Transducer Mounting Question

[Jabbo]

Hey Fellas. As many of you know I don't care a whole lot for Lowrance. But Cabelas had a great deal for the Elite5 DSI unit/chartplotter. I got it new for less than 300 bucks and decided I would give it a shot.
Question I have is, Should I mount the Transducer at the rear of my boat or on my trolling motor?
I plan on using the unit up front at the bow. This is a long and narrow transducer and I worry how it will pick up while turning the boat and also clipping it on a rock. It also looks like I will have to fabricate a bracket to make it fit on my trolling motor.. Thoughts?..

[Jabbo]

appears that there is a trolling motor bracket that I can buy as an accessory. Aaaarrrgg. This is one of the other reasons I dislike Lowrance. Everything is separate and you have to buy everything individually.!!! From Cables to antennas, Speed and temp sensors etc.. Man I hate those 2am purchases while your surfing the net!!!

[hairball]

Mounting it on the TM would produce a bunch of gibberish from the constant rotation. It should be mounted in the back, as close as possible to the center of the boat.

[stoner]

I've wondered the same thing since I'm considering a humminbird for the bow. My first suggestion would be to check out the set ups on bass boat central. I had several questions on my other graph and they were answered quickly and most have pictures uploaded to help you as we'll.
My second suggestion would be to get a trolling motor transducer saver.

[crappiepappy]

appears that there is a trolling motor bracket that I can buy as an accessory. Aaaarrrgg. This is one of the other reasons I dislike Lowrance. Everything is separate and you have to buy everything individually.!!! From Cables to antennas, Speed and temp sensors etc.. Man I hate those 2am purchases while your surfing the net!!!

The Lowrance Elite 5 DSI comes with an internal antenna (that works quite well). I can fire mine up INSIDE my apt & get 5 or 6 satellite connections within less than 1min. Only takes a few seconds when it's outside.
Speed is instant ... per the GPS.
Temp sensor is built into the transducer ... also shows instantly.

Yes ... you CAN purchase an external antenna, but I doubt it would increase the speed & accuracy of the GPS.

Yes ... you CAN purchase the TM adapter mounting sleeve assembly... for ~ $25 ... and I recommend you do, since it will keep the transducer closer to the bottom of the TM, and not stick out (where it can get damaged/broken).

If you got yours for less than $300, another $30 worth of transducer "insurance" shouldn't be such a burden to bare. I paid $475 for mine, over a year ago, from another angler ... and got the unit (new), two sets of transducers (1new/1slightly used), and the TM bracket sleeve "accessory" ... and felt like I got a pretty good deal, seeing as how they were still selling for over $600 at the time.

I also sent you a PM about links to more info on this unit ... so check your message inbox, if you haven't already !!

... pappy