[ANSWERED] Lowrance DSI Question

Once again, when I can't call Lowrance, a finder is acting-up.

It's a HOOK-5.  The downscan imaging screen is showing nothing at all and has turned blue.  I checked the color settings and reset the system in case I missed something in the settings, and it's still blue.

Anyone else seen this?

(Yes, I'll definitely call tech support tomorrow when they're open if I can't fix it myself)

Your ducer may be on it's way out. 

Your ducer may be on it's way out. 

Bummer.  Better the $120 transducer than the head unit, I guess.

GPS City has a Labor Day price of $299 for a HOOK-5 with a map card.  Just saying.

Have you tried to do a soft reset?  That's the first thing Lowrance is going to ask you to do when you call.  Good news, It's fixed my issues both times, bad news, you loose all of your way points, unless you back them up.  Also, have you done the latest software upgrade?  You can get it from the Lowarance website.  You can't download it on anything larger than a 1 gig memory card or the fishfinder won't read it.

Thanks, Cosmo.  Yes, I tried a reset without any luck, and I have the 2.0-7.0.10 update installed.

It's probably stupid operator error.  Hope so.

Appreciate the suggestion.

 

I got it working again, thanks to Lowrance.  One of the "features" of the downscan not mentioned in the manuals is that it only works in water more than 1 foot deep.  I had it on when I was passing over 8 inches of water and when it acted-up I managed to change the screen colors.

DSI screen colors do not reset with a soft reset, and the DSI doesn't work in a 1-gallon bucket of water.

It does work in a 5-gallon bucket, and everything is back to normal.

I got it working again, thanks to Lowrance.  One of the "features" of the downscan not mentioned in the manuals is that it only works in water more than 1 foot deep.  I had it on when I was passing over 8 inches of water and when it acted-up I managed to change the screen colors.

DSI screen colors do not reset with a soft reset, and the DSI doesn't work in a 1-gallon bucket of water.

It does work in a 5-gallon bucket, and everything is back to normal.

I've heard fishing is tough in a 1 gallon bucket, how'd you do in the 5 gallon bucket? 

I've heard fishing is tough in a 1 gallon bucket, how'd you do in the 5 gallon bucket? 

Probably able to troll with some smaller weights, but you have to be careful biting lead split shots, I hear it can go to your head 

I've heard fishing is tough in a 1 gallon bucket, how'd you do in the 5 gallon bucket? 

About average, I think.  A skunk is a skunk no matter how deep the water, but at least I fished that sucker thoroughly enough to know the fish weren't biting.

I've heard fishing is tough in a 1 gallon bucket, how'd you do in the 5 gallon bucket? 

About average, I think.  A skunk is a skunk no matter how deep the water, but at least I fished that sucker thoroughly enough to know the fish weren't biting.

Way to stick with it and get results. 

Tinker,

Have you tried hooking up a different battery to you fish finder? I had a similar issue with my son's elite 4 a month ago.  The ff would work for about an hour, and then get dark to the point you could barely see it.  I rewired the battery cables, no luck. Switched out the transducer, no luck.  I called Lowrance and they guy said to check my battery. He said it may be over heating, or not delivering 12 volts.  He said if the FF isn't getting 12v, weird stuff starts to happen.  Sure enough, the battery  wasn't holding a charge.  I hooked up a different battery, turned it on and ran it for 6 hours straight with no issues.

Not sure if that helps, but it may be worth a shot if you haven't tried it.

Thanks, Cosmo.  I appreciate you coming back to help and sharing the battery information will probably help me, sooner or later.

Swapping batteries is always the first thing I check when I get home, but this time it was operator stupidity - I changed the screen colors when blindly punching random settings to get DSI to work properly when it doesn't work at all in water as shallow as I was in.

Lowrance DSI requires at least 12" of water under the transducer to work, at home or on the water.  I was in 8" when I started fiddling with the settings and about the same when I was troubleshooting it at home.

I'm glad you figured it out, and I'm sure it will help some of us down the road.  When I was having issues with my elite 4, I was ready to throw it out the window and go away from Lowrance entirely, but after I found out it was operator error, I now love them again. 

I've called their tech support more than once, while on the water, when I got my FF so screwed up, and their techs have been able to bring me back to good every time.

It's really very encouraging to hear comments about issues I've had and realize it's just possible it's not me.  I'm thinking about doing some research videos relating to lowrance 4elite-HDI (mine) on youtube and then seeing if others want to join a GoToMeeting I can set up so there can be a dialog between users, perhaps with some luck, even a dialog with the lowrance tech folks.  It would be limited to 8-9 at a time, but listening to each others issues could be helpful.

Good idea IMHO.  Someone - even folks who aren't me - always has a head-scratching question about a Lowrance unit.  I'd be interested.