Guest mike2153 Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 Hi everyone I've been playing with my newly installed lowrance hds and being trying to get it set up right. What do you guys make of these marks on the sounder? Cheers guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quintrex480 Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 I have the HDS gen 2, and usually when my sounder looks like that, it indicates a lot of crap in the water. try turning the sensitivity down a little and that should clear up the muck. another tip is if you haven't already done so, is update the configuration in settings to the transducer that you have. There is a youtube clip out there somewhere that shows you how to do it, but you basically update the unit to the code for your transducer which is found on the silver sticker on the cable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mike2153 Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 Yep I've told it what transducer it is. Ok ill turn the sensitivity down. An for that a go. How do I know that I have the transducer on the right angle? I set it so its away from the prop and sitting Patel to the hull and the centreline of the transducer is on the centreline of the hull Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mike2153 Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 Anyone else have any info for me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quintrex480 Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 having it on the right angle is as you have described it already. Other than that, it's more of getting out there and giving it a go, what I mean by this is that at slow speeds or relatively high speeds, you should always get some reading of the bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooln Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 i have a hds gen 2, not so sure about lowrance so far. Thinking i should of bought a Furuno... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twinfisher 4.9 Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Just checking "the centreline of the transducer is on the centreline of the hull" does that mean it is mounted directly adjacent to the motor? It should be as far away from the outboard as possible. Also as suggested, play around with the Sensitivity - from your screen shot it is nearly there but is picking up interference and clutter. They can be tricky little devils! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhype Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Hi I had the same issue with my Gen 1 HDS5... worked ok but could never get rid of all the "noise" no matter what I did... trust me, I spend months and countless hours with the setting , frequency, different transducer position, heights etc still no good. The issue is worst as speed builds. I finally got the shits and bought a Furuno 585... installed the transducer in the EXACT location, left it in "auto" and got a perfect view first time out... even when going at 50km! Speaking to a few people I have been told its very likely the "noise" issue might be due to the factory HDS5 factory tranny design and my boat hull combination... The suggestion was to get an airmar transducer (P66) instead... could not be bothered by then and dropped a few dollars more on the Furuno which I should done in the first place. The HDS is now used only as a chart plotter which works fine Good luck with your troubleshooting Trung Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Mike I have a few questions which , depending on the answers , may help pin point the problem. Was the motor on or off when this photo was taken If on , were you traveling or stationary If traveling at a constant speed , does the clutter change (increase or decrease) as you move along Did you try , with the engine in netural increasing the rev's to see if the degree of clutter changed If traveling , Dose the clutter change in relation to an increase or decrease in the engine rev's Depending on your answers , it may narrow down the problem to either , sensitivity , engine interference , crap in the water or turbulance from either the prop or from under the boat. Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mike2153 Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 Mike I have a few questions which , depending on the answers , may help pin point the problem. Was the motor on or off when this photo was taken If on , were you traveling or stationary If traveling at a constant speed , does the clutter change (increase or decrease) as you move along Did you try , with the engine in netural increasing the rev's to see if the degree of clutter changed If traveling , Dose the clutter change in relation to an increase or decrease in the engine rev's Depending on your answers , it may narrow down the problem to either , sensitivity , engine interference , crap in the water or turbulance from either the prop or from under the boat. Geoff Hi mate, I believe the engine was in neutral and just drifting along very slowly, if I start to accelerate it get a lot worse even at about 5 knots I get vertical lines on the screen and it looses the bottom and just has no reading of the bottom at all, I find with the motor idling I get a lot more rubbish on the screen, the Tranny is sitting as far away of the motor as I can really put it, it is the required distance from the motor as stated in the tranny instructions. I went out about 2k off sydney on the weekend and even with engine off and slowly drifting it couldn't find the bottom and just had no reading if the bottom this was the deepest I have the boat in but really it should only be a lot less than 100 metres that far out so I ant see why it shouldn't read perfectly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mike2153 Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 This is the transducer mounted on the boat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Mike What HDS is it , the 5 ?? As for the depth setting , if not sure select Menu. There should an option to set the depth or use Auto . On some models the is a custom range where upper & lower depths can be set. Unless you have a specific need , this is not a function I would be playing around with. From what you describe , it sounds like there is interferance from the motor . Sugest you revisit the the sensitivity settings. Select menu , there is a function with the option to use Auto or set your own. Other than that I think it is "a matter of trial & error" Perhaps note the 5 questions I asked previously & when next on the water check each one out & note the difference in the screen appearence. Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catchin Jack Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 I bought the Lowrance HDS7 combo a while back and I gotta say i'm not overly impressed with the unit. I've seen both the Garmin and Furuno and they look heaps better and better mapping unlike Lowrance which is rubbish unless you buy their overpriced mapping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mike2153 Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Yea no worries thanks mate ill check ot out when I'm on the water those questions you asked. I have it set on auto sensitivity, and also have it set in bottom lock so it adjusts itself to the depth of the bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaners Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 I bought the Lowrance HDS7 combo a while back and I gotta say i'm not overly impressed with the unit. I've seen both the Garmin and Furuno and they look heaps better and better mapping unlike Lowrance which is rubbish unless you buy their overpriced mapping. I got a HDS 7 as well and I'm not really happy with mine either CJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaners Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Hi mate, I believe the engine was in neutral and just drifting along very slowly, if I start to accelerate it get a lot worse even at about 5 knots I get vertical lines on the screen and it looses the bottom and just has no reading of the bottom at all, I find with the motor idling I get a lot more rubbish on the screen, the Tranny is sitting as far away of the motor as I can really put it, it is the required distance from the motor as stated in the tranny instructions. I went out about 2k off sydney on the weekend and even with engine off and slowly drifting it couldn't find the bottom and just had no reading if the bottom this was the deepest I have the boat in but really it should only be a lot less than 100 metres that far out so I ant see why it shouldn't read perfecIi I had the same problem on my HDS7,after a lot of trial and error I had to lower the transducer about one cm more than recommended and that fixed the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mike2153 Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 Ok so i went out on the weekend and found that the motor sitting in neutral and holding the revs up there was no change to the clutter on the screen, i turned the sensitivity down as well that seemed to work, the finder seemed to work great and found a few bait balls and a wreck with it with no problems. Then headed out and was in prbly 40-50 metres of water and the same thing, i wouldnt find the bottom wouldnt show anything and couldnt get it work. Also when moving it just lost the bottom and wouldnt work again. Where i was finding bait and the wreck was in 40-60ft of water. Then after driving for about 15mins i pulled up on some shallow approx 5-10metres of water and it wouldnt find the bottom or show anything on the screen just a few dots lines of nothing. Didnt matter if the engine was on or off. I have the finder set for shallow water which is good for less than 100 metres. I even got a few good arcs out of it when sounding bait and seemed to be working great then just stopped working properly then started working again. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 Has the problem been occuring from day one , ie , as it came out of the box with the factory default settings or only been occuring since adjusting the set up? If the latter , suggest the shallow water function is turned off & the bottom lock off & the depth options set to Auto. Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mike2153 Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 I bought it second hand from a mate I know fr sure the head unit has no issues he wouldn't selle something with issues. And yes the problem has happened from day one but I mucked around my first time I was out with it, then restored the settings according to various articles and you tibe videos on how to set up a hds 5 , I will try changing those settings but with the issue while moving surely it could be a transducer mounting problem? You want the transducer sitting under the water right? Ill take some close up photos of its mounting and see what you think of it? Cheers mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Testlab Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 Sounds like the transducer has been dropped and needs replacing. To test it, cable tie it to a stick that lets you raise and lower it at different places around the transom. If you never get a decent reading then I think the transducer is shot. Try and borrow one as I am not sure this is your problem but I had this happen with an HDS10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 I even got a few good arcs out of it when sounding bait and seemed to be working great then just stopped working properly then started working again. Any ideas? Mike , Is it possible there is a loose connection , one of the pins in the plug not always connecting properly or a broken wire in the cable ?? In respect to the transducer height , if the unit is working OK when at rest , ie , when the transducer is completly covered with water but not when on the plane then yes , the height needs to be looked at but if it's not working when at rest then I don't think the height is the issue. Did the unit come with the Operation Manual which shows how & where to install the transducer? Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mike2153 Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 Yea, I can reach down and change the angle of the transducer in the water, but I should be mounted parallel with the hull right? It's alsoa brand new transducer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Testlab Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 Yes, parallel with the hull and submerged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mike2153 Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 I've turned it off shallow water mode which is for up to 100 feet hopefully that'sy issue also ill run it 83hz not 200 I read that lower frequency is better for the deeper water Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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