Lowrance Elite 4HDI review

A Quick Lowrance Elite 4HDI User Review
by Michael Lavoie - Lowrance Pro-Staff NorCal


The test unit arrived early on Monday and I was super excited to get it on my boat. It came in a plain white box with no fancy graphics and was simply marked 'Not For Sale'.

I carefully opened up the box and began to take inventory of everything.

I noticed right off that these units will include plugs to cover connection ports on the back of the unit. This was great and I wish they would of included these with my previous Elite 4.

I placed my Elite4 and the 4HDI side by side. The HDI and much taller and this change is definitely a plus.


Once I knew I was going to receive this test HDI unit, I called RAM and ordered a few things I would need to mount this on my Hobie.

RAM 1" BASE FOR LOWRANCE MARK AND ELITE
Product Number: RAM-B-202U-LO11 Retail: $12.65

RAM Long Double Socket Arm for 1" Ball Bases
Product Number: RAM-B-201-C Retail: $23.45

RAM 1" Diameter Track Ball with T-Bolt Attachment
Product Number: RAP-B-354U-TRA1 Retail: $9.49

This mounting system is very clean and It allows me to position or move the head in unit many different directions. Plus, I can quickly remove the unit and it leaves my deck nice and clean.

I already had a pair of rails from Yak Attack I planned on using:
4" GT175 (#GT175-04-2PK) MSRP $18.00
Includes ss screws and a 1/8" drill bit.



I quickly but cleanly mounted the unit on my Outback. I planned to do some bass fishing on Folsom lake for the first test run. A few days later I headed out to Folsom and I was very excited to play OTW. Once I reached the waters edge, I powered up the unit and it came up a bit faster than my previous Elite model. I also noticed that the GPS connected very quickly too. So far so good. Once on the water I began looking for structure so I could really check out the down scan feature side by side with the standard sonar. I found a sunken tree and some fish. Fish on!!! I was particularly impressed with the detail on the tree limbs.



Ok the unit did very well in fresh water now it's time for the salt. I decided to use this unit to fish GS8 at Shelter cove. Again, I was impressed with the resolution and it's ability to recognize structure and vegetation compared to fish. Here you can see some kelp stands and some fish around and in it. Fish on!



Final Thoughts
The Elite 4HDI is a great and very powerful little unit, but not so little anymore. The combination of using the Yak Attack rail and RAM mounting system is simple the only way to mount this baby and worth every bit of the $50 buck or so. The Elite 4HDI starts up and finds a GPS signal quickly. The screen is super bright and detailed but in direct sunlight I did have some issues viewing the small screen sections with my sunglasses on. The detail of the down scan was incredible and it allowed me to see fish under structure like tree limbs and kelp. Standard sonar just doesn't give you this option. When you use both sonar options side by side you can really determine what you're looking at.

I recommend this unit for any user, novice or advanced. When I first starting using it, I thought I would just do a review and be done. I thought i'd go back to my Elite7 HDI and watch a little "finding Nemo". This is not the case, at all. I found myself using it more and more. Between you and I, I don't know when this review will be over. 

- Mike

Well, it's a no brainer on what FF I'm putting on my Cuda. Thanks man.

Looks a hell of a lot better than my simple FF.  Thanks for the review.

What's the price for this unit including transducer?
What kind of battery is required to power it, and at what cost and weight?

It has a very low power draw so a 7ah battery will last you all day.  Great review Mike.

Bill

How was the TD mounted?

Here is some key features. I also attached the manual for this unit. Check it out this unit is packed with so many cool features.

•Lowrance-exclusive, high-resolution, 4.3-inch, LED-backlit display with 70% more pixels and 36% more usable screen area than previous Elite-4 series displays.
•Exclusive Hybrid Dual Imaging™ (HDI) – Broadband Sounder plus DownScan Imaging™ -- the power of two award-winning technologies combined to provide the best possible view beneath your boat.
•Highly accurate, built-in GPS antenna plus a detailed U.S. map featuring more than 3,000 lakes and rivers and coastal contours to 1,000 feet.
•Optional chart upgrades include Lake Insight™ and Nautic Insight™ PRO and HD, Navionics® Gold and HotMaps® Premium, Fishing Hotspots® PRO and Jeppesen C-Map Max-N.
•Create your own map from real sonar data that you record with Insight Genesis™
•DownScan Overlay™ technology overlays DownScan Imaging onto Broadband Sounder
•Advanced Signal Processing (ASP) reduces the need to manually adjust settings to see fish, structure and bottom detail more clearly
•TrackBack™ to review recorded sonar history including structure, transitions or fish targets, then pinpoint locations with a waypoint.
•New easy-to-use page selector menu with quick access to all features using one-thumb operation
•Multi-Window Display lets you quickly and easily choose from pre-set page layouts -- including a three-panel view with chart, Broadband Sounder and DownScan Imaging.

• Power Output: RMS (PTP) Max 250W RMS, 30,000W Peak to Peak 
• Operating Frequency 83/200 kHz + 455/800 kHz
• Languages 30
• Media Port One (1) high-capacity microSD slot
• Operating Voltage 12 vDC (10-17 vDC min-max)
• Warranty One year

How was the TD mounted?

On a ram arm.

Okay Mike, so I'm going to sound like a complete moron but here it goes anyway.  What is the difference in the split screen (white background vs. black background) underneath the GPS image?

The image with multiple colors is broadband (83/200) & the beigh/black screen is the dsi (down scan imaging) which operates at 455/800 frequency.  That high frequency is great for definition but lower depths.  Having both arms the operator with a unit capable of having the ultimate fishing tool second to the rod/reel.

Bill

These colors can also be adjusted or selected based on the available system pallets . For instance I seen a utube video on the Elite7 HDI/fishing catfish. They choose a color orange pallet on their 7HDI  that wasn't very dynamic but it did however easily show the catfish in green due to the thickness of their skulls. It was pretty cool.

Here it is...

Lowrance website shows new CHIRP models coming out next month. Any idea if this will be a big difference from HDI model?

I'm holding off to see the new models.

Yes, you will see a difference in image quality in both broadband and dsi in CHIRP mode.

This chirp technology will only be available on the 5 and 7 models for now. Price.. Not sure yet. To be honest, I'm still figuring out the whole chirp technology and it's advantages. But this is what I've been told... CHIRP sonar produces greater sensitivity, improved resolution and better noise rejection that produces a clearer image, easy-to-see baitfish and game fish targets from an HDI transducer.

I hope to "test" a chirp model within the next few months and supply some feedback.

Mike

I picked one up in March at the Fred Hall fishing show in Long Beach and procrastinated (and then agonized) about how to install it in my little Hobie Sport. (way too many posts about that). I finally got it done and tested it OTW for the first time this week in Trinidad, CA and I really love it. 

This new Lowrance illustrates why a cheaper device is often the smarter buy. The product cycle for new finders is less than 24 months with more features for the same or lower price than the previous generation. My 2-year old Elite 5 DSI has already been discontinued so the last firmware update was definitely the last one.

Newest development is touch screens which time will tell if they are an improvement or not. Does make for a bigger screen in the same size case.