Lowrance Elite 7 Hdi

[Andrew Walker]

I have recently returned to boat ownership after a 20 year absence and of course the technology has moved on enormously compared to my old paper echo sounder! I have bought the Lowrance Elite 7 combination plotter/sounder unit from my local chandlers and they fitted it and I am impressed to a point.

My issue is that any speed above 5 mph I begin to get 'rain' on the sounder and this increases with the speed until it is virtually unreadable as its almost completely blacked out. It was suggested that I have the wrong transducer (I didn't realise there was a choice!). Anyone got any ideas if this might be the case or any other suggestions please?!

[scubaqua]

Maybe the tranducor is placed to high on transom....
I have the "5 version" which works very fine. Even IN the bilgde..The only thing which does not correspondent with reality is the watertemp, because it's the temp of the water in the bilgde and not of the outside water.

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by Andrew Walker

I have recently returned to boat ownership after a 20 year absence and of course the technology has moved on enormously compared to my old paper echo sounder! I have bought the Lowrance Elite 7 combination plotter/sounder unit from my local chandlers and they fitted it and I am impressed to a point.

My issue is that any speed above 5 mph I begin to get 'rain' on the sounder and this increases with the speed until it is virtually unreadable as its almost completely blacked out. It was suggested that I have the wrong transducer (I didn't realise there was a choice!). Anyone got any ideas if this might be the case or any other suggestions please?!

Could be allsorts of things going on, electrical interference from engine, poorly placed transducer, interference on power supply from alternator etc. You need to start by eliminating the obvious, does the interference increase with engine revs? Is the face of the transducer approx 4mm below the bottom edge of the transom & is the txer face parallel with the water. Is the txer in a clean flow of water uninterrupted by the engine, hull chines etc. is the txer mounted on the stbd side of the transom (assuming you have a rh prop)


.....sh1t happens.......

[jyasaki]

As a first go, you might play with the angle of the ducer. As Dave said, the middle of the xducer should be about even with the bottom of the hull, but nose-up and nose down may give you a clearer picture depending on your setup.

If that doesn't work, try changing the height up and down (the Lowrance mount should give you some adjustment in height, assuming it was mounted intelligently - meaning mid-range); should that prove fruitless, try different locations (you'll probably want to mount the xducer to something you can reposition and clamp into place easily.)

Alternatively, you can skip most of that by trying it inside your hull.

jky

[Andrew Walker]

Thanks guys, I will have a 'play'!

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by jyasaki

Alternatively, you can skip most of that by trying it inside your hull.

jky

+1 my last 2 boats have had the transducer mounted inside the hull with excellent results. I get a clear solid trace at 20+ kn

[jyasaki]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

+1 my last 2 boats have had the transducer mounted inside the hull with excellent results. I get a clear solid trace at 20+ kn

Unfortunately, I have no experience with in-hull mounting. I can't play with that setup, as my hull is 1/4" aluminum. Mine's on the back.

jky

[Pikey Dave]

You can try it easily enough, find a spot inside the boat that is under the waterline, fill a plastic bag with water & place on the inside of the hull, place the transducer on top of the bag, there's a section on the airmar website that explains it. I don't know if it works with ally hulls, but worth a try.


.....sh1t happens.......

[jyasaki]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

You can try it easily enough,

Looked to see if it was possible; the only shoot through transducers for aluminum were rated for 1/8", and were something like 3x the price of a skimmer.

jky