Todd Driscoll

Good advice above, and in addition, if your unit power cable is not directly wired to the starting battery, also check all wire splices, switches, fuse links, etc. in line from the unit power cable under the dash back to the battery. Could be your battery, but most often a poor wire splice or a bad switch is the culprit. As mentioned before, a voltmeter (not a test light) is a must when troubleshooting this. If input voltage drops below 10.5V, the unit will shut off. A faulty splice or switch may still have some voltage passing thru, but it may be less than what's required. To test voltage thru the unit power cable, place voltmeter leads in the two largest pins of the cable. Be careful only to touch those two pins or you will blow your inline fuse. Also, you likely have the spring-loaded, inline glass fuse holder. If so, replace this with the auto style blade fuse holder while you are troubleshooting. If the glass fuse holder isn't at least some of your trouble source, it will be down the road.

Completely agree with Wayne, proximity of both ducers is solely for the downscan/sonar overlay feature to work best. With overlay, you have the option of turning it on and off. But, I don't use it. You get the most information looking at them independently side by side, like the pic Wayne posted.

StructureScan can be viewed on multiple units simultaneously if they are linked with Ethernet (yellow) cables.

Solely a personal choice between the larger screen and the additional cost. Functionally, there are no differences between the HDS 8 and 10. With that said, these marine units are no different than TV sets - go as big as you can afford or you will regret it later on. Personally, I have two HDS 10s on my 21' bass boat and absolutely love them - no such thing as too big. As was mentioned before, I strongly recommend mounting the 8s and 10s with the heavy duty RAM mount (2.25-inch ball mount).

Wiring the LSS yellow to the yellow on your HDS is certainly an option, but I do prefer to wire the LSS yellow to an independent switch. If you have no available ACC switches factory-installed, you can just add an additional toggle switch. Wired this way, I can turn the LSS on and off when I want to. This conserves both battery power (for example, while tourney fishing and running livewell pumps all day) and longevity of the LSS transducer. I see no reason to have it running when your are not using it.

Larger displays are easier to look at, but the HDS 5 displays StructureScan very well. The 5s and 7s will only display two viewing panes at a time (8s and 10s will display 4 viewing panes), but you have your choice of displaying two of these four (side scan, downscan, 2D sonar, and map).

In addition to this, the spring loaded fuses tend to quickly corrode on the ends in the marine environment. Springs also weaken causing poor connections.

Yes, the flat automotive style fuses are the way to go (3 amp), whether wired in-line or in a fuse panel. Spring loaded glass fuses are a problem waiting to happen.

I agree, best way is to run wire all the way back to cranking battery. Yes, just splice some 16-gauge wire to reach the cranking battery. Or, what I prefer to use is a cut-to-length piece of old extension cord. Wires contained in protective sheath, easy to run thru side of boat.

If I recall correctly, your X51 ducer has a gray connector. This ducer is compatible with your HDS 5, with the exception of water temp. Simple fix, just replace the old ducer with the new one.

X51 display is out, only fix is another unit.

Renegade, to shut power off to the ducer, just select "stop sonar" under the sonar menu. The external LGC-4000 won't speed up processor time, but will give you a tighter GPS position. This antenna provides an update rate of 5X/sec, while the HDS internal antenna and older 2000s and 3000s update just 1X/sec.

No, right now there are no plans to release an emulator for HDS. The stability of the emulator varies to much depending on the user's computer and operating system to provide 100% reliable results.

The Elite 5 is priced more economically. Given that, the Elite 5 only has potential for NMEA 0183 communication, whereas the HDS 5 has NMEA 0183, NMEA 2000 (for networking external antennas, temp probes, fuel flow sensors, etc.) and Ethernet (linking units with each other and with StructureScan, Sirius Radio). Screen color resolution is less for Elite 5 (8-bit) vs HDS 5 (16-bit) so a little less detail shown for Elite 5. Same goes for sonar power and internal memory, less for Elite 5. The HDS 5 is available with Insight mapping, and Elite 5 just has basemap mapping. Elite 5 has one year warranty, HDS 5 has two years.

In the Lowrance HDS lineup, the HDS-5M is mapping only but MSRP is around $550. The Elite-5M price is around $470 - $500. A smaller unit is the M68C, but it is sonar/gps, price around $350 - $390.

This is true to a point. However, for example, the newly released Lowrance LGC-4000 antennas provide a position update 5X/sec, while for all older Lowrance antennas and internal HDS antennas the update rate is just 1X/sec. While the actual position recorded may be the same, with the 5X/sec update you get a much tighter visible plot of your current position on the screen, especially while stationary fishing. When you are not moving, all units tend to lose sense of direction, and your map and position cursor may rotate as a result. The 5X/sec update rate eliminates nearly all of this. As stated before, WAAS-capability is very important to low EPEs. With the LGC-4000, my Lowrance units typically have an EPE of 10 - 17 feet.

Again, if you get a spare ducer and hold over side of boat, that should instantly tell you whether it is the ducer mount or the unit causing the problem.

What is your price range?

In addition to above, see if your dealer will loan you a spare transducer. Then, put the boat in the water, hook up and hold over side of boat to determine if a unit or a ducer problem. Chances are, it is the ducer, and it could either be weak or improperly mounted.

That's a good GPS/Sonar unit for the price. Your biggest decision is whether you get a sonar only, or a GPS/Sonar combo. You just mentioned a depthfinder. If it's just a sonar unit you want, you can get a larger screen unit for less money, see link below http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_10215747____SearchResults

Ditto to comments above. Playing the odds, it is a weak transducer. Find a buddy's unit or a spare transducer (just hold over side of boat in the water) and exchange to determine whether it is the unit or ducer.

Link to software update http://www.lowrance.com/Downloads/Product-Software-Updates/HDS-3-software-version-and-demonstration-files/ Specific notes on software enhancements here http://www.lowrance.com/upload/Lowrance/Documents/Software_Updates/HDS_3_0_RELEASE_NOTES.pdf

In reference to black/white vs. color, I'd compare depthfinders with TV sets (i.e., yes, we all could still get by with a black and white TV, but is there anyone still watching one?). Color depthfinders distinguish subtle details (bottom composition, rocks, stumps, brush) much better that black and white. Lowrance units have numerous color palettes to select from to further enhance detail. Personally, I like Bottom Color Tracking (palette 13 on HDS units). This really makes fish stand out from the bottom and associated cover - fish are in shades of red, yellow, and green depending on size and sonar return strength, but all features associated with the bottom are brown.

The recently released Lowrance Mark (black and white) and Elite (color) series units have replaced the X125/135s. I provided the link for the brochure below. The Elite 5 is sonar/GPS, and the Elite 5X is sonar only. http://www.lowrance.com/Products/Marine/Mark-Elite-Series/Elite-5X/Downloads/

But, if they were hooked up properly, the antennas should be connected to each unit via a Tee with terminators on each end, then a short network extension from the Tee to the back of the unit. See bottom of page 13 of pdf link below http://www.lowrance.com/upload/Lowrance/Documents/Manuals/NMEA2000NetworksGeneralInfo_0154-173_112006.pdf Are you saying that your antennas are connected directly to the back of the unit?