Lowrance LMS-522 HELP!!!!!

[PTocko]

I just purchased this unit new this past spring - have used maybe 4 or 5 times. My problem is I seem to be losing bottom lock a lot - I would say more than 50% of the time. My dealer (Cabelas) installed - it works great at speed so it is not a cavitation issue. I've been pulling my hair out checking the wiring, going through the manual (which I have to admit is pretty lame when it comes to the trouble shooting section and I am a big Lowrance fan). Finally I called Cabelas as I was / am about ready to bring the unit in to be looked at and the guy asked me the following questions - is it occuring in shallow water (8 feet or less)? Is the water typically less clear? Is the bottom weedy or mucky? My answer was yes to all of the above. He then told me that this "problem" is quite common with a higher power unit like the 522. I tried to be patient and professional (I believe I was both but I do have a sarcastic streak) but I kind of asked him if it doesn't work in those conditions - when it is shallow and I can't see the bottom - what is the point of having it. Set the whole "seeing" fish function aside - I want to know if I may be close to hitting the bottom with my boat / motor. He did inform me that there is a software update from Lowrance that is supposed to address this issue - I just installed this morning. My questions are -

1) Is this really a "known" problem? Are there other things I should be doing? I'm thinking ping speed and / or sensitivity adjustments but advice would be helpful

2) Anyone install 2.3.0 and did it help?

3) Anything else I should be checking - I have clean and adjusted the transducer (several times) but if I am missing something, let me know.

Any suggestions would be helpful - as I said above, I am a big fan of Lowrance and I love the unit otherwise. But if I can't get the above addressed it is a little useless for where I fish. Thanks for the help - I do appreciate it. Paul

[walleyewild]

What was the original software version?

If you search the threads from last summer it was definatly a known issue that Lowrance didn't readily admit to, most guys with older units downgraded to an older version then the upgrade last year. I have both a 337 and an x-25c. my 337 was very bad at locking on bottom with v1.7 I put v1.6 back on the unit and it worked great at bottom lock in shallow water.

PT don't get fusterated with the bottom lock issue, if you put the latest version of software in your problems should go away.

It's not cabela's fault, I will admit that they should have made sure that your unit had the most current software in it before you left the store but it is quite an easy fix.

Check the Lowrance site and see if your unit is current. I have also heard of guys contacting Lowrance and getting a previous version of software from what you have currently in the unit and that fixed the problem too.

My 337 1.7 was the bad software, I have 1.9 and am going to check the unit next time out, have 2.1 in the 25c and have no bottom lock issues with it this year.

WW

P.S. 2.3 should fix the bottom lock issue.

[PTocko]

Walleye - Had version 2.1. Please understand, NOT blaming Cabelas, I guess I should have searched the site better, most feedback was very positive on the 522 and I did not see this issue being listed. The Cabelas guy was helpful - he recommended the software upgrade and also said to slow the ping speed down which I will try next time I'm out.

I'm curious that 2.1 worked well for you - that is the version I had (it was what the unit came with) and it did not work for me, at least not well.

Thanks for your help - I will post an update tomorrow after I have a chance to use with the updated software. Paul

[LMITOUT]

Problems in shallow water with these newer Lowrance units is pretty well known and the newest updates were supposed to have fixed that. I'm not sure why, but my 520 and X28 that I got last year never really had any problems in shallow/weedy water so go figure... Must have had the older software from the factory when I got them.

[JohnMickish]

Just had my 520 out yesterday on a shallow less than clear lake and the lack of seeing the bottom drove me nuts. Not sure what version is on the unit. I will check tomorrow. All I know is that this is totally unacceptable from a Lowrance unit.

[JimBuck]

I've had the same issue. Going over 1.5 mph the unit works fine. But under that speed and below 6 f.o.w. I get the flashing depth. I just bought the unit this year so I am still getting used to the user interface. I haven't updated the software yet either so maybe this is something that happens to the unit without the update?

[PTocko]

Alright - had the unit out yesterday after updating the software to 2.3.0. Different lake so not a true "side by side" comparison but it still lost bottom alot. Maybe not quite as much as before but kind of hard to tell. I guess the really frustrating part is you lose bottom when you need to know where the bottom is the most - when it's shallow. I did try several things such as changing the ping speed, the sensitivity level, assigned max depth to 10 feet, nothing seemed to work any better than the "stock" settings. I'm pretty frustrated right now - I have always had Lowrance electronics and this is the first time I have had an issue. I will be on the phone with them - I will post an update.

[JimBuck]

PTocko,

Please do. I would love to hear what the folks at Lowrance have to say. I'm beginning to have buyer's remorse over this unit as frustration is setting in.

[mamohr686]

Here is the link to the updates thread from last year.

http://www.fishingminnesota.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1072572/1

The first thing I would do is reset all your options back to default. Put ping speed all the way to the top at 100%. Auto sensitivy and range should help. You didn't let us know if you have a skimmer transducer on the back of your boat or if you have a puck on the inside of a fiberglass boat. If you have a 50/200khz or 200khz transducer under sonar options, select 200KHZ only for your transducer (this frequency works better in the shallows). If your still having problems, you have a defective transducer or improper mounting of the transducer. My 332 problems were rectified with the downgrade, then the new updates worked great and didn't affect the sonar.

Both my 332 and my new LCX-38hd read in 1.5ft of water. Below 1.2ft they start to blink.

[PTocko]

Here is the link to the updates thread from last year.

http://www.fishingminnesota.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1072572/1

The first thing I would do is reset all your options back to default. Put ping speed all the way to the top at 100%. Auto sensitivy and range should help. You didn't let us know if you have a skimmer transducer on the back of your boat or if you have a puck on the inside of a fiberglass boat. If you have a 50/200khz or 200khz transducer under sonar options, select 200KHZ only for your transducer (this frequency works better in the shallows). If your still having problems, you have a defective transducer or improper mounting of the transducer. My 332 problems were rectified with the downgrade, then the new updates worked great and didn't affect the sonar.

Both my 332 and my new LCX-38hd read in 1.5ft of water. Below 1.2ft they start to blink.

I have done a hard reset so I am pretty sure all of my settings are back to factory stock. I played with the ping speed but per the manual 50% is "stock" - I noticed no improvement changing the ping speed up or down.

I have a skimmer transducer, 200 mhz only. It reads fine going 30+ mph accross the lake so long as the water is deep - get shallow and it starts to blink. I am 99.9% sure the transducer is mounted correctly - the dealer (Cabelas in Rogers) did it for me but I have also done many myself and it is exactly how I would have set it up. It is my experience that bad transducer placement problems would show up more at speed than sitting still - I have been in boats with poor transducer placement but even they read the bottom when anchored or going slow.

Too many people with the same or similer problems - we all can't have bad transducer placement. I am not trying to argue with anyone - I may be relatively new to this site but I am not new to fishing electronics, I know how to use a depth finder, at least I thought I did. This thing is really starting to [PoorWordUsage] me off. I am going to try again tomorrow on Minnetonka, a lake I know pretty well. If it doesn't work then I will probably be bringing it back to Cabela's - they did the install - and have them take a look at it. Paul

[wplatehunter]

I just got the LCX-27 and have had some problems picking up the depth in shallow water. I had the LCX-20 before this and never had the problem. Other than that the unit works great. Before I bought it I saw some posts on another site and people had the same problems. Good Luck.

[JimBuck]

I went out yesterday and I had the same problem again. Anchoring up in shallow water would result in a blinking depth. I have also tried changing the ping speed and had no luck with any better results. I REALLY like this unit but if this is what is gonna happen I may just have to purchase that Humm. 797. I'd love to hear if anyone else has experienced similar problems and if they have been resolved.

Cheers,

-B

[JimBuck]

I was out again last night and now the GPS isn't locking on!? I've never had the problem with GPS not locking on now it's this and losing bottom depth in shallow water.....not too happy with Lowrance right now.

[Ice Hole]

My thought on this is that it may be transducer-related.

I got a new LCX-27C this spring. From the beginning, I had the same issue.....constantly losing bottom when sitting still. When moving, it worked fine. A couple of weeks later, I started getting the "GPS Module Not Responding" message on the unit. After testing/swapping out just about everything on the network and updating to v2.3 firmware, it finally turned out to be a faulty unit.

So now I have a new unit, latest firmware, and I still have the problem with it not locking onto the bottom. When I have an opportunity to drop the boat off at my dealer, the transducer is going to be replaced and I can let you know if that resolves the issue.

[JimBuck]

I've been searching the internet's for similar issues and it seems that we aren't alone on these issues. I assume the LCX-27C is internal GPS? When you replaced the unit did the GPS start working again but the radar did not? I was wondering about the transducer as well but I am almost positive I installed it correctly....I'd appreciate it if you could let me know how it goes at the dealer. Good luck!

-B

[Ice Hole]

No, the GPS on the LCX-27 is external with the LGC-3000 antennae connected to a NMEA network. The GPS originally worked for a couple of weeks, but the sonar didn't. Once the "GPS Not Responding" message occurred, I got side-tracked into trouble-shooting that instead of dealing with the sonar.

Once we found the unit itself was the culprit for the GPS issue and replaced with a new unit, I figured I'd try it out and see if the sonar improved before having the dealer go through the work of replacing the transducer also. No such luck....

But I do have to say....I'm very pleased with the service and care that my dealer has provided me.

[wplatehunter]

We go out and spend $1,000 or more on these new units and have problems reading the bottom, but spend $100 on a cheap one and they seem to work fine. How does that work?

[Ice Hole]

Sad but true.......the only reason I decided to spend my time troubleshooting the GPS issue and not the sonar issue was because the cheap x52 sonar in the front of the boat works great.

[PTocko]

Update - out on Minnetonka all day yesterday. I lost bottom only one time that was unexplainable for about 5 minutes. Drifting along in front of Sunsets in about 15 - 12 feet of water and all of the sudden it started blinking 60 ft - [PoorWordUsage]!!!! In any case it did clear up and other than this it ran fine - even in some conditions that were pretty bad. I am not ready to say it is working but for now I am not going to do anything. I will be watching it closely and if it starts acting up again I will be trading it in. Paul

[Gem-n-eye]

PTocko, I'm wondering if you replaced anything to get it to work? Or did it just start working for you? I have a new LCX-27c on a new boat and I'm having issues with keeping a bottom signal going fast and slow. Once I loose bottom it takes a while to get it back. I'm running version 2.1 which came with the unit. I'm looking at upgrading to version 2.3 and I'm trying to move the transducer around on the board to see if that's the issue. I'm frustrated as well, I'll be working with a dealer and or Lowrance if I can't figure it out soon.

[JimBuck]

Thanks for the update PTocko, I spent the good part of last night trying to troubleshoot my gps with no luck. I don't get any error message but when I turn the unit on it should automatically locate the satellites. 5 minutes goes by and still no location found. So I hit Auto-GPS Search to try and find my location....I wait five more minutes and no luck. My boat is showing up as a question mark in the middle of the lake when I am sitting in my driveway? [PoorWordUsage]! I want to get out this evening and do some fishing after dark but with the way this is going I doubt that will happen. Anyone care to shed some light on something I'm missing? I've had this unit for all of 4 weeks and now the GPS and sonar are glitching? But my 250 dollar humminbird in the front still works great for depth? COME ON LOWRANCE!

[PTocko]

Buck - Sounds like you may have a bad unit - my GPS has always worked well, it has just been the sonar that has had issues on mine.

Gem - I didn't do anything special to get it to "work". I did a hard reset and downloaded the latest software. But I have been out twice since doing that - the first time on Prior where I lost bottom quite a bit. Not terrible conditions 4-5 feet, not much weed growth yet, just would not latch onto the bottom until I got deeper. The most recent time on Minnetonka the unit worked flawlessly except that 5 minutes where it flashed 60 ft when I knew we were in 10 - 12 feet - very unexplainable. It did work on some areas in tonka that quite honestly I didn't expect it to.

I do think I have a way to "trick" the unit into latching onto the bottom in shallow conditions but I want to try it a few more times before I publish. It did seem to work on Wednesday but then again the unit as a whole was working better than it has worked in several outings.

I'm going out this weekend again - not sure where, possibly White Bear. I will post after this weekend. Paul

[JimBuck]

Well. After getting out a few more times this weekend and still having the gps problem with satellites not being located I think I am going to take the unit back and try a different unit. I've been thinking of going the hummingbird 797 route but I can't lose faith just yet. I guess it gives me another excuse to make the trek out to cabela's *note to self: leave extra cash at home.* I'll keep you all updated as things progress.

[Fishinguy40]

Here is my experience with a Lowrance 522C GPS.

Last fall I bought a new Lowrance 522C GPS online from Cabelas. I bought only the unit as I already had the transom mount transducer and speed sensor installed on the boat, as it came with a Lowrance unit when I bought it. The boat was two years old when I bought the 522c.

The first time I took the boat out with the 522c it would not aquire any satellites. No matter how clear a view I had of the sky. I called Cabelas Customer Service and they shipped me a replacement unit no questions asked. Great service!

The second unit has no problem aquiring satellites. I even get reception when the boat is in my garage and this is a unit with an internal antenna. Unfortunately, since it was fall, the boat ended up going into storage before I got to use the second unit on the water.

I have had the boat out 5 or 6 times so far this year. Every time I took it out I would lose the bottom signal. Very like it has been explained in posts on here. It was very frustrating. I checked the unit to see what software Rev I had and it was 1.4.0. So I downloaded the latest Rev, 2.3.0. I took the boat out this last Saturday and I was impressed with the difference in how the unit worked. I did not lose bottom once in 6 hours of fishing. I was on the river in Prescott. Water depth varied from 2 feet to almnost 30 feet and I had a good reading every time. Also, the unit never lost bottom even when driving fast, getting on plane and staying on plane. I never had this good of performance even with the original unit, which I think was a X27 or something.

There were'nt many weeds on the river so the real test will be on a Metro lake. Hopefully it works just as good as it did on Saturday.

[Gem-n-eye]

PTocko,

Any luck confirming your test in shallow water? I was on Prior over the weekend and couldn't get a bottom reading in less than 12 fow. I tried all the suggestion in the Lowrance manual plus everything I've read here. So I called Lowrance today and they are sending a new transducer. I hope to test the main unit on a friends boat next week. It would be nice to fix this issue before the summer is over!

[luv2hunt]

just bought one last tuesday and experienced both problems on short mission to local shallow lake. 1st of all gps lock took probably 10 minutes and it never really showed high sat. signal strength. hit 40 mph or higher and "posistion lost" and than it would'nt relock on...hit auto search again and it got 3D in 2 minutes. either of my 10 year old hand helds lock on faster in the woods than this unit does on a lake!. i blamed myself for transducer location or positioning for poor shallow water read, but after reading all the similar posts...we cant all be wrong. will the 522 support a external antenna or do you have to go down to 520 or up to 525 ???