NorthStar Navigation 538i manual

www .n ort hs ta rn a v .c om E x p l o r e r 538 / 53 8 i Char tpl otte r Installation and Op eration Manual[...]

FC C Stat ement 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 protection against harmful interference in a normal installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if n[...]

Industry Canada Op erati on is subj ec t to the fo llowi ng t wo condi tions : ( 1) this device m ay not caus e inter fere nce, and (2) this d evi ce must a ccept any inter fe rence, in cludin g inter fere nce that may c ause un desire d op erati on of th e devi ce. It is your sole responsibility to install and use Northstar ’s instrument and GPS[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 4 Con t en t s Imp or ta nt ..................................................................................................................... ........................... 3 Qu ick r efe re nce ...........................................................................................[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 5 8 Gau ges d isp lay ..................................................................................................................................... 3 0 9 Dat a dis pl ay .............................................................................................................[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 6 Featur e T ype See Requires General How to use the keys and displays 2 T roubleshooting Appendix B Simulate mode 2-6 Glossary of special names Appendix C Specifi cations Appendix A MOB Man overboard key 2-4 Navigation Overview of how to navigate 3-1 GPS fi x Finding the boat’ s po[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 7 1 - 2 Cl ean ing a nd ma inte nan ce Th e Ex plore r 538/538i screen is co vered by a proprietary anti-reflec tion coati ng. T o avoid damag e, clean th e scre en only w ith a dam p cloth and mi ld dete rgent wh en dir t y or covere d in sea sa lt. Avoid a brasi ve cleane rs, p etrol [...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 8 Hand le plug -in c ards care full y. Keep t hem in th eir prote ct ive cas es whe n not plu gge d into the E xp l or er 53 8/ 538 i. Keep t he hol der in p lace in th e Ex plo rer 538/538i at all tim es to prevent m oist ure from e nterin g the card compartment. 1 -4 Re movin g and re[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 9 2 Basi c Opera tion Over view of th e keys Go b ack to an e arli er me nu or d ispl ay. Any chang es mad e are ign ore d. In ch ar t mo de, cen tres ch ar t at bo at ’s posi tion . Show a m enu o f the ma in dis play s. To go to a displ ay, sele ct i t fro m the m enu (s ee s ec tio[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 10 c) To change a name or number: 1 Press to display th e name o r numb er: 2 Press or to se lec t a le tter o r digi t to chang e. Press or to cha nge t he let ter o r digit. Rep eat this to chan ge other l et ters or numbers . 3 Press to accept the n ew va lue. Or p ress to igno re th[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 11 MOB w ill not wo rk if t he E xplo rer 538/538i doe s not have a GPS f ix . Th e MOB featu re saves th e boat ’s posit ion an d then n avigate s bac k to this po int. 1 Press . Th e Ex plore r 538/538i stores th e boat ’s posi tion as a w ayp oint cal led MO B. 2 Th e Ex plor er [...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 12 2- 7 Sim ula te mode In Sim ulat e mode, the Explorer 53 8/538i ig nores data f rom th e GPS antenn a and othe r tra nsducer s and s ensor s and th e Ex plo rer 538/538i gene rates this dat a its elf. O ther wis e, the E xp lorer 538/538i functions normally . There are two simulate m[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 13 Other menu and displays Note: Press to go f rom an O ther d isplay bac k to your las t char t dis play.[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 14 2-8- 1 Dua l disp lays Th e Ex plore r 538/5 38i ca n show t wo displ ays at once, fo r exa mple Cha r t + Gaug es. O ne of th e displ ays, ca lled t he ac tive d isplay, has a yello w bord er and is co ntroll ed by th e user. T o c hange the active display , press t wice (H ighway c[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 15 Th e char t and hi ghway disp lays c an show a comp ass at the to p of the d isplay. Th e compa ss alway s shows t he bo at’s cour se ove r groun d (COG), a re d sy mbo l in the mi ddle. W hen the b oat is nav igatin g to a point , the co mpass also sho ws bear ing to th e dest ina[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 16 A wayp oint is a p ositi on that yo u can se t on the Ex plo rer 538/538i char t, for e xamp le a fish ing spot o r a poi nt on a route (s ee se c tion 5) . Going to a waypoint from the chart display 1 Go to th e char t disp lay. 2 Move th e curs or to the w aypo int: ei ther us e th[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 17 Preparing A route is a lis t of wa ypo ints th at the bo at can foll ow (se e sec ti on 6). To create wayp oint s befo re creating t he route, s ee se c tion 5 - 2-1 . To create a route, se e se ct ion 6 - 2- 1. Starting a route from the chart display: 1 Go to th e char t disp lay. 2[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 18 A typical chart display shows: 3- 2 Cha r t dis play T o g o to the Char t disp lay, press , sel ec t Chart , the n sele c t Chart . A Data h eader. T o t urn th e data o f f or on or to ch ange w hat data is disp laye d, see s ec tio n 2-8 - 2 B Co mpas s (see s ec tio n 2-8 -3) C C[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 19 Th e char t sc ale is disp layed at t he top le f t of the char t: 3- 2- 2 Lat itude an d long itude Lat itud e and lo ngit ude c an be dis playe d in the dat a head er. The disp lay is de gree s and minu tes to three d ecim al pla ces, ab out 2 m ( 6 f t) reso lutio n. No rmall y th[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 20 3- 3 D ista nce and b eari ng calc ulato r Th e dist ance and b eari ng cal culator c an plot a cour se of on e or seve ral le gs and sh ow the bear ing an d leng th of eac h leg , as well as th e total d ista nce alo ng th e cours e. Th e comp lete d cour se ca n be conv er ted into[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 21 T r ack ing reco rds the b oat ’s positi on to memo r y at regu lar inter v als, whi ch can b e: Tim e i nt erval s. Or di stance i nt ervals. Th e trac k of whe re the b oat has b een c an be displ ayed on t he char t . The E xp lore r 538/538i can displ ay one tr ack wh ile reco [...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 22 4 Navigat ion: H ighway dis play Th e highway d isplay ha s a bird’s eye v iew of t he bo at’s cour se to a des tinat ion. To go to the Hi ghway disp lay, press , sel ec t Other , then select Highwa y . The highway display shows: A Opt ional d ata hea der (s ee se c tion 2- 8-3) [...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 23 5- 1 Wayp oi nts d ispl ay T o g o to the wa ypo ints dis play, press , sel ec t Ot her, then se lec t Way points . Th e wayp oint s displa y is a list of t he way poi nts that have b een ente red, eac h with w aypo int sy mbo l, name, la titu de and l ongi tud e, dist ance and b ear[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 24 5- 2-3 Editin g a waypo int Editing a waypoint from the chart display 1 I n the cha r t display, move the c urso r to the way point to e dit . 2 Press a nd sel ec t Edit . 3 Ch ange t he way point d ata (se e sec ti on 5-2- 7) . Select Save . Editing a waypoint from the waypoints dis[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 25 5- 2-9 Naviga ting to a wayp oin t See s ec tio n 3- 1- 2. 5- 2-8 Sor t Wayp oin ts T o c hange h ow the w ayp oints l ist is disp layed : 1 Press and s ele ct Sor t by . 2 Sel ec t how to disp lay the l ist: Na m e: In alp habe tica l order by n ame. Ic o n : Grouped by ic on t ype.[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 26 2 T o i nser t a way po int in the ro ute by brea king one l eg into t wo : i M ove the cu rso r to the le g you want to break. ii Press and s ele ct In sert . iii Move th e curs or to whe re the ne w route waypoint will be. iv Pr ess . 3 T o m ove a way point i n the rou te: i M ove[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 27 4 T o i nser t a wa ypo int in the ro ute: i S ele ct w here th e wayp oint w ill be : To inser t the f irs t way point i n a new route, s ele ct Le g 1 . To inser t a way point at t he end o f the route, s elec t th e unuse d leg at t he end o f the lis t of way poi nts . O ther w i[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 28 GPS worldw ide navi gatio n Th e US Govern ment op erates t he GPS s ys tem. T w ent y-fo ur sate llites o rbi t the ear th a nd broa dcas t posi tion an d time sig nals. T he posi tions o f the se sate llites are co nst antly chang ing. T he GP S receive r analy ses th e signals fro[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 29 Th e satell ite displ ay has info rmati on ab out th e GPS s atellite s and GPS p ositi on. T o g o to the s atelli te display, press , s ele ct Other , then selec t Sa tellite . The satellite display shows: 7 -1 Satell ite dis play A C D B E G F A Status of GPS an tenna, for example[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 30 8 Gauges d isplay Th e Gauge s display sh ows bo at data, su ch as water s pee d, as an alo g or digi tal g auges . T o g o to the Ga uge disp lay, press and select Chart , then s ele ct Cha rt+Gauges . If necessary , press t wi ce to swi tch to the Gaug es disp lay (se e se ct ion 2[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 31 9 Dat a display Th e data disp lay has larg e numer ic dat a fiel ds. T o g o to the dat a displ ay , p ress , se lec t Other , then select Da ta . T o s ele ct w hat data is dis playe d: 1 Press and s ele ct Data s et up . 2 Chang e a data fi eld : i Pre ss the cur sor ke ys to high[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 32 1 0-2 Fuel dis play Fuel display without engine RPM Fuel display with engine RPM T o g o to the Fuel d isplay, press , s ele ct Other , then select Fue l . Th e display is dif fe rent if en gine R PM is availab le (re quires Sma r tCraft t o be in stalled): The F uel display shows Us[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 33 6 Th e Ex plor er 538/538i then as ks yo u to set the th rott le to achi eve a targ et RPM. Fo r a t win eng ine bo at set b oth eng ines to ab out the t arget R PM. Wh en the en gine R PMs are corre c t, th e T arg et RPM box w ill tur n gree n. Now, do not ch ange t he eng ine sp e[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 34 1 0-3- 2 Ma nag ing fu el con sump tion c urve s Re cord seve ral cur ve s for di f ferent con diti ons. Renaming a curve 1 Press one o r more ti mes unti l the Set up menu is dis playe d, then s ele ct Fuel . 2 Sel ec t F uel co nsu m ption c ur v e . Select Na me , p ress an d sele[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 35 A C B I H J K D E G D F N L M 1 1 Tides dis play Th e tide s display is av ailab le on C -M AP char t s. Th e tides d isplay sho ws tide i nform ation at a ti de st ation fo r the s elec te d date. Note: The tides display requires the local time of fs et to be s et to wor k corre c t[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 36 1 2 User card di splay A C - MAP™ us er card is a n optio nal plu g-i n card that ca n store da ta fil es (se e se cti on 1-4) . The re are thre e t yp es of fi les: w ayp oints , routes o r a track. T o g o to the use r card disp lay, press , sel ec t Ot her, then sel ec t User c [...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 37 1 3 About dis play T o sh ow the ab out dis play, press , select Other , then select Abo u t . Th e abou t display sh ows: Th e sof t ware ve rsion a nd date. Th e world c har t versio n. Any card f it ted . Th e numb er of way poi nts, ro utes an d tra cks in th e E x pl o rer 538 /[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 38 Press once or m ore unti l the Setup menu is di splaye d, then s ele ct Sy ste m : Language Sel ec t the la nguag e for th e displ ays. T he opt ions are: En glish, Ital ian, French, Ge rman, Sp anish, Dutch, Swe dish, Por tugu ese, Finnish an d Gree k. Tip: In cas e you c an’t rea[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 39 SmartCraft (see the SmartCraft Gateway Installation and Operation Manual ) Setup option menus Factor y de faul t set tin gs are show n. Th e setup d ata avai labl e will dep end o n the op tiona l senso rs and instrum ents installe d. System (see 14-1) Chart (see 14-2) Time (see 14-1[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 40 Rotation Th e optio ns for cha rt rot atio n are: Nort h up: N or th is alw ays at th e top of th e char t disp lay. Track up : The c har t is rotate d so that th e bo at direc tio n is to the top of th e display. This o ptio n is usef ul for navi gating n arrow har bo urs or ri vers[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 41 Setting map datum 1 I n the Char t s etup me nu, sel ec t Map da tum . 2 S ele ct t he map da tum for t he pap er cha rt y ou are using. 3 I f you se lec t a dat um other t han WGS 8 4 the Ex plo rer 538/538i ask s if yo u want to ap ply the NM EA dat um of f set (s ee b elow). NMEA [...]

General submenu Plotter mode Normal : onl y sca les ava ilabl e on the c har t card c an be d isplaye d. If you p ress or to se lec t a cha rt s cal e which is n ot avai lable, o n the char t ca rd, the ch ar t displa y will chan ge to this s cale b ut wil l only d isplay th e bo at posit ion an d trac k (if enab led ). Th e rest o f the disp lay i[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 43 Press once or m ore unti l the Se tup me nu is displ ayed, th en sel ec t GPS: GPS Source • Interna l : Use th e inter nal GPS a ntenna (E xp lorer 538i ) or the e x terna l GPS anten na supp lied ( E xplo rer 538) (s ee se ct ion 1 5-5). • NMEA : Use an ex ter nal GPS o r DGPS s[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 44 Fuel setup r equires optional petrol/gasoline or Smar t Craf t s ensor s to be inst alle d. Set Nu m engine s firs t to enab le the f uel f unc tio ns. Press one or m ore tim es until t he Setup menu is di splaye d, then s ele ct Fuel : Ta n k f u l l T e lls the E xp lorer 538/538i [...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 45 Th e Flow fi lter ca n be se t from 0 to 30 second s. Use the l owes t valu e which gi ves a st abl e fl ow. Usually a v alue o f 5 to 1 0 se conds wi ll give a satis fa cto r y result for t wo -s troke c arbu ret tor engi nes . Fuel inje c ted or fo ur-stro ke engi nes may require a[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 46 1 4- 6 Setu p > Logs Press one or m ore tim es until t he Setup menu is di splaye d, then s ele ct Lo gs : Th e valu es can b e chan ged in dep ende ntly of each oth er. These l og va lues are s aved wh en the unit is turned of f. Reset trip dist This re set s the tr ip dist ance [...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 47 1 4- 8 Setup > U nits Press on e or mo re times u ntil the Setup menu is di splaye d, then s ele ct Un i ts : Th e def ault uni ts are sho wn abo ve. Dist ance nm (nautical miles), mi (miles) or km (kilom etres) Speed kn ( knot s), mp h (mile s per h our) or k ph (k ilom etres p e[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 48 Press once or more u ntil the Setu p menu is di splaye d, then s ele ct Cali b ra te : Fue l Se e sec tio n 1 4 - 4. Spee d rang e Th e maxi mum readi ng to displa y on an anal og bo at spe ed gaug e (se e sec tio n 1 0). Ch oos e a ran ge suit able fo r your b oat. Ma x fuel f low T[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 49 • C - MAP™ N T -M AX , NT + or N T char t cards . • C-MAP™ user cards (3 V) for storing data. ( T he o ld er 5 vo lt c ard s are not sup po r te d) • Nor ths tar ca rr y bag . • Nor ths tar Nav Bus junc ti on boxe s simpli f y wiri ng, pa rt icula rly if s evera l inst ru[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 50 Opt iona l sensor s and i nstru ment s Ex ternal alarms : Light s or so unde rs in the b oat to soun d alar ms throu gh the b oat (se e se cti on 15 - 4 ) . GP S or DG PS a nte nna : For G PS navig ation, s ee se ct ion 1 5 -5. Fue l s en so rs : For f uel f unc tio ns. T he E xplo r[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 51 2 Bracke t Mou nting Req uires a pa nel for m ountin g the br acket . Ensure that th e pane l is not likel y to defo rm and is n ot subje c t to excessi ve vibr atio n. Th e brac ket can be ti lted an d rotate d. Th e displ ay unit c an be remove d when i t is not in use. 1 Hol d the[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 52 Pow er/data cable Red Y ellow Black External beepers or lights Main switch 12 V DC] Fuse 2A Th e powe r/data cab le has a bl ack lo cki ng coll ar and f l ying l eads . 1 Wire t he E xplo rer 538/538i for auto p ower to have th e Ex plo rer 538/538i turn o n with t he bo at’s igni [...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 53 Selecting an ant enna Fit on e of the se GPS a ntennas: • N orma lly use t he inter nal GPS a ntenna (E xp lorer 538i) o r the GP S antenna sup plie d (E xpl orer 538) . • An optional dif ferential beacon D GPS antenna to gi ve enhan ced acc urac y wi thin ran ge of la nd bas ed [...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 54 Black Pow er/data cable Orange Blue NavBus wires to other Navbus instruments If th e boat ha s one or t wo Smar t Cra f t capa ble Merc ur y pet rol /gasol ine en gines , conn ec t the Ex plo rer 538/538i to the Smar tC raf t en gines w ith an opt ional Sm ar tCr af t gatew ay . Th e[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 55 Dur ing set up to sen d NMEA d ata to other instru ments, set NMEA o ut to an d spe cif y the NMEA da ta to s end (se e se ct ion 14-9 ) . Setup a nd tes t 1 Put a bl anki ng cap o n any unuse d conn ec tor on th e back o f the disp lay unit . Ensure all conn ec tors ar e plug ged in[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 56 GENERAL Size : 126 mm H x 126 mm W x 65 mm D (5.0” x 5.0” x 2.6”) Display : 3.8” diagonal, TFT Color , 240 x 320 pixels Backlight : Display and keys Supply voltage 10 to 16 V DC. Supply current : at 13.8 V 120 mA min - no backlighting 220 mA max - full backlighting External b[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 57 List of datums Adindan Afgooye AIN EL ABD 1970 American Samoa 1962 Anna 1 Astro 1965 Antigua Island Astro 1943 ARC 1950 ARC 1960 Ascension Island 1958 Astro Beacon ‘E’ 1945 Astro DOS 71/4 Astro Station 1952 Astro T ern Island (Frig) 1961 Australian Geodetic 1966 Australian Geodet[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 58 1-1 The Explorer 538/538i won’t turn on: a T he E xp lorer 538/538i is de signe d to oper ate on a 1 2 vo lt bat ter y s ystem , where th e volt age may v ar y from 10 to 1 6 vol ts. I f an exces sive vol tage is su ppli ed, a f use will b e trip pe d, turn ing the d isplay un it o[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 59 2-1 No GPS fix or long time to get fix at startup: a M ay occur o ccasi onall y if the a ntenna do es not have a cl ear vie w of the s k y . T he s atelli te posi tions a re const antly ch angin g. b A ntenna c able n ot conn ec ted to dis play un it. c Res tar t th e GPS (se e se ct[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 60 Note : For th e Ex plor er 538/538i to me asure f uel consum ptio n, the o ptio nal f uel f low k it must b e fitt ed. 3-1 Fuel used or remaining seem inaccurate: Ex plo rer is not w ired fo r auto pow er (se e section 1 5-4). b I n rough s eas, f uel may surg e back a nd for th thro[...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 61 Att ent ion A rea - An i mpor t ant area on a ch ar t, such as a res tri cte d anch orag e or a shall ow area (se e sec ti on 14- 2) . Bathymetric line - A dept h contour li ne on the chart. Chart ca rd - A plug -in c ard that s tores char t dat a for a re gion (s ee se c tion 1-3). [...]

Northstar Explorer 538i/538 Installation and Operation M anual 62 Navigation da ta Th e boat is s ailin g from t he st ar t to the de stin ation an d has move d of f th e plot ted co urs e from th e st ar t to the des tination. BRG B eari ng to De sti natio n: B ear ing to th e des tina tion f rom t he bo at. BRG Be ari ng to cur so r: Be ari ng to[...]

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Made in New Zealand MN000594A-G AMERICAS 30 Sudbury Road, Acton, MA 01720, USA Ph: +1 978.897.6600 Ph: +1 800.628.4487 F ax: +1 978.897.7241 sales@bntmarine.com EUROPE Unit 2, Ocean Quay , Belvidere Rd, Southampton, SO14 5QY , ENGLAND Ph: +44 2380 339922 F ax: +44 2380 330345 northstaruk@nor thstarnav.com AUSTRALIA PO Box 479, Gladesville, NSW 2111[...]