Lowrance HDS-5x Operation Manual page 93

Troubleshooting
4.
noise
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to 60ft or whatever depth you expect the fish to appear at.
This will maximize the screen resolution to show small ob-
jects larger on the screen. It unlikely you will see average-
sized fish display as arches in a 100ft deep water column.
The boat must be moving at a slow trolling speed to see
fish arches. If the boat is motionless, fish stay in the cone
and show as horizontal lines on screen. This is especially
applicable to ice fishing.
A major cause of sonar problems is electrical noise. This
usually appears on the sonar's display as random patterns
of dots or lines. In severe cases, it can completely cover the
screen with black dots, or cause the unit to operate errati-
cally, or not at all.
To eliminate or minimize the effects of electrical noise,
try to determine the cause. With the boat at rest in
the water, turn all electrical equipment on the boat
off including the engine. Turn on your sonar unit.
Sensitivity should be set at 70-75 percent. There should be
a steady bottom signal on the display. Now turn on each
piece of electrical equipment on the boat and view the effect
on the sonar's display.
If you find noise interference is from an electrical instru-
ment, trolling motor, pump, or radio, you can usually reroute
the sonar unit's power cable and transducer cable away
from the wiring causing the interference. VHF radio antenna
cables radiate noise when transmitting, so be sure to keep
the sonar's wires away from it. You may need to route the
sonar unit's power cable directly to the battery to isolate it
from other wiring on the boat.
If no noise displays on the sonar unit from electrical equip-
ment, then make sure everything except the sonar unit is
turned off, then start the engine. Increase the RPM with
the gearshift in neutral. If noise appears on the display, the
problem could be one of three things; spark plugs, alterna-
tor, or tachometer wiring. Try using resistor spark plugs, al-
ternator filters, or routing the sonar unit's power cable away
from engine wiring to help eliminate noise problems. Make
sure to use the in-line fuse supplied with the unit when wir-
ing the power cable to the battery.
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