I am a definate novice with some technology. Since I am certainly not one of the photo posters on here because I forget to do it, and get back fishing. But now have installed a GoPro on the boat, and have fun so far with the video.

Question for this almost geriatric techno dumbo is how do you get stills from the video so at least I can post some pics on here. I seem to want to show off to the video. Nothing flash yet as I come to grips with SW fishing again after 6yrs in the Pilbara.

I told you I was techno dumb!!!!

 Hi all I have a fcv 627 and on Sunday had a play with the TVG settings , normally don't use this function or have it on low but decided to have a play with very poor results .

Turnig the setting up to high or even med resulted in a screen full of vertical lines mainly yellow , this obviously didn't seem right so I turned the function off but in hindsight should have played with the clutter/colour erase or even the basic gain to see if I could dial it out .

Anyone have this setting sussed ??? Furuno market it as a special function so I presume there is some merit to it or they wouldn't have developed it . 

I presume the function applies to the bigger units aswell although I have noticed that the deep drop guys use it more so maybe it's a bigger unit/ power thing ???

Cheers for any info fishfish 

Hey Guys

Looking to possibly upgrade from the HDS to either a Furuno 587 or a Koden 128 - prices look to be pretty much the same so I guess its going to come down to ease of use and performance. From what I can read the performance of both is fairly exceptional for recreational sounders.

The Furuno speaks for itself and has many, many supporters (and with good reason) but I am looking for some real time feed back from Koden users as there does not seem to be that many out there but I am reading some really good stuff about these units. Looking to get across, reliability, display ability, clarity, startup, service backup and just how good are they as a fish finder ? Looking to fish deep so has to be capable of 400 plus with SS264 pair.

I have done a search on the site but comments have been a bit thin really so hoping some actual users out there read this and contribute their thoughts.

cheers

 Im thinking of getting the special simrad has on at the moment. Just wondering if anyone here has the nss7 hooked up to their iPad with the wifi.

hey guys I was wondering if anybody had any tips on how to use a furno LS-4000 fish finder I no how to basically use it but I want to be able to know the sounder inside out any tips would be great thanks

 The boat currently has a LMS330C on it which is working well.  Now I want to install a HDS5 on the boat as well and have questions about their communication ability.

I assume I would use NMEA0183 as the connection.  How much sharing can the 2 units do?  Can they share waypoints? I assume they cannot share map data?

Also, does anyone have a Lowrance 83/200khz (HST-WBSL) transducer installed together next to a 50/200khz (HST-DFSBL)?  Do they interfere with each other?

 Hi all,

Looking sounder upgrade options but before committing, interested if anyone knows if the Lowrance LCX 27 can take a 1kw transducer?

i have tried the operating manual and the Internet but I can't seem to find if it can take 1kw or if it is limited to 600w. I have two LCX27 units currently that are linked and if I can up the power of the tranny and get some better reading at depth then I will be happy with keeping the current units.

has anyone got these units, or heard of, with a 1kw?

cheers

brett

Gents,

I'm getting some additional marine electronics installed next week and have some questions I would appreciate some insight into. I spoke to Garmin Support this morning and they were less than helpful, with the lady who took my call having very limited understanding of their equipment capabilities ... hence my post :)

As background, I am currently running a Garmin Suite, including the Garmin 2Kh Radar; Garmin 4210 sounder/GPS unit and GSD-22 sounder module & Airmar Transducer. In addition to this, next week I am having installed (a) a second Garmin Unit (5008 Touchscreen) that will run the chartmodule whilst the existing Garmin 4210 will run the sounder module (b) GSD-24 sounder module; (c) R199 2Kw transducer. All is Garmin equipment and my plans are for it to be fully integrated.

With that background in mind, I have the following quesitons:

(1) Whilst all the installation is happenning, I'm thining it also makes sense to get them to also instal the Garmin GHP 10 Autopilot System. I'm thinking of staying with Garmin for full integration. Any thoughts on this?

(2) I do alot of fishing down south when there is almost no map coverage (deep off Gracetown area). As such I wish to integrate the two Garmin units together (Garmin 4210 & 5008) so the sounder unit updates the map unit with the ground I am driving over. I know that commercial units have this capability but not sure about these units?? When I spoke to Garmin they very nervously said yes I should be able to do it, but i need NMEA. From my research I can't find anything to support this. Any thoughts?

(3) I want to download my Garmin SIM card to my computer to backup my GPS spots and interpret data. Garmin are telling me I need to purchase "HomePort" software from them. Is this the best way to go about it, or are there any better methods?

(4) I heard there is a way that I can scroll back on my sounder history and it will bring up the GPS co-ordinates of the sounder readings. Is this true as I haven't been using this functionality so far if it is?

Cheers

John 

Hi All,

Hoping someone can help me with a problem I have?

I am very new to boating, but I have just purchased my first boat, a Boston Whaler 255 Conquest, 2007 model which has twin 8" screens:-

-Lowrance Lcx 37c sounder/gps (this one has a thru hull transducer hooked up to it)

-Lowrance Globalmap 8200c sounder/gps which is used as the main gps.

I am assuming these gps units are about the same age as the boat?

The boat came from Tassie and didn't have any maps on the gps units, so I purchase 2 x navionics gold XL9 sd cards and the unit recognises these and loads them up fine......for a while, then it doesnt like them any more?

I have only had the boat in the water twice, but both times the gps units work fine until they get a bit of use, then they just freeze up and turn off? This is only happening on the maps function. Navigation and sounder work fine. I can't tell at this stage what is triggering this, but it seems to be when I am playing around with the maps for a while it becomes to much for it to handle. It usually freezes when trying to zoom in.

Without putting ideas in anyones head, could it be the new navionics card has too much info for this 6year old unit to read? The detail is set to medium on both units, and it is very strange that it is happening to both units???

Btw, the sounder works perfectly on the Lcx 37c, no problem at all, also, when the units are turned back on they start up and work fine until it happens agian?

Are these good units or cheapies for their time? Is 6 years all you get out of these things?

Thanks 

Furuno Australia has extended the cash back offer until end Sept 2013. Check out out website for details: www.furuno.com.au

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Had a PM from another member thought I'd post the info I sent him as others may find it useful.

Info is specific to a Lowarance HDS but generally applies to all sounders

1.   Transducer is where most problems lie (I’ll stick to Transom Mounts), you need to make sure this is set up properly first.  Location and angle are where most problems are made.  The manual will show how this should be done better than I can. 

In short though the centre line of the transducer (looking from behind) should be aligned with the bottom of the hull (at the point where the transducer is mounted).  On some hulls it can be slightly higher but not to the point that the bottom of the transducer is higher than the bottom of the hull.  It should not be angled forwards on backwards (you can get away with a tiny bit of forward tilt but not backwards.).

It needs to be where there is no turbulence (aerated water) coming off the hull (strakes, bumps, damage or repairs to the hull will cause turbulence) and at least one foot from the motor.  It your sounder works well in calm water when stationary but is a problem underway hang over the back whilst someone else is driving and check the transducer is running through clean water (green or blue as opposed to full of bubbles).

Mono hulls are easy to fit in this regards but cats are harder to find a good spot as turbulence comes out from between the hulls –

2.  Transducer cable should be run on the opposite side of the boat to electrical wiring and radio antenna cables (though these days they are shielded pretty well).

3.  On the transducer cable where it plugs into the back of the screen there is a sliver sticker with the transducer code you need to set this into the unit (in settings or setup somewhere) so it is set up for your specific transducer.

4. Push menu twice then select sonar then fishing mode  -  set it for the type of water your fishing and press enter (salt water up to 60 feet will be the shallow water setting otherwise use the deep water setting).

Turn fish ID off (this is a non negotiable – you will get to know your sounder better without it)

Manual settings will give the best returns.  Turn auto settings off.

Set your colour line to around 75%

Set sensitivity to 70%

Scroll speed - set to medium as a starter (can go higher depending on your boat speed – higher settings will show more detail (regardless of boat speed) but stay on screen for less time)

Set the depth range for the depth you are in + 2-5 metres (this depends on the depth variances where you are and you may need to adjust the extra to suit so you don’t have to adjust it every 2 minutes if in large variances of depth).  You can get your screen to show more detail by setting a top and bottom range such as only looking at the depths between 30-50m in 45 metres of water

Noise reduction – set to low

Ping speed set to around 10-15 (higher ping speed (pulse rate) at faster speeds if needed)

Surface clutter - set to low.

The above should settings should be generally right.  Now turn up the sensitivity until the screen is over cluttered and full of noise - Then slowly turn it back down until you just have a small amount of clutter mostly towards the surface. With some clutter towards the surface and just the odd spot here and there near the bottom your sounder should be set pretty well (when seeking fish in the mid to bottom ranges). - If looking for surface fish look over the side of the boat.

If you now go into shallower water you will need to adjust the sensitivity down if deeper adjust it up.  Also if you go into water (say a river or estuary) with more sediment you will need to turn it down and vise-versa when going back out into cleaner water

If getting too much clutter on your screen this is usually one of three things

Turbulence – if this is the problem it will be clear when stationary and worsen when underway.

Other two are  – your ping speed is too high or your sensitivity is too high – check both most likely sensitivity but too high a ping speed can have the same result.

Cheers Paul

Hi All,

Anyone have any contacts for someone to install a sounder and transducer?

Transducer will be transom mount (onto an ally boat).

Most things I would do myself but having a sounder read well at the highest speed possible is critical for me so would rather have someone install that that has some experience/ knowledge.

Cheers

Brett

 Hi guys i've just purchased a 587 furuno sounder and was wondering if you are able to hook it up to a garmin 750s to transfer waypoint info any feed back would be great.

 Hi guys, just wondering if any one out there has mounted a sounder on the bow of their boat, setting up my tinny (4.2m Stessco catcher) and want to mount an electric on the bow but don't want to keep turning around to see the sounder while flicking lures up front, how do you mount the transducer?, I have seen on "Ifish" they cable tied it to the electric but wondering if there are other options

Cheers Yewie

Here is a quick review of the new Raymarine Dragonfly. Note it has only been quickly installed and nothing has been adjusted, all settings left on Auto. I will do some proper screen shots when i get more time.

Installation

When i got my Dragonfly the first thing i did was ditch the bracket, maybe mine was broken but it wouldn't clip in properly so i resorted to a temporary flush mount system using 4 bolts. The Transducer installed quite easily although isn't as firm as most. This is due to the bump up system that transducer has, which would make it perfect for the tinny while skull dragging it through the mud! The 6m cable was only just long enough to get to the helm in my trophy. Apart from that just a standard install. The wiring didn't come with a inline fuse so don't forget to put one!

The Flush mount kit is easy to install and the suncover makes a good seal that should keep water out.

You can see from the photos how the transducer sits lower than my standard p66 due to design.

Trial run

I took it out for a test run tonight, it was dark and i had not changed any settings and the results are remarkable, they leave my E7D with 600w transducer for dead, the clarity is amazing and it clearly shows separated fish (and proven we caught fish where it showed fish) I managed to get a couple of shots of the D9 and another wreck. Note the photos i have i did not set up, it was a quick drive over and take a photo.

The image becomes a bit patchy as you can see in the images when the depth change quickly but it wasnt a problem.

The sounder read perfectly at 20kt and It made seeing the difference between weed and sand so easy.The Chirp and down vision on the one screen make defining structure so easy, you can clearly make out edges of boats and moorings which would be a blob on most sounders.

Conclusion

All in all it seems like a remarkable bit of electronics and for under $700 you cant go wrong for the smaller boats.A little bit of tweaking and i should be set.

I cant wait for a designs of a  bigger unit about 12'' with a 1kw chirp and downvision, the future looks bright!

 Anyone had much to do with hondex sounders ?? looking at a HE 7300 di as opposed to furuno any feedback would be good , and does anyone know where i could maybe import one from cheers.

Does anyone have the latest version of nav planner 2 ? Running a HDS to the nav planner programe id like to know if it saves marks in icon format. Thanks 

Can someone please clarify this with GPS.  I'm pretty sure its everytime the cursor (boat) moves on the screen.

My GPS has the update set to 1 second, but I notice that some GPS have "continuous" update.

What is this?

Thank you

Chris

Went for a arun out to the depths on Sunday to test the new sounder (Furuno FCV587 and Airmar SS264 1 KW flush mount thru hull).

Weather was no where near as good as predicted with white caps from the eastery whipping up a nasty chop out wide. We pressed on and got to the shelf and did a bit of exporing and testing the sounder. A few shots and would be interested to hear any comments.......for the record, we dropped on 6 separate spots that had fish shows on the sounder, and got fish on all 6....unfortunately they were all green eye sharks. Would love to hear peoples comments on what we should look for to find more desirable scalies.......

1. First shot was whilst trolling at 6-7 knots with pretty rough conditions. A lot of clutter but a flair up still showed pretty well at  380m. Sounder was in manual gain with nothing else played with. Resulted in  greeneye......

2. Next shot shows a section where I turned TVG from medium to low for a bit, and all clutter was eliminated at trolling speed. I was not sure if this was going to result in not picking up fish so run most of the time with TVG at medium and put up with the clutter at plus 6 knots.

3. Possible fish in 240 m? Got greeneye here as well....

4. Unusual flair up, not sure if fish or second echo of sounder cone on another lump.....resulted in greeneye........

5. Took a run into the deep, sounder still showing at 557m but had to go slow, pretty happy with 1 kW......did a drop at 540 m.....you guessed it, greeneye.........

6. The result of all the hardwork manula cranking this up from 350m with a stella 20,000......TimVB with one of many..........defeated this time, but we will try again!

Hey All

I have a Raymarine Chart plotter which is loaded with the Silver Maps from Navionics, this gives detail out to about 10meters. Just wondering what your thoughts would be on the value of upgrading to the gold, I have paper charts of the areas I fish.

What would be the benefits of upgrading?

Thanks in advance.

Martin

Here's one out of the blue.

I have a Raymarine L760 GPS (an oldie but a goodie) and a HDS8 - The Raymarine reads a SOG approx 4 knots slower than the HDS at 25 knots. The differential varies as the speed increases/decreases. I have run up a handheld GPS which aligns with the HDS, so happy that it is reading correctly. Any ideas why the Raymarine would read slow ? GPS aerial is new and Lat/Long readings are close enough to HDS to be the same. Surely it doesn't have to be calibrated ?

cheers

 My navman tracker 5380 says no GPS and won't find current location I have tried cleaning all plugs and cables with contact cleaner any other suggestions ??

I Have a hds5 gps in my boat its a seperate unit to the sounder. I have had problems with it the last couple of trips out. The gps keeps losing signal and it doesnt track or tell you where you are.

If i turn it off then turn it back on it picks it back up but only for about 5 mins before losing it again. I have noticed that before it drops out the speed on it goes awol and says we are traveling at rediculous speeds (2000kmph +).

Makes it hard to navigate to spots. And to navigate back home.

I have checked wires to see if it may be a loose cable but it doesnt seem to be.

Has any one experienced this before?

Got out during the week for another shakedown run on the Whaler. Starting to sort out all the little things on the tug and the sounder is starting to get where I want it.

First shot is on the way out, at 31 knots, showing the new Airmar SS264 50 kHz holding bottom pretty well in 35 m depth with auto everything. This is a dramatic improvement over last time out (where it would not read over 10 knots), with major changes being I have sanded the hull with 240 grit to smooth out the antifoul paint (many hours of seriously horrible work....), and also I recessed one of the thru hulls which may have been adding turbulence. Thanks for the advice Cruise Control.

We had a quick fish on one of our dhuie spots, but the fish were very timid and this shot shows two dhuies following the jig up and down but not hitting.....if you squint you can make out the faint line of the jig going up (to 34 m) and down with the dhu's following. We got a few undersize dhus, plus we hooked two serious dhuies but both pulled the hooks after typically powerful dhuie runs. Also had a snip off from a suspected maccie, water temp around 23.

Last shot shows a nice dhu, with me dropping down an 80g jig and just missing it........story of the day!

Pretty happy with the sounder after the mods, and I have made some more mods since to further optimise, time for some deep drops.........green eyes, watch out!

Have a Garmin 4210 chartplotter. The Unit came with the boat (US boat), but I bought the chart software chip in Perth (Bias Boating) so all charts and information on it is local. I was at Rottnest yesterday and noted the tidal forecast on it for Fremantle and Rottnest waters was completely different than the tidal forecast on seabreeze or BOM. Infact, on further investigation is was definitely incorrect with it showing low tide when it was high tides. Has anyone had this issue with the garmin units? Do you know how to fix? I checked and I had the correct date and time set etc.

I have a Lowrance x515cdf sounder with a 200/50 khz transducer.I have just started going shelf fishing taging mates with better sounders for picking up fish at these depths.Is there anything that I can do to improve this sounder or should I replace it and if so what is the best for shelf fishing,that shows structure and fish clearly.Those that I follow run Furuno 295 and 585.

Cheers

Hi all, wondering if anyone has the above sounder. Installed it recently and works very well with transom mount airmar 1kw. Still learning functions etc. Am doing some fine adjustments as it is dropping out when I hit 20kn plus so might have to lower tranny a bit. 

The instruction book isnt 100% clear (to me anyhow!).I mainly do bottom bouncing in the 50-100m range and not sure which setting is best for different applications (eg bottom lock to compensate swell etc, which one to use when looking for lumps/coral) both when cruising and also drifting.  

Its got differing Zooms being: Bottom/Bottom Discrimination/Zoom/Bottom Zoom/Bottom Zoom Follow.

All info appreciated !

G'day Lads,

I'm just chasing some advice on an issue I have with my pride and joy.

I have recently purchased my dream boat a Haines Hunter 602F fitted out with a Garmin 5012 hooked up to an 1kw Airmar B164-20 thru hull transducer.

Now here is the issue, in shallow water up 10-15mtrs the sounder is working sensationally as you would expect from the 1kw transducer travelling at 20 plus knots but as soon as you head in to 20-30mtrs bottom clarity is what you would expect if you were in 100mtrs with a 600 watt transducer.

Now your probably all saying adjust the gain etc and all that other stuff but I have tried but maybe im missing something simple on the sounder its self I'm not sure?

My worst fear is that the installers haven't installed the Airmar correctly with the 20 degree dead rise compensation not being vertical and shooting off at about 40 plus degrees! Surely they couldn't stuff that up?

I have thought about bubbles running over the transducer but even when I'm travelling at trolling speed bottom quality is shite, I'm hoping someone out there has a similar setup that can offer some advice?

Other wise my pride and joy will have to head back to the dealer and some major removal issues of the Airmar in a glass hull. Sigh!

Cheers in advance for any advice Jerro

 Does anyone know if the new Raymarine Dragonfly can be flush mounted ? I cant seem to find a definitive answer anywhere.

cheers