Lowrance Elite 4 DSI chart problem...

[griffox]

G'day 'Raiders!

I have recently bought an Elite 4 DSI for the little tinnie and finally got out to try it yesterday.

The DSI is fantastic compared to the basic sounder I have been using for the last year or so.

However, one problem that I had out on the water is in the Chart screen.

When I opened the Chart screen it showed a map of Australia with the cursor showing my position (Sydney!), all good.

Then I adjusted the scale to start zeroing in for more detail but all I got was was an olive green screen (denoting land) with the cursor in the middle, no sign of water!!

WTF?!?

Anyone know what I'm doing wrong before I talk to Lowrance?

I've had a look through the Ops Manual and have been able to work my way around most of the settings, but can't find anything relating to this problem...

Any ideas?

[LeoB]

Gday

I think you need to hit the 'exit' button. If you have moved the cursor off the boat then you will zoom in on that spot. I've had that problem on my hds.

Cheers Leo

[Juggs]

the map is just a token map and is off by up to 100km

i have the same unit as a backup gps, you have to add a navionics map to get a acurate shore coast line

the cheapest is the silver map for $130 which i have, it shows depths round the edges but no contour or depth lines elsewhere

[griffox]

Gday

I think you need to hit the 'exit' button. If you have moved the cursor off the boat then you will zoom in on that spot. I've had that problem on my hds.

Cheers Leo

So go into "Chart", hit "Menu", open "System", and then "Return To Vessel/Exit Cursor Mode", is that the go?

I can see a mention of this in the manual, but didn't understand the significance.

I'll try when I'm out next..

Also, what about WAAS/MSAS/EGNOS, do you generally run with this on or off?

Thanks for the help!

[griffox]

the map is just a token map and is off by up to 100km

i have the same unit as a backup gps, you have to add a navionics map to get a acurate shore coast line

the cheapest is the silver map for $130 which i have, it shows depths round the edges but no contour or depth lines elsewhere

I wondered if I'd need a card to get decent results...

I'll try the suggestion from Leo next time I'm out, and try to learn my way around the menus first.

Then, if it still is no good I guess I'll be spending more money!!

Cheers.

[Geoff]

I wondered if I'd need a card to get decent results...

I'll try the suggestion from Leo next time I'm out, and try to learn my way around the menus first.

Then, if it still is no good I guess I'll be spending more money!!

Cheers.

It's not necessary to be on the water to use the Chart so you can play around with it at home provided the boat is outside so the GPS can pick up the satelites.

I have the Elite 5 Combo which I understand is basically the same as the 4 but with larger screen.

The Navionics XL9 Gold card was supplied & included in the price of the Elite 5 unit.

The first thing to determin is what , if any, card came with your DSI 4.

If not sure , go to ,

Chart , Menu , select Chart Data. The default is Lowrance. If the Gold card is fitted select "Navionics" On the drop down screen , Enter.

If it is fitted the screen should look like this when the horizantle & vertical grid lines are moved to a coastal position or when your on the water.

When at home the screen will be a light brown colour which depics land. Move the grid lines (in the manual these are refered to as the "curser") with the arrow buttons to the coast or your normal fishing spot..

If it does not look like the photo then suspect there will be more expenditure.

Geoff

[griffox]

It's not necessary to be on the water to use the Chart so you can play around with it at home provided the boat is outside so the GPS can pick up the satelites.

I have the Elite 5 Combo which I understand is basically the same as the 4 but with larger screen.

The Navionics XL9 Gold card was supplied & included in the price of the Elite 5 unit.

The first thing to determin is what , if any, card came with your DSI 4.

If not sure , go to ,

Chart , Menu , select Chart Data. The default is Lowrance. If the Gold card is fitted select "Navionics" On the drop down screen , Enter.

If it is fitted the screen should look like this when the horizantle & vertical grid lines are moved to a coastal position or when your on the water.

When at home the screen will be a light brown colour which depics land. Move the grid lines (in the manual these are refered to as the "curser") with the arrow buttons to the coast or your normal fishing spot..

If it does not look like the photo then suspect there will be more expenditure.

Geoff

No, the Elite 4 doesn't have a card standard.

So the default "Lowrance" setting is all I got!

I'll try a couple of the suggestions next time I drag it out.

Thanks.

[LeoB]

As mentioned, of it's not too much of a pain, I'd definitely have a play with it at home. I've spent way to much fishing time playing with it!

Cheers Leo

[Juggs]

As mentioned, of it's not too much of a pain, I'd definitely have a play with it at home. I've spent way to much fishing time playing with it!

Cheers Leo

if your near st clair you can have a look at my unit with th emap installed for comparison

these are cheap units and they have made it that way by not inc maps, the vague australia map can 50-100km out

[griffox]

if your near st clair you can have a look at my unit with th emap installed for comparison

these are cheap units and they have made it that way by not inc maps, the vague australia map can 50-100km out

Cheers Leo, Geoff & Juggs,

Unfortunately I live in the inner city... NO BACK YARD!!!

Underground car park/garage with my 'bikes and crap, by the time I can get it out into open air I may as well keep going until I find water!!!

As I said I'll try a couple of the suggestions re: settings first and go from there.

The main reasons I went for the combo were the clarity/definition of the DSI, and to be able to find GPS locations, so if the Chart side is not great it doesn't matter too much.

I'm not really using it as a navigation aid, more as a slightly better fish finder.

Once I get it working as good as it gets I'll decide if I want to add a better card...

BTW, any advice on the WAAS/MSAS/EGNOS setting?

Thanks again guys...

[General Zod]

I had the same drama, but with the dsi5. The default is Lowrance, which is crap, just i discribed it, I had the same thing, until I relised I had to change/select it to the Gold card Navionics which came with it. Took me 2 or 3 trips to figure this out. I totaly forgot about the card which came with it. If it didnt come with the card then yeah the lowrance map is crap.

Geoff's post is spot on.

[a boat]

Hi, the Elite4 requires a chart to work in any form of charting unlike the Elite5 that comes with the chart.

Cheers,

Huey.

[griffox]

Thanks again guys for all the advice.

I was out earlier in the week and tried the "Return to Vessel" setting (cheers Leo) but it made no difference...

As you all said, the standard chart is out by a nautical mile (or 50!).

The DSI is amazing, showing almost photo quality images.

I found the new reef off The Gap exactly on the marks, so the GPS side of things is also spot on.

I will get a Navionics card at some time in the future, but this is definately not a priority for me as I'm not using it to navigate unfamiliar waters.

Cheers 'Raiders!!

[Mick54]

Hi guys, I have the elite 5 dsi combo with the navionics gold card and I'm not that impressed. Recently took a trip down the Georges river and most of the time the chart plotter showed my position 50 to 100m from where I was. Much of the time it indicated that I was on land rather than in the river and would be useless if I used it to navigate in the dark. The dsi is amazing even picking up submerged cars near the ramp near bankstown airport. Do I have the settings wrong? Tried it at home and it was still about 50m from my actual position. Not sure if the charts are wrong or the accuracy of my GPS is out. I have used it offshore and had no problem locating my usual spots with the GPS but once you are offshore the charts have little use.

[Geoff]

Recently took a trip down the Georges river and most of the time the chart plotter showed my position 50 to 100m from where I was.

Do I have the settings wrong? Tried it at home and it was still about 50m from my actual position.

An interesting problem ,

Does the inaccuracy of the distance change when you zoom in ??

As far as I am aware , there are no "settings" The GPS reads from the satilites & identifies your location.

Could you expand on 50m from my actual position. How did you determin this ?

Geoff

Edited October 29, 2012 by Geoff

[Mick54]

Hi Geoff

Thought the best way to show you is with a photo. The pink line is my track down the river and as I do not have a hovercraft, if that was my true route, I would have spent a lot of time beached. The river is only 50 to 100m wide in that area and the tracks are a similar distance on shore from mid river.

[Geoff]

Hi Geoff

Thought the best way to show you is with a photo. The pink line is my track down the river and as I do not have a hovercraft, if that was my true route, I would have spent a lot of time beached. The river is only 50 to 100m wide in that area and the tracks are a similar distance on shore from mid river.

Mick Wow , that's interesting. You have a few things on the screen , other than the pink line , that I have not seen before. Also , the depth is not showing

I'm not an expert & perhaps others more knowlegable than I may comment but it appears some how you have managed to overlay the STEER screen with the CHART screen.

Was this done by choice??

Also , the black triangle under the "30" shows the actual boat position & as such should be in the water area. Perhaps this photo was taken when you were at home , hence it's position.

When I got my unit , played around with settings to a point I stuffed up a No. of functions. Not knowing how to reverse , went into the menu , selected "Back to Default" settings , then started over again.

I assume you have gone into the CHART menu & changed from the default Lowrance to Navionics?

Was there any difference when you zoomed in. Eg , The map is not showing any channel markers.

Geoff

[Mick54]

Mick Wow , that's interesting. You have a few things on the screen , other than the pink line , that I have not seen before. Also , the depth is not showing

I'm not an expert & perhaps others more knowlegable than I may comment but it appears some how you have managed to overlay the STEER screen with the CHART screen.

Was this done by choice??

Also , the black triangle under the "30" shows the actual boat position & as such should be in the water area. Perhaps this photo was taken when you were at home , hence it's position.

When I got my unit , played around with settings to a point I stuffed up a No. of functions. Not knowing how to reverse , went into the menu , selected "Back to Default" settings , then started over again.

I assume you have gone into the CHART menu & changed from the default Lowrance to Navionics?

Was there any difference when you zoomed in. Eg , The map is not showing any channel markers.

Geoff

Hi Geoff

You assumed correct, picture taken at home hence no depth and the location of the black marker. the other items on screen are water temp, battery voltage, distance traveled and time. I like to be able to see these all the time. This is the Navionics chart and only shows channel markers up to Salt Pan creek on max zoom. I am now assuming that the area above Salt Pan creek is not charted and their map is inaccurate beyond that point. I had the boat out in Sydney harbour last night and it was totally accurate. Zoomed right in and motored up to channel markers and it was spot on. So it appears the problem only occurs in uncharted waters. Thanks for your suggestions anyway.

[Testlab]

Have a look throughout menus and see if there is a setting for chart offset. This aligns that chart with the GPS location more precisely by allowing for errors. You will need a known GPS alignment point to set it up properly... Look at the relevant boating map and it will tell you where the surveyed mark is.

You may also have really bad satellite reception and the accuracy is blown out to 50m instead of say 5m. Check the satellite signal display next time you are out. You need a least three and preferably four or five sats to get a decent fix.