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Wireless Floating Fish FInder

Beginner's guide

1. SONA.rBall preparation

Charging SONA.rBall

Set SONA.rBall on the charging stand until it clicks and charge SONA.rBall with the attached Mini USB cable. The upper part of SONA.r Ball lights up in red during charge And lights up in green when charge is complete. Then take SONA.rBall off from the charging dock.

Tiying your line to SONA.rBall

Tie your line tightly to the line holder. Note that you can lose your SONA.rBall if it is not tightly tied. You should fix the other side of your line to your belt or to a tough fishing rod.

Turning SONA.rBall on

Put SONA.rBall in a cup or bucket with water. The upper part of SONA.rBall will blink on and off for a little while. Please wait for a moment for the blinking to be over.
Preparation of SONA.rBall is complete when blinking is over.

2.Smartphone preparation

Checking the battery charge

The icon which indicates your smartphone remaining battery level is usually on the upper side of the screen. It is strongly recommended that you charge your smartphone fully before going fishing.

Installing the ”SONA.rBall” app

The installation process depends on which smartphone you have.
【iPhone】
Visit the App store , and search “SONA.rBall”. Then select the app with the same name app from the result list, and tap the install button (Signing-in to the App store is required.).
Return to the main screen of your iPhone, and check that the app is installed.
【Android】
Visit the Play store, and search “SONA.rBall”. Then select the app with the same name from the result list, and tap the install button (Signing-in to the Play Store is required.)
Return to the main screen of your Android smartphone, and check that app is installed.

Pairing your smartphone with SONA.rBall

Set up the Bluetooth wireless connection between your smartphone and your SONA.rBall referring to the picture on the right, or follow the process below.
Please be sure you perform the installation with less than 1 meter of distance between your smartphone and your SONA.rBall.

【iPhone】

1) Put SONA.rBall on the water and turn it on (wait until blinking is completed on the upper side of SONA.rBall).

2) Open the setting app from the home screen.

3) Tap the Bluetooth option and move into the Bluetooth setting screen.

4) Tap the Bluetooth “ON” switch .

5) The scanning will start automatically. Please wait until “SONA.rBall” is displayed and tap on it.

6) Pairing is complete if “Connected” is displayed aside to SONA.rBall.

【Android】

1) Put SONA.rBall on the water and turn it on (wait until blinking is completed on the upper side of SONA.rBall).

2) Press the menu button on your Android smartphone, tap settings and Bluetooth settings item.

3) Tap the Bluetooth checkbox to turn it on, then the tap Bluetooth item. Finally, move into the Bluetooth setting screen.

4) Tap “Scan” and search “SONA.rBall”.

5) After “SONA.rBall****” or ID address of your SONA.rBall (example: A1-B2-C3-D4-E5-F6), tap it.

6) When “Bluetooth pairing request” is displayed, tap “OK” in disregard of the passkey.

7) Pairing is complete if your SONA.rBall is displayed in the “Paired devices” field.

3.How to enjoy SONA.rBall’s app

Let us introduce SONA.rBall main functions in this chapter

Scanning function

This is the main function of SONA.rBall. You can see the depth of the water and what’s happening underwater. You can choose the “Fish view” mode for beginner or the “Sonar view” for experts.
Launch the app, tap “Sonar” on the home screen, and move to the scan screen. By pressing on the settings button (picture on the right), you can select “Fish view” or “Sonar view”.

Fish view
This is a mode for beginner. You can see the depth of the water and the position of fishes displayed by cute fish marks.
Start the underwater scanning by pushing the top-left sonar switch. An example of the displayed screen is on the picture on the right.

Sonar view
This is a mode for experts who are accustomed to fish-finders. An example of the displayed screen is the picture on the right.

Sea tide and weather information

We provide you information of the sea tide and weather, very important for your fishing life. You can put your favorite spot on record, and check the above info using the GPS function in your smartphone.

Making your fishing diary (available soon through app update.)

You can record pictures or your catch diary (size, weight, and comments, etc.).

Taking some pictures of your catches

You can take a picture directly from the app using the picture function. The picture function is useful if you attach picture to your catch diary or to keep record of your proud catch.

Sharing pictures with SNS

Share your pictures to SNS such as Facebook or Twitter.

4.How to turn off

Handle SONA.rBall carefully like you would with other fishing tools.

Taking SONA.rBall out of the water

Pull the line cautiously not to bump into rock or bridge pillar.
Additionally, please make sure for the line not to tangle with some wreckage. In that case, you risk to to lose your SONA.rBall if the line is cut.

Turning off SONA.rBall

Rinse SONA.rBall with fresh water to clean off ocean water or dirt, wipe water drops, and dry it. Only then, SONA.rBall will automatically turn off in approximately 1 minute.

How to store SONA.rBall

Insert your dry SONA.rBall in the attached black package and keep it in low-moisture and shaded location.

5.How to reset SONA.rBall

Perform the reset by applying the pin on the 2 metal connectors, such as shown on the right picture.

  • Reset SONA.rBall to remove all pairing settings from the device.
  • Reset SONA.rBall if the LED lamp isn’t lighting even if the device is ON.
  • Reset SONA.rBall if it doesn’t turn ON, even if it is fully charged.

FAQ

Q:I’m just wondering what type of fishing line I should use.
A:The weight of SONA.rBall is approximately 117 g. Select the line after careful consultation with your fishing shop staff. For example, it is strongly recommended that you select a strong line if you use it with a rod.

Q:The pairing or scanning seem to be unsuccessful.
A:There are many causes possible. The Battery of SONA.rBall or your smartphone is out of charge, there are many obstructions between SONA.rBall and your smartphone, or some connection problem due to strong rain or snow… Take in count these causes between other.

Q:On the scan screen, only blue is displayed between the surface and the bottom of the water. SONA.rBall doesn’t find fishes?
A:We assume it is due to the lack of fish at your fishing point. You had better to change your fishing spot so that you can get better results.

Q:I want a graph line representing the water temperature on the screen.
A:You can expect a lot of cool new things coming up through the app update. We will improve the app and add useful features in consideration of our customer’s opinion. A graph line representing the water temperature is one of the many new functions scheduled.

Q:There is no switch on SONA.rBall, so I don’t see how to turn it on…
A:We intentionally set no switch on SONA.Ball so that it can keep a cool design. The power will turn on automatically when it floats on the water (The upper part of SONA.rBall blinks on and off for a while. After the blinking, it is powered on.)
After your fishing session, SONA.rBall is powered off automatically after you wash and dry it.

Q:The water depth or scan-mode display is strange.
A:If someone uses a fish-finder with the same frequency nearby, or if there are walls or barricades close, SONA.rBall app may not work correctly because of the echo of the sonic wave.