Transducer

[blackbelt46]

I was going to upgrade my stock tranducer to a high speed model this year,any suggestions on what brand?

[Sk8man]

Give us a hint.....what kind/model of depth finder?

[blackbelt46]

I have a lowrance HD-5 3yrs old, I would like to locate fish while on plane.

[Sk8man]

I haven't really had to replace a transducer and there may be "after market" types that I am unaware of but you used to have to get the one designed for your particular unit from Lowrance (because your unit is tuned to a specific frequency to match up with the transducer designed for that particular unit. Any transducer if located and angled properly should be able to mark fish on plane (unless you have a hydroplane and are exceeding the limits of the thing :>) Often times when  transducer is going bad or is almost gone it will only mark gross objects such as a hard bottom and doesn't mark smaller stuff or fish etc. Thru hull transducers used to be the ones used for higher speeds and that is what you might be ending up with but my hunch is that for normal conditions a new replacement for your current one from Lowrance set up according to directions (location away from turbulence and correct angle on bracket set up etc.) should do the trick. You might want to email the tech folks (I know they are often slow getting back on phone etc.)

[Edd]

Let's consider a few things here; 1-By 'on plane' I am assuming you mean over 25 mph, so when you consider the size and species of the fish, the diameter of the cone angle at the depth of the fish, and the speed of the boat traveling over the fish, you are likely already marking fish, but, they would be very small specks or dots on your screen. And it doesn't really matter which transducer you are using. There's just not much you can do about it! If you really want a different transducer you can check Airmar's fine line-up. You can spend from about $135 to about $800 and you will get marked improvement in your target seperation and identification, but I doubt you will be able to see fish arches while on plane. If you do pull the plug on a new ducer, remember to change the transducer selection to the proper model in the 'Installation' part of your Sonar/Sonar menu.

 

Edd

Edited April 1, 2013 by Edd