Lowrance Elite 5 DSI

270win

270win

Well-Known Member
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Jul 12, 2009
1,019
Atlanta, GA
Boat Info
1991 Sea Ray 350 SunDancer
Engines
7.4 V Drives
I have a Lowrance Elite 5 DSI that we had panel mounted in our boat this winter. The size is perfect and it's very intuitive to operate and navigate the pages and functions. Before buying it I read many reviews and watched Youtube vids of the these things tracking small object to the bottom with amazing detail.

But mine doesn't show anything detail at all. No trees, no fish...ever. It paints the bottom okay in 20-40 ft but getting beyond that it really fades to the point that by 60-70 feet it doesn't even show a bottom line. The depth readings are still showing but around 100 ft even that goes away. It's getting progressively worse because at least the depth readings used to go to 150' (about the deepest part of our lake).

Any ideas? I used the transducer it came with, so I'm wondering if it came with what it needs for DSI? I don't know the power rating for the transducer it came with either. I know they have a 1000watt transducer but do I really need that for less than 200' deep?

Thanks in advance for any input.
 
Not sure what kind of images you are looking for but I think for the sharp Structure Scan images you need an HDS or these days, an HDS Gen2 Unit. I think the Elite 5 is a scaled down unit that does not quite have that suite of features. You may want to post on BBC Boards.net or another fishing forum and get some feedback from the guys that use these all the time.
 
jason78 said:
Not sure what kind of images you are looking for but I think for the sharp Structure Scan images you need an HDS or these days, an HDS Gen2 Unit. I think the Elite 5 is a scaled down unit that does not quite have that suite of features. You may want to post on BBC Boards.net or another fishing forum and get some feedback from the guys that use these all the time.
Click to expand...
I'll try that too. But I'm thinking that it should do better than this-



This is a screen shot from yesterday.
 
270win said:
I'll try that too. But I'm thinking that it should do better than this-



This is a screen shot from yesterday.
Click to expand...

Yep, I would tend to agree with you. In my HDS 7 you can go to the Sonar Installation sub- menu and select the transducer model. Have you done that?
 
jason78 said:
Yep, I would tend to agree with you. In my HDS 7 you can go to the Sonar Installation sub- menu and select the transducer model. Have you done that?
Click to expand...
I've not done that yet. i'm watching youtube vids and picking up some setting options that I hadn't seen before. I'm hoping it's just me. But I'm going to do whatever it takes to get the view I want, even if that means upgrading.
 
What kind of transducer are you using? Transom mount, In Hull (hole drilled in bottom of hull), or Thru-Hull (Stuck to bilge floor and scans thru hull)
 
jason78 said:
What kind of transducer are you using? Transom mount, In Hull (hole drilled in bottom of hull), or Thru-Hull (Stuck to bilge floor and scans thru hull)
Click to expand...
Transom mount
 
Are you looking for images while under way? The downscan works best at low speeds less than 10mph. Is the xducer mounted in clean water flow? The downscan has 2 frequency settings, have you used the lower 455 instead of 800? The lower frequency will go deeper but you sacrifice some resolution. Does the regular 2d sounder work properly and show bottom? Have you adjusted the sensitivity level?
 
270win said:
I have a Lowrance Elite 5 DSI that we had panel mounted in our boat this winter. The size is perfect and it's very intuitive to operate and navigate the pages and functions. Before buying it I read many reviews and watched Youtube vids of the these things tracking small object to the bottom with amazing detail.

But mine doesn't show anything detail at all. No trees, no fish...ever. It paints the bottom okay in 20-40 ft but getting beyond that it really fades to the point that by 60-70 feet it doesn't even show a bottom line. The depth readings are still showing but around 100 ft even that goes away. It's getting progressively worse because at least the depth readings used to go to 150' (about the deepest part of our lake).

Any ideas? I used the transducer it came with, so I'm wondering if it came with what it needs for DSI? I don't know the power rating for the transducer it came with either. I know they have a 1000watt transducer but do I really need that for less than 200' deep?

Thanks in advance for any input.
Click to expand...

I have the exact same unit on our 23' Striper. I have had similar results, although I can see the bottom contour. I've got the transom mounted transducer, I've adjusted everything possible during the dozen or so trips using it. I've had dolphins and schools of fish swim under me with no change.

I'll be watching this thread closely. One thing I noticed ion your setup s the depth range can be adjusted, that may be one of your issues. If you want to send me some screenshots of your different page setups, I'll look for anomalies. George
 
1. Start with 455 kHz. 800 kHz is mostly for fresh water only or very clear salt water

2. Make certain the transducer is in clean water and the bottom of the transducer face is level! or slightly tail down with the bottom of the boat (http://www.airmartechnology.com/uploads/InstallGuide/17-247-03.pdf

Transom mount transducers can be very hard to get placed right. There should not be any obstructions in front of the transducer as they will create bubbles and disturb all signals.

I have the Structure Scan HD - but I put in through hull transducers (monsters) but I have very clear images.
 
All really great input! I went up to the boat today to mess with this Lowrance. I decided to restore the default settings and start from factory new. It worked!

It's now giving bottom contour even down to 150' I have to view the bottom in split zoom to get any details that deep though. Here's a shot around 100'


This is in shallow water.


It's giving great detail down to about 80' but deeper than that it's not that sharp. I had limited time but I'll mess with it further. At least it's improved a lot from the other day.
 
Nice job working it out. Good for you to try some things before claiming a poor product/manufacturer.

i set my sonar to factory quite often then tweak the settings to my liking just like you did.
 
2000SEARAY280SS said:
Nice job working it out. Good for you to try some things before claiming a poor product/manufacturer.

i set my sonar to factory quite often then tweak the settings to my liking just like you did.
Click to expand...
I figured I had nothing to lose by trying.
 
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