Lowrance Elite 5 HDI lines in the screen while paddling and other noise on screen?

[mi327]

I got a Lowrance Elite 5 HDI recently and have been noticing allot of and clutter on the screen in both regular and HDI mode. More interstingly, it is picking up the paddle strokes as I paddle on the screen as vertical lines. Is there a way to adjust this to get rid of the unwanted stuff?

I currently use a suction cup mount to the bottom of the yak and it is about 6 inches below the surface in just about the center of the yak more towards the side since I usually just reach under water and stick it on after launching. This worked fine with my old Humminbird grey scale fish finder.

I have been thinking about moving to a thru hull mount will this help with the noise on the screen? I may do the thru-hull mount anyways to reduce the drag, have a cleaner install, and more protected mount for the transducer.

[mweber02]

Maybe damaged wire or unsecured connection? Or maybe the transducer is loose on the mount? I have the same FF and didn't notice any issues with a duct seal thru hull mount.

[Mark]

I recently installed the same unit with a through-the-hull transducer mount using duct seal.

I do not see any of the interference you are mentioning either pedaling my Revo or paddling it.

The screen images have been very clean in two outings to date.

My only problem has been learning how to use the many charting functions, especially calculating trip distance.

The sonar and down-scan have been fine.

[mi327]

Thanks, it sounds like going to a thru hull install is the way to go, since likely the suction cup mount is either too close to the side of the kayak or it is vibrating causing the issues. I will double check the connections as well. Besides that I am slow enough paddling without that huge transducer causing any more drag

[daolai]

Interesting because I use the scotty arm that drops is in the water and am having the same issues. I was going to do some research and fine tune it. Never thought if it was due to it shaking. It's near the front where my fins from my outback are too. Will do some testing this weekend and let you know how it goes.

[claymeister]

It is not a recommended option to use thru-hull mounting option when using an HDI with Downscan version FF. When you glue or epoxy the transducer and shoot through the plastic hull it will cause feedback on the Downscan side. Use an in water mount that will hold it firmly in place and close to the hull several inches under the surface. Try to mount it forward of where there will be any paddle wash too. Also, in shallow water use the transducer frequency on the higher band. This will narrow the cone and provide more definition with less noise.

[kanvery]

I'd have to disagree with claymeister. I've seen both mounting methods and see absolutely no difference.

It sounds like you are having issues with your surface clarity though. Do you have noise throughout the water column or just in the first one or two feet? If its in the first one or two feet mess with your surface clarity settings. I set mine to low because i don't care whats 1-2 feet below me generally.

If you have noise throughout, and you have it in the "beginner mode", then check that you have the right type of water selected. Using a freshwater setting in brackish or murky Potomac water will give you quite a bit of noise.

Thats what I know, I'm no expert. Hope that helps.

[mi327]

I tried a few different settings on the fish finder and the same result, the noise is a line all the way from the surface to bottom that syncs with the paddle strokes and stops immediately if I stop paddling. I got other blotches as well on the screen though it could be junk in the river getting washed down from the Conowingo dam post ice melt.

I picked up some duct putty tonight and mounted the transducer in the back hatch on the bottom so next time I go out I will see if that helps. The putty only cost 3.00 so its cheap fix to try.

The Lowrance manual does have a section listed as a shoot through hull option for installing the transducer, only caveat was it will not work on metal or wood hulls.

[Salty Dog]

Had the same problem when I had the transducer mounted on the outside rear of the yak. Since I have remounted with the thru hull method in the front of the yak, all works perfectly except for the temperature reading which has been documented as the only issue with through hull transducer mounting.

[volboy23]

I have an elite 4 and mount it using an arm off the side of my kayak. If it is in the water and I am paddling to try and move locations I can get paddle interference, but it is only at the top of the water column. I don't see lines that move from the surface to the bottom. I have mine set pretty standard and haven't messed with it.

Hopefully the in hull mount helps. If not I would contact Lowrance.

[mi327]

Just a follow up finally had the weather and my schedule meet up and went out this morning, and the thru hull setup definitely helped with the noise and eliminated the lines while paddling. Now I just got to get the skunk off the yak for this season, only got a couple hours in at Mariner point then the wind started blowing so I didn't venture too far out.

Thanks everyone for their help.

[Mark]

Good.

Glad to hear that solved your problem.

I'm still learning how to use the many functions of my Elite 5 and I've been very pleased with it so far.