Furuno LS4100 ??any good ??

[TwoWatt]

Re: Furuno LS4100 ??any good ??

Thanks Thom: Crystal clear explanation. <br />Looks like I'm going to be doing a lot of learning with this unit. I'll probabaly start with the auto modes & then as time goes on progress into the advanced settings. <br />Good news is UPS is a day early (shocker). I am picking it up today. <br />I should have plenty of time to get the tranducer mounted & be ready for Sunday.

 

[TwoWatt]

Re: Furuno LS4100 ??any good ??

Just a quick report & question on the LS4100.<br />Firstly, I love it. Such a great,clear display. Easy to use, easy to setup.<br />The transducer on this thing is a sign of it's quality. It is 3x larger than my old Humminbird transducer. <br />Now for the question. On the back of the finder, there is a place for a "ground". They say if it's not properly grounded it will show more interference. I ran a ground wire from the fish finder to several places on the boat with no luck. <br />Where is something I can ground too? Should I run another ground off the battery negative post? <br />Thanks.

 

[farginicehole]

Re: Furuno LS4100 ??any good ??

I'd like to hear Thom's answer to this as well! I don't have mine grounded yet, because I wasn't sure what to do.

 

[ThomWV]

Re: Furuno LS4100 ??any good ??

I'm sorry it took so long to get to this. I managed to take the weedeater into two different Yellow Jacket nests in 3 days and the swelling hasn't quite gone down just yet.<br /><br />The ground you guys see on the back of the box is the chassis ground. Think of it as a static ground that will equalize any static that accumulates in the transducer's cable's shielding. It is sometimes called the 'static drain' in some old manuals I've see (poor translations from Japaneese mostly). One of the pins in the transducer's plug connects the shielding of the transducer and its cable to the chassis of the fish finder. If you hook it up, and there is usually no reason to hook it up, it should go to a ground to water but preferably not to the engine which is untimately always grounded to water via the prop, shaft, greartrain and so on. By ground to water I mean a metal seacock, thru-hull fitting, or if your boat has one the grounding strap or Dynaplate.<br /><br />At any rate you rarely see a boat that needs to have it hooked up at all. I don't think they have any effect at all unless during installation the transducer's cable was nicked. The way to tell of course is in the automatic mode. When its in "fishing" automatic mode and probably when the boat is still on calm water at the depth where you most commonly operate is there much screen clutter? By that I mean those little flecks of light (I have been using color machines for a long time now so I was gong to say little light blue flecks) that sort of pepper the screen some times. If you do not see those or if there are just a few now and then you shouldn't worry about that ground. If you have all that 'snow' on the screen you can hook it up to see if it will help or not. Sometimes it does, but usually only when the cable's insulation was knicked down to the shielding.<br /><br />It has a second purpose too I suppose, but I don't know if this matters to you or not. Its never been a problem for me. I suppose if you lived in a very dry area where there was a lot of static in the air, and I have a hard time immagining where this might happen over water, in which a potential woulc build up in the fish finder's case you'd want to hook it up. Maybe somewhere in the western high lakes in the fall. Maybe on the Snake or the western Columbia Rivers, one of those big lakes in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, somewhere like that, you might be interested in hooking it up even if there was no on-screen snow.<br /><br />That help?<br /><br />Thom

 

[Philvan]

Re: Furuno LS4100 ??any good ??

Mine is working gr8 without the ground wire connected.I love it! Thanks heaps guys for all the info,I am using it auto mode at the moment an so far that is all I need to see bottom structure and to locate new reef.I can cruise along and see bottom clearly and then mark new spots in my gps. I will get more adventurous later with the range settings when I have more time. That thing called work keeps getting in the way. Anyway I am very happy with my new furuno and thanks again to all of you for your advice.

 

[farginicehole]

Re: Furuno LS4100 ??any good ??

Yeah, thanks Thom! We really appreciate it.

 

[TwoWatt]

Re: Furuno LS4100 ??any good ??

Hi everyone me again.<br /><br />I am having trouble with my finder. I am including pictures to let you see what it is doing.<br />I have the transducer mounted as per instructions. There is no motor interference because there's no motor back there <br />I thought I try here first to see if you can determine what the finder is doing. If not, I will probably return it/sell it. I was getting the same performance from my Humminbird. <br />I still haven't hooked up a "ground" like it suggested. Do you think that would help in this case. <br />Most of these shots are with the sensitivity turn on high. Tranducer set in auto mode/fishing mode/ with 200khz setting. <br /> http://www.titansfan098.com/uploader/newpictures003.jpg <br /> http://www.titansfan098.com/uploader/newpictures005.jpg <br /> http://www.titansfan098.com/uploader/newpictures006.jpg <br /> http://www.titansfan098.com/uploader/newpictures007.jpg <br /> http://www.titansfan098.com/uploader/newpictures012.jpg <br /><br />Any help? Comments? <br />Thanks as always.<br />Brian aka SA

 

[farginicehole]

Re: Furuno LS4100 ??any good ??

I'm not going to even pretend to know these things like ThomWV, but I'll just say that when in water that shallow, I have my gain turned way down to -3 or -4. That seems to get rid of the clutter and I can still easily mark fish, weeds, etc.

 

[ThomWV]

Re: Furuno LS4100 ??any good ??

Farginicehole2 (great screen name!)<br /><br />You probably know a lot more about reading the things than I do, probably a whole lot more actualy. I know a little bit about how they work and quite a bit about how to hook them up so they can work as well as possible, but I don't actually use one with the skill that you guys possess, not by a long shot.<br /><br />I troll in deep water almost exclusively. For me a fish finder is really more a device to keep tabs on what the bottom looks like and sometimes to try to spot bait balls down deep, but I don't have anywhere near the skills that most of these other guys have in interpreting or even in adjusting a fish finder. So if they tell you to turn this adjustment up, or that one down, or to tweek one knob this way and the other knob that way you should listen to them, not to me. I don't know squat compared to these guys. That's why I read every fish finder question that pops up, to try to learn from you guys. <br /><br />Now the good news. Heading to Hatteras tonight (the White Marlin bite is on). I'll be back next week sometime. How can an old man possible go to work when there are fish to be caught?<br /><br />Young son catches first billfish - 6/26/04<br />

<br /><br /><br />Thom

 

[farginicehole]

Re: Furuno LS4100 ??any good ??

Thom,<br /><br />I didn't realize baitfish had balls! I'm no expert at reading these things either, as I don't fish nearly as much as I'd like to. I'm very jealous of you doing the deep sea thing though! I get to do that a couple of times every year or two, and that's just because I haven't yet been able to talk my wife into moving closer to a body of saltwater. So for me, the closest thing to ocean trolling is salmon & steelhead on Lake Michigan. Still doesn't compare though, in my opinion. Tight lines!!!

 

[TwoWatt]

Re: Furuno LS4100 ??any good ??

Ok. Maybe I need to turn the gain down. <br />You're right.. the deepest lake I've seen this year barely hit 40 feet. <br />I will also try to hook up the ground but I doubt that's the problem.<br />Will report back Monday after I go fishing

 

[farginicehole]

Re: Furuno LS4100 ??any good ??

Sounds like a plan. I will look for your report, and good luck fishing. . . . oh, and remember, a picture is worth a thousand fish stories!

 

[TwoWatt]

Re: Furuno LS4100 ??any good ??

I turned the gain down to -1 & she's working great.<br />No pictures this trip as I only caught a few crappie. (I wasn't trying hard this trip, just wanted to get out on the water) <br /><br />I did have another question. Does anyone speed up the display? I thought if was sped up I'd get a more accurate display?<br /><br />All in all I love it. Now that I got it working right it truly shines above my Humminbird

 

[ThomWV]

Re: Furuno LS4100 ??any good ??

This will be short. Got hurt fishin' and can't type well.<br /><br />You actually can't speed up the advance rate even though there is a window to do so. The machine will automatically set itself to the highest practicle screen advance rate. It really doesn't matter though. There no greater or lessor detail displaced because of advance rate.<br /><br />Thom

 

[farginicehole]

Re: Furuno LS4100 ??any good ??

Got hurt fishin'?! I hope you didn't follow the advice in one of the threads in the Freshwater Fishing forum that told you to stick your fingers into a musky's mouth to determine if it's a pike or musky!!!

 

[ThomWV]

Re: Furuno LS4100 ??any good ??

No. Close, but not quite that silly. We got hit by 2 waves while I was trying to secure a loose anchor. My right hand, betweem thumb and other fingers, was ripped open and with the second wave my face was bashed into the anchor, and that pierced a hole through my chin. Arm, head, and leg were also cut and bruised. Got it all stiched up but typing is very slow with just one hand. SSDD.<br /><br />Thom

 

[farginicehole]

Re: Furuno LS4100 ??any good ??

Geeez!!! Sounds like you better ask Santa for some new sea legs this year. Hopefully these waves were of the "natural" type and not from some _____ in a ski boat or waverunner that came way too close to you!