Poor picture with Lowrance Elite 5 CHIRP fish finder

[anthonyz]

I can't seem to get a good picture on my Lowrance Elite 5 CHIRP fish finder. I get tons of noise. I have tried adjusting my settings every way I can think of. I get the noise whether the outboard motor is running or not. I have the transducer mounted on the transom, starboard side, level with the bottom of the boat.

Here is a video I made of the problem. It compares the demo mode picture to what I get. Any tips are greatly appreciated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDw1dHWg3jw

 

[ondarvr]

Your sensitivity started at 64 and as you went up, it did what I would expect it to do, going down will make it clear up.

On split screen the adjustments will only affect the view on the left screen, so don't use the split screen view while making adjustments.

 

[gm280]

anthonyz, welcome aboard :welcome: great to have you aboard!

Looking at the youtude video, it look like you are in some shallow water, ten feet or so. Some times that shallow of water will receive more then one return. Because the return has the ability to re-bounce back down and up for the second time and still have a very strong return and that displays both returns and maybe more. If you could turn down the power, and I don't know that locater's abilities, it would stop some of that... Receiver sensitivity can stop some, but the signal maybe overwhelming the receive section and that can causes such displays... JMHO!

 

[anthonyz]

Thank you for the replies. I will definitely try turning down the sensitivity. I was just afraid that turning it down too much would cause it not to mark fish. Most of the youtube videos that I have seen about adjusting settings on a fish finder tell you to turn off the auto sensitivity and turn UP the sensitivity to around 90.

Also, when adjusting the sensitivity on split screen, do you mean that I need to adjust the sensitivity on the normal sonar view and downscan views separately?

 

[ondarvr]

You just adjust it until you like the look, the setting is what it is, the actual number doesn't mean much.

Yes adjust each one separately on its own screen. Or switch the one you want to adjust over to the left side if you want to use split screen.

The Lowrance manuals are almost worthless, so don't expect to get much useful information out of it.

 

[anthonyz]

I asked the guide that I use, and he said that the problem is likely due to the fact that I have the fish finder connected directly to the trolling motor batteries (two 12v batteries in serial). He said that I need to connect it to the cranking battery. I will try that this weekend and see if it helps. If not, I will adjust the sensitivity.

 

[gm280]

I asked the guide that I use, and he said that the problem is likely due to the fact that I have the fish finder connected directly to the trolling motor batteries (two 12v batteries in serial). He said that I need to connect it to the cranking battery. I will try that this weekend and see if it helps. If not, I will adjust the sensitivity.

If he thinks the noise issue is coming from the trolling motor, then you can easily verify that by not connecting the trolling motor up and seeing if the locator display is cured. If not, reconnecting the trolling motor to a different battery is not going to solve your problem. Try that before swapping power connections with another battery and save the time and effort...

 

[ondarvr]

Unless the trolling motor was running when you were seeing this on the screen it would have no affect, so all you need to do is turn it off (if it was on) and see if it gets better. Sometimes you can get some interference from other electrical items onboard, most of the time they all play rather well together though.

 

[WIMUSKY]

I run an old Lowrance with transducer mounted on the trolling motor and I get power from the same battery with no interference. I saw your noise reduction was set to low. What if you set it to high?

Also, here's a quick read:

http://www.fishsniffer.com/tips/details/dialing-in-you-fish-finder/

 

[gm280]

Unless the trolling motor was running when you were seeing this on the screen it would have no affect, so all you need to do is turn it off (if it was on) and see if it gets better. Sometimes you can get some interference from other electrical items onboard, most of the time they all play rather well together though.

The only reason I suggested to not connect the trolling motor up to try is because if he has a PWM circuit to run the trolling motor it could be free running and therefore cause interference. I don't know what he has as his TM. So just unplugging it would stop any issues with the TM...

 

[ondarvr]

The only reason I suggested to not connect the trolling motor up to try is because if he has a PWM circuit to run the trolling motor it could be free running and therefore cause interference. I don't know what he has as his TM. So just unplugging it would stop any issues with the TM...

We had posted at the same time, I was replying to the guides suggestion, but yes, the PWM could cause some interference, I thought that it was only in operation when the motor was running.

I didn't see much of an issue with what I saw on the screen with those settings in 10 feet of water, it appeared as he went down from 64 it cleared up nicely.

 

[anthonyz]

I found a pretty good article on Sonar noise at http://www.biggeorgiaspots.com/boats-and-electronics/aaargh-sonar-noise.html?showall=1.

One of the reasons I have been unhappy just reducing the sensitivity is that it tends to make the bottom disappear as well. I guess with my system on high-chirp, I was expecting a picture like the one in this intro to the Elite 7 Chirp. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kV36-IdY5rE#t=263

 

[ondarvr]

I will also add that I owned Garmin units for many years prior to Lowrance, and after my first trip or two with the Lowrance I was ready to return it, or throw it in the lake, but after a few more trips, reading the manual five or six times, playing with it, watching video's on line, and attending Lowrance classes, I was able to get the hang of it, and now I like it. The problem is the Garmin was much easier to use and the menus more intuitive, just navigating the menus on the Lowrance can be a hassle, let alone trying to get it adjusted correctly.

Like I said though, now I like it and can dial it in quickly to display what, and how I want it to.