x-15 screen clutter

[MrBig]

Got a new x-15 this spring and love it, but I'm still having a problem with clutter on the screen.

I have it hooked to it's own battery, resister plugs, noise reduction on max, surface clutter on max, all that. Last Sat on Mille Lacs I was in 25' in the north sand, drifting, with nothing else on in the boat. I was also not near any other boats. The screen was almost totally cluttered. I did have it in the Auto Sensitivity mode -- I thought now days this might actually work well since they claim it will adjust itself continuously. I turned this off, and had to set the sensitivity down to 86% to clear up the screen. Anyone else with this experience? I used to run in manual mode with my old finder, so is that all that I should do? The Lowrance rep didn't have any other suggestions so I'm not impressed by their help. I could also use some tips on what to set the grayline feature on to determine the bottom. So far I haven't noticed a big change when playing with this. Thanks for the help.

[Fathead]

Hello MrBig,

I used the X-15 for the first time last week on my tourney partners boat. This thing absolutely rocks over my X75. One of the things I like about it is the GPS mapping. A couple of things to think about...
Regarding your surface clutter problem, you mentioned that you removed auto-sensitivity. I think this is the right move. We did this as well, along with moving manual sensitivity to 67% for which we viewed as the best level (at least so far). This was done by information we recieved from the Lowrance helpline.

One more tidbit of information you might find interesting. If you purchased the X15 with GPS awhile ago, and you were expecting to receive the WAAS accuracy, you may want to call Lowrance and give them your serial number to see if it is a WAAS antenna that was shipped with the unit. We found out that earlier versions were being shipped without it. Only recently has Lowrance included the WAAS antenna with the GPS pack. If you don't have the WAAS antenna, some of their Help support are giving mixed info on how to obtain it. Some application engineers will tell you, you must purchase it for $124 (which is ridiculous), and some will tell you to send in your older antenna and they will send you a WAAS antenna. You should not have to pay for this newer antenna. Especially when they are currently packaging the WAAS antenna in the updated GPS packs.

[Guest]

I have the X-15 on my rig and love it so far. There are some things that I am having problems with one is the gray line and the other is my WAAS keeps clicking on and off. It really does'nt matter to me but it gets annoying to see this on the screen all time. Is this because I do not have the right antenna? I gave up with the Lowrance help line. I found them rather unhelpful.
One other thing that I'm sure I have to get used to is when going to a waypoint I am not sure when I am actually there. I can see when I am close but can't always get on the critical spot. As far as I know all Lowrances are the same. I've never owned one before.
These units are awsome and it takes time to learn them. I spend a lot of time fooling with it bobber fishing on MilleLacs.

[Guest]

As far as screen clutter it depends on what transducer you are using if you have the dual freq. you will probably get quite a bit. The center beam on these runs 8000 watts. It likes to pick up everything (zooplankton) in shallow water, under 20'. Dual freq are designed for blue water use, Great lakes and offshore. Single freq are not as bad but you will have to decrease the sensitivity.
WAAS in the midwest is little more than a joke. It was designed for aircraft use, so ground use is marginal at best. normally 20-25% of the time you will get a signal. Normal accuracy with a GPS is going to be around 15'-20'. So on the water it is going to be very difficult to get "right on". You have no reference points on the water to guide you during that final 20'-30' and the accuracy can bounce you around that much. So when you get close just start paying more attention to your locator than the GPS. You have to consider in the distance the display is from the reciever the legth rod and snell you are using, even if the unit says you are right on your bait could still be 20' away.

Rob

[Guest]

Guys, I've run my x-15 for year & half now,,usually operate sensitivity at 60 - 65% on manual mode,,,set gray line up at 75 - 80%,,,usually good results...the more you play with these the better you will be able to determine your optimal settings...Good luck enjoy your toys!!

[MrBig]

Thanks for the replys!
I'll go with a lower sensitivity setting. I was thinking it would need to be in the 80-90% range but I guess not. I'll just play when I'm on the water. That's the best way to learn. Also, I don't have the GPS function since I have a hand-held unit, and only have the 200kh tranducer.

[Guest]

I always run the split zoom. You wont see any clutter looking at the lower 1/3 of the water colum.

------------------
MILLE LACS AREA GUIDE SERVICE
651-271-5459 http://fishingminnesota.com/millelacsguide/
click here

[oilguy]

Check the software version on your unit. If it's not the latest, Lowrance will send you the newest version. I had problems with this last summer. The software would lock up the whole unit. Had to unplug unit from power to turn it off!! When I contacted them, they Fed-X'd new software the same day.
The unit has operated perfectly since.