Todd Driscoll

I've used both frequently. What are your specific issues?

I am not familiar with your specific boat, but the ducer needs to be mounted an inch or so below any lateral left/right obstructions from the LSS ducer, otherwise you will have beam kickback. Depending on where you mount it, a lateral obstruction may include your lower unit since you have no setback plate. Here, you would just need to trim your engine up when idling to prevent beam kickback. Since the LSS is designed for use at idle speeds, you can also mount it higher on the transom for protection against impact damage, as it just needs to be in the water when you are idling.

No, the yellow wire on the HDS power cable will not be connected to anything when you trace and find it. Yes, disconnect the yellow wire on the LSS power cable where it is currently connected, then connect it to the HDS yellow. You will likely need a foot or so of additional wire to more easily connect the two yellows together. The red and black on the LSS power cable go to 12 V hot. This can either be direct from the battery (not through any switch), or through your master power switch at the console. Chances are the red and black are currently ran through your ignition switch. If so, you need to disconnect those and rewire as well. Otherwise, you would still need to have your ignition switch on for your LSS to work.

No question, rewire your LSS power. As Jig Man said, it is pretty easy to trace your wires get it right.

Regarding your StructureScan power, it appears from your description that it was wired through your ignition switch, which is not typical. StructureScan power must be through a switch or it would stay powered all the time (box doesn't have an ON/OFF button). Easiest way is to wire it to power up when the HDS is powered up, which you do by wiring the yellow wire on the StructureScan power cable to the yellow wake up wire on the HDS power cable. Here, the HDS unit is serving as your "switched" power source. You can also wire the Structure yellow to a separate accessory switch. For 2D sonar, Auto Sensitivity mode works great, and the default Colorline settings work well.

Yes, the SonarHub does take the place of your LSS box. The 3.0 HDS update was released last week. Although not specific to the SonarHub, it's always important to stay current with software, so go ahead and update your units. When installed, the SonarHub/TM150 combo will allow you to run either CHIRP sonar or fixed frequency sonar (either 200, 83, or 50 kHz).

I agree. I've tried most of the cleaning sprays. I think this one is the best.

Relative to Lowrance, your cheapest options that will provide 2D sonar, downscan, and GPS are the Elite-4 HDI (color) and the Mark-4 HDI (monochrome): http://www.lowrance.com/en-US/Products/Fishfinder-Chartplotter/Elite-4-HDI-en-us.aspx You want part #000-11216-001 (combo 83/200-455/800 ducer) http://www.lowrance.com/en-US/Products/Fishfinder-Chartplotter/Mark-4-HDI-en-us.aspx You want part#000-11215-001 (combo 83/200-455/800 ducer)

On each unit, go to Menu, Menu, Network, Data Sources, Sonar, Water Temp, then select the proper temp source for each unit.

In addition to Map Orientation settings (Course/Heading Up vs. North Up), part of your problem could also be due to your units losing sense of direction when you are either moving very slowly or not at all. Adding the Point-1 antenna with built-in heading sensor would completely fix that. The Point-1 is a NMEA 2000 device, so you would also need a NMEA 2000 starter kit if you don't already have this network installed.

The most important question is whether the Insight card provides high definition coverage on the lakes you fish. Go to the link below, and there is an additional link at the bottom of the page showing coverage levels by state and lake. If you have HD coverage, then no question the card is well worth it. http://www.lowrance.com/en-US/Products/Mapping/Lake-Insight-Pro-v14-en-us.aspx

For optimum results, yes it is recommended that all HDI transducers must be in direct contact with the water. With this said, I do know some with fiberglass bass boats that have mounted them as a shoot-thru and are content with it.

The HST-WSBL skimmer is 100% compatible with HDS Gen1. I have never observed a head unit that does not display the available water temp selections under Menu, Menu, Network, Data Sources, Sonar, Water Temp, assuming a functional temp sensor - not to say it couldn't happen though. Considering you replaced the ducer, this would essentially eliminate the potential of a faulty temp sensor in the ducer. Couple of other things to try. First, try deleting your current water temp overlay from the screen. Then, go back to the temp selection under Data Sources above, and try again to select "HDS 5 this device" as your temp source. Then, add your water temp as overlay back to the screen. If this doesn't work, try a hard reset (back your .usr file up first to an SD card, as this will delete all your waypoints). Hard reset - press and hold ZIn and Zout, press and release PWR. Hold both Zoom buttons down until unit boots up completely.

Also, understand to see "arches" you typically need to be idling, or a fish must quickly swim through the sonar cone. When you are fishing and moving slowly on the trolling motor, fish will be more "lines" than arches because they are in the sonar cone longer when compared to idling with the outboard and pushing the fish through the sonar cone quickly. In addition, when you see an arch, that fish is already behind the boat, outside of your sonar cone. When fish are in the cone, you will continually get a return (hence the "lines").

The Amazon link you provided looks right, but I know the link below is the right part (XT-15U). http://store.navico.com/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductName=000-0099-91

Glenn has given you good advice above. Menu, Menu, Network, Data Sources, Sonar, Water Temp is where you make your proper water temp sensor selection. The HST-WSBL has a temp sensor (T in the part number indicates this). What you should see for your proper selection is something like "HDS 5 this device." Make sure it is checked.

Not sure what your exact issue is without a pic. Are you referring to the color palette selections on either the 2D sonar or downscan?

This is a shot of submerged hydrilla 5 feet below the surface in about 18 feet of water. http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz39/blade4/shot4_zps5cda1b1c.png

I posted this info below on another thread from a couple of weeks ago. The pure oxygen-injection system described below is scientifically proved to be the best way to maintain oxygen levels in livewells. This system would be a great fit for your situation. Without question, the absolute best way to maintain ideal oxygen levels under any condition is the use of an oxygen-injection system (bottle with pure oxygen, regulator, and fine-pore diffusers). The difference here is that we are injecting pure, 100% oxygen, whereas livewell pumps just inject air (21% oxygen). I have been running this system on my boats for the last 3 years (over 40 tournaments) and wouldn’t have it any other way. Detailed info and equipment specs are provided at the link below. $300 will buy all that you need. Because tournaments are so popular and frequent in Texas, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department fisheries biologists have conducted several scientific evaluations of fish care equipment to ensure that tourney anglers have the information to take best care of their fish and minimize tourney-related mortality. I have been involved in each of these evaluations. You can contact either me or the other fisheries biologists listed in the links below with specific questions. Livewell oxygen-injection system - http://www.slideshare.net/raminlandfish/livewell-oxygen-injection-8773301 Oxygenators – how effective are they - http://www.slideshare.net/raminlandfish/the-oxygenator-how-effective-is-it Evaluation of hydrogen peroxide in livewells - http://www.slideshare.net/raminlandfish/hydrogen-peroxide-for-bass-boat-livewells

I have no experience running "coolers" or "chiller units" and they may work great. But, to me it's pretty simple to do it this way. I use frozen 12 ounce water bottles. A total of 25 are enough to keep 2 livewells 5-10 degrees cooler for a 9-hour tourney day, even during the hottest day of the summer, and I keep these in a soft-sided cooler bag that fits in one of my back storage compartments. Initially, five bottles will get a 20-gallon livewell cooled 5-10 degrees. Then, I periodically add a few throughout the day to maintain that temp. I have Lowrance EP-80 temp sensors mounted in my livewells so I can closely monitor the temperature of each and compare that to lake surface temperature - I have all three temps plotted as overlay on my Lowrance units. Or, you can go with a thermometer in the livewells. Both floating pool thermometers and the ones you use to measure your vehicle AC temp work well. Bottom line here is that if you are adding ice, you must measure temp to be sure you within the desired range. As mentioned by others, this range is 5-10 degrees cooler than ambient lake surface temp. Cooling more than 10 degrees is stressful when fish are released back in the lake and can kill them. With all this said, I’ll use this discussion to point out that there is no question that low oxygen levels are responsible for most fish deaths while in livewells. The reason for cooling the livewell water is two-fold – 1) to reduce the metabolism and oxygen consumption of bass since they are cold-blooded, and 2) increase the oxygen-carrying capacity of water – cooler water holds more oxygen. Along these lines, anglers must run their livewell pumps continuously anytime the water is over 75 degrees, or when you have more than 10 pounds of bass in the livewell. Pumps ran on a timer may be OK outside of these two criteria, but to be safe, I run my pumps continuously any time I have fish in the livewell. Without question, the absolute best way to maintain ideal oxygen levels under any condition is the use of an oxygen-injection system (bottle with pure oxygen, regulator, and fine-pore diffusers). The difference here is that we are injecting pure, 100% oxygen, whereas livewell pumps just inject air (21% oxygen). I have been running this system on my boats for the last 3 years (over 40 tournaments) and wouldn’t have it any other way. Detailed info and equipment specs are provided at the link below. $300 will buy all that you need. Because tournaments are so popular and frequent in Texas, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department fisheries biologists have conducted several scientific evaluations of fish care equipment to ensure that tourney anglers have the information to take best care of their fish and minimize tourney-related mortality. I have been involved in each of these evaluations. You can contact either me or the other fisheries biologists listed in the links below with specific questions. Livewell oxygen-injection system - http://www.slideshare.net/raminlandfish/livewell-oxygen-injection-8773301 Oxygenators – how effective are they - http://www.slideshare.net/raminlandfish/the-oxygenator-how-effective-is-it Evaluation of hydrogen peroxide in livewells - http://www.slideshare.net/raminlandfish/hydrogen-peroxide-for-bass-boat-livewells

I work as a fisheries biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and we have scientifically evaluated the effects of hydrogen peroxide on livewell oxygen levels. You can take a look at the link below for the results. We conducted 12 separate real-world trials in three different bass boats with limits of bass ranging from 8 - 23 pounds. The dosage mentioned in the video was used (1 ounce/3 gallons) and all of the trials had nearly identical results. Hydrogen peroxide did increase oxygen levels, but only for 30 - 50 minutes. Also, specific effects of peroxide on fish physiology are not known and could be harmful. Therefore, the addition of peroxide would only be recommended in extreme cases when livewell pumps fail. This would be a one-time dose to allow you 30-50 minutes to get the fish to weigh-in. http://www.slideshare.net/raminlandfish/hydrogen-peroxide-for-bass-boat-livewells

Look at the Elite 7 HDI if you want a unit that has both 2D sonar and downscan. Regarding interference, anytime you have two transducers running at the same frequency you will have some crosstalk between units but it is usually just cosmetic. You can select Stop Sonar (cuts power to your transducer) on your dash unit when moving up front to fish. Do note that downscan operates at 455/800 kHz and 2D sonar at 83/200 kHz, so running downscan and 2D sonar at the same time will not cause any interference.

The Elite 7 comes in 4 different models, but the HDI units come with both 2D sonar and downscan.

I have both Insight Pro cards and Navionics cards for every lake I fish. Like Navionics, the key to the Lowrance cards is what lakes have HD coverage. Go to this link below to see state-by-state coverage: http://www.lowrance.com/en-US/Products/Mapping/Lake-InsightHD-2013-en-us.aspx

Any time you are running two transducers at the same frequency you will have some interference between the units, although usually it's just cosmetic. With two HDS units Ethernet-linked, you can run "Network Sonar" which only allows one ducer at a time to be powered and both of your units are reading the same ducer. The other way to eliminate interference is to just select "stop sonar" on one unit which cuts power to the ducer.