Lowrance HDS Gen-1 Sonar Issues

TenMile

TenMile

Well-Known Member
Hey guys,

Pulling the boat out of the water this weekend for some cleaning and maintenance and one of the things I am going to take a look at is my Lowrance Transducer.

I have the HDS-10 Gen-1 unit with the stock transom mounted transducer, plus Sidescan. I have the two units mounted to my transom, affixed to a 1/2" Starboard sheet. Love the Sidescan -- unit works great for both seeing structure and marking bait balls.

The Sonar unit has really not worked right since I've installed it. The unit I have is the stock transom mounted unit which I believe is the 83/200Khz unit. I find that the unit rarely if ever marks fish -- I almost never see fish arches, rarely see bait balls (although the sidescan shows them) and the unit has a very hard time keeping a lock on the bottom when the depth gets over 100' (Sidescan has no issue). Once the depth is beyond 150' I can pretty well forget about seeing bottom at all.

The unit is below a large swimstep, so it's impossible for me to see and adjust when the boat is in the water.

The Sidescan and skimmer transducers are about 3" apart. There is room to further separate them so they could be roughly 6" apart but given that the Sidescan and regular sonar are supposed to work together and are on different frequencies I don't believe they interfere. I've followed the recommendations from Lowrance and I have the Sidescan installed below the skimmer, closer to the engine.

Here is a photo of the installation (note that the 3rd transducer -- furthest left -- is no longer there).

Oak Bay-20110611-00075.jpg

Here's my plan for the weekend while the boat is out of the water:

- check to make sure the unit has not kicked up and is level
- make sure the unit is clean, and if slimy with growth will bottom paint with proper paint (there is a Westmarine product)
- consider remounting unit -- increase separation or locate further from trim tab?

Then, after I've done the above -- I will set it up following the steps recommended in the SaltPatrol video and will look to upgrade the unit to the most current firmware version: http://saltpatrol.com/resources/videos/ -- see bottom of list. I've done this once already but have screwed with the Sonar so many times, I will start from scratch once again.

Aside from buying a 1000W unit -- can anyone recommend any changes I can make to my existing unit to improve it?
 
If I recall you need to separate the two further. I believe there was a diagram or something with the sidescan transducer showing this. I'm not sure but I do remember my installer saying something along these lines as well. I have mine mounted on the other side of my pod from my main sonar transducers.
 
Ten call Mike at harbor chandler
He is the lowrance Guru and will look at your pics and also tell you how to set it up correctly, he will probably want you to call him back when your on the water too, ignore the other vid you referr to
Mike is your man
Tim
 
File the 83/200 lowrance transducer in the short green friend with the round mouth..I used the stock lowrance skimmer unit for 5 years before it died... wish it woulda died day 2!!!
For a few bucks more an Airmar 79 or 66 is a big improvement!
 
I've got a message into Mike -- thanks for the suggestion -- will make the changes above and report back on the outcome.

At this point, I'm not convinced buying a new transducer solves the issue. I think this is an implementation/setup issue. If not, I have another chance to swap out units in the fall when I do my seasonal maintenance.
 
Hey guys,

Mike got back to me. Going to make the changes on the transom I noted above. He did suggest moving the transducers both to the left away from the trim tab.

A few items to confirm when the boat is back in the water -- upgrade to the latest firmware, and check the power to the unit to ensure that gauge of wiring is sufficient to provide enough power (hadn't thought of that one).
 
I dont know if it makes a lot of difference but in your photo your transducer is on an angle of the v of the hull that turns of focus beam of the transducer over to the right leaving the left side blinded partially. I have my transducer bottom level with the bottom of the hull with the bottom of the transducer parallel with the sea bottom.

I have the same Lowrance unit and had the same problems with few, if any fish arches. I got a Airmar P-66 transducer and the performance is much improved. The Airmar products are higher quality, reliability and durability so something to check out. http://airmartechnology.com/airmar2005/ex20/RMProducts/ElectCat.asp?ProdID=48&Man

Good luck and good fishing.
 
Got the issue sorted.

The sender had indeed kicked up and was angled about 45 degrees off bottom so no way it was going to work right.

I did move both units to the left and up slightly higher and they are about 5" apart -- both units are level and should be pointing straight down. I've also covered them with bottom paint -- there is stuff in a spray can you can get for transducers that doesnt have the copper.

Finally, and this has also made a huge difference, when I went into the setup screen -- the wrong transducer was selected -- likely from me messing around with the system. I have changed the unit to an HST-WSBL.

Took it out for a test in 150' of water and voila -- marking fish arches and nice solid lock on the bottom.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

F
LOWRANCE Active Imaging 3-in-1 Transducer
Replies
5
Views
2K
Four-Reel Drive
F
bugleemup
NIB-Lowrance Dome 4G-For Sale- $2000 Cdn
Replies
8
Views
1K
bugleemup
bugleemup
A-a-Ron
Lowrance charting: C-maps vs Navionics
Replies
13
Views
1K
A-a-Ron
A-a-Ron
C
Electronics security
Replies
10
Views
929
zurk
zurk
L
Transducer on a Lifetimer
Replies
9
Views
1K
Laxputs
L
Back
Top