HELP WITH HDS UNIT SET UP

[clarker2000]

Hi Ubers
A few details before I get into the meat and potatoes:
I have had my hds 7 and hds 5 for pretty much this whole season.  About 8 months give or take. I fish mainly very clear deep water reservoirs.  I have a fully rigged electric bass boat with the HDS7 on the front and the HDS 5 on the back.  While I havent jumped into all the details of these units I have learned to use them prety well.  Im identifying bait and fish and structure that I would have never seen before and it helping with catching fish.

A friend of mine has the hummingbird version and he is picking up crazy structure in great detail on a regular basis and Im just not seeing it on my units.  I know this unit has that ability but I believe I just dont have something set up exactly correct.  I mean he has pictures of bridges and houses in 50 ft of water and I know Im running over the same places but not seeing this. 

Am I missing something?  What sort of setting should I have on?  Is there a color palette you like beter then another for structure scan?  I use #6 now which is the natural looking color.  What frequency?  Sensitivity?  Contrast?  Ping speed are you using?

One problem I am experiencing is my depth being on auto vs manual. I put it on manual but it seems to only go to 40 ft.  A lot of times I running water that is 60 to 120 ft and to keep changing it back and forth is a pain in the A$$.   

I know that everyone has their own set ups but man I would appreciate some help.  I read the inst. book ut its hard to get a grasp sometimes on the water when I want to be fishing.

Much appreciated!!!!!!

[coldfront]

look up DrSonar...Bruce Sampson has some great DVD's out on how to set these units up...might ease  your pain a bit...

Doc's a walleye guy who uses Lowrance equipment...so he's very, very well versed in all the in's and outs...

give him an email...


sorry, here's the site:  http://www.hightechfishing.com/

[Todd Driscoll]

I suggest the StructureScan is relatively straightforward and easy to operate. Regarding settings, I recommend running contrast from 65 - 80 and the default color palette (#6) works well. For water < 100 feet, run in 800 kHz, otherwise run in 455 kHz. Range can be operated in either Auto or Manual.  I do prefer manual, but with HDS 8s and 10s it is easier to adjust due to the quick keys at bottom.  With HDS 5s and 7s, you must go into the menu like you say and it is slightly less user friendly that way.

Your problem could be related to how your transducer is mounted. Is it mounted using the bracket, either to a jackplate or the transom, or have you directly mounted the transducer (no bracket)? It is important to have the transducer level with the water surface as you are idling, and when using the bracket you can adjust the ducer angle.

Sidescan Specifications
Max Range 455kHz (500ft — 250 per side) 800kHz (300ft —150 per side)
Max Speed 35 mph (56 kmh)
Mark objects 15 mph (24 kmh)
Optimum speed 10 mph (16 kmh) or less

Downscan Specifications
Max Depth 100 ft (800kHz); 300 ft (455kHz)
Max Speed 55 mph (88 kmh)
Mark objects 35 mph (56 kmh)
Optimum speed 10 mph (16 kmh) or less

[coldfront]

one more 'random' thought:  (todd, please clarify what I'm about to say..)

under your menu/settings...you have options to set the sonar to 'freshwater' 'saltwater'...or shallow water...

it's not intuitive...but select 'shallow water'...(which is for depths less than a couple hundred feet I think...)

Todd?

[clarker2000]

Is there some sort of zoom type feature that Im missing other then the zoom in/zoom out on the front?  When I use that zoom everything seems blurry. 

All good info though.  Much appreciated.  Keep it coming. 

[Todd Driscoll]

Regarding 2D sonar, yes it is very important to select "shallow water" under your sonar menu.  The default is "General Use".  "Shallow" in this reference is < 100 feet of water.

When you zoom in, you will loose some of the clarity at the expense of increased zoom.

In regards to other 2D sonar settings, Auto mode will perform adequately for most users.  Advanced users will get more out of their units running in manual mode, but don't rush into changing default settings until you are comfortable with the units. 

With that said, I always run my units in manual, as I fish a lot of lakes with tall, submerged grass.  Sometimes, Auto mode confuses the top of vegetation with the bottom.  Also, when in deep water away from grass, bottom line you want to see the maximum amount of good information (baitfish, bass, cover, hard bottoms, thermoclines, etc.) while minimizing electrical clutter.  To run in manual, crank the sens. up to 100%, then start backing down until you see the clutter minimal.  Usually, running a ducer outside the boat (transom or trolling motor mount) the optimum top end sens will be 80 - 85%.  Shooting thru the hull absorbs some of the ducer power, so here you might get by with 90-95%.  When fishing over submerged grass, I do turn in down to 55-70% to better see grass quality, height, and a good bottom.  Here, high sens. settings will blend the grass in with the bottom.

I would set scroll speed at normal, and I prefer ping speed at 18. Colorline I like at 85.  I would also keep noise rejection and surface clarity settings either on low or off.  Setting them higher also tends to remove beneficial information.  Also, under Installation select your appropriate transducer. The transducer installation menu was put into the HDS to help the software work better with specific transducers.  Each transducer in the list has had the software tailored to optimize its performance, this allows for more accurate sonar information.  The other main thing that this is for is to match the HDS to the different temp probes that are used in different transducers.  If the sonar installation step is not completed the ducer temp may not read accurately.

For shallow water, especially around grass, I prefer color palette 1. For deep water or with lakes void of grass, I like palette 13 (bottom color tracking in the older units, helps separate fish from the bottom/cover).

Auto mode works great for nearly all users. However, experienced users will get the absolute most out of the unit running in manual mode - those that don't mind spending the extra time understanding how each specific setting affects and enhances your return.

[clarker2000]

Todd
You mentioned transducer setup.  Is that in the menu seting somewhere? Or is that something I need to hook a computer up to it to do that? 

I have been spending a good amount of time using this when I can.  Coming from an old eagle base model to the hds is a bit overwhelming but I do try to learn something each trip.   Just being to seperate bait fish from grass is one of the biggest helpers.  Its amazing to see all the stuff Ive ben missing.   

YOur help is very much appreciated. 

[Todd Driscoll]

The transducer selection is under "Installation" under the sonar menu.  I am not in front of a unit right now to provide exact keystrokes to get there.

[fishin couillon]

To get to the ducer selection its Menu>Menu>sonar>installation. In there pick the ducer that you are running on that unit.