Rookie issues with depth readings

I've hunted around, but haven't been able to find any topics covering the issues I'm seeing. I have 3 questions:

1. How can I troubleshoot erroneous depth numbers?
2. What's the best approach/app/site for turning my SL2 captures into bathymetry for my bay?
3. What do folks do to protect connectors in situations where the finder isn't permanently installed (mine will only be used when I'm in the boat)

Lowrance Hook 2 5HDI installed on a Hobie Outback kayak. Battery reading 12.6v.

Q1: The issue that I'm having is that the depth being reported is often wrong, yet the image appears to be correct in terms of where the bottom is. It will also occasionally report --- despite a pretty clear image of the floor.

Since I'm hoping to map the bathymetry of the bay that I'm in, I'm hoping to get the best precision as I can in the sl2 file and want to dial it in before getting into mapping.

I've played around with the 2 frequency settings and the sensitivity with no appreciable difference as it relates to this. Screenshots attached below - you can see the lakebed image depth and the number being reported vary considerably in these.

Q2: I tried an upload to cmap genesis using a free account. My dashboard shows that I mapped 3 acres, but there's no trip or map there. The lake I'm on has very little on the social map and I'd like to contribute my data so others can use it as well as build my own bathymetry map. Is there a better approach? Do I need to have a paid account to get what I want?

Q3: Are there "cable caps" for the transducer/power cables? I know these are popular in kayaks and have to believe most folks aren't leaving their units attached when installed. What's the best way to protect against moisture/corrosion?

Thanks in advance for any wisdom / thoughts / pointers to rookie resources. I'm excited to learn more.

Attachment 342363

I have the same unit on my Nucanoe. I have not experienced anything like that, I pretty much leave sonar on high chirp. I think C-Map social maps is your only option for creating chart with the sonar log files from Lowrance. I never could get the Navionics+ card self-map to work right, so I'm using C-Map for a lake I fish that Navionics has no data on. I've contributed logs, and it took a few days but I get an email the logs had been processed. I just go to the website and re-download that map whenever it is updated. Its all there is for that particular lake. When I fish the big lakes that have detailed coverage in Navionics, Like Lanier, Allatoona, Oconee, I reinsert the Navionics+ card.

I do not own Lowrance but by looking at your pics did you try turning down your sensitivity or adjusting it at all?

Well, I figured it out... (no thanks to Lowrance's terrible customer support).

I need to own up to this one. Dunce cap on.

The transceiver was upside-down.

In my defense, I looked out on the Internet to learn the orientation as the user manual (which is digital, not printed), doesn't include any information on it. Found a YouTube and just copied what the presenter did. I bet he had some pretty funny looking screens like I did. But, I should have looked at it. It was perfectly horizontal, just upside-down. Thing is, it "kinda" worked.

Flipped it - night and day difference.

I'm a bit surprised that:

0) there is no printed material in the box / with the transceiver to explain orientation. and, it's not in the manual for the head unit. and, there's no indicator / sticker on the transceiver "THIS SIDE DOWN"

1) the software doesn't autodetect what's going on and suggest that there could be a transceiver problem

2) "technical" support at lowrance doesn't have this in the call script, or in a troubleshooting guide or a video that's easy to find.

Felt I needed to own this one and also post iit in the event that someone else was seeing this kind of thing.