Garmin SONAR

This thread will be used for information on Garmin SONAR. Please respect the idea behind these and keep the cross brand fighting out. I

Feel free to add pictures from your Garmin unit, or if you are a Garmin Guru feel free to help us get this thread going

thank you,...

I was wondering why no Garmin thread.

Looked at a Garmin earlier today at Bass Pro. The map is screwy on Falcon. What’s the deal?

I got two Echomap Ultra 122svs units and Livescope. Maps are really good in my opinion. I do have the upgraded mapping. The sonar is really good as well. One of the big things I like is the units are really easy to use. My setup is not cheap but the competitors with their top end features are just as expensive.

Any chance you scrolled to Choke? I’ve been wondering how their Choke map was.

I did look at Choke. Amistad too. They looked fine. Never been to either lake though.

Here’s what it looked like. This is the Echomap 93sv UHD.





That red lined area isn’t on any other lake that I saw. I couldn’t find any water level correction capability. Isn’t that pretty much standard?

The salesman tried helping but wasn’t any more successful than I was and couldn’t explain why Falcon was like that.

I’d like to find the old Echomap 93sv and a 73cv. They’re on clearance but I can’t find them in stock anywhere.

I’m guessing the lake was 20’ low (Give or take) when they surveyed it, my navionics card is missing 20’ also. Contour lines aren’t too impressive there, but might be better in other parts of the lake. I’ll have to take a look when I run into BPS next time. Thanks for responding.

The red striped line looks fairly accurate to the current water level but the waters edge isn’t 10’ deep. I looked at choke and Amistad specifically because I know both are way low and they don’t have that.

Best Settings for Livescope Video - Hope this helps someone
https://www.wired2fish.com/electroni...-best-picture/
A fellow fisherman from Austin posted this link to a video on Garmin settings. I found it to be really helpful.

They have red lines on Fairfield also. It shows where timber is. It is not that the lake is low but that it could have hazards..

Linky no worky for me. I really would like to have seen that, got a 93sv uhd set up on my livescope and haven’t been in the water yet. It would be helpful for sure.

Here it is.


The 10 Best Garmin LiveScope Settings to Get the Best Picture

By Jason Sealock •Aug 18, 2020
John Soukup, owner of TheBassTank.com and professional bass and crappie tournament angler, is one of the most knowledgeable anglers of Garmin LiveScope. He was one of the first guys in the nation to have it and he's seen all the applications for bass and crappie. He can practically apply the knowledge of these technologies to catch more fish as well as address any of the common install and usages issues anglers will have through his years of installs and troubleshooting.

We asked Soukup to give us a rundown of the 10 best settings for Garmin LiveScope to help anglers get the best looking picture on their units, and be able to see the fish, their lures and the cover in all fishing situations.

Here are the 10 settings and we'll give you link next to the title to the specific place in the video where he talks about each specific setting.

crappie-stake-bed-livescope-jpg.jpg
Jason Sealock
1. Noise Reject (39 seconds)

Noise reject helps filter the information that is coming into your unit from your LiveScope processor and transducer. When you have it turned off you'll see a lot of clutter on the screen. You will want a little clutter to filter through because you want to be able to see your line and small jigs on the screen and you need some of the information to pass through. But the Noise Reject setting at high will eliminated a lot of unwanted clutter.

To set it go to your LiveScope screen and choose Menu > Sonar Setup > Noise Reject and choose High.

2. TVG (1 min, 28 secs)

TVG stands for Time Variable Gain. This is filter information top to bottom to let you see further into the water. When you're in water less than 15 feet deep, you'll want to set TVG to off as it will filter too much out on the top part of the water column and you could miss some fish up there. Deeper than that and you can start with low.

To set it. Go to your Livescope Screen and choose Menu > Sonar Setup > TVG and choose OFF.

3. Color Gain (2 mins, 6 secs)

Color Gain is a way to set the intensity of just the objects that Livescope will detect. Instead of pumping up the gain and contrast of the whole screen, color gain just pumps up the fish, brush, your lure and other objects in the water. So this is a setting you can turn way up if you're having a hard time seeing fish or your lure at a distance. Soukup talks about his favorite settings in the video above, but each person needs to find their happy medium for where they fish.

To set it, go to your LiveScope Screen and choose Menu > Sonar Setup > Appearance > Color Gain. It defaults around 50 and Soukup often runs his up to 83 or 84 to really make those returns stand out on the screen.

4. Gain (3 mins, 5 secs)

After you get Noise Reject, TVG and Color Gain adjusted, then you can start tweaking your Gain up and down to see how much clutter you like cleared or showing to make sure you see the cover, the fish and your lure if necessary to make the most precise presentations to the fish. This is truly a user preference and you will find at times you will turn it up and other times you'll turn it down as you change locations and depth.

To set it go to your LiveScope Screen and down at the bottom towards the right you'll see Gain. You can click the + or - to increase and decrease your Gain.

soukup-color-palettes.jpg
Jason Sealock
5. Color Scheme (3 mins, 23 secs)

Everyone sees a little differently. It's this way on Marine Electronics for sure. Some folks see amber better while some see blue better. Sometimes on a cloudy day, one palette draws a better picture than another for different people. So that's why there are so many options. Soukup was a big fan of Black Emerald when he was here fishing the Crappie Masters tournament on Kentucky Lake looking for crappie in stake beds and brush piles that were covered in shad fry. I like the Blue and the Amber palettes.

To set it, go to your LiveScope screen and choose Menu > Sonar Setup > Appearance > Color Scheme. Then choose the color palette that you can best see everything with on that body of water.

6. Range (4 mins, 48 secs)

Range understanding is critical to distinguishing not only species of fish but size of same species of fish. So if you're hunting bigger crappie and not wanting to cull through a lot of little ones, you can learn what they look like by keeping your range in close and keeping it consistent. Same with your depth. As you stretch and constrict your screen sideways (range) and up and down (depth) you change the scale and detail LiveScope can display.

Soukup has some good feedback on how far out to use Range in the video above.

To set Range, go to your LiveScope screen. At the bottom left is the Range option. You can expand out or pull it back in.

Usually I stay between 25 and 50. I use 25 when I'm fishing for a specific fish on the screen. I use 50 when I'm trying to see a piece of cover before I get on it or if I want to sit off a school and make sure my bait is landing in the right place every time.

7. Depth (6 mins, 36 secs)

Like Range, keeping your depth consistent helps identify fish and how big the fish are before you ever put a lure in their face. Soukup recommends keep the depth setting on manual so the screen won't auto range in and out. Then set the depth to 3 or 4 feet deeper than the depth you're in. That will keep the menu items out of the way and below what you want to see on the screen.

To Set Depth, go to your LiveScope screen and choose, Menu > Depth Range then select a depth a few feet deeper than where you're fishing.

8. Bottom Fill & Trails (7 mins, 58 secs)

When you are fishing for fish that are hunkering on the bottom, something Walleye often do, you might want to use the Bottom Fill and Trails features.

To set these, go to your LiveScope Screen. Then choose Menu > Sonar Setup > Appearance > Bottom Fill or Trails. See a more detailed explanation of what each does in the video above.

17may20-0922-00.png
Jason Sealock
9. Orientation (Perspective Mode): 10 mins, 39 secs

You bought the new Perspective Mode Mount and are having trouble with it auto sensing and showing you the new perspective mode. Turn the transducer to Perspective mode. Then go to your unit and on the LiveScope screen choose Menu > Sonar Setup >Installation > Orientation and choose Perspective. Or set to Auto and it should autosense when you move the transducer.

10. Transmit (overheating fix): 11 mins, 46 secs

If you are having issues with Panoptix shutting off because the transducer is overheating while it's on the deck in the hot scorching summer heat. You can fix this by turning the transmit off while the Panoptix LiveScope transducer is out of the water.

To turn it off, go to Menu > Transmit > Off.

Featured Fishing Gear:

Garmin Panoptix Livescope
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Xpress Boats X21 Pro
If you're in the market for a new unit and LiveScope system, you should consider calling the guys at TheBassTank.com. They have everything you need, can address any issues you might have and will support you after the purchase. That's reason enough to buy from them with technology this advanced. Check them out at TheBassTank.com.

TomRom, thanks for that. It should be very helpful for a new-to-sophisticated electronics guys like me.

You are welcome. I have been looking at more videos on sonar, livescope etc since I got all that money tied up in that system and I feel that I am getting more out of my investment. My previous other brand units were good units but I did not find them to be very user friendly. Way too complicated to find and or change settings. So I did not mess with them much and consequently I did not get the best out of those units.

The thing I really like about the Garmin unit is it is very user friendly. Really cant mess them up. Most of their auto modes work very well. Nothing is really hidden. I made those adjustments I posted above and they did improve what I was seeing and or able to see. Especially keeping the depth setting relatively close to the depth you are fishing. You might find a different lake might show up better with different settings or minor adjustments. Also I think things like algae bloom or other turbidity issues could impact what you will be able to see. Like I say watch the you tube videos and/or the Garmin webinars. They are really helpful and you will find and learn little things that will really help you get the most out of your units.

I keep all settings at default and only make adjustments to gain, forward range, and depth range.

Lower the depth lower the gain. Deeper the depth higher the gain.

I keep my gain on average 58-68, forward range at 20’, depth adjustments as needed to keep the bottom of the lake at the bottom of the screen.

just wondering; just bought a uhd 94sv, can I also add the lake maps too and run both

I have a Striker clear vue. 5cv. New to this sort of electronics, not experienced in electronics. I bought this as a starter unit, and because of current financial limitations. Lol. I can not seem to get this thing adjusted. I have been pkaying around with it for a while. I just cant seem to get the deffinition out of it, I see on the demos. I have tried to get in the trees at aquilla, cant see the trees! Lol. I know they are there, its aquilla! Any recomendations? Im using this fishing whitney, aquilla and lake pat.

So has the Echo replaced the 1242xsv as the newest version of the Garmin 12"? Main differences?

Are you running your live scope setup on the 12v battery or a higher voltage battery just for it?

Problem: I installed the latest software version and now my side imaging isn’t working, I get a notice on my screen that my transducer is disconnected (which it is not). Could this be the new software or just a coincidence that it happened. Fix?

Wow , I was just about to ask if the software updates were causing any issues,

Maybe I leave it alone for a while.

Do we have a Garmin Field Rep on board ?

thanks
MO

The software updates on my EchoMap Ultra 122's have caused no issues.

Just downloaded Garmin update, It looks like a zip file. do I need to open it before loading on to the memory card ??

thanks

MO

To answer my own question ,

use the file as it is downloaded, copy onto memory card and put card in unit. This according to Garmin customer service


maybe this helps someone


MO

Just purchased a Garmin 126sv with the GT 54 transducer, and a livescope transducer
I want to put both transducers on my ultrex trolling motor. Would there be any interference between the 2?
what is the way to run the cables? Was also waiting to know the best way to hook the Garmin 126 up on the
bow of my 20ft Skeeter. Do I need to hook straight to my perko power switch or straight to the battery,
With dedicated switch and what size and type of wire? Thanks for any positive feedback!!

I'm new to garmin, I assume the premium map chip is better and worth the money? ???? The maps it came with are garbage

It has some cool features for some of the lakes. My lake is down 24’ and I can drop the contour lines to match, but not all lakes have that feature. I would think with the popularity of the lakes in your region, yours would be too.


But you are allowed 1 free update to your built in map, do it first. I updated my card and it helped, but it’s still not as accurate as my navionics card is.

I bought my ultra card on 20% off Black Friday sale and they had a Garmin rebate, which made it better. $200 would be questionable.

what garmin livescope has the largest screen but not touch screen, im looking for a 10 or 12. dont think the y make an 11.

also will garmin use a navionics map card?

A buddy just bought a new boat and picked up a Garmin unit. Not sure about the carppy plastic transducer mounting bracket. Every Lowrance I have owned has had a metal bracket.

It would have to be a 93 or 73, all the new lowrance small graphs have plastic mounts as well. It’s the cheapening of the world.

There is Garmin stainless steel mount available as an accessory and there is at least one after market metal mount also.

Thanks for the info! Just bought a setup and taking the leap!

Lots of discussion ( and cussing) of the latest update.

Any one here done it ? results ?


Mo

what is it doing? I have it on the phone but haven't had a chance to do the update.

From those that have done the update say it removes a lot of the detail your use to seeing due to the new Color Limit feature

Even when you turn off the color limit you don’t get the detail you use too

Personally every video I’ve watched reminds me of Mega Live and I’ll be sticking with the current version I have now

I can live with a little noise and even the ghost tree to keep the detail I’m used to seeing

https://youtu.be/YGOjIQ-4kHE

I wish that I had not updated mine. IT sucks, Like 1MoCast said, it removes a lot of detail and will change the colors as you increase the Color Limit.

You might want to email or call Garmin and let them know of your discontent with it

They are getting a bunch of call and say they are looking into it but if enough people voice their opinion they may be forced to do something rather than just look into it

I rolled mine back to the previous version but not because of the livescope worked. I really like it bass fishing.. The problem was everytime I turn my graph off my force trolling motor turned off. Called garmin and it is a software issue.

since the update, my unit will not power down. It's a 106sv ultra. I tap on power off and it does nothing. I hold the power button down until it says its powering off and nothing. I have to kill it with the main power switch on my boat... anyone else having this issue?

my 106 has never done that C_Fisher.

Garmin released a new update today. 19.20

Question. I'm not real familiar with these Garmin units. And currently run three Helix 10 Birds on a network with my troller, two Ethernet switches, and three transducers that I set up my self. But have been thinking about adding a Panoptics Livescope. Is it possible to network two Livescope transducers for one Garmin unit? And alternate between the two? One for Forward mode, and one for Perspective mode? That way, I could switch between the two. Or would I have to manually unplug one, then plug in the other?

i am having a problem with network cable from Garmin over heating
First let me say i just bought 2 126 ultra sv one bow one console wanting to connect them bought a Garmin network cable
I plugged it in to both units it starts to heat up the cable so hot it started to smoke that's how I knew something was wrong probly only took just a couple of minutes to start smoking
i grabbed the wire is was scorching hot i unplugged it from both units they still work fine I have not been able to find anybody else having this problem Did google search.
I am guessing that there is a short in the cable just bad luck on my part to late to call garmin I am sure they will send me a new one once i send this one back.
Has any body else had this problem and if so what was cause and fix ?

Are you using the Garmin branded network cable? It's super expensive ($50 if I remember correctly) and is nothing more than a standard CAT6/7 RJ45 cable. I ordered one from Amazon for $8 and have had zero problems.

Yes.

It is possible to connect more than one Livescope 32 transducer (LVS 32) to a chartplotter. In order to connect multiple LiveScope transducers to the chartplotter, you will need an additional LVS 32 transducer and GLS10.

In order to connect more than one Livescope to a system that is using ECHOMAP devices that only have one marine network port, you will need to use a GMS 10 port expander.

Thank you sir!

I have the cheapest Garmin 4 with GPS. Works pretty darn good has 77 and 200 frequency. shows way points and that works good too. Pretty amazing for so cheap $130, but I have seen it cheaper than that recently.

I just picked up a used 73 sv. And before I mount it I was trying to learn it . I can’t get to home screen . It is on screen in picture. It will go to screens affiliated with areas shown but not to sonar of any type . I am 99 percents sure it’s me messing up . I rebooted a few times with no luck. Any and all help appreciated. Thx. Eric
If you could please pine or text 972-740-1243. Calls sometimes get thru . Voicemail and text work well

i am taking a guess but maybe I need to attach transducer before it works properly ??

Sorry I don’t know anything about the echo maps but I found this video, hopefully it can help you .

I have two Garmin 12-inch 7612xsv head units for sale. All touch screen. Comes with power cord only, no transducers. $1000 each or $1800 for both.

My Echomap UHD 93sv doesn`t show the directional cone in the circle icon on the screen when I use livescope. What am I doing wrong or is it just turned off. I can get all the modes just no directional icon to show where the cone is pointing.

Its been a while since the LVS34 came out and im contemplating upgrading to it , but is there a 36 or newer technology about to come out and should i wait n see.

What transducer (s) will work with a Garmin Echomap SV 93, it came with a GT40 but says they'r no longer available,..???

I have a 12” Echomap with lvs-32 transducer that is only about 6 months old and all of a sudden it has what looks like a big log about mid water column that doesn’t allow me to see anything in the area where it shows up. I have it on a Tritoon boat for crappie fishing so I have never had it in any brush or weeds when fishing. What could cause this? I have the same setup on my bass boat that I’ve had for several years and it still works like new after all the beating it’s taken. Frustrating!

It depends. If it`s an Echomap Plus SV93 it will only support the GT40,&GT 52. but if it`s a Echomap UHD SV93 it will support the GT54 & the GT56 Ultra High Definition transducers. "UHD"

I tried finding this without any success. So, I apologize if this is a repost.

I'm looking for Garmin mapping software to put on my PC (actually it's an Apple).

What if any software are folks using to do e-scouting on the PC and transfer waypoints to Garmin units. I'm running 2 ECHOMAP 93SV UHD if that helps.

Thanks!
Dan

Don't know if you figure it out but most of us use Google earth for waypoint
scouting

I purchased a new 106sv on Black Friday at BPS. If someone needs a free set of gaskets for surface mounting on a console they can have mine that came with the unit for free. I have no need for them. Kind of hate to throw them in the trash. Must come to me to pick them up in Arlington, Texas. I will not ship them. Kirk 817-795-7446

Hey guys - New to the FFS world. Currently have Lowrance Hook 2d/Side Scan Setup and looking to get into a Garmin Live Scope.

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/gar...-tracker-lithium-gen2-deep-cycle-battery

Garmin ECHOMAP Ultra 93sv Fish Finder Bundle with LVS34 LiveScope Plus, GT54, and Tracker Lithium Gen2 Deep Cycle Battery
$2,779.98

This seems like a decent package that includes everything i need - Not focusing on the price - Are these models / pieces a good starting point for a Hobby / Weekend Guy ?

There is a screen, the live scope LV34 transducer, not sure what a gt54 is then a decent battery to power it...

Anyone know if the Bass pro shop in kyle/buda does installs?

Shane,

That is a decent start. The GT54 is the down and side image transducer. Not sure about the 93 but the 10" series you can buy the graph without the transducer. Plus bigger is better, I have a 102sv I use up front for my LS.

Hope that helps.

4W

Can anyone recommend an installer for a garmen in dfw area.

Aaron Towner in Fort Worth. bassboatwired.com 817 nine oh nine 6482

Fairly new to Garmin, received an email from Garmin showing updates available for both of my units, Echomap Ultra 106sv and Echomap UHD 93sv. Made a Active Captain card on the 106 and updated software...no problem. Put the Active Captain card in the 93 and it shows connected but no update available on the head unit, shows update available on my connected phone and says to start the update from the graph, which I can not do since it does not offer that option. I checked the software version on the graph and it is not the updated version that installed on the 106.

Do I need to make a separate Active Captain card for the 93?

I am currently downloading update to a SD card on my computer but it is really slooooooow.