VELOCITEK PRISM Apollo Marine Portland User Manual
- June 15, 2024
- Velocitek
Table of Contents
Velocitek Prism User Manual
Made by Velocitek in San Mateo, California
Revision Date: May 16, 2023
Introduction
The Velocitek Prism is an electronic compass designed to meet the needs of racing sailors in the widest array of classes of any digital compass. The Prism uses only magnetic input as its heading reference, has no memory, no user inputs, and performs no arithmetic functions. It’s legal in all classes that allow electronic compasses.
Prism Features
Mounting the Prism
Mount the Prism by installing the included cradle on your sailboat. The cradle
should be perpendicular to the center line of the boat.
The Prism Cradle is compatible with the following Velocitek brackets:
- Mast Bracket
- W Bracket
- Deck Bracket
- Spinnaker Pole Mounting Bracket
The Prism Cradle can also be mounted using the Velocitek Mast Bracket Hardware
Kit. The Prism Cradle is designed to accommodate M4 flat head countersunk
machine screws. No. 6 flat head countersunk machine screws will work in place
of M4 Metric fasteners. Always use non-magnetic fasteners when mounting the
Prism Cradle and or Brackets.
The Prism should be installed at least 0.5m away from ferromagnetic metals and
permanent magnets.
Battery
The Prism is powered by an onboard rechargeable Lithium Polymer battery.
Battery Life
The battery indicator is located in the bottom right corner of the left LCD
screen. When the battery is fully charged the device will last 48 hours in
normal operation with no additional charge.
When the battery is empty the device will go into low battery mode and flash
the battery icon. When the battery is exhausted, connect the Prism to a USB
wall adapter using the supplied cable.
Recharging the Battery
The Prism is USB charged with solar backup.
USB Charging
To recharge the battery, connect the Prism to a USB wall adapter using the
supplied USB cable. It takes approximately 6 hours of USB charge to fill the
battery from empty.
While the Prism is charging via USB, the right LCD will display battery charge
percentage (0-100). The left LCD will display “bAt” with a lightning bolt icon
and USB trident icon at the bottom of the screen.
Once unplugged from the USB charger, the Prism enters compass mode with your
heading displayed on both screens.
Solar Charging
For solar charging, place the solar panel in the sun. To achieve the best
results place the solar panel perpendicularly to the sun. It takes
approximately 80 hours of sun to fully charge the battery if the battery is
empty.
These sunlight icons are located in the upper left corner of the left LCD
Screen:
Buttons & Operation
The Prism has one multi-function button located on the top of the product.
When the Prism is off, press the button once to turn the Prism on. The Prism
also has an auto turn on feature when the solar panel is exposed to light.
When the Prism is on and in Compass Mode, press the button once to change from
Compass Mode to Damping Mode.
When the Prism is on and in Damping Mode, press the button once to change from
Damping Mode to Compass Mode. See Damping Mode in the next section for more
details on setting the damping.
To turn the Prism off, press and hold the button for 3 seconds. The Prism also
has an auto-shutoff if no motion is detected.
Modes
The Prism has two modes, Compass Mode and Damping Mode.
Compass Mode
In compass mode the Prism displays heading in degrees magnetic on both
screens. Both screens will display the same heading so everyone on the boat
will be looking at the same number even when reading different screens.
Heading
Heading is magnetic heading of the device expressed in degrees with 360˚ being
north.
Damping Mode
You can manually adjust the damping of the Prism. To enter Damping Mode, press
the button once while the Prism is in Compass Mode.
The damping rate affects the response of the Prism to a change in heading. The
greater the damping value the smoother the heading change will be, but the
slower the response will be to a change in heading.
The Prism has three levels of damping 0 (no damping), 1 (low), and 2 (high).
The factory default setting is 0 or no damping. To change the damping tilt the
Prism until you reach the desired level of damping and then press the button
once to set the damping and return to Compass Mode.
While the Prism is in Damping Mode, the left screen will only display the
battery meter and the right screen will display damping info.
Damping should not be confused with update rate or refresh rate, which is
the number of times per second the LCD is updated. The update rate is fixed
for the Prism.
Monitor Your Battery
The battery indicator is located on the left LCD screen:
Low Battery Mode
When low battery is detected nothing will be displayed on the LCD except the
flashing battery icon.
To resume normal operation you must recharge the battery. When the battery is
sufficiently charged the device will resume in Compass Mode.
Other Features
Auto-on
The Prism will turn on automatically when the solar panel is exposed to sun
light. To turn the Prism on this way, cover the solar panel with your hand.
Then remove your hand from covering the solar panel to expose the solar panel
to sunlight.
Auto-off
To preserve the battery the Prism has an auto-shutoff feature. The Prism will
automatically turn off after 30 seconds completely stationary (i.e. on land).
The Prism will automatically turn off after 10 minutes if no change in heading
is detected (i.e. tied to the dock).
Class Legal
The Prism uses only magnetic input as its heading reference, has no memory, no
user inputs, and performs no arithmetic functions. It’s legal in all classes
that allow electronic compasses.
Tech Specs
- Weight: 4.8oz / 137 g
- Heading Repeatability: ±0.5°
- Display Update Rate: 4 Hz (four times a second)
- Sensor Sampling Rate: 44 Hz (forty-four times a second)
- Water Resistance: Complete immersion for 30 min. at 3m / 10ft (IPX8)
- Display: 29.8mm / 1.1” digit height 250° viewing cone
- Battery: 600mA
Warranty
Velocitek products are intended for use exclusively as tactical aids for
inshore sailboat and SUP racing.
Velocitek products should never be used for navigation.
Velocitek products and accessories are guaranteed against manufacturing
defects for two years from the original date of purchase. This warranty is
non-transferable and only applies to the original purchaser for new devices
purchased from Velocitek or an authorized Velocitek reseller.
Velocitek’s sole obligation in the event of such defects during this period is
to repair or replace the defective part or product with a comparable part or
product at Velocitek’s sole discretion. Except for such repair or replacement,
the sale, processing or other handling of this product is without warranty,
condition or other liability even though the defect or loss is caused by
negligence or other fault.
Velocitek is not responsible for shipping costs associated with warranty
returns. Velocitek assumes no liability for any accident, injury, death, loss,
or other claim related to or resulting from the use of this product. In no
event shall Velocitek be liable for incidental or consequential damages
relating to or resulting from the use of this product or any of its parts.
Damage resulting from abuse, misuse, accident, or normal wear and tear is not
covered by this or any warranty. The types of damage not covered by this
warranty include, without limitation:
- Damage caused by a product being struck by a person or object.
- Damage caused by a product being dropped onto any surface from any height.
- Damage caused by line rubbing across the surface of a product.
- Water damage to electronics that occurs as a result of any of the above types of damage having compromised a product’s waterproofness
Contact
Mail:| Velocitek, Inc.
126 N B Street
San Mateo, CA 94401
USA
---|---
Fax:| +1-650-618-2679
Phone:| Calls will be answered 9AM ~ 5PM, US Eastern Time (New York City)
US and Canada: +1-866-498-6737
International: +1-650-529-4519
Email:| [email protected]
Website:| http://www.velocitek.com
Support:| http://www.velocitek.com/support
Compliance
FCC Compliance Statement
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to
the following two conditions:
(1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must
accept any interference received, including interference that may cause
undesired operation.
Please note that changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party
responsible for compliance could void the user’s authority to operate the
equipment.
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
residential installation. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate
radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the
instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However,
there is no guarantee that interference will not occur
in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful
interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by
turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the
interference by one or more of the following measures:
- Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna
- Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver
- Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected
- Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help
Canadian Compliance Statement
This Class B digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-003.
European Community Compliance Statement
The equipment complies with The EMC Directive 2004/108/EC.