Garmin Sonar/GPS Images

[fishin couillon]

I'll keep this post at the top pinned so it doesn't get lost. Post any and all Garmin images in here to discuss.

[Astrochris]

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Not sure if this the rite place for this but here we go....

Garmin 95SV screen shots.
I have never used side vu before so I'm not sure how well these images compare to any other brand. Most images are in auto setting mode.
I have compared with Humminbird side scan images and it seems on the H birds the fish is easier to see.
I have no issues with maintaining bottom contact at speeds of 50KPH.

What do you guys think??

[deepanchor]

AC,

Outstanding post and well done. Some of the best SideVu pics I've seen.

[fishfood]

Chris I'm not sure what you guys can adjust on the Garmin units but with HB playing with the sensitivity and contrast can make those fish POP!

[Astrochris]

Chris I'm not sure what you guys can adjust on the Garmin units but with HB playing with the sensitivity and contrast can make those fish POP!

I can adjust contrast and brightness on the Echomap, but when I increase the contrast is seems to increase only the strong returns like rocks.
the brightness changes the overall returns and washes out softer returns. I prefer leaving both settings on auto so that when the depth changes the image contrast and brightness stays the same.
For now not being able to locate fish with side vu has not been an issue, it really works well for identifying bottom structures. When I'm trolling for walleyes using the bottom bouncer, getting a "heads up" on the upcoming terrain with the side vu helps me adjust my depth to avoid snags.

[snoracer]

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Here are few screen shots from my 70DV.

[Astrochris]

Why do you use 800kHz on side vu when it offers you less coverage ??

[vik]

What do you guys think??

Excellent quality of side vu!!!, but it was proved that you could have even better Side images removing wafer effect (stripes) by using 800kHz on Down vu. Could you please make and show screen shots using different frequencies on SI Vu and DI vu.

[Astrochris]

Vik,

The Echomap SV units do not allow users to change frequency from 455kHz to 800kHz on SI and DI. To my great disappointment, the unit is stuck in 455kHz.
I have spoken with Garmin support on this issue and there is no plan to add this feature in the future.

[vik]

Any way you got a great unit - SI and 2D are just impressive!

[jldean23]

93sv can not compute 800khz processor can't handle it no update will fix it, that ducer can pick up 800khz on other units it is a 800 ducer but 93 can't compute it..

[Larry3215]

Here are a few sonar shots from my new 7610. Unfortunately, I havent been anywhere with really interesting things on the bottom!

Most of these are with the default settings other than range.

The first two are in salt water. Those are images of an underwater sewer pipe. The boat was turning at the time so the images are distorted somewhat. The last pic is in shallow freshwater with some new growth weeds/lilly pads.

[Larry3215]

These are screen captures of a sonar recording playback in HomePort. The images are much lower quality than that were on the unit itself. I dont know what that is - I didnt see it while we were on the water - but it was interesting.

That last shot is a cell phone pic - because my brother doesnt know how to do screen captures - of a bait ball passing under the boat while we were docked.

[MonteSS]

Why are AstroChris' image so much better than other Garmins I have seen. Much better than the more expensive 7610.

[Larry3215]

Troy posted a link to some awesome images from the newer units and transducers.

Getting good sidevu and downview images can be tricky. Several things have to come together to get good shots. It took me at least a year of playing with my old Humminbird before I started to get decent shots.

1) you need something good to get a pic of :)

2) You need to be sure the boat is traveling exactly on its heading (the direction the bow is pointed) with no crabbing or sideways movement. The sidescan and downview software assume that the scan pattern is at exactly 90 degrees to the direction of movement across the BOTTOM. If the boat is crabbing sideways at all, or turning, the images will be distorted. So if the boat is pointed due north but is traveling north north east to any degree, you will have distorted images. The more crabbing, the worse the images. Any side wind or side current can cause this.

3) boat speed needs to be constant (and the boat must be moving forward!) and in sync with the scrolling speed that is set on the sounder. The faster your boat speed, the faster the scrolling speed needs to be or images can be either compressed or stretched out on the screen. My humminbird seemed to like a boat speed around 3-4 mph for best side/down scan with a scroll speed of 4-5 or so. But other people said that 5 or 6 mph and either faster or slower scroll speeds worked best for them. I havent had a chance to play with those settings on the Garmin yet.

4) There are also things to play with like frequency, range, gain, contrast, color saturation, noise rejection, surface clutter and others depending on the model you have. Unfortunately, no particular settings seem to work in all situations for all people. That leaves you to play with them over lots of trips to dial things in.

5) Water conditions need to be fairly smooth depending on the depth. Any rocking or heaving of the boat will distort the images as well. If you are in deeper water, heaving isnt as important, but rocking is worse. In shallow water its just the opposite. Either one will cause the scan beam to move around on the bottom like you were jiggling a camera while taking a picture and distorting the image.

6) The water also needs to be "clean". Lots of algae, bubbles in the water, floating "stuff", muddy water, turbulence, current, salt water, etc can all degrade performance. We were on Potholes reservoir a couple of years ago and there were zillions of small bubbles rising to the surface all over the lake. It was like is was on a low simmer. It made the sonar almost completely useless because of the clutter.

So - lots of ways to mess up good sonar images. Its a wonder anyone gets good ones! :)

[TroyBoy30]

I'm not sure how you can say one is better than the other unless they are taken at the same exact time in the same conditions. Lots of variables to consider. You see the same thing in the Lawrence section and the hummingbird section. Some always seem to have better shots than everyone else.

Here's the Garmin flickr page

https://www.flickr.com/photos/garmin/

[fishfood]

Why are AstroChris' image so much better than other Garmins I have seen. Much better than the more expensive 7610.

The 7 inch push button unit the rep had with him was better than the 7612 we ran. I don't remember the model of the 7 inch but it was showing details much better. Looking at Larry's Di pics though they may have figured some of it out.

[MonteSS]

Maybe the Chirp Di and Si on the 7610 is the difference and not as good as regular on the 95sv?

Is the new Chirp 93sv chirp on three channels or just 2d sonar?

Can the 7610 si and di be run non chirp? With a different transducer maybe?

[cactusflyr]

My images are as good...just not as bright. The images dont pop....had screen brightness on 80 2 or so...going to try 100.

[cactusflyr]

Have gain turned way up to see fish. Getting some fuzz but at least I can read it. Will take a pic next time out. It's clean but have trouble seeing fish. Just need to make the returns brighter. Need to remember to try different colors as well.