Lowrance Elite 5 Dsi

[patbfishing123]

Hello Everyone,

 

I just picked up a Lowrance Elite 5 Dsi after doing some research and getting some recommendations from friends.  I had it installed in my boat by a boat mechanic in my club, so I am confident that it is installed correctly.  I have had issues with reading the bottom while the boat is moving over 20 mph.  I have read reviews that people have had no problem reading the bottom while going up to 45 mph with this unit.  Is there anything I need to do differently to be able to see the bottom?

 

It does a fine job reading the bottom while i'm just idling around.  I bought this unit for the GPS along with the downscan imaging.  I want to be able to mark waypoints while I am driving around the like during practice.  But if I cannot read the bottom, its not going to help me do this.  My mechanic says its because I do not have 2-D sonar on the unit.  I'm beginning to think that I would be better off putting the elite 5 dsi up by the trolling motor and getting something else for by the steering wheel.  

 

Does anyone have any solutions to my problem, or a recommendation of a good unit to put by the steering wheel? Thanks in advance.  

 

Pat

 

 

[tnriverluver]

Try moving the transducer down a little farther below the bottom of the boat.  You can also change the angle a click or two.  Do one change at a time until you see some imorovement.  If this is an aluminum boat it will be more challenging to get a reading at higher speeds due to the disturbance of the water flowing past the hull.

[patbfishing123]

Ok thanks, I'll give that a shot.  It is a fiberglass boat, so we'll see how it goes!

[3dees]

the manual, I believe, states that for best results speed should be aroung 5 mph. DSI was never designed for high speed. I had that unit on my bow but sold it because DSI is'nt right for every situation. I now have an Elite 7 HDI and use sonar/DSI split screen. your better off with it on the bow, as long as you don't do much dropshotting.

[patbfishing123]

Thanks for the reply, I do A LOT of drop shotting. I did read the manual and it did say that it was better at lower speeds but I got some reviews that said differently , and at $359, I had to give it a shot.  I'm heading out tuesday, so I'm going to try to screw around with it a little bit and see what I can do.  If I cant get it to work, I might have to go with the elite 7 and and move the elite 5 to the front. How has the Elite 7 been while driving around? Does it have 2-d sonar?

[Todd Driscoll]

Thanks for the reply, I do A LOT of drop shotting. I did read the manual and it did say that it was better at lower speeds but I got some reviews that said differently , and at $359, I had to give it a shot.  I'm heading out tuesday, so I'm going to try to screw around with it a little bit and see what I can do.  If I cant get it to work, I might have to go with the elite 7 and and move the elite 5 to the front. How has the Elite 7 been while driving around? Does it have 2-d sonar?

 

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