reading depthfinders

[tmoe]

I'm able to read my locator just fine and trust the view while trolling etc. If you're stationary on the water obviously the picture should stay somewhat constant except for the fish going by. So, how do you tell when the "picture" has recycled? By this I mean, since the LCR's screen keeps moving, when does the picture get back to where it all started when you first got to your location and how do you know it?
Please forgive my ignorance. thanks........

[Larry]

The "picture" is nothing but history of what your transducer has picked up at an earlier point in time. The leading edge (right side of your screen) is the most recent history although not quite as good as real time on a flasher. Therefore, If you're sitting in one place, the fish being displayed as a flat line on your screen will go away if it swims off or you move. If you and the fish never move, you still get the flat line and nothing changes. Maybe that will clear things up a bit.

[SeaCat]

Many of the graph units have a feature called A-scope. This is real time (as close as possible) vertical readout of what is happenning under the transducer -- similar to a flasher type sonar. It will generally show on the right side of the screen along side the graph display. The signals received by the sounder are shown in the A-Scope screen and is interpreted into the "marks" on the graph display. Read useful feature if your unit has it -- especially when anchored or moving slowly. Even small signals are displayed that don't show up on the graph.

Ryan

[GORD]

Understanding what the unit is trying to tell you can be tricky. Guys are funny, they will look at something and pretend they understand it. A child will come along and ask a question like "Daddy, why are the fish on screen always swimming from right to left?" The poor father is stuck for an answer because he has no idea. To better understand the unit, try this... Anchor your boat and do some vertical jigging. See the jig on the screen, lift it up, then lower it. Watch what happens. Is there a display delay? You will notice that a history of what happened a few seconds ago, will scroll across the screen. Try pulling your jig out of the water and you'll still see it on the screen. Try casting your jig about 20 ft. from the boat, then retrieve it. What do you see as the jig gets closer? Does it show up better as it gets more directly under the transducer? Turn up the power and do the same thing again. Do you get a better display? Can you see your jig better? Does it start to appear on the screen sooner(can you see it when it is farther away from the boat?)? Your sonar has a voice. YOU can adjust it. It can whisper or it can yell at you. You can adjust it to do what you want. Read the manual. Get to know ever adjustment there is in the unit. Your adjustments will optimize it's performance. Keep playing with it till you know it like Stradivarious knew violins.

[Cangl]

Playing with the your electronics is understanding them, Gord has hit it right on the head, use it experiment. Us hard water fisherman have the an advantage for testing, but it can be done in a anchored boat as well. Perspective is something that can benefit any angler and his test will enhance it.

[mlc]

Tmoe, you did not mention what kind of unit you have. If you have an X85 check the FASTRAK feature. I believe this is what SeaCat is referring to. The FASTRAK feature gives a rapid update of conditions directly under the boat. It is, for all practical purposes, a vertical bar graph.

Hope this helps!
mlc