Just using my sons boat fishing sockeye in Alberni which has an older Elite 5 and at times the screen transmits a "black image" from top to bottom. Seems to happen when it marks a school of fish. It clears up after an inch or two of the blackness. Don't know if it is setup problem or something internal etc. Anyone have any clues on how to stop this?
Lowrance Elite 5 "black screen"
- Thread starter Redfisher
- Start date
Have had it in to Harbour Chandler and they did an update on it of some sort but problem persists. I know some people had their entire screen go black but mine starts as line and grows as the screen advances but it never goes across entire screen. I do think it marks something and that starts the problem. Very strange.
Do you mean the whole screen just goes black or as it scans it looses bottom and there is a dark line increasing to a wider dark band until it finds bottom/targets again? If so, it could be as simple as increasing the depth on the settings. Most poorer quality transducers will lose bottom as you speed up as well. The lowrance transducer that came with my elite5 was acting up (bait balls ok, marks poor or dots) changed to a airmar p66....big improvement!
yes
I don't have it scanning bottom when fishing sockeye. I set a much shallower manual depth so I can see schools of fish trolling at slow speed. It is just using the stock Lowrance transducer (not my boat) but if the problem is the transducer it would be nice to know before swapping out to a better one like the Airmar P66. I have Goggled the heck out of this and have talked to Lowrance techs, nothing confirmed other than above suggestions...I know it is a problem that exists but looking for a confirmed problem with a real solution.
Sir Reel
Well-Known Member
I had a similar problem with my Elite. I would check your power connection and meter your voltage. A low reading will cause problems.
I got this advice from Harbour Chandler and my unit worked much better once I did this.
The factory settings after a reset are sub-standard for West Coast saltwater use (Lowrance’s primary market are fresh water bass anglers). When viewing the sonar screen, press “Menu”, scroll down to settings, press enter and make sure “General use” is selected. Back on the sonar screen again, press Menu, select Auto Sensitivity and turn it off (no x in the box), scroll up to “Adjust” and set sensitivity to 81 (as a starting point). I adjust sensitivity on a daily basis as water salinity and algae/plankton blooms affect image quality. I aim to have a “salt and pepper” effect on the screen, turn sensitivity too low and you lose bottom and fish targets, too high and the screen is cluttered. Also switch over to 83khz for deeper water (over 100ft). Hope this helps.
I got this advice from Harbour Chandler and my unit worked much better once I did this.
The factory settings after a reset are sub-standard for West Coast saltwater use (Lowrance’s primary market are fresh water bass anglers). When viewing the sonar screen, press “Menu”, scroll down to settings, press enter and make sure “General use” is selected. Back on the sonar screen again, press Menu, select Auto Sensitivity and turn it off (no x in the box), scroll up to “Adjust” and set sensitivity to 81 (as a starting point). I adjust sensitivity on a daily basis as water salinity and algae/plankton blooms affect image quality. I aim to have a “salt and pepper” effect on the screen, turn sensitivity too low and you lose bottom and fish targets, too high and the screen is cluttered. Also switch over to 83khz for deeper water (over 100ft). Hope this helps.
As SirReel suggests tweeking the settings will make huge improvements over factory settings. Plan B might be to borrow another transducer to confirm if problem is the unit or transducer. Hope it works out for you.
Going to try out the power connections first then the settings. I went to auto sensitivity as I was frustrated with performance....
Update....did redo the power connections and eliminated 1 fuse and a bit of wire. Tweeked the settings as Sir Reel suggested. Sounder worked ok for 5 days of fishing up coast but still struggles when it is on a steep edge (ling cod type) or when fishing in a big swell along a beach with turbulence. I think this is about all I can expect out of that transducer and that sounder.
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