Per your original question, I found it easy to use right away! Now with that said, it has taken more time to learn to interpret the FF info into what kind of fish I actually think it is.
Have learned a lot about what I see on the screen from this forum.
It will really help if you can do with a ride along with someone that has been running a unit for a while.
Learning to use the unit was no more frustrating, than trying to get a crappie to bite that doesn't want to!
It is definitely worth the expense.