I watched several youtube videos and took down some notes. Now beware when watching youtube videos because there is a lot of people out there posting content just wanting to be a youtube star. There is some videos posted that actually make the unit look bad because their screen is full of clutter and distortion. I found the best ones are from people who make, sell, install and actually have electronics classes on how to use the units.
With that being said Garmin has what's called Webinar videos on youtube that are helpful. RMP Russell Marine Products has some good videos but they were mainly install tips. The Bass Tank has what I consider an excellent how to adjust video. The funny thing is after I watch the videos and took some notes I found a post on BBC where someone broke down The Bass Tank video into a cliff note version. I kept my notes but ended up printing off the notes from The Bass Tank that were posted on BBC and that is what I go buy to set up my unit.
Now there has been some debate over what I am about to say next and all I will say is I respect other peoples opinion but if you want max performance it needs to be wired like Garmin suggest in their install manual...the power wires go directly to the battery and are on a disconnect with a fused link near the battery. If extending the factory wire up to 15 ft use 10 AWG.
The above statement can be found in the Garmin install diagram. The next statement is purely my opinion...a lot of people are using 12 AWG factory boat wiring and tapping into an existing circuit. The processer inside these units units require clean un-interrupted power. Were not dealing with old 2D sonar from 15 years ago, we are dealing with a computer processor hooked to a 12V battery. Having the unit wired direct to the battery eliminates any electrical interference. Having appropriate AWG wire size ensures no voltage drop. If anyone is having a flickering screen throughout the day or if they have a screen that is slow to start displaying a picture once the unit is turned on or if they experience a low voltage alarm when they crank the motor there is a good chance they have inadequate wiring. The most common thing people do is buy a bigger, more powerful battery. This is a band aid to mask the real problem. So if you want max screen clarity and performance wire as Garmin suggest. Garmin does not suggest it but I went with a custom wire harness. I chose a Sonar Pro harness because they solder and heat shrink your factory Garmin plugs to their custom made harness. The Bass Tank and Sea Clear also has a custom harness but they require you making a couple wire connections. Both those harnesses are DYI. The Sonar Pro is also DYI but you must send them your factory plugs so they can install them to the harness. None of the options are cheap but I think The Bass Tank harness is on a 50% off sale. Some may say everything I type in this last paragraph is not necessary and its overkill. To them I respect their opinion but I think the extra mile I went will pay off with a clear picture and no voltage issue.
Although I have only had mine out once I have learned thru research that in order to get max clarity and max detail a person needs to fine tune the settings for the specific water conditions you are in. Now that does not mean your constantly tinkering with settings but the settings for the main lake might need to be fine tuned if you run up a creek into a different color water. Water clarity plays a big factor on how effective the beam can broadcast the picture. The setting you have for Green will need to be fine tuned for Cumberland due to different water.
A good explanation of what each setting does...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2AiSOmX5PA&t=39s
I found this to be a great video...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SjxesbJtuk
Here is the cliff note version of the above video. I printed it off and use it 'for reference"...
http://www.bbcboards.net/showthread.php?t=1097214
Originally Posted by R19
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