Read the tutorials here for info on SI interpretation and other tips...

http://www.crappie.com/crappie/side-...ng-images.html

As Shellback mentioned...SI (and DI) need to be moving to compile an image...(kind of like a MRI moving down your body to take snapshots of individual slices of your body)...

The SI beams are very wide side to side but very thin front to back...(basically a thin slice)...

Each time the unit pings...the unit displays the echo return data from the thin slice ping and plots it onto the display about 1 pixel high across the top of the screen...

The very next ping data (from the thin slice beam) is plotted onto the display about 1 pixel high across the top of the screen...therefore "pushing" the previous ping data down into the SI image "History"...

It is this "pinging-plotting-pushing down previous data" that creates the "scrolling" effect we see on the display..

Each time the unit pings...it needs to ping a "new" slice if water to create a discernible image...because sitting still just pings the same slice of water over and over again...

The "Chart Speed" should be set to about the same as boat speed to obtain images that shows the structure without being "stretched" or "squashed" in the image...

Use the SI Sensitivity setting as a "image brightness control" to darken and lighten the image...bottom composition, bottom contour, water depth, water clarity, ...will all affect the brightness of the image because of how the sound wave (ping) reacts with those Enviromental conditions...

Ask lots of questions...

Post screenshots too and we can help discern what's in the image and give recommendations for settings...

Rickie