliminates the color Min Depth Shades Selected depth and shallower If you want to view your record...

Page 22: ...ve set to Very High to see 1ft contours Very High 1ft contour lines High 2 ft contour lines Medium 4 ft contour lines Low 8 ft contour lines Shallow Water Setting the shallow water to your desired depth will create red dots on your map at that set depth and shallower Min Fish Range When depth is set it will highlight the desired depth and shallower Max Fish Range When depth is set it will highligh...

Page 23: ...r chip 3 Select your Advanced menu option under the GPS Map menu 4 Select Sonar Log under the Sonar Chart Live 5 Select Mode and change to Record Off to turn the record off and History to view what was recorded 6 Color will show where you have recorded over your map on the chip 7 Advanced Map Options select Very High to show 1ft Contour lines of what you have recorded 8 Select Min Depth to desired...

Page 24: ...ar chart live is set to your preferences in your System menu Then use record or history as needed Here is an example of a before and after shot of the same lake Note In this above image the GPS Map Setting had the SonarChart deselected and Navionics Hotmaps chip ...

Page 25: ...and Navionics Hotmaps chip Note In this above image the GPS Map Setting had the SonarChart selected and Navionics Hotmaps chip with depth contours all changed to zero Very High chart density and Mode History selected in the Sonar Chart Live menu to view after turning the Record feature off ...

Page 26: ...t the Go under the Go To Waypoint it will create a trail for you to follow to get to that coordinate Live Route It will show your route you have taken when turned on Saved Routes Record your route rename your route or select a different route and display in on your map Display Settings With 5 different sonar displays GPS and Gauge options it can be hard to decide on which one s to use If you have ...

Page 27: ...ditional flasher style display Signals are displayed as various colored lines on the dial and the different colors represent different signal strengths Vertical Sometimes referred to as a Showdown display this one is very easy to interpret top is the top bottom is the bottom Anything in between the top and bottom is weeds fish or your lure Vertical Zoom Same as Vertical but allows for a magnified ...

Page 28: ... in open water the user will see signals displayed in classic graph fashion the bottom will be a solid band and fish or other objects display as arches Chart Zoom This functions the same as the Graph display but allows for a magnified view of a selected portion of the water column The ZOOM window can be adjusted by entering SONAR SETTINGS to change your preferences GPS Map This function activates ...

Page 29: ...ffect on how easy the sonar signals are to see A lot of us here prefer the Night background but be sure to experiment to see what works best for you Echo Colors The six color palette is the default but there are other options to experiment with If you experience excessive clutter switching to a three color palette may clear it up If you any difficulty distinguishing the color options try switching...

Page 30: ...Speed Units Change your units of speed while moving between Knots km h or mph Language Select between English and French here English is selected as the default Sonar Simulator The MX 7GPS has two simulator modes that will portray a variety of different depths and signal returns Activating this feature enables the user to experiment with the various settings without actually being on the water Thi...

Page 31: ...u may see a decrease in performance Recharging your battery after each use will maximize the life of your battery and will ensure that your MX 7GPS will run strong all day Settings Save If you find a screen and mapping configuration that you like you can easily save them by highlighting this selection and pressing the center ENTER key Settings Restore If you have changed your settings and decide y...

Page 32: ...hen checking depths through the ice or in a boat READING BOTTOM When interpreting your bottom signal always read the leading edge shallowest side of the signal return If you have a strong signal return wide band and it starts at 13 feet and ends at 16 feet the correct depth is 13 feet or the shallowest leading edge of the return signal Anything beyond the shallowest leading edge indicates the stre...

Page 33: ...r as part of the bottom The best indication of a fish sitting right on the bottom is that the leading edge of the bottom return signal is a thin band of a color other than red possibly dithering or flickering It is important that the sensitivity be kept to a minimum when displaying a strong bottom return Having your sensitivity too high will flood out the ability to differentiate targets and clutt...

Page 34: ... it displays the lure or bait as you raise or lower it Once you have the SENS set where you want it you can fine tune your signals by using the TARGET ADJUST button NOTE When tuning the unit to display lures or bait make sure that the objects are in the center of the hole and therefore in the center of the transmit beam If there is current some lakes and all rivers have under water current or move...

Page 35: ...k on how well the scrolling graph display works for ice fishing so be sure to give it a try Be sure to experiment with different color palettes and backgrounds too CIRCULAR FLASHER DISPLAY This sonar window will read much like a traditional flasher style display You can set the range manually or allow the Auto Range or Dynamic Depth interface to automatically lock into a RANGE that will optimize t...

Page 36: ...When used from a stationary position such as ice fishing the bottom will display as a solid band but other signals like fish or your jig will display as lines of varying thickness Always remember that the thicker the band the stronger the signal A large fish is likely to display as a fairly thick band while a small ice jig will show as a very fine line The best way to learn how to interpret signal...

Page 37: ...es Fishing in big schools of fish like suspended crappies Fishing in and around heavy weeds or standing timber When fishing in a crowd the narrow beam will help reduce interference ZOOM INFO One of the best features to have in an ice fishing Sonar is a Zoom and there is none better than that of the MarCum MX 7GPS A Zoom feature enables you to have a magnified view of a selected portion of the wate...

Page 38: ...tings sub menu this is where you set the uppermost limit of the Zoom Display by pressing the PLUS MINUS buttons When you have the desired depth highlighted pressing X to close the menu or selecting other options will establish that depth as the top of your Zoom display You will notice that the Zoom Indicator Bar will move up or down as you make these adjustments To set the size of what is shown in...

Page 39: ...bles the user to experiment with the various settings without being on the water This simulator represents an open water or ice fishing experience so the depths and signals will change as it goes through the simulation When using your MX 7GPS in open water in a moving boat it is typical to mark fish as a hook or arch shape When stationary as in ice fishing your signals of both your jig and the fis...

Page 40: ...e lower unit of a trolling motor This design makes it easy for you to use your MX 7GPS for high speed scouting work or for breaking down structure one piece at a time You will be able to identify the presence of fish or weeds and be able to determine the bottom makeup The Universal Open Water Transducer can transmit an 8 or 20 degree cone and it also has a temperature sensor From an anchored or ot...

Page 41: ...nformation be sure to go to our website click on the support tab then firmware updates for step by step instructions TWO YEAR WARRANTY MarCum warranties this product to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for two years from the date of purchase This warranty applies to customers who properly complete the Online product registration form found on the MarCum Technologies Website www Ma...

Page 42: ...g parts and labor You will find the non warranty claim on our support site Once you have completed and submitted a claim form package the system as described on the website and ship it to us Some people are more comfortable calling for shipping instructions During peak ice season we sometimes receive a high volume of calls making it impossible to get to all customers who phone in For this reason s...

Page 43: ...The system should be securely packed and shipped prepaid freight and insured to MarCum Technologies It is the customer s full responsibility to track their products sent out in the mail or other forms of delivery service MarCum Technologies will not be liable for packages lost in route to us Unless specified otherwise do not include batteries or other accessories when returning the product for rep...

Reviews: