Thread: New to the game

Alright guys I got the new HB 898 si hd installed and took it out to test today. Well a few questions

What settings do I need to have everything set on? I am getting a lot of feed back... I think

It looked like grass that stood straight up and down for about 30'?

Next is it normal for the system to not read when I am going more that 20mph?

This is the picture I took, I don't know for sure but if I had to guess the system is not right.


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I don’t suppose you have a picture or screen snapshot of what the Si sonar looked like in this same area do you?

Losing sonar readings at higher boat speeds shows that air is getting around/under the transducer. You will need to either look at adjusting the transducer, finding another mounting location for it or installing a second transducer for high-speed 2D sonar readings. Are you asking about the 2D or Si sonar?
Do you have a fiberglass or aluminum boat?
Can you post a picture of the back of your boat, including some from each side of the transom (looking across to the other side)?

Let's try this Shawn.....(forgive my encyclopedia description)...

SI (and DI) are best utilized at 0.1 mph (slow trolling) to 6.0mph (big motor idling) ...

First, it's important to understand how the SI/DI image data is captured and then displayed...

The SI/DI sonar beam is very thin front to back (less than 2°) but very wide side to side (up to 180°)....this, in effect is a razor thin slice of the water column that captures echo data each time the unit sends and receives a "ping" (sound pulse) into the water...

"Pings" (sound pulses) are sent and received from the Xducer many times per second....

When a single "ping" is sent - returned - received by the Xducer, the unit processes the echo data from that single razor thin slice of the water column and displays those echoes onto the screen image in a thin strip on the screen (about 1 or 2 pixels wide)...

On the SI image this "thin strip" of screen data is plotted across the very top edge of the screen....on the the DI image this "thin strip" of screen data is plotted on the very right edge of the screen....

The very next single "ping" (sound pulse) is sent - returned - received by the Xducer...the unit processes the echo data from that single razor thin slice of the water column and "stacks" that echo data onto the screen image in a thin strip on the screen (about 1 or 2 pixels wide)...pushing the previous plotted "thin strip" of echo data into the "history" of the SI/DI image...

It is this "pinging" (sending-returning-receiving-processing-plotting) of multiple successive "pings" being stacked on top of each other that "builds" the SI/DI image onto the display...(creating the "scrolling effect" that is visualized on the screen)...

This is also why it is necessary for the SI/DI Xducer to be moving to create a discernible image ....because each successive "ping" must be of a new "razor thin slice" of the water column in order to keep from just "pinging" the same slice of water over and over and over....

The unit xducer only sends out a set number of "pings" in "x" time period so when the boat is moving at 20mph (in your scenario) ...the unit has to "spread" that set number of "pings" out across a longer stretch of forward boat travel ..in effect creating more "gaps" in between the single "ping" data slices of water column....

In a nutshell...."stacking" echo data from "x" number of "pings" tightly together on the unit screen (from slower forward boat travel) is going to give more a detailed image than "stretching" that same "x" number of "pings" out across the unit screen (from faster forward boat movement)...

None of this is to say that SI/DI cannot be used at higher speeds....but to get the detailed crisp images one sees on the Internet....those "pings" need to be "stacked" tightly together on the screen ....which means ....slower forward boat speed to allow those set number of "pings" to capture echoes from "slices of the water column" that are closer together...

Match the chart speed to boat speed (at idle speed or slower) is the general consensus to get the best detailed SI/DI images....

Rickie

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When I say that you can't see anything at high speeds, I mean anything over 10 and it shows nothing on for the di and shows 200' deep


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I would guess the xducer is either coming out of the water when above idle speed or the water is so turbulated above idle speed that the sonar can't shoot thru the bubbles being created...

How do your images look at idle speed or slower...??

Rickie

They look alright but it almost looks like tall grass along the bottom. Like 40' tall


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Is it sitting too low?


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I would not say that the transducer is sitting too low. It may need to be lowered if you are wanting high-speed depth readings off of it. You can try slightly lowering the back end of the transducer down (only a few degrees) to help with that as well.

Got a screen snapshot of what the Si sonar looks like? I’m thinking that the Lowrance transducer just to the right of the HDSi transducer will block some of the right Si sonar and may cause a repeated Si sonar return but would have to see a screen snapshot from the Si sonar to know for sure. Take several at different Si Range settings and please include one at a setting of 20 feet.