Livescope with Echomap 93sv Plus and clarity of fish?

[creekchub]

I have a functioning Livescope working on boat however the clarity of FISH is very weak at best. I have used the recommended settings and using the blue color for the appearance as the one video suggested. I still cannot see my bait dropping down on the screen, also cannot ever clearly see a fish - just see blobs. I am wondering if perhaps i have the range set incorrectly. ANy tips for being able to visually see fish and my bait more clearly on the screen? I have gain at 70-75, TVG medium, Noise rejection medium, ....anything else you guys can suggest?
I am not impressed so far.....and wish i was after dropping $2500 plus install cost.... :(

[TOUCH OF CLASS]

Always use amber and you can focus the picture a little better by going to 40-50 on focus setting.Set the depth for what you are in 10 feet set to 11 feet etc..Finding your lure takes a little practice move the scope left to right till you find it and try to keep your distance to 25-30 for seeing your lures.the small fish will look like blobs of a sort bigger fish cats and such will be a true fish on the screen and you can see fins and movement of the body.
Running it on troller shaft is tougher but get out of the wind and play with it.Once you see the underwater world you will love it.

[Fishysam]

I don't see fish looking images till the fish are within 30' and if you really want to see them you should back the range down to 30'

[rocket man]

Even at 30' a crappie is a small blob.

[j791]

I have a similar issue. Picture is not clear and it’s hard to see your lure and fish. The higher the noise reject and TVG, the nicer the picture but the harder it is to see fish and your lure. Therefore, I chose more clutter with the ability to see my lure, fish and brush piles vs a nice picture. Here are my current settings.

Gain 54% (any higher and it washes out)
Color gain 100% (makes lure pop on screen)
TVG off (makes lure visible)
Noise reject off (makes lure visble)
Color amber (blue washes out)

[TOUCH OF CLASS]

[j791]

I was thinking about that exact transducer pole..thought it might help clear up the screen...I just don’t know if it would clear my two bow units when deploying and retrieving.

[TOUCH OF CLASS]

There is a out side mount option

[j791]

Yeah, I saw that but then the mounting pole would stick out from the boat frame...risk of hitting docks etc...in stowed position.

[creekchub]

ttt

[j791]

It could be interference. Garmin recommends that you ground your black box to a water ground and not the battery terminal. You will notice on the black box there is a separate terminal just for a grounding wire. This is separate from the positive and negative wires that power the black box. Garmin also recommended separating the transducer cable from any power cables. They have had several calls in which they asked the customer to simply move the network cable and transducer cable away from any power cables and it immediately cleared up the screen. They also noted that the black box draws a lot more amps than a typical sonar unit. Therefore, separating the power and negative wires running to the black box also reduces interference. I asked about mounting LS transducer on a pole mount and they said that many of their customers are now using pole mounts with great success and added that it should help with interference/clarity.

[azbohunter]

I do not have a 93 series but a 7610 and Livescope..I have owned a PS31 in the past and there is a huge difference in the two so at first with the Livescope I was somewhat disappointed. After several trips to the lake I am loving it but I still think it has limitations. I think it shines in what I call shallow water which is less than 25', it deeper water targets are not always easy but down to 40' I can see a 1/4 ounce drop shot IF it is right in the cone. The cone is difficult for me to figure when vertical fishing, I believe it is quite narrow compared to traditional sonar. I fish mainly stripers this time of the year and cast net live shad for bait. I am usually on the water at first light and head to a back of a creek channel where I find shad in 12-17 fow. I use the amber display and the difference between threadfin shad and 6-7" gizzard shad is very easy to distinguish, I love it! When I start fishing and the sky has brightened I switch to blue from amber. For me it is much easier to see targets in the bright sun, deeper water and the bigger fish will show a bright red which makes them easy to see. A 2' foot striper, when in 35 fow and turned the right direction will show the body shape and tail moving in the water, easy to see them turn and chase your live shad.
I would play with settings and color palate to find what works for you, it does not have the range that the PS31 did and targets are not a easy to see, but it is an awesome tool when applied correctly.

[TOUCH OF CLASS]

Yes the cone is only 20 inches take or give so it’s just like a rifle scope ,if you see your lure on the fish your on the fish .I can hit the fish in the head and he will take off .With sonar no way I can do that .

[Fishysam]

Yes the cone is only 20 inches take or give so it’s just like a rifle scope ,if you see your lure on the fish your on the fish .I can hit the fish in the head and he will take off .With sonar no way I can do that .

This is my experience too

[puhlw]

I also run color gain at 100% and then back off the regular gain as needed. Seems like Garmin could use more range adjustment on color gain if 100% is working the best. Maybe a future software update? As others have said anything past 30ft is pretty blobby. Amber seems to give the most details but can be hard to see in bright sun. I switch between blue and amber.

I have a similar issue. Picture is not clear and it’s hard to see your lure and fish. The higher the noise reject and TVG, the nicer the picture but the harder it is to see fish and your lure. Therefore, I chose more clutter with the ability to see my lure, fish and brush piles vs a nice picture. Here are my current settings.

Gain 54% (any higher and it washes out)
Color gain 100% (makes lure pop on screen)
TVG off (makes lure visible)
Noise reject off (makes lure visble)
Color amber (blue washes out)

[LWINCHESTER2]

I don't know about this 100% color gain business. Going to try it though. I do know that I am not looking at blobby stuff. This morning I was seeing individual walleye ranging from 50 to 70 ft deep, sometimes 60 or 70 ft away. Clear distinct returns. Watched some swim to me, caught some and watched some swim away. I didn't do screenshots but I'm sure the opportunity will come again. I do see blobs at times, but when I do, I figure it is blobs of baitfish.

[j791]

If you have a clear picture, no need for 100% color gain. I had to resort to 100% color gain just to see my lure and fish with noise rejection and TVG turned off.

[ddement]

Yeah, I saw that but then the mounting pole would stick out from the boat frame...risk of hitting docks etc...in stowed position.

You can make or buy side mounts that don't. I made mine from an old trolling motor and ram mount. 20190429_192011.jpg20190429_191937.jpg

[puhlw]

Just my two cent. 100% color gain works best for my application seeing crappie and a small jig.

When I say blobs out past 30ft (forward range) im mostly talking panfish. Certainly larger fish are more defined. If you watch your simulator though youll notice “most” things really start to become defined when they get within 30 ft or so. I would suspect Garmin puts best case images on the simulator not worst case.

For me livescope is all about seeing fish that are holding tight to structure or the bottom. It does this better panoptix but in my opionion really shines at close ranges. If I just need to see fish in open water panoptix works just fine.

Id bet the same setting wont work the same on every unit. I work in electronics manufacturing and equipment like this typically has a “range” of acceptable test limits. These are expensive units and once they are molded or potted theres no reworking them. They are not going to just throw out thousands of units because some are “low” performers. Now maybe a low performer can compensated for with setting adjustments, but who know for sure. Some units may just be better than others no matter what you do.

[TOUCH OF CLASS]

I was watching some big fish tonight on scope ,I have no idea what they are but at 50-60 feet out you can see them swimming now the bluegill say hand size they are just lines about 1/4 inch long at that range but start looking more like fish at 25-30 feet.I caught a couple walleye but they were under the boat.