questions about humminbird settings

[mkeller]

I was wondering why the simulator on my 798 and 1197 looks incredible and when using the units on the water isnt near as good. I am wondering if it is how I need to set the settings, any help would be greatly appreciated.

[rnvinc]

Pretty simulator pictures make fantastic sales pitches....seriously......(of course HB is going to put their very best images in the simulators because that's what people see in demonstration mode on the store shelves to entice you to open your wallet)...

But you can get very good images with the HB units in the right conditions and settings....

Although the 798 does not have the 800kHz SI beam (the 798 only has the 455kHz SI beam)..the 800kHz SI beam in the 1197 will give crisper images than the 455kHz....

Set the chart speed to match the boat speed...1mph-chart speed 1...2mph-chart speed 2...etc.
Set the SI range to 3-4 times the water depth (generally)....(I keep my 1197 on 70ft left and right most of the time)
Open the "SI Enhance" window in the SI view....
Set the "Contrast" to 10-12...
Set the "Sharpness" to Off (raising this setting to Low, Med, or High will make fish echoes stand out but also make the image "grainy")
Set the "Sensitivity" to a level that brightens or darkens the SI image to an acceptable level for your eyes..(I change sensitivity often..... as bottom conditions and water conditions will brighten and darken the image)....

Post some screenshots of your images and let us help you in tweaking your settings...

Rickie

[reelsmoke]

Ricky, Thanks for the tips on HB... I have a 998c that I'm learning how to use SI what do you think of the factory settings? Is it set up for the best viewing right out of the box?

[rnvinc]

Ricky, Thanks for the tips on HB... I have a 998c that I'm learning how to use SI what do you think of the factory settings? Is it set up for the best viewing right out of the box?

The factory default settings can be a good place to start ....but...

Bottom composition, water depth, and water condition play a BIG factor in how the unit displays the SI image...

The lake bottom can change from mud to gravel to sand (and any where in between) in the length of the boat...
These changes will brighten and darken the SI image drastically...

I very seldom change Contrast or Sharpness on the SI image but I change SI Sensitivity frequently...

I keep the "SI Enhance" window up on my screen anytime I am viewing SI...

This gives the abilitiy to change "SI Sensitivity" setting without (opaquing out) any other split view that I have up at the time...

I use the SI Sensitivity setting as a "brightness" control for my SI image (as different water conditions/bottom compositions will make the image brighter/darker..)

SI Sensitivity up will brighten the image...
SI Sensitivity down will darken the image...

I frequently change this SI Sensitivity setting as my SI image changes in brightness...

Here is a screenshot of the "SI Enhance" window overlayed onto the SI image... I had to adjust the sensitivity to 19 to get this mud bottom to reflect enough sonar echo to get an acceptable image...



Rickie