I've got a 19ft. v-hull aluminum Bass Tracker that came with a bottom-of-the-line Lowrance depth/fish finder.  The transponder was factory mounted on the transom level with the bottom of the boat.  This thing won't give consistant reliable readings in the 20-40' deep lake that I normally fish.  It won't give accurate readings at all with the outboard running at low speeds, and even at low speeds with the bow-mounted trolling motor, the readings go in and out of scale.  

Before I go out and blow a lot more money upgrading my fish finder, I'd like to know if there might be a problem inherent to my situation (shallow lake, location of the transponder, rocking of the boat, cheap fish finder, etc.).  Even sitting still, the thing will read correctly for a while, then freeze on a particular depth reading, and then show a depth that is ridiculous like 60 to 100 ft.

I'm thinking about getting a Hummingbird 597ci DI (Down Imaging), but it's a sizable chunk of change.  I could get a good gun for the same money.  I don't fish a lot, but when I do, I'd like to be able to have a dependable depth/fish finder, and the one on the boat ain't cutting it.

it the transducer sitting near the prop or  prop wash?  its got to have clean water to read correctly. try it while everything on the boat is off and the boat is at rest.

I don't think that's it, because even when just trolling or sitting still (outboard off), the thing gives crappy reading far too often.

I don't know squat about these things (bought the new boat from my son when he got transferred), and I'm just now starting to use the boat more now that I'm about to retire.  I like to white perch fish, but need to be able to see bottom structure and channels.  This new Down Imaging technology seems to be promising (at less than half the cost of side scan units).

You may want to google images of transducers on your boat.  You may be surprised at how many pics are out there.  When I upgraded from the bottom of the line Lowrance on my Bass Tracker to the Humminbird 597 I did research online and talked to many people before mounting it properly.  I can now see the bottom of the lake!  Best of luck.

Don't discount the possibility of an electrical problem.  Maybe a loose wire.  Maybe a bad transducer.



I would remove the transducer and suspend it a foot below the boat in calm water.  See what you get.

You have done exactly what I'm planning on doing.  Can you post some pics of how/where you mounted your new transducer (and where/how you mounted the monitor).  I've got the 190 Tracker.

Did you have the same problems I did with your factory installed Lowrance?  Did you get the 597 DI?