Lowrance HDS Structure Side-Scan

[pjay9]

Has anyone installed one of these add on side scan units to their HDS FF/chart plotter? I am interested to know how easy it is to use, does it really show things and is it worth the 500 plus? I did a search and found the posts were about a year old...any updates, comments and opinions THX! Capt PJ

[Chaps]

Capt.

I have one installed and mainly use it to find wrecks and rock piles though its great for spotting herring schools and salmon.

Do you already have an HDS unit?

[pjay9]

Chaps, Yes I have the HDS 8 and really like it so far..no issues and does many functions...just got to rememebr the steps required to do a task. Didn't you mount yours on a slide pole arrangement? How's that working out? THx PJ

[Chaps]

Works great, telescopes up and down. At low setting it is well under the boat and in total bubble free water for clear scans. When the boat is tied up I run it all the way up and out of the water so I don't need to put transducer anti-foul paint on it.

Let me know if you decide to get a LSS as I know of one for sale that was never installed on a boat so can save you some bucks.

Here's a pic of a puget sound herring bait ball. First time you see this on your FF you will about jump out of your skin . . . you can actually see the individual herring. If salmon were present the ball would look ragged and blown apart and you would see the bigger images of blackmouth slashing through.

[JETTYWOLF]

Chaps,

I've seen those and "if" my fish schooled in the water column I think I'd have to sell my RayMarine C-120!

But my fish, hunt around bottom hugging. Although, to see "food" is to find fishez, right?

So, Let me ask a question or two. On the right hand screen. The "Zero Mark" is the boat, and the stepping out measurements are heading out to the "bank" of the water way? To 200 feet plus?

I keep seeing the Lowrance stuff in the Cabelas catalogs.

[Chaps]

Yeah, the 0 line is the surface and the boat is at the top of the screen (where it stays). The image moves down as the boat moves forward, everything in the image is either under or behind you. In the split image - imagine you are looking through your hull straight down as if you had a glass bottom. Your right eye can see straight to the bottom and out to the right to a maximum of 200 ft (based on the settings in the pic). Your left eye can see straight to the bottom and out to the left to a max of 200 ft. Since the bottom in this image is about 120 ft deep you will be able to see bottom and out to each side of the boat until your 200 ft range limits your view. If you are in shallow water and have your range set to 200 ft then you are going to see bottom out to almost 200 ft on each side of the boat.

The other really cool thing with the HDS is if you see structure anywhere in the image (even out to the side) on the bottom or even a suspended school of fish and you want to get back right over that target all you have to do is move your cursor over to that point on the image and set a waypoint. The exact location of that structure or group of fish/bait will now appear on your chart even though you didn't actually motor right over top of it.

[goatram]

Cool Intel Bob! Thanks Now I want one of those too. A buddy said that is side scan when coupled with the LCX 113 produced excellent images that his HDS can't compete with. i.e. seeing the cloud of Spot Shrimp off of Hat Island out of Everett Wa.

[JETTYWOLF]

I don't have enough dash space left......thanks for the explanation Chaps. That looks to be a real winner. I see them in the catalogs. But never really knew exactly what I was looking at.

[Chaps]

Cool Intel Bob! Thanks Now I want one of those too. A buddy said that is side scan when coupled with the LCX 113 produced excellent images that his HDS can't compete with. i.e. seeing the cloud of Spot Shrimp off of Hat Island out of Everett Wa.

John, IMO I'd have to see that to believe it. I had an LCX before I got this and there was no way to do side scan on it. Besides, there is no way a 50/200 freq system is going to see the detail that a 455/800 freq system will see. The high frequency output has a limitation, it won't do deep but anything within its range is almost like looking at a photograph of the bottom and stuff in the water column, its like the water isn't even there.

[goatram]

I talked to the Lowrance Rep. Mike last night and your Right; He had another box hooked up to the LCX that Converted the Signal to HDS. The Rep told me to Upgrade Too.
Someday
Dang Vendors all want my Boat Bucks