Sonar problem

[lmills34]

Just wondering if anyone knows what's causing this. Bought my first boat and installed a Lowrance x125 on it. I took it out Memorial day for the fist time but the locater was not working properly. I was about 1/2 mile out and the locater said i was in about 20' of water. Also, i know there's probably going to be some surface clutter, but my whole screen looks like surface clutter. It's fuzzy all over. Any ideas? I know they say that the if you run your transducer cable near the motor cables you might get distortion, but i turned off the motors and it did the same thing. The transducer looked like it was mounted at a good angle and in clean water. Does it have to be perfectly level or is there a little tolerance. It looks good to me. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks, Luke

[SabikiRig]

Just wondering if anyone knows what's causing this. Bought my first boat and installed a Lowrance x125 on it. I took it out Memorial day for the fist time but the locater was not working properly. I was about 1/2 mile out and the locater said i was in about 20' of water. Also, i know there's probably going to be some surface clutter, but my whole screen looks like surface clutter. It's fuzzy all over. Any ideas? I know they say that the if you run your transducer cable near the motor cables you might get distortion, but i turned off the motors and it did the same thing. The transducer looked like it was mounted at a good angle and in clean water. Does it have to be perfectly level or is there a little tolerance. It looks good to me. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks, Luke

Have you checked or messed with the sensitivity and greyline adjustment?
Can you post a picture of the transducer so we can get a better idea how it is mounted?

[lmills34]

I did adjust the sensitivity a little bit. It did go away if i had the sensitivity around 40%. Above that, it was all fuzzy again. I didn't adjust the greyline, not sure what that is off hand. I know i saw it in the manual but don't remember the specifics about it. I'll take a picture tonight and try to get it on here.

[KEITH207]

Did you run the power cable direct to the battery with an in-line fuse?
Or did you get the power for the unit from a power block under the dash?

You may be getting interference from your other electronics on the boat. Make sure the power cable is run directly to the battery.

[SabikiRig]

Just wondering if anyone knows what's causing this. Bought my first boat and installed a Lowrance x125 on it. I took it out Memorial day for the fist time but the locater was not working properly. I was about 1/2 mile out and the locater said i was in about 20' of water. Also, i know there's probably going to be some surface clutter, but my whole screen looks like surface clutter. It's fuzzy all over. Any ideas? I know they say that the if you run your transducer cable near the motor cables you might get distortion, but i turned off the motors and it did the same thing. The transducer looked like it was mounted at a good angle and in clean water. Does it have to be perfectly level or is there a little tolerance. It looks good to me. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks, Luke

Mills,


Not sure what your issue is regarding the depth?

Aside from what Keith mentioned make sure the unit is not in simulation mode.

I have installed a few Garmin, Raymarine and Eagle Units. All of which were terminated to a power and ground distribution block. If at all possible make sure the power and ground are dedicated and not shared with another piece of equipment.

Some LCD Units have a keel offset if you question the accuracy of the water depth check the keel offset if there is an adjustment for it.

[lmills34]

I do have it mounted directly to the battery with a in-line fuse. I have the red to the positive and the black to the negative. The white i just capped off and did not connect it to anything because i believe it's for a radio. Am i supposed to connect the white to something? Also, over lunch i went home and took some pictures of the transducer and i could actually here the transducer ticking. Really fast ticking, like it was sending out the signals. Am i supposed to be able to here that? Thanks again in advance.

[Gone Fishing]

I believe the white wire is for an external speaker which is not used on that unit. I don't know why the ducer would be ticking (sending a signal) if the unit is not powered up. Also, I don't like powering them up when they are out of the water. Simrad, for one does not recommend that. Here are some settings you might try that I picked up on another site (the sensitivity sounds a bit high to me):
Sensitivity=84
Grayline= 74
Surface Clarity=High
Noise Rejection=Med
Auto Sensitivity=OFF
Auto depth=ON
Chart Speed=100%
Ping speed=100%
Chart Mode=Grayscale
Fish ID=OFF

[spendit]

Yep, sounds like you have the depth setting activated - gray scale way too high and surface clutter to low - Put everything in auto mode and re-read the manual to adjust things.

[lmills34]

I believe the white wire is for an external speaker which is not used on that unit. I don't know why the ducer would be ticking (sending a signal) if the unit is not powered up. Also, I don't like powering them up when they are out of the water. Simrad, for one does not recommend that. Here are some settings you might try that I picked up on another site (the sensitivity sounds a bit high to me):
Sensitivity=84
Grayline= 74
Surface Clarity=High
Noise Rejection=Med
Auto Sensitivity=OFF
Auto depth=ON
Chart Speed=100%
Ping speed=100%
Chart Mode=Grayscale
Fish ID=OFF


I actually did have the unit powered up when i heard the ticking. When i turned it off. It no longer ticked. Not sure. I called Gander today but some kid was working and said call back tomorrow when the regular fishing guy is working. I'll punch in those settings. The only thing that still confuses me is that ticking. It's loud. I could here it as soon as i powered up my locater. Wouldn't the fish here that?!!?:confused:

[SalmonBum]

They are suppose to "Tick" when powered up. That is nothing to worry about. If you listen carefully, You can usually hear it while sitting at the launch ramp. This is one reason why I sometimes run with my FishFinder OFF when targeting fish in shallow water. Sound travels a much further dstance in water.

[SabikiRig]

I do have it mounted directly to the battery with a in-line fuse. I have the red to the positive and the black to the negative. The white i just capped off and did not connect it to anything because i believe it's for a radio. Am i supposed to connect the white to something? Also, over lunch i went home and took some pictures of the transducer and i could actually here the transducer ticking. Really fast ticking, like it was sending out the signals. Am i supposed to be able to here that? Thanks again in advance.

The ticking is totally normal...... The Raytheon on my Walkaround and the Eagle 240 GPS/S (LCD and GPS PLotter Combo) I have on my aluminum boat does the same thing.

Make sure you do not have the unit over zoomed as well..

[lmills34]

ok. Thanks for all the help everyone. I'll try punching in some of those numbers and check the settings.