I'm still struggling with my Lowrance LSS-1 transducer setup. I have a 98 Astro 1800. It as a tapered step that doesn't run the entire width of the boat. It is about 12" deep and about 14" wide at the deepest point. From there, it begins to taper towards the stern corners of the boat. I'm attempting to mount my transducer on the step but I'm afraid the sides of the step are causing interference. I'm currently using Gorilla Tape to temporarily mount the transducer so I can experiment before I make anything permanent. See below.




I've done my best to make sure the transducer is mounted exactly in the middle, but my structure scan traces show some imbalance.



In general the right side looks more washed out than the left. The red arrows denote a much wider, brighter line on the right than the left. The blue circles denote the generally constant washed out nature of the right side than the left. Note...this is more pronounced in shallow water. The green arrow marks some sort of dark lines. I'm not sure what any of this means. Suggestions are welcome.

Only suggestion or question I have is did you make sure to flip the left/right option around? Is it possible your boat is leaning one direction because of off balanced weight?

I would mount it down around your plug area also think the guy is onto somethin with the in balanced of the boat.

12" deep step is pretty deep. You're likely to get some shading of the side scan signal if the transducer is mounted to the roof of the step that deep.

I think this would affect the further out distances of the side scan display instead of more directly under the boat. Perhaps as mentioned if you were in the boat alone it was tilted to one side enough to cause what you see.

I mounted my LSS-1 transducer in almost the same place on my old Champion's step but a bit off center. My boat's step is only about 5-6" deep at the deepest however and about 29" wide. My bracket is screwed into the roof of the step and works out to give about the right tilt to allow for the boat's setting lower in back than front.

It was about the only place I could come up with to mount mine given my boats hull design. It seems to work OK but I know it's not the ideal location due to some probable signal shading by the step's sides.

+1 on the boat leaning. Just a small degree of difference will show up, all in all thats not a bad picture.

Everything will be worse in shallow water, nature of the beast.

I had to extend my transducer lower on jackplate and add a splash plate on a skeeter, and still cant get perfect picture

By deep I meant the step is 12" deep measuring from the transom to the plug. The step is about only about 6" deep measuring from the top of the step to the pad. And that vertical depth tapers off to about 1" deep towards to stern corners of the boat.

Contact Scap and Shirley. You could use the bracket and a wedge.

http://www.transducershieldandsaver.com/home/

I've been looking at several items such as this, but I don't relish drilling holes into my boat, especially below the water line. (The holes in the picture were there before I got the boat.) If I absolutely must drill holes in my boat, I want to make sure I only do it once, thus the experimentation. Is there a way Scap and Shirley can help me verify that their solution will work? I'm not opposed to buying their product and I'm not trying to reverse engineer anything, but I want to make sure that the structure scan will work perfectly first.

The only way you will ever know for certain what an imaging transdcuer will "see" prior to installation is to follow the easy process on the website. No amount of conjecture will provide the pat answers you seek.

Don't over look this.

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AD -

It appears your LSS1 is boxed in. It can't have anything in it's "view" left and right.
Mount it on the standard bracket in the spot I marked with an X on your pic
below and it should be all good. Just make sure it's level with the surface
of the water when trolling and not canted left or right.

Also, if you don't want to drill anymore holes in your hull, epoxy or attach
with 3M 4200 sealant a piece of treated hardwood on the surface of your
hull. You can mount the bracket to that. (2nd pic below) This install
is 8 years old and still solid.

As far as one side of the image being brighter than the other, I've seen
this on many LSS screen shots, including some demo screen shots on
Lowrance's website for Structure Scan. You've got me there.

I would throw up this same post on The Hull Truth or Bass Boat Central in
their Electronics forums. A number of Lowrance field reps hang out on
these two forums.

Chris