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| Well, my 2nd HDS7 went out on my on LOTW for the 2nd year in a row.
Both times it related to the unit getting wet. This 2nd unit is only 2 months old as it was a warranty replacement for the 1st one that died.
Anyone else having problems with their units?
Very frustrating to think you cannot trust a $1000 unit when you are on a lake like LOTW.
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| I am on the third year with two HDS8 and have had no problems. Scary though cause one of my units sits at a 30 degree angle and holds water on it when wet. I have heard of water problems with some units. Its almost like if it don't get sealed properly from the factory your sol. |
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Posts: 2323
Location: Stevens Point, WI | I too have two HDS-8's and haven't had a problem. Send the unit it, they'll take care of it. The first generation units I know had problems with water leaks, haven't heard of any new ones with problems. Perhaps you got a first generation when they sent you the new one. |
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Posts: 1663
Location: Kodiak, AK | As TJ said, the early 7's and some of the others as well, had water intrusion issues. It's supposedly been rectified, but when my 27C crapped itself yesterday and I hit the town looking for a 7 to replace it, West Marine had three....that had been in stock since May of last year! I didn't buy any of those. My HDS8 has been great in the year I've had it. I'm hoping my 7 is as well... Send it back.
Edited by esoxfly 8/2/2010 7:15 AM
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | Lowrance acknowledged there was a problem when i talked to them on the phone a couple weeks ago, and assured me it was fixed late last year, and that I'd have no issues with my hds7. Hopefully it was a mistake in that you got one from last year. That said, I had mine out for the first long trip last week, and had it blink off on me a couple times(then did auto configure and seems fine), and also am experiencing problems with the gps map updating/tracking my turns. Lags behind my 111 gps a fair amount. I will move my 111 to the front when night fishing which is fine.
Please let us know what you hear regarding your HDS 7, and exactly what went wrong. It is a pain to deal with during the fishing season, I know, but based on my recent experience, they will treat you right.
Edited by Reef Hawg 8/2/2010 3:41 PM
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| I just called them and they awknowledged the water issue but should've been fixed.
Who knows if they sent me an old unit or not, they must have.
Regardless, they have the HDS7 replacement units in stock so once they get mine returned, they will send a new one out to me right away.
Let's hope the 3rd time's a charm!
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Posts: 2323
Location: Stevens Point, WI | Reef,
The lag time is just part of the HDS. This is a digital readout, not analog, just how it works. It does take some time getting use to it, but once you do, it's fine. You just got your unit, but make sure you have the 3.0 software, you should if you just got it. I'm doubting anything is wrong, just how it is.
Not sure on the gps thing being slower. If your that concerned, you can always purchase the LGC-4000, that updates 5 times per second, it's amazing! By far the fastest signal out there.
http://www.lowrance.com/Products/Marine/LowranceNET-Marine-Networki...
As for your blinking, as I told you before, that typically means you do not have suffice power to the unit. I would double check your battery and your connections. Make sure you have the inline fuse in place! |
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | The blinking was before I did the auto configure. Seems fine now. I understand the slower boot times etc associated with the digital and will work on the gps portion. Actually it shows my arrow turning instantaneously, but just takes awhile for the screen to catch up. Not a huge deal, and something I'll get used to, but will put the 111 up front for night fishing etc. where I need/want the screen to turn with the boat right away.
I have been frogging around with settings, and so far I like how it reads in shallow thick weeds, and doesn't lose signal when going in and out of edges. It does show a bit more of the vertical line interference than my other units did, when the back unit is also running, but once I turned the noise reduction on, that feature seems to respond better than the older ones, so happy about that.
One thing fairly nice is having a puck for my 111 and the inherent gps in the hds 7, giving me a back up gps whenever I take a trip. I had them networked to both use the igps on the 7, but the speed didn't always show up on the 111, so I separated them, which is fine. Just nice knowing I can use either or both receivers, with both units.
Edited by Reef Hawg 8/2/2010 3:42 PM
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Posts: 2323
Location: Stevens Point, WI | Reef, I would get the Ethernet cord and connect the two units. Anytime you have two units running, you will always get some interference within the two units with the vertical lines showing up. If you connect the two, you can pick which transducer you want to read. So, in other words, if your on bow, the reading you get off your 111 will show up on your HDS7 in the back. Or, if your at the stern and running your main motor, you will get a reading on both units from your transom ducer. I suggest getting the Ethernet cord and you won't have the interference.
Also, you can use the gps puck from your 111 for your HDS unit by networking the two units. If the puck ever went down, you still have the internal signal that the HDS unit has. |
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | I was contemplating the ethernet cord, and have just started looking into it. Would I need to buy the block as well? Also, would this eliminate the need for the other networking cable(could use it to pull the ehternet wires through the boat). It will probably help with the speed issue and some other things, I agree. It wouldn't benefit me much to use one transducer for most places I fish. I am often in situations where the back of the boat is in 18' and the front in 5' or vice versa. I can live with the vertical line clutter. Wanted to point out that while it was worse than when I had two lcx units running together, the noise reduction feature on the HDS reduces more clutter, thus allowing for a more clear picture with the feature on. That feature alone, is great. Good point on the puck. I was told by Navico the internal gps on the hds is much better than the old puck, but I'll try various configurations to see what works best. Thanks. |
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Posts: 2323
Location: Stevens Point, WI | Reef, not sure what block your talking about? The Ethernet cord is the yellow ended cord that cost $20. Once that gets hooked up, it will provide you another topic in the Menu called Sonar Source, hit enter and you can choose what transducer you want to see. It's very convenient and worth it.
If you decided you want to share the gps puck and waypoints for both units, you will need to network the two. The Ethernet cable just shares transducer information.
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Posts: 444
Location: Indiana | Does the ethernet cable work on units prior to the HDS with the same functions? I have two 27C HDs, they do have the ethernet plugs, but I didn't know if it was functional. |
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Posts: 2323
Location: Stevens Point, WI | Yes, absolutely! Everything is the same from the LCX to the HDS units. The only thing you won't get through the Ethernet is Structure Scan on a LCX/LMS unit. The Ethernet function is so helpful and gets rid of those vertical lines with the ability to choose which ducer you want. |
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HDS7 Problems?