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Hook, Line and Pixel
By Paul Crawford

January/February 2003

We’ve heard the Internet changed the way we shop for equipment, or learn about new products, but how many times have you visited a website that proved it?

I’m long over Internet hype and the High-Tech revolution, but once in a while I still get pleasantly surprised. Such was the case when I went looking for help on a new depth finder for a Structure Fishing feature. The folks at Lowrance got it right - they produced a site for new and existing customers and now we’re going to take full advantage of it.

The Lowrance site (www.lowrance.com) may look as mundane as thousands of others with the standard fare - catalogs and descriptions, contact info, press releases, and FAQ page.  But if you dig some you’ll find hidden gems and features that you always knew could be done, but wondered why no one ever did.

To start with, a few learning tools. There’s a hyper-linked tutorial for Sonar and GPS www.lowrance.com/tutorials.asp that starts with the basics, and then walks you through to the advanced features. Of course they point out their product’s features, but the majority of the tutorials apply to every brand. Good illustrations and side bar information puts this sight on my “recommended reading list” for all electronics users.

Now for the more advanced features of the Internet, product support. For starters there are downloadable PDF files of the manuals for just about every Lowrance product since Noah had a rowboat. That feature, alone, answers about half the email questions I get concerning Lowrance products. 

Warranty and repair information is there if you need it, including a web-based Repair Status look up so you can keep track of your pride and joy if it needs to visit Tulsa again. Okay, so that’s pretty standard, but how about some practical info like Pin Out diagrams for all their connectors? They’re there, something any electronics troubleshooter can use, and installation guides are also present and accounted for. And if all else fails, there’s the old reliable email to Customer Service to fall back on.

If you own an older Lowrance unit, chances are there are new and improved features available, free, and the latest software releases for products that accept a remote connection (most of them) are posted for your convenience, along with detailed download and install instructions.
www.lowrance.com/Software/default.asp

Now for real Internet power…software. If you own an older Lowrance unit chances are there are new and improved features available, free, and the latest software releases for products that accept a remote connection (most of them) are posted for your convenience, along with detailed download and install instructions.

Also available are software accessories for your latest gadget. We started our graphics capture with a free Lowrance Sonar viewer from their site, which allows you to play back log files from their MMC-equipped products. Not only can you play them back, you can filter them, change them, compress them, or adjust the sensitivity - all of the stuff you wished you’d done on the water can now be explored in the comfort of you computer room.

The latest toys to make an appearance are the product Emulators. If you’re in the market for an LCX, LMS, or iFinder unit, you can try before you buy. The software emulators are downloadable and will literally do everything the units themselves do. They’re based on the product software and the screens reproduce just what you see with the product. Keep that thought in mind.

If you haven’t been to our website lately - www.insideline.net - then you’ve been missing out. In addition to our Forum and Feature articles, the free Weekly E-zine and all of the product information, we’re trying something new and innovative with the support of our friends at Lowrance.

Note that the graphics shots in the Structure Fishing feature in this issue are captioned (courtesy Lowrance Electronics), because they were taken on the water using one of their LCX-15 MT units. We simply took a screen shot using the replay facilities to use for the examples.

click on image for larger view.

It’s not television. Even a very inviting looking return on the display may be a rather plain, uninteresting feature, unless you take into account the travel path. This particular log makes a straight edge look complex only because the boat path was not straight. A GPS trail plot tells the true tale.  (Courtesy Lowrance Electronics.)

Now, the next step: on our website you’ll find the actual log files used for the graphics. These are complete runs, with GPS trails and the raw sonar signal.  Download these files for replay with the LCX-15 Emulator from the Lowrance website.

You can use the emulator to reset the filters, sensitivity, signal processing, try the FishReveal feature, or to do anything else you could do on the water while idling over the same spot. Heck, if you use the GPS coordinates you can even go to my fishing hole and try your luck.

Here’s what you’ll need to do - download the LCX-15 MT emulator at the Lowrance website
www.lowrance.com/Software/PCSoftware/demos.asp
(you could upgrade to the color unit, although I haven’t tried it). If you’re bandwidth challenged - it’s just over six megabytes – you may want to download while you sleep. Once downloaded, “double click” the new icon and follow the installation instructions provided. 

It will set up a new directory structure in your Program Files directory - Lowrance Electronics\Unit Demo. In that directory you’ll find a new folder, Map0. That one’s important - it’s the software equivalent of an MMC card, and it’s where you want to store the downloaded charts. While you’re surfing the Lowrance site, take advantage of some of their example downloads, including some nifty GPS maps.  Of course, the User Manual for the unit would be another very handy thing to download.

Next, head over to our Inside Line website and download the chart files to your Map Directory, then power up your Emulator. My copy came with a default of the GPS maps selected. You’ll need to use the PAGES key to select Sonar then hit the Exit Key. Next, hit the MENU key twice, (it’s two pages long), use the down arrow to get to Sonar Setup, the right arrow to get to the submenu, the down arrow again to get to Sonar Simulator, and then press the ENT key.

All this gets you to a little submenu with a couple of check boxes and a file pull-down. Make sure both the top and bottom box is checked (use the ENT key), then use the ENT key to select the file selection pull down. Select the file you downloaded from the list, press ENT one more time and you’re cooking with gas.  It sounds a lot harder than it actually is.

Once you have the Simulator running on the Emulator, you’re in control, and it automatically loops the playback for you. Use the PAGES key to go back to GPS mode to check out our plotter trail, or use the dual screen set up like I do. Once back in Sonar mode, set the Sensitivity bias or just go manual, zoom in, go to the Sonar Features to change the signal processing, filters, and modes, set the Grayline to your preference, or anything else you heart desires.

The idea is to give you a good, known reference on which to practice your electronics user skills. Here’s a hint to get you started: in our latest log there are some fish to be found in the grass, and a couple of them even hitched a ride into my boat on an eight-inch grub, just to prove they were there. Finding them on the graph is left to you – that’s the fun part!

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