not seeing fish on lowrance elite 4 chirp

Yes ... I was still on the Playa so couldn't reply due to poor cell service.

   Looks like Mike got you the answers needed to get started.  Let us know if you still need assistance.

   Ping speed.  Make sure it is on the LOWEST or close to the LOWEST ping speed.  This will make a HUGE difference.  Default for Ping Speed is very high (ie. for boat use).  Kayaks are slow.

Bill

Mike, it sounds like you are the man I need to listen to. Some real things to give a try there, thanx. I'll play around with it. If I could get it to do what you are saying it can do, I just might fall in love with it  ... That manual is the most difficult manual I've ever used tho.

As the saying goes :
It is tough to teach an Old fisherman new electronics! 

As the saying goes :
It is tough to teach an Old fisherman new electronics! 

Hey, I resemble that remark! 

Mike, it sounds like you are the man I need to listen to. Some real things to give a try there, thanx. I'll play around with it. If I could get it to do what you are saying it can do, I just might fall in love with it  ... That manual is the most difficult manual I've ever used tho.

Just take a few hours and go through the manual with the unit on demo. Yes the manual seems like it was written by a tech... most likely was.
Learn how everything works and how you can apply it on the water. Trust me you'll have a bunch of "ah haa, so that's what that does" moments while your playing around. Just like any piece of electronics, it takes time to learn everything. Also make sure you use Insight option... seriously it will change the way you fish for the better. Good luck!

Mike

...and while learning, the 'Restore Factory Defaults' will (may) come in handy!

Great info. I wasn't seeing much either on my chirp5. Where is the setting to turn off fish ID?

Mike, it sounds like you are the man I need to listen to. Some real things to give a try there, thanx. I'll play around with it. If I could get it to do what you are saying it can do, I just might fall in love with it  ... That manual is the most difficult manual I've ever used tho.

Just take a few hours and go through the manual with the unit on demo. Yes the manual seems like it was written by a tech... most likely was.
Learn how everything works and how you can apply it on the water. Trust me you'll have a bunch of "ah haa, so that's what that does" moments while your playing around. Just like any piece of electronics, it takes time to learn everything. Also make sure you use Insight option... seriously it will change the way you fish for the better. Good luck!

Mike

Ok, I'll bite. I guess I haven't arrived there yet, but what's the Insight option ?

Insight is magic

Its a way to make your own highly detailed map of the bottom using your fishfinder & gps

Insight is magic

Its a way to make your own highly detailed map of the bottom using your fishfinder & gps

Ok, I remember reading about that somewhere. Now I'm really going to have to look into it. Too many great features on the new 5 Chirp to get through !

So when it cools off I guess I need to sit in the yak and play with Demo as well. In less there is a special power supply I can use in my easy chair. So do people use another plug with a power supply. or to people sit on the beach or back yard and play with these units. I haven't mounted my chirp unit yet, but do have a down scan unit mounted now. And how do you know if you need to down load software?

You could use small clips to connect +/-  but I got a new power cable and connect it to a battery to play.

You can check what the current version of software is loaded in your unit thru the Main Menu > About  New versions of software are loaded to the Lowrance web site for free download & it will state what version is the most current.  The units sold in stores are not always the most current version of software.  Software updates may include stuff like bug fixes, map updates, new menus/operations, new features, faster processing, etc...  Some updates may have little or no impact on our area (ie. may be a map fix to some area off the coast of Florida).

In regards to using in the house.  You can use your original power cord & hook to a battery or buy a cig. lighter cord/battery.  I've even use "black cubes" from old cordless home phones; they plug into the wall (110v) & typically output @ 12v DC.  Just need something similar that can output @ 12v DC & at least 1.1 amps of output capability.  When using indoors, be aware that you won't (typically) receive GPS signal so some features won't be operational.

Hope this helps.

How is the transducer installed?  Glued or water bath

How is the transducer installed?  Glued or water bath

Great point!  The transducer install can have one of the greatest impacts on a unit performance.  I've seen high end units perform worse than $100 units solely because of a bad transducer install.