help with new to me finder hdi7

S

skinny

Well-Known Member
ok so was out to angling outfitters Monty gave me great deal on a hdi7
and I have only been out 2 times to mess with it
I not sure the down scan is set right or if I have other issues like transducer set right

screen seems pretty grainy and not very defined o have only messed in inner bay with it and not really sure what it should show where I was

any pointers would be great
 
If the transducer is not mounted correctly you have a very expensive small screen TV. I have found that guys set the sensitivity too low or too high depending on where they are fishing. By the time I have my electronics down pat it is time for a new one.

If your screen is how you say I would turn down the sensitivity. I have more than 1 sonar and I know the transducer is right when all 3 read the same. Otherwise I have all 3 set wrong! Have a pal moor to your boat if you don't have a second unit and see what theirs says and looks like.

Try dropping a cannon ball or the anchor straight down the back of the boat. If you don't see a streak make adjustments until you do. Then use smaller weights and keep adjusting until you see large and small. I've never tried it but it should work. I can see a jig drop on my lesser HB.
 
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just put it on automatic and leave it thats what i do on hds8, dont ask monty hell treat you like an idiot . like your supposed to know everything , which he think he does
 
chefboyardee said:
just put it on automatic and leave it thats what i do on hds8, dont ask monty hell treat you like an idiot . like your supposed to know everything , which he think he does
Click to expand...

WHOA!!! Chef did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning? You need to get out fishing. :LOL:
 
I echo @Fish Farmer , I was a lowrance guy, went with two birds and linked them with the Minnkota I-piolit. Wow, am I ever happy I made the switch. Granted there was about 4 years of technology improvements between my lowrance and the new birds , but user friendly is correct! Awesome units, really clear graphics.
 
They are a bit grainy. I have one and thought something was wrong. Nothing was wrong and Trans was set proper.
What I discovered is they are very noise sensitive. So when I run kicker only grain clears up a lot.
Yes put it on auto sensitivity don't use 200 kHz no need.
the noise comes from boats grounding and motor. Also hook it direct to battery not fuse panel. Should help.
by the way monty and Josh are both very good guys who know their shit. No need for insults. Some guys just can't handle direct communication
 
I have my lowrance' units(hds's) wired to there own fuse box then to the battery and i am very impressed on the picture quality, mind you my kicker is on the opposite side of were my transducers are mounted but its clear as all be.
I call it xray vision
I do run mine on auto in the summer months unless i'm looking for something in particular then i would manually have to boost it up to see were the temp is changing.
Monty and Josh do no there stuff but there are times when its not expressed properly as already mentioned.
 
@fish Finder, you can do just that but there are large amounts of suspended crap in the water that want's to show up as baitfish. I don't want to chase clumps of Green Algae so I try to filter out the small stuff which is a compromise as it could indeed be baitfish. Plus I like playing with it while trolling on the wet desert.
 
I purchased the same unit took awhile to get it set up but now have it so I can see the bottom great and fish I will post the setting for you and you can start there , I had mine on auto but did not like what I was seeing
 
I really hate replying to these threads because they seem to turn into arguments (especially more recently) but I think this will help. Try this for starters, it is the basic setup that Jos and Monty use most of the time and is a good starting point for most units. I'm much more familiar with HDS units but these settings will work fine with HDI too:

-200khz (this is actually the narrowest cone angle but gives the best resolution of the targets). 83kHz is really intended for deeeeeep water and gives poorer detail but it can be handy at times while searching around over a wider area.
-Noise rejection off
-Surface clarity low
-Colourline should be set at or around 74% (it is in the same menu as sensitivity)
-Colour pallete: pick one of the brighter ones (1 or 13 on the HDS are good but I'm not sure the HDI has the same selections)
-Sensitivity: I run mine on manual all the time and fine tune it constantly but auto does work okay most of the time I guess. You can turn it up or down until you have a clear view of the bottom and targets without a lot of clutter You will need to turn the sensitivity down when running at speed or your screen will just fill up with clutter. If you are getting clutter at really low speeds with either your main or kicker but not both, it is likely that you're getting bubbles and cavitation from the prop and you made need to relocate your transducer.
-Fish ID OFF, learn to read the arches and the bait indicators. The fish symbols are very misleading and you can miss a lot of details which you will see once you learn to read the arches. Youtube has tons of videos of how to read the arches and also how to set it up. The fish symbols (or arches for that matter) do not and cannot indicate the position of the fish in your sonar cone. This technology cannot do that. The shape of the arch can indicate if a fish is diving, rising, approaching or going away from the boat but you cannot read left or right, front or back with this type of graphical display.

Once you get it running the way you like it you can start playing with the split-zoom screens, add overlay data (like your water temp, battery voltages, boat speed etc) on your screens but keep it simple until you get more comfortable with it.

I think the H'birds may be more user friendly like some have pointed out but if you learn to use your HDI/HDS effectively I think you will have a superior system with more capabilities.
 
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Just have to remember all marks or arches on your screen doesn't mean its a fish. After a few bad rough days and major current disturbances the particulate that is suspended in the water can fool you.
I've had some people say it's a certain fish because that's what he is targeting, WRONG. I wish it was like that, it could be anything, Perch,Silver,Rainbow,Sheephead.etc. A tiny split shot can make a mark on your screen like a large fish.
I've ice fished and dropped a tiny jig down and the mark is the same size as the fish I "think" I'm targeting.
How many times have I brought up my cannon ball and had crap on my cable,especially after a storm rough couple days.
That stick or grocery bag I thought was a fish:rolleyes::mad::LOL:
 
I fish with a self proclaimed "Pro" that says that hook is a Pic, that one is a Bow and, and, and.....I just try not to laugh too loudly. You have to check the rigger cable on Erie constantly if you want to be sure. It's been a few years but when I dove here there are all sorts of Flotsam and Floatsam floating around on and under this lake. Most is dead clumps of pencil weed and Green Algae.

He would be the same Pro that caught a 35" Pike while washing off his red sock at the side of the boat!
 
just remember you will only get arches if your moving as once you stop arches will just straighten to a flat line. Try Doctor Sonars site , he seem to no his chit.

and here is another tip for you, want to no were that fish is or was in relation to you positon, just scroll back and put you cursor on it it will show on your gps were it was. you can even waypoint it.

This technology can and does that.

Enjoy and Happy Fishing
 
smokey1 said:
just remember you will only get arches if your moving as once you stop arches will just straighten to a flat line. Try Doctor Sonars site , he seem to no his chit.

and here is another tip for you, want to no were that fish is or was in relation to you positon, just scroll back and put you cursor on it it will show on your gps were it was. you can even waypoint it.

This technology can and does that.

Enjoy and Happy Fishing
Click to expand...

I really hate replying to these threads because they seem to turn into arguments (especially more recently) but.......

Yes, your HDS or HDI combo unit can put a waypoint on where a fish was very accurately if you scroll back but your 2D sonar display on its own cannot not show a fish position, only depth, it needs high tech help with GPS to do that. I see you deleted your post with the erroneous info about cone angles and fish ID's...thanks for that.

That's my last tip on this one.....happy fishing.
 
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after all your facts and my cone angle mistake, i did not want anyone to be confused

symbols on the screen, mixed in with all the hooks and bait balls make for a good conversation.

GPS on the stock hds units definitely can use some help with a point1.

always thought trolling along my unit is measuring depth of the fish and as they enter the cone, giving them a color based on distance from the center of the cone, then a shape dependant on the position in the cone that they were marked.

Enjoy
 
anyone going out on bay today that would like to hook up and help
it wont be till noonish for me and the kids
but going to head down to mess with it again
 
chefboyardee said:
just put it on automatic and leave it thats what i do on hds8, dont ask monty hell treat you like an idiot . like your supposed to know everything , which he think he does
Click to expand...
I never treat anyone like an idiot, and most people will tell I only try to help you out . If in any way I offended you I am sorry I also do not know everything as you had stated .
Regards Monty
 
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