Todd Driscoll

I've been running the Lowrance Gen2 units for a couple of months and the faster processor really makes a huge difference. Key response while navigating the pages and menus is super quick. Plus, the Gen2s have new StructureMap feature that overlays the side views on your chart. See all the details here: http://www.lowrance.com/Products/Marine/HDS-Gen2/

I prefer the product from WaveAway - sold in 80 mL bottles (400-500 applications) with cleaning cloth. It's alcohol and ammonia free, and will remove even the harshest hard-water stains. http://waveaway.com/ Full disclosure - I am affliated with WaveAway as a Pro Staffer, but agreed to only after testing and comparing this product with others while working Lowrance field support. I found that WaveAway was superior to other commercially available screen cleaners.

Well said Wayne. I always recommend a shoot-thru installation with fiberglass boats because when done correctly, I don't see any disadvantages. It's protected from impact damage, and if mounted properly, will read just as good as one mounted on the outside because units now are powerful enough to compensate for shooting thru the hull and when in Auto mode do this on their own. Plus, you get much better returns when running on plane, especially at high speeds. My units read bottom at over 70 MPH. I'd suggest that the average lifespan of a ducer is 3-5 years, depending on use. The ducers very rarely just quit. They gradually fade over time. Based on your description, it sounds like your ducer is weak.

see details below http://www.lowrance.com/Products/Marine/HDS-Gen2/

Hooligan, I am sorry that you had the troubles you describe with your HDS units. However, a couple of things you stated are not correct. Lowrance is NOT losing Insight mapping. Lowrance has two resets, soft and hard: A Lowrance Soft Reset does just what you describe. It reverts all settings back to factory defaults and does not affect the user file (wpts, routes, and trails). However, a Hard Reset restores default settings and deletes all user information.

The StructureScan is an add-on module. For example, look at the Cabelas link below for reduced prices as a bundle for the HDS 7 and StructureScan. http://www.cabelas.com/product/Lowrance174-HDS-7-Combo/735127.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch%2F%3FN%3D%26No%3D60%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dlowrance%26Ntx%3Dmode%252Bmatchallpartial%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253BSearch-All%2BProducts%26WTz_st%3D%26WTz_stype%3DSP%26form_state%3DsearchForm%26search%3Dlowrance%26searchTypeByFilter%3DAllProducts%26x%3D18%26y%3D10&Ntt=lowrance&WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products

With these units, they are powerful and thus very sensitive, so the location for the ducer mount is critical for optimum performance and must have smooth flow of water around the ducer. If on an aluminum boat with ribs, make sure the ducer is mounted between the ribs. Optimum performance and returns will be obtained when idling at 5 MPH or less. Also, make sure the transducer is parallel with the water surface when idling. There is no sens. setting. This is automatically adjusted with all of Lowrance down/side scan units. I prefer the Sepia palette. With contrast, in general you will need more in deeper water, less in shallower water. Run the unit in 800 kHz when in water < 100 feet.

The internal antennas on HDS units function very well flush-mounted or behind windshields. However, for the specific example you provide above regarding the very detailed need to distinguish between speeds below 2 MPH, I would always recommend installing the external 4000 antenna. Internal antennas update position 1X/sec, while the external 4000s update 5X/sec. You would also need to install the NMEA 2000 network to use a 4000 antenna.

There is not a way to actually adjust the color/shading of the individual contour lines. However, with the Safety Contour shading feature, you can select various water depth ranges to highlight in various shades of blue. This feature really makes underwater points, ridges, and isolated humps stand out.

The noise at the top is referred to as surface clutter and is normal. This clutter is typically caused by the unit reading air bubbles created by wind and wave action or boat wakes, or could be suspended plankton and algae just below the surface. Under the sonar menu there is a surface clutter filter you can adjust (low, medium, high) but I would just leave it set as off.

This unit should run well right out of the box with factory default settings. Did you change any of these settings? If so, you can go to Menu, Menu, System, Restore Defaults. Without seeing what you are, it's hard to comment. Can you post a pic of the noise?

I use NavPlanner 2 from Navionics. It has all the Navionics mapping built-in, so it is good for researching lakes you are not familiar with. It's not perfect. It is universal software that is compatible with numerous electronic brands, but because of this, your symbol choices in the HDS are not available in NavPlanner. However, no problem creating or importing/exporting HDS .usr files, but do know that NavPlanner 2 is not compatible with ver 4 files, only 2 and 3. You must save .usr files in ver 3 before importing into NavPlanner 2.

Yes, trails are already a part of the .usr file, so saving from an older unit to HDS is straightforward as stated above. Because HDS units have more plot points per trail, saving from HDS to an older unit will truncate the trail points so you would lose portions of trails.

Try a hard reset, this will restore all settings to factory defaults. 1. Turn the unit OFF 2. Press and hold the UP arrow key. 3. Press and hold the PWR key. 4. Production test mode will appear. 5. Press clear 5 times and you will see System Info Screen 6. Press MENU/DOWN and the unit will shut off

Which specific digital reading is not working - depth? If so, other than no digital depth, are you still getting good sonar readings on the display?

Also know you have the ability to not plot a trail at all, just delete all the active trails and don't create a new trail.

Go to Pages, Utilities Page (wrench/gear symbol), Waypoints Routes Trails, then highlight Trails tab. From here, highlight the trail you want to edit/delete, then hit Menu, Delete. You can also select Delete All to delete all trails in unit.

Transferring waypoints from an older unit to an HDS is straightforward, as the old .usr file is entirely compatible with the HDS. If you go the other way (.usr file from HDS to an older unit, you have to save in a format below version 4. With that said, yes you have to browse the SD card, select the .usr file, then import. Go to your Utilities Page (gear/wrench symbol), then Files, then your Memory Card, cursor down to .usr file, then select Import.

Other than the screen size difference, the 7 will show up to 3 viewing panes at once, while the 8 will show up to 4 panes. The 8 has quickkeys at the bottom for one-button access to most common menu items, while the 7 does not have quickkeys. The 8 has two SD card slots, the 7 just one. All other functions are essentially identical.

Keep in mind that the US2 ducer is not a Lowrance branded ducer. I have observed many instances while working field support where the US2 performance was subpar when compared to running a Lowrance transducer. I always recommend running a Lowrance ducer on MinnKota trolling motors. Just FYI, newer MotorGuide Tour and Wireless trolling motors do run internal Lowrance ducers.

Applies to all HDS units.

What fishing mode do you have the unit in? For very shallow or weedy conditions, make sure it is in shallow water.

What issue do you have?

A new version of 4.0 software is now available. This new version includes changes to features and functions that were not performing properly in the previous software version. Items addressed with this new release: 1) Opened full range scale when using StructureScan™. StructureScan range is no longer tied to the fishing mode selected. 2) Fixed the ability to scroll a Weather Watchbox when using SIRIUS® Weather. 3) Fixed the SIRIUS Weather Alarm causing the HDS to re-boot. 4) Fixed a problem with tides and currents being off by one hour. 5) This new version allows for the update of early production, v2.1 or older, HDS-5x fishfinders. To download this new update go to http://www.lowrance.com/Downloads/Product-Software-Updates/HDS-Software-Update/

General sonar settings to get you started. First, under Sonar Settings, select Shallow Water (for our purposes this is water < 100 feet deep) (the default is General Use) and set scroll speed to normal. Also, under Installation select your appropriate transducer. Under Sonar Menu, I run Ping Speed at 18. Colorline I like at 85. Until you get more experience with sonar, leave depth and sensitivity settings on Auto. For shallow water, especially around grass, I prefer color palette 1. For deep water or with lakes void of grass, I like palette 13 (bottom color tracking in the older units, helps separate fish from the bottom/cover). The StructureScan is relatively straightforward and easy to operate. Regarding settings, I recommend running contrast from 65 - 80 and I prefer the default color palette (#6). For shallow water, select 800 kHz. Range can be operated in either Auto or Manual, but given you have an HDS 7, I'd run in Auto since you have no quickkeys at bottom (HDS 8 and 10 have these)and have to go into the menu to adjust if in manual range. I think you are misinterpreting the surface clarity setting. Surface clarity in the sonar menu is not referring to water clarity, but the clutter (primarily due to air bubbles and suspended particles) often seen in the first 5-6 feet on your sonar returns on the screen. Yes, when you set this to high, this clutter is reduced but so are beneficial returns. I would keep surface clarity and noise rejection settings on either low or off. As JigMan said, running two transducers of the same freq at the same time will generate some level of crosstalk. Your 2D sonar is 200 kHz and your StructureScan is 800 kHz, so no interference between those. But running either two 2d sonar ducers or two StructureScan ducers at the same time will have crosstalk.