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Follows a summary of my experience so far with Insight Genesis using a Lowrance Elite 4 HDI...
So... What is Insight Genesis?
Insight Genesis is a relatively new service that allows you to create depth maps from sonar logs recorded by your GPS/Sonar.
The service is offered by Navico. Compatible GPS/Sonar units include most of the new Lowrance, and other higher end systems.
Free VS Paid Use
Insight Genesis offers most of its functionality for free, with the primary condition that all of your depth charts created are public.
There is also premium/paid version for $100 per year. With the paid version, you can keep your information private.
There are a few other key differences between the free and paid service ...
Maximum single sonar log duration for free version is two hours.
Four hours for the paid version.
In the free version you cannot merge multiple sonar logs into one depth map.
In the paid version, you can.
In the paid version, you can download an unlimited number of depth maps to your GPS.
In the free version, you must pay per map download. I don't know yet how much these cost.
In my opinion, lack of merging is the biggest limitation in the free version.
This is, in theory, resolved by Insight Genesis "Social"...
Insight Genesis Social, is essentially a "crowd sourced" collection of depth maps, created from all public depth maps.
There is an unpredictable degree of lag in this service. My depth map has yet to appear in the Social Map.
So, I cant really comment further on this feature.
The Gear
I am using a Lowrance Elite 4 HDI, with a 32 GB microsd card.
I mounted the transducer on an arm, to the side, which prevented me from mapping the weedy areas.
Trip at Cash Lake
I figured Cash Lake was a great place to try this out. It's small, so I could conceivably map the entire accessible areas in one go.
And it's relatively quiet, so I could focus on an even coverage without dodging other boats.
When I got there, launched, and turned on "Log Sonar."
I initially paddled the perimeter of the late, then I proceeded in a sweeping pattern over the interior.
I was uncertain how close my sweeps needed to be, so I erred on the side of over coverage.
I'm sure some folks on shore wondered what the hell I was doing, trucking around the lake like I was in a one man race.
In about 45 minutes or so, I finished covering the lake, turned off "Log Sonar", and fished for a couple hours.
Creating a Depth Map
Discovering the process of creating a depth map using Insight Genesis involved a little trial and error.
I made two trips before this one (one to Jonas, one to Mallows), logging 6 and 7 hour long sonar logs. This was before I realized the limit was 2 hours.
Mapping only the first 2 hours of the trips resulted in some pretty useless maps.
The process went like this:
1. Create an Account at https://insightstore.navico.com/
2. Download and install the the Uploader Application.
3. Put the microsd card in the, PC, and upload the file Using the Uploader application.
uploader.jpg
4. Wait for sonar to be processed.
5. When done (you'll get a notification email - or you can click reload over and over for 20 minutes like i did), log in and view the map.
insightmainpage.jpg
Viewing the Depth Map
The Viewer is a bit awkward and small. You get a tiny little window, in a "Silverlight" app (Microsoft's version of Flash).
Your trail, and depth chart are superimposed on a Bing satellite image map of the body of water.
You can Zoom, move about, and change settings such as increasing the contours to 1 foot gradations (kind of critical for shallow water like Cash Lake).
cashlake1.jpg cashlake detail.jpg
Next thing to try ...
Downloading a depth map to the GPS.
So... What is Insight Genesis?
Insight Genesis is a relatively new service that allows you to create depth maps from sonar logs recorded by your GPS/Sonar.
The service is offered by Navico. Compatible GPS/Sonar units include most of the new Lowrance, and other higher end systems.
Free VS Paid Use
Insight Genesis offers most of its functionality for free, with the primary condition that all of your depth charts created are public.
There is also premium/paid version for $100 per year. With the paid version, you can keep your information private.
There are a few other key differences between the free and paid service ...
Maximum single sonar log duration for free version is two hours.
Four hours for the paid version.
In the free version you cannot merge multiple sonar logs into one depth map.
In the paid version, you can.
In the paid version, you can download an unlimited number of depth maps to your GPS.
In the free version, you must pay per map download. I don't know yet how much these cost.
In my opinion, lack of merging is the biggest limitation in the free version.
This is, in theory, resolved by Insight Genesis "Social"...
Insight Genesis Social, is essentially a "crowd sourced" collection of depth maps, created from all public depth maps.
There is an unpredictable degree of lag in this service. My depth map has yet to appear in the Social Map.
So, I cant really comment further on this feature.
The Gear
I am using a Lowrance Elite 4 HDI, with a 32 GB microsd card.
I mounted the transducer on an arm, to the side, which prevented me from mapping the weedy areas.
Trip at Cash Lake
I figured Cash Lake was a great place to try this out. It's small, so I could conceivably map the entire accessible areas in one go.
And it's relatively quiet, so I could focus on an even coverage without dodging other boats.
When I got there, launched, and turned on "Log Sonar."
I initially paddled the perimeter of the late, then I proceeded in a sweeping pattern over the interior.
I was uncertain how close my sweeps needed to be, so I erred on the side of over coverage.
I'm sure some folks on shore wondered what the hell I was doing, trucking around the lake like I was in a one man race.
In about 45 minutes or so, I finished covering the lake, turned off "Log Sonar", and fished for a couple hours.
Creating a Depth Map
Discovering the process of creating a depth map using Insight Genesis involved a little trial and error.
I made two trips before this one (one to Jonas, one to Mallows), logging 6 and 7 hour long sonar logs. This was before I realized the limit was 2 hours.
Mapping only the first 2 hours of the trips resulted in some pretty useless maps.
The process went like this:
1. Create an Account at https://insightstore.navico.com/
2. Download and install the the Uploader Application.
3. Put the microsd card in the, PC, and upload the file Using the Uploader application.
uploader.jpg
4. Wait for sonar to be processed.
5. When done (you'll get a notification email - or you can click reload over and over for 20 minutes like i did), log in and view the map.
insightmainpage.jpg
Viewing the Depth Map
The Viewer is a bit awkward and small. You get a tiny little window, in a "Silverlight" app (Microsoft's version of Flash).
Your trail, and depth chart are superimposed on a Bing satellite image map of the body of water.
You can Zoom, move about, and change settings such as increasing the contours to 1 foot gradations (kind of critical for shallow water like Cash Lake).
cashlake1.jpg cashlake detail.jpg
Next thing to try ...
Downloading a depth map to the GPS.
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