Help needed for Ball M19 vario

[silverwings]

Does anyone in the club have a user's manual for One? I left mine at home and am in New Zealand and need to change some settings but don't remember how to do it. Primarily turn off sink sound and how to access flight time. I haven't been able to find online manual.

[A.Lloyd]

Ball M-19 Varioaltimeter Operator Instructions



IMPORANT TO READ FIRST



Battery installation instructions



When you receive the Ball M-19 Varioaltimeter you will first need to install a 9 volt battery inside the unit before it will power up. Remember if not using the unit for a period of time to remove the battery to avoid corrosion problems.



The first step is to remove the 2 flat head machine screws that hold on the leg strap bracket. Next remove the single flat head machine screw (be careful not to lose it) that holds the calm shell case together. Now plug up your 9 volt battery. Use a new Duracell to avoid start up problems. The reason I mentioned this is because I one time put in a new off brand battery which caused erratic start up problems. No problems ever with Duracell battery. Position the battery so the connecting wires are not under stress. Carefully a line the top and bottom halves before reinstalling the small machine screw in the back of the case. Be sure the battery was positioned so the case goes together smoothly and evenly.



To Power On The Unit



Locate and slide the small black switch on the left side of the unit to the up position. It should go through a start up sequence. You will see ball (the name of the company) then USA, then 359 (the number of the unit off the production line), then 11_93 (the month and year manufactured), then the feet above sea level will appear on the screen. (it defaults to A1 in startup).



Now that you have it on all is left is to choose your desired volume level for the vario (low, high or off) and for me I always zero A2 on launch. You may want to do it in the LZ. More about that in a minute.



Understanding How to Set the Vario Volume



First thing to learn is that the 2 position slide switch on the right side of the unit can change the volume from LOW to HIGH back to LOW and then to OFF. Say what?!!! I know that is what you're thinking. Don't fear you'll get it in a minute. This is what I did to get it in the HIGH volume position. (My preferred) With the unit on hold it tightly in your hand so as not to accidentally drop it or throw it and move it up and down in the air from your knee to above your head quickly so you can hear the Beautiful sounds of lift and the sickening sounds of sink. If you don't hear anything it must be in the OFF position. So move the switch to the next position. This should be LOW volume. You can try the moving the unit up and down like before with your arm to hear the sounds. If you want them a bit louder when you move the switch again it will go to HIGH. Clear as mud right? Have fun with it.



About Flight Memory



Things to remember---- It will record the following about the most recent 7 flights:

1.Max rate of climb in feet x100 as viewed on the vario dial


2.Max rate of sink in feet x 100 as viewed on the vario dial


3.Max altitude above sea level in feet (A1)


4.Max altitude above launch in feet (A2) if you zero it at launch. (To zero prolonged depression of the A2 key---about 3 seconds will do it---)


5.Total time of each flight


6.Plus a total cumulative time of all flights combined and total number of flights.


7.Remember FL1 is always the most recent flight. If you have a total of 7 flights in the memory number 7 will be kicked out when the 8th flight is started. But don't worry the amount of time you were in the air on that and all flights goes into the TOTAL cumulative memory so at the end of the season or the end of your vacation you have a total number in hours and minutes of all flights combined.




How to See Those Flight Statics





First turn the vario POWER OFF. Now while holding down the Right ARROW key turn the unit back on. You should see FL1 your most recent flight. Looking at the vario dial you will see your Max rate of climb and Max rate of sink.



Now if you hold down A1 you see your Max above sea level in feet. Now if you hold down A2 key you will see the Max in feet above where you zeroed it.



Now to find out how long this flight was press A1 & A2 at the same time.



Now you can go look at FL2 (the flight before the last) by pressing the Right ARROW KEY and follow the above instructions to review all the same type of data about the flight.



You can scroll back and forth to all 7 flights in the memory by pressing the ARROW KEYS



When you scroll to the point after number 7 you will see TOTAL (with funny looking Ts).

Here you can check your total cumulative time of all flights by Holding down A1 & A2 at the same time you will see the number of hours. By holding down A2 you will see the remaining minutes of your cumulative time. When you press A1 alone you will see the total number of flights it took you to accumulate this total time. If you don't reset your memory you can know how many flights you took and how much air time you collected over a desired length of time. (I only reset mine at the beginning of each season or year).





How to Reset the Memory



Warning this step will clear out all your data about all your past flights! So if you want a clean slate including zero cumulative time do the following:



First get a friend to assist you. Turn the unit Off. While holding down all 4 RED Keys have your friend carefully power ON the unit by sliding up the POWER switch on the Left hand side of the unit.

It is a good idea to demonstrate to your friend how this switch works before hand so it won't be damaged by accident. But of course if you are very talented you might be able to do this yourself.



Additional information:



Richard Harding Ball the founder of Ball Corporation and designer/manufacturer of Ball M-19 vario altimeter was born November 4, 1921. Died November16, 2011 at age 90. The Ball Variometers' instruments were well regarded internationally among pilots of sailplanes, hot-air balloons, hang gliders and paragliders.

[silverwings]

Thanks Anthony but someone on hanggliding.org emailed me pictures of the manual and I was able to get it back to normal and view my recent flights.