Thread: Time to Vent

You are correct about the computer classes. I have never seen any around here put on my the computer companies. There is a guy local to me that does in fact do on the water sonar classes, I've read of guys in other areas that offer this service also. Most of the time they are brand specific though and I'm not sure what they charge.

You mention a fear of pushing the buttons, I completely understand. That's why I have my settings written down, if I have to reset my unit I have my base settings. Plus most units can be reset to factory defaults, no harm no foul.

There are lots of good people here and on other forums like this one who are more than willing to help anyone with problems or questions. There are employees from both Lowrance and HB that post here and other forums that are willing to help also. I think it would be great PR if they did it more but I'm sure their time is limited as is most of ours.

I also have the Lowrance HDS system on my boat. I can honestly say the BEST money I spent on these units was an on the water tutorial with a expert on the Lowrance units. We went through everything from setups, settings, waypoint management, networking, sonar and structure scan interpretation, and more than I could remember. Even let a friend with same setup come along. Just an example, some replies state they write their settings down in case they screw something up. My settings are saved on an SD card. If something happens, or I change some settings, I update them on the card, and can immediately replace them if something happens. Waypoints are also saved, or updated regularly on card. Hate to lose them. If your unit goes in for service, your settings, waypoints, screenshots, are probably gone. Your unit will come back with default settings. Every day on the water, I usually remember something from that day. Again, I learned so much more than the manual or experimentation ever would have. If you can find someone in your area that performs this service, I recommend that you use it. It's money well spent, and can help a person utilize the potential of these advanced electronic units.

I purchased a DVD at cables for the 1197 actor I purchased the unit that helped with basic functions.

For the last few years, Humminbird has had a hands on demo at the Grizzly Jig spring show in Caruthersville, MO. You get to actually have the unit in hand, push buttons, and ask questions. This really sold me on their product and assisted tremendously in learning to use their side imaging units. I have not seen a schedule for this years show which should happen around the end of January, but Osofishy could probably let a person know if they are having the Humminbird seminar again this year.

thanks that would be lots of help.

You should check basspro and cabelas calendars around springtime for seminars.

You can down load the Lowrance manuals and save them to a file, then install and read the manual on you HDS. I did this for billbob and I aso put the Ipilot manual on his unit for reference. You can read any PDF file on the Lowrance. FYI

Check the Humminbird Facebook page for upcoming seminar dates as well.
There are some good YouTube videos that may help you as well.
On the Yahoo UnOfficial Humminbird Side Imaging web site there are some guides who are listed that do on the water sonar tutorials.

Time on water can be a big factor for many of us. When we can finally get out there, many of us are trying to catch a few fish. Yes, it's true our time might be better spent learning our electronics and finding new waypoints. I've seen where there are a few guides around KY lake who will check and make sure everything was installed properly and who are supposed to help you learn it well enough that you will be able to do it on your own. Price is about the same as a fishing trip.

You can learn a lot in your lounge chair.