Lowrance Elite-4 Hdi - Opinions 2024
Ringonu reply :
I have a new to me boat (1989 Sea Nymph) that has yet to see the water. It's my first boat. While it sits in the driveway that dang bait monkey has been whispering in my ear.
The boat has two older Eagle brand I think depth/fish finders on the front and at the steering. Both appear to work and both are well past their prime. I don't need to upgrade but I came across a deal and may upgrade 1 now. I am on a tight budget.
Field & Stream has a deal on their Lowrance Elite-4 HDI, cover, and Lake Insight all for $199. Seems like a good deal but I was wondering what others thought about the setup.
Is the size an issue? Are the features good for the price? Any cons to this setup?
Also where which would be the ideal depthfinder to upgrade first (near the steering or in the front?)
I appreciate all your help.
blackmax135 reply :
On 4/13/2015 at 11:34 PM, Ringonu said:I have a new to me boat (1989 Sea Nymph) that has yet to see the water. It's my first boat. While it sits in the driveway that dang bait monkey has been whispering in my ear.
The boat has two older Eagle brand I think depth/fish finders on the front and at the steering. Both appear to work and both are well past their prime. I don't need to upgrade but I came across a deal and may upgrade 1 now. I am on a tight budget.
Field & Stream has a deal on their Lowrance Elite-4 HDI, cover, and Lake Insight all for $199. Seems like a good deal but I was wondering what others thought about the setup.
Is the size an issue? Are the features good for the price? Any cons to this setup?
Also where which would be the ideal depthfinder to upgrade first (near the steering or in the front?)
I appreciate all your help.
Is it the one with GPS?
Ringonu reply :
Looks like it is. From the Lowrance site:
Highly accurate, built-in GPS antenna plus a detailed U.S. map featuring more than 3,000 lakes and rivers and coastal contours to 1,000 feet.
Scott F reply :
I went from older Eagle models to the Elite 4 and was very happy with the Lowrance. The color screen is a huge improvement over the old B/W and it works very well even in shallow water where my old units always had problems. I like to see the depth, and water temp while I'm fishing from the bow so if I was getting just one right now, I'd put it up front.
blackmax135 reply :
On 4/13/2015 at 11:40 PM, Ringonu said:Looks like it is. From the Lowrance site:
Highly accurate, built-in GPS antenna plus a detailed U.S. map featuring more than 3,000 lakes and rivers and coastal contours to 1,000 feet.
I have the same unit but without the gps. I had it installed on my dash and I would turn it around when I was fishing on the deck it was hard to see at times but it did the job and I was happy with it other than no gps. Another good thing is if you ever want to upgrade to a bigger unit you can keep the transducer on the boat and just replace the actual unit. Its easy to use also and if you have really bad eyes this isn't for you because you have to look at it good to see the fish. I liked it but I just sold it for $100 because I wanted a bigger one with gps.
unageo09 reply :
I have the same unit, with the GPS, mounted beside the steering wheel. Used it for the first time today and was very pleased with it. Screen size was not that big of an issue. It was cloudy so there was no glare to see how that would affect. The down imaging looked really good and the GPS seemed to be spot on. For the money, I think it is a good purchase. Mine also came with the cover and the Lake Insight card. I purchased it from Gander Mountain.
southernson1989 reply :
On 4/18/2015 at 11:24 AM, unageo09 said:I have the same unit, with the GPS, mounted beside the steering wheel. Used it for the first time today and was very pleased with it. Screen size was not that big of an issue. It was cloudy so there was no glare to see how that would affect. The down imaging looked really good and the GPS seemed to be spot on. For the money, I think it is a good purchase. Mine also came with the cover and the Lake Insight card. I purchased it from Gander Mountain.
Me too. It was a $100 off. I love the down imaging. Mine is mounted on the front deck and the transducer is on the troller motor. Id say for $200 its a steal. I've just been fiddling with it when I go on the water but I'm about to start mapping with the Insight that was included free. When the summer heat rolls in I'm looking forward to using it for deep cranking and drop shoting.
unageo09 reply :
I got to use it a lot more today and I was really impressed. It's amazing what you can see with the down imaging.
Ringonu reply :
I got mine last weekend. Now I need to find the time to install it. I am installing it at the helm since I want something bigger at the bow.
wasabi_VA reply :
I just bought one too. I took it out last week and wasn't impressed with the downscan performance. I am assuming it is just my lack of knowledge and not sure how to use it. It showed me returns, but not a whole lot. The regular sonar would mark a lot of arches but most the time I didn't get a similar hit with the downscan (I had sonar on top, downscan under it). Whenever downscan marked a fish the dot was so small I had to wonder if it was a baitfish or piece of trash suspended in the water. The dot was way smaller than the sonar arch.
I heard the best way to use downscan was to overlay it on top of the sonar, but I don't think the small downscan fish marks would be visible against the backdrop of the sonar arch. What is it I should be doing here?
I'm using it on a slow moving small boat with trolling motor only, usually in 6 to 15 feet of water.
Ringonu reply :
Unfotunately with some recent expenses needed after taking the boat out for the first time, I will be returning the lowrance. Hopefully I will upgrade someday.
thomas15 reply :
Ringonu your old units may be useable. My boat came with a Humminbird Wide Eye which is more than 10 years old. Over the winter I purachased a Lowrance Elite 7 HDI and an Elite 4 HDI. The plan was to put the 7 at the bow (which I have done) and relpace the wide eye at the console which i haven't done yet.
OK, the Elite 7 is really nice and I'm pleased with it so far. But, since making a study of the old Humminbird, I have learned how to actually use the thing and in fact it is quite good and useful. As I find the time I'm going to replace the HB with the Elite 4 but I'm in no great hurry.
So hang in there with your present electronics it just might be enough to get you through.
To the other poster with the Elite 4, the arches in sonar are probably a better tool to identify fish. The downscan on the small screen is better for getting a feel for the composition of the bottom. There are a bunch of how-to videos at Lowrances website you should check them out.
Kevin22 reply :
I have the elite 4 hdi, does ever thing I need it to. Easy to read as long as you are not far away. I've found it to excel on the dash. I'm going to upgrade to an elite 5 for the front.
WPCfishing reply :
I bought a 5 HDI.. I want a Dragonfly now, Putting the 5 on ebay.
wasabi_VA reply :
I bought my Elite-4 HDI and have used it a few times. I set it up to use downscan overlay on top of the sonar. But I'm finding the downscan starts to clutter the screen after runnng it an hour or so. I tried turing up the settings to remove clutter but ony thing that works is to power it off, then back on. Not sur eif this is an issue from fishing shallow water? Very annoying
Insanity reply :
I've got one with GPS to. I love it.
Thought I'd post to say make sure you pick up a screen protector for a cell phone and stick it on the screen. Because it scratchs easily. Just From wiping it off.
Racerx reply :
Has any of you guys have problems getting loaded charts to show up when on the water? Installed one of a local lake, here, that i frequent, and it shows up fine, at home. but then, when I'm actually on the water, I get nothing. Odd.
Wayne P. reply :
On 7/14/2015 at 10:12 AM, Racerx said:Has any of you guys have problems getting loaded charts to show up when on the water? Installed one of a local lake, here, that i frequent, and it shows up fine, at home. but then, when I'm actually on the water, I get nothing. Odd.
EXIT after you do map searching so the GPS can function
Racerx reply :
My FF doesn't have an exit button (Elite 4 HDI), however, I MAY have just found the issue. I was loading the map of the local lake on the factory card, which came with Lake Insight Pro 14. I'm guessing the unit didn't like that, cause when I moved all the Lake Insight files off and left the local lake files there, the unit behaved differently. The chart readout looked more accurate. I'm not near the actual lake to prove this right now, but I think I have this licked.
This all might've not been so bad, but the owner's manual is basically crap. It gives you very general information and leaves you out to dry, and figured it out for yourself. I've been researching this issue, online, for a week or more, and really couldn't find any information pertinent to the situation, so I figured, in the event that someone else had similar issues, I'd post what worked with me, hoping to lessen other users' headaches.
Oh, one other thing: This map was downloaded from the Insight Genesis sight in a package. It had 3 AT5 map files (a small, medium and large map, each), an XML file, and one file titled "Permissions". The map would not load without that permission file on the card with the map files. I didn't see any real difference with or without the XML file. The map loads automatically, best as I can tell, and if you try going to manual load it from the card, it tells you the card is loaded, but there aren't any maps on the card to be loaded. I've heard others have this issue. Sounds like a factory bug of some sort.
Wayne P. reply :
On 7/15/2015 at 7:09 AM, Racerx said:My FF doesn't have an exit button (Elite 4 HDI), however, I MAY have just found the issue. I was loading the map of the local lake on the factory card, which came with Lake Insight Pro 14. I'm guessing the unit didn't like that, cause when I moved all the Lake Insight files off and left the local lake files there, the unit behaved differently. The chart readout looked more accurate. I'm not near the actual lake to prove this right now, but I think I have this licked.
This all might've not been so bad, but the owner's manual is basically crap. It gives you very general information and leaves you out to dry, and figured it out for yourself. I've been researching this issue, online, for a week or more, and really couldn't find any information pertinent to the situation, so I figured, in the event that someone else had similar issues, I'd post what worked with me, hoping to lessen other users' headaches.
Oh, one other thing: This map was downloaded from the Insight Genesis sight in a package. It had 3 AT5 map files (a small, medium and large map, each), an XML file, and one file titled "Permissions". The map would not load without that permission file on the card with the map files. I didn't see any real difference with or without the XML file.
Page 9 in the manual titled CURSER. You don't have the actual button like larger units do, but you have the menu item to exit the curser use that freezes the map.
Racerx reply :
Ah, I see now. I don't think I even got that far in operating the unit's charts. Thanks!!
Towely reply :
I have one waiting for me at Gander Mountain. Plan on strapping it to my new canoe somehow... I've been thinking about cancelling my order and upgrading to the elite 5 though. That screen size just seems a bit small. On the one hand i'd love a bigger screen but on the other hand being in a canoe, it's not like im going to be moving at any kind of speed through the water. Being that this will be my first fishfinder ever it appears the 4 does everything I could want or need BUT I just don't want to be stuck wishing I had gone a little bigger later on.
Wayne P. reply :
On 7/31/2015 at 1:30 PM, Towely said:I have one waiting for me at Gander Mountain. Plan on strapping it to my new canoe somehow... I've been thinking about cancelling my order and upgrading to the elite 5 though. That screen size just seems a bit small. On the one hand i'd love a bigger screen but on the other hand being in a canoe, it's not like im going to be moving at any kind of speed through the water. Being that this will be my first fishfinder ever it appears the 4 does everything I could want or need BUT I just don't want to be stuck wishing I had gone a little bigger later on.
BIGGER is good for having more history displayed and for views with more than one technology displayed.
The only real time sonar data is the very first vertical row of screen pixels on the right edge.
Towely reply :
Actually the one I purchased is the Elite 4x. Took it out for the frist time today. Tried fiddling with manual settings but couldn't find anything that worked better than the setup manager.
The problem I have is that with the setup manager I'm getting a lot of 'noise' from 0-15' or sometimes deeper. To the point that you couldn't make out anything down to 15-30ft. If I turn down the sensitivity the bottom all but disappears before the clutter cleans up. Any suggestions?
Racerx reply :
You should be able to turn down the noise reduction for the top several feet of water, if I remember correctly. Do that and re-adjust your sensitivity.
Wayne P. reply :
On 8/4/2015 at 10:57 AM, Racerx said:You should be able to turn down the noise reduction for the top several feet of water, if I remember correctly. Do that and re-adjust your sensitivity.
No, it's the Surface Clarity setting.
Manual page 21
Racerx reply :
Yeah, well I was working from memory, which is limited, since the manual, IMO, isn't all that helpful. 
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