Lowrance X-4

[walleyejoe]

I've had 3 differint boats over the last 20 years .They have all had lowrance depth finders on them with the transducer mounted on the haul . I've been in rocks stumps mud muck shallow water what ever . And I've never had any problems with breaking the transducer . If you hit something they flip up like they were made to do . You just push it back down and go on. If your breaking them you must be be putting the screws to tight. [-X

 

[Brian B.]

I've had 3 differint boats over the last 20 years .They have all had lowrance depth finders on them with the transducer mounted on the haul . I've been in rocks stumps mud muck shallow water what ever . And I've never had any problems with breaking the transducer . If you hit something they flip up like they were made to do . You just push it back down and go on. If your breaking them you must be be putting the screws to tight. [-X

Leave a Lowrance trns mt loose enough to kick up and it kick's up every time you get up on plane- that's fine though-

Yep- mounting the most crritical portion of the sounding system by a 1/4" piece of plastic- thumbs up there, nahh- that's not piss poor engineering.

Sounds like the OP is fine with replcacing the tx when it breaks so- the course of action has been set.

(Because you need to "read" depth on a screen (while wot on plane) on a river that requires a jet pump- wasted words- like I had said many posts previous)

 

[Jim]

Everyone gave their opinion and as we can read it went way off topic. Lets either get back to the original topic or move on. This back and forth stuff does not fly here. Take it via PM.

Thanks,
Jim

 

[JoshKeller]

give me a shout if you need any help installing. i mount a piece of plywood with bolts to the transom, and screw the transducer to that in case any adjustments are needed. when the plywood gets wet, it does soften and if you hit anything shallow (i fish the same water as you) the screws pull out of the plywood, leaving the transducer in tact.

 

[BigTerp]

Thanks Josh. That makes sense using a piece of plywood for the transducer. Do you treat your plywood? I have some exterior grade leftover from my transom rebuild as well as some epoxy.

How much cord from transducer to main unit can I expect? I'm planning on a stick steer setup for my boat so I'd like to have the main unit mounted up with the captains chair. Just a rough estimate, but I'm thinking about 10-11' from captains seat to the transom. If the unit doesn't come with enough am I able to buy longer cords?

Again, I've never used a FF before so bear with me. What am I actually seeing when I'm viewing the screen with the transducer mounted on the transom? Am I seeing what is directly below the transducer? For my setup a FF isn't really productive during WOT and general navigation to avoid rocks and other submerged structure, especially if I'm only seeing whats below the transom. By that time it shows up on the screen it's to late #-o . This is the reason I'm doing a stick steer setup. Gives me the sightline I need to see things out in front of the boat giving me time to maneuever. It will be more productive for me while trolling around looking for holes, submerged structure, etc. that could hold fish. Also will be nice to use while setting decoys to monitor depth ensuring I'm not setting decoys in water that my anchor lines would be to short to hold.

 

[BigTerp]

Forgot to ask what you guys mean by needing to adjust the transducer? I thought you just set it up according to the directions and are good to go. What am I looking for that would warrant adjustment?

 

[Loggerhead Mike]

Get on YouTube and search how fish finders work. There are also several videos on your specific model graph.

It really helped me when I was in your shoes

Poor readings on your screen will let you know if the ducer needs tweaked

 

[BigTerp]

Thanks

 

[JoshKeller]

I dont use any treated plywood that comes in contact with an aluminum boat. I just coat regular plywood with fiberglass resin. As for the cable, it should be around 20' long. I have a 1648 and I had plenty of cable left over to follow the ribs and corners on my boat.

as for adjusting, various postitions may be required to get a bottom depth reading on plane. Air pockets, turbulent water, or just simply not having it in the right spot can cause erratic readings. i set mine on an area that has a clean path (no ribs, chines, pad, rivets, etc) and set the center line on the side of the transducer flush with the bottom of the hull and it works 99.9% of the time.

Since my fishfinder has gps as well as sonar, if I'm in an area for the first time, I'll idle up and mark on the map and ledges that could be hazardous. On plane, you can see the contour of the bottom, and will have enough time to react if you watch the sonar and read the river's water (ledges create current swirls in moving water).

 

[walleyejoe]

I dont use any treated plywood that comes in contact with an aluminum boat. I just coat regular plywood with fiberglass resin. As for the cable, it should be around 20' long. I have a 1648 and I had plenty of cable left over to follow the ribs and corners on my boat.

as for adjusting, various postitions may be required to get a bottom depth reading on plane. Air pockets, turbulent water, or just simply not having it in the right spot can cause erratic readings. i set mine on an area that has a clean path (no ribs, chines, pad, rivets, etc) and set the center line on the side of the transducer flush with the bottom of the hull and it works 99.9% of the time.

Since my fishfinder has gps as well as sonar, if I'm in an area for the first time, I'll idle up and mark on the map and ledges that could be hazardous. On plane, you can see the contour of the bottom, and will have enough time to react if you watch the sonar and read the river's water (ledges create current swirls in moving water).

If your going to mount on a peice of wood I wouldn't use ply wood I'd get a piece of oak or some kind of hard wood

 

[MNHunter505]

So, I just want to understand something because I just got a 5x Pro and will be mounting the transducer on the transom. If I go the plastic cutting board or hardwood...won't I be screwing through the transom to attach that? So how is it saving you holes through the transom? Whether you are screwing in your transducer mounting bracket or screwing in the board...there are still holes. And if you use the wood or cutting board idea..then you have to screw into that. Double the holes and double the fasteners. I don't get it, please help.

 

[BassBlaster]

I think the idea is that you attach the board to the boat and you could move the transducer around on the board without having to drill even more holes in the hull. I didnt use a board. I followed the instructions with my unit and mounted it directly to the boat with a small aluminum backer plate for added strength. Theres plenty of vertical adjustment in the bracket itself just no horizontal adjustment. I hope it will be fine.

 

[MNHunter505]

ok, I think that makes sense. I will probably mount it directly to the transom as well.

 

[johnnybassboat]

I use the cutting board on all my boats, part of the idea is the holes that attach the board to the null are above the waterline. At least thats how I set mine up. This way you can mount your transducer to the board without drilling multiple holes in your hull below waterline. It also makes it easier to move and adjust your transducer to get perfect readings. Hope this helps

 

[JoshKeller]

actually, in order for my method to work, it needs to be a soft wood or plywood. the idea is for the screws to pull out of the wood if the transducer hits something. i carry a few extra 3/4" screws, in a size 6, two in a 8, two in a 10 and a phillips screw driver to replace it if its ever needed. just use the next bigger size screw and use the same holes.

Ive only had it pull one time and that was on a log just under the surface.

 

[BigTerp]

I dont use any treated plywood that comes in contact with an aluminum boat. I just coat regular plywood with fiberglass resin. As for the cable, it should be around 20' long. I have a 1648 and I had plenty of cable left over to follow the ribs and corners on my boat.

as for adjusting, various postitions may be required to get a bottom depth reading on plane. Air pockets, turbulent water, or just simply not having it in the right spot can cause erratic readings. i set mine on an area that has a clean path (no ribs, chines, pad, rivets, etc) and set the center line on the side of the transducer flush with the bottom of the hull and it works 99.9% of the time.

Since my fishfinder has gps as well as sonar, if I'm in an area for the first time, I'll idle up and mark on the map and ledges that could be hazardous. On plane, you can see the contour of the bottom, and will have enough time to react if you watch the sonar and read the river's water (ledges create current swirls in moving water).

I wasn't referring to pressure treated, I meant treating with something like epoxy resin before installing. But you answered my question regardless. Thanks!!

 

[Gotem]

Make sure you adjust the settings the first time you use it or you may get some strange readings. Bring the manual with you. Some of those units start off in demo mode until you turn the demo mode off or adjust the settings.