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So I just got a Lowrance Elite 5x HDI and so far I love it. I have been out twice with it and found tons of stuff to fish. My problem is once I find a tree or something I want to fish, I can't figure out when I am right over top of it. I understand the cone widens as it goes down and so as the water gets deeper, you should theoretically see things farther away. 90% of the time I use my trolling motor to look for stuff and tightline minnows or cut shad for catfish, so I am moving slowly.
Your HDI probably came with the 83kHz/200kHz 2d- 455kHz/800kHz DI ...
Here's an "overhead" depiction of the "cone shaped" 2d beam coverage ...and the "fan shaped" DI beam coverage...(this depiction shows the xducer on the transom...not on the TM as in your scenario)...
http://i477.photobucket.com/albums/r...redownload.png
If an echo target is showing in the 2d view and the DI view...the target is pretty much right under the xducer...
If an echo target is showing in the 2d view but not in the DI view...the target is in the leading edge or trailing edge of the "cone shaped" 2d beam...
If an echo target is showing in the DI view but not in the 2d view...the target is either left or right of the "cone shaped" 2d beam ... in the outer fringes of the "fan shaped" DI beam...
(Deeper water will exaggerate the "distance from Sonar Main Axis right under the xducer) because the beams get bigger as they get farther from the xducer)...
Rickie
Thank you for the response. I started reading the sticky about the Elite 5 DSI after I posted this, but 82 pages of posts was a little overwhelming. The picture explains a great deal, I usually use it in DI mode, but sometimes I would try split screen, and now I understand why the image would appear in 2d before it would on the DI side! It seems like I need to try and stop the boat as soon as the image appears on the DI and it should be pretty close to right off the back of the boat.
As you are a Lowrance user, there is a Man that has classes, has dvds out that takes you from beginner to advanced user. "The Professor" Wilson Frazier. I have all four of his DVDs, have been to one of his classes. He knows his stuff. But I am a Humminbird user and they are different as night and day. I am not going to debate as to how is better, just look into his DVDs. I did learn a lot on GPS and the basics of sonar interpretation. You could also look for Lowrance boards like the Humminbird board. One heck of a lot of info flows on ours.