Lowrance Sounder Questions

[Volcano]

Hopefully someone wiser than myself can answer these questions about my LMS 337...
1. The Transducer is very loud. I mean, when I powered on the unit, I could hear an audible click, click, click comign from it and I was up the front of the boat. Is this normal? I am running the dual frequency transducer on an
2. The unit itself - there is almost NO sound. I have increased the volume to full power (Menu -> Menu -> Sound...) but can only JUST hear it when I put my ear to the unit itself. Is THIS normal?or is the unit a dud?

Cheers,

Matt.

[frankj]

Transducer - OK (mine makes a loud click too). What sensitivity setting are you on?

Sound - dud piezo electric speaker. Normally this is very audible.

Frank

[Volcano]

Hey Frank,
The transducer sensitivity setting is on automatic (Just the default setting) is there anyway of making it quieter? Does this spook the fish? If I can hear it, surely the noise would be affecting them?

As for the dud piezo swtich - bugger :( This is a US imported model. Only arrived yesterday. Are they expensive to have repaired? (Cant believe I;m asking this after 1 dayownign this unit...)

[Blue_Escape]

Matt,
1. As Frank said the transducer click is "normal" - if fishing in shallow water a lot of people do recommend turning off your sounder....if it's really loud (probably silly question ::)) is it mounted deep enough on your transom to be fully submerged normally?

2. Again probably silly question...are you sure you have the sounds selected (note the little "x") on the menu screen below. Otherwise, yeah sorry, piezo is dead. :(

Can I ask who you bought from? What sort of warrwnty arrangements?

Good Luck
Blue

[frankj]

I had exactly the same problem on my unit after 1 month. (I must have got a good one) Mine was also from the US. This is what Lowrance advised me to do. Their words verbatim.

Thank you for the inquiry.

Try a system reset:

1. Turn unit OFF
2. Press and hold the PAGES key
3. Press and hold the PWR key
4. Release both buttons when the unit powers up

If sound still cannot be heard from the unit, there is a malfunction and it will require service.

Contact your local dealer or distributor for service options.

Of course Lowrance Australia, won't accept responsibility, so this happens.

Thank you for the reply.

The SeaCharter 480 will need to come to the factory for service.
Please see the following for return instructions.

Lowrance Electronics, Inc., the parent company of Eagle Electronics, solely reserves the right to market its products internationally. We establish an agreement with all U.S. re-sellers that limits their market to consumers or businesses inside of the United States of America or its territories. Lowrance has a long established network of International Distributors who partner with us to provide distribution of its products as well as essential customer service to International consumers, and a host of other elements necessary to retain our positive global exposure. The advantages of this policy allows international consumers to purchase a unit locally and have it serviced or exchanged locally, avoiding long delays from international shipping. International consumers also enjoy an extra year of warranty protection (two full years) compared to US consumers.

For this reason, dealers and distributors are not required to provide service to units purchased outside of their area of responsibility. If a unit requires service it will need to be returned to the dealer or distributor from which it was purchased. Should a unit you purchase in the US require service, it will need to be returned to our facility in Tulsa, OK. All units return shipped internationally will have an international freight charge of $40 (US). If you would like to have the unit return shipped to a US address, the shipping cost will be covered. Please reply to this message and provide the following details. We will then be able to issue a return authorization and further instructions on returning your unit to the factory for service.

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What I did was to open my unit up, bought a new piezo speaker and replaced it myself. But, you will invalidate your warranty by opening the case. So it is a big gamble.

I recently sent my unit back to the states for a different problem, it cost me AU$80 just to send it!!

This is the drawback of buying from the USA direct. A very minor problem, but expensive to resolve by warranty.

Having said all this, I have to say that the guy that I dealt with recently at Lowrance in Tulsa was great. We conversed daily by email and I even sent him some videos for their techs to look at to resolve an issue I had with recording sonar logs. They resolved the issue and even sent me a new MMC card which fixed my issue. There have been some bad reports about Lowrance service on Ausfish, but from my recent experience, I would give them 10 out of 10.

I know this only gives you more of a headache, but it nmay save you a few steps.

Frank

[frankj]

One other thing. With regard to the click.
From experience I can tell you the performance of individual transducers vary.
Transducers aint transducers if you know what I mean.
This is because the manufacture of crystals isn't an exact science, so some will be better matched to the sounder output stages and will operate better. I have had three different transducers connected to my sounder and their performance was very different. They all worked but some worked better than others and some were louder than others.

Does the click scare the fish? Maybe thats why I can't catch any.
Seriously, I don't know. Sometimes I turn it off and sometimes I forget, can't say that I have noticed much difference. I have seen views on this site that say it scares the fish, but I have also read Naval reports on the effects of Sonar on fish and they found no discernible effect. I also know that some FADS are deliberately made noisy to attract fish to them and it works.

Not much help, but something to think about.

Cheers
Frank

[Heath]

I have to say that I don't think the click worries the fish. I've tried it many a time while getting livies. We have them berlyed up at the back of the boat & I'll turn the sounder on. They don't even flinch.

[Burley_Boy]

I don't tend to use any sounds on my sounder so would not miss the stuffed piezo.