Lowrance product expert Lucas Steward runs through the features of the Lowrance Elite-3x fish finder.Learn more: https://www.lowrance.com/lowrance/series/eli.
I was kayak diving in Bragg over the weekend with my boys. The finder had been working great, but then it went to a white screen and only read a depth of 3' when I was in deeper water. Ice fishing with the Lowrance Elite 3x. An inexpensive color display unit that gets the job done. For more check out our website: http://www.dellabay.com/Fol. Summary: Like with all Lowrance models, the only difference between the Elite-Ti 5, Elite-Ti 7, Elite-Ti 9, and Elite-Ti 12 is the screen size. Based on my reviews of all the Lowrance fish finders, though, I noticed a few trends: New models often have more problems reported than the company's more-established models. One of the first features that you should review if you are interested in the Lowrance Elite 3X is the LED-backlit color display. See Details on Amazon! The makers of this product have designed it with a detailed 320 x 240 resolution, which makes it much easy for the fisherman to see their prey in full sunlight.
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This model is from the Elite series of the Lowrance fish finders. This unit is a combination of two tools, offering navigation and fish targeting. The Elite 7 HDI offers advanced technologies and as with electronics of this sort it might be a bit confusing setting up the device at first, but then using it will be a simple process. For the worth it gives, this fish finder comes at an attractive price. To learn more about the technology of this fish finder, its benefits and downsides, continue reading my Lowrance Elite 7 HDI review.
The Screen
The Lowrance Elite 7 HDI features a 7 inch widescreen display with 800×480 pixels. The images you get are super clear, bright and sharp. It’s a color LCD display with LED backlighting, making it easily viewable in any lighting day or night.
HDI Technology
The Lowrance Elite 7 HDI has the benefit of two imaging systems. It features the Hybrid Dual Imaging that gives you in addition to high resolution DownScan Imaging the BroadBand sounder. So you can view both the bottom under the boat and fish structure and arches. The transducer is of about the same size as any standard transducer, but it offers in one unit both broadband sonar and DownScan sonar. You can view them next to each other simultaneously on one screen.
Lowrance Elite 3x Fish Finder
Track Back Feature
The tool saves your sonar history and with the Track Back feature you can go back to it anytime and rewind to study the reading to make sure that you don’t miss anything. The device has an integrated chartplotter and the trackback function allows viewing the GPS data as well. So using either the sonar or the GPS history you can easily navigate back to the desired spot.
DownScan Imaging
Thanks to DownScan Imaging innovation you can view on the display all the useful data that will help you catch more fish and do so with ease. To help you target fish, the display shows a photo-like imaging with amazing clarity and brightness of the bottom, structure, thermoclines, baitfish and predator fish that are located beneath the boat.
The Lowrance Elite 7 HDI offers you to choose the frequency that would be more suitable for your needs in your situation. For example, if you need to cover a wider and deeper area under the boat, then you can choose the 455 kHZ. On the other hand, if you need a more enhanced viewing of targeted locations the 800 kHz frequency would be more suitable. If you are fishing in inland waters or at higher speeds, the tool also features the conventional 83/200 kHz sonar frequency.
The Screen
The big size of the display that measures 7 inches gives you the convenience of being able to view all the necessary data on one screen. You have the choice of viewing just one chart or a combination of up to 3 charts. This is most helpful when you need to compare two types of data. For example, you can view side-by-side the DownScan Imaging and broadband and compare their readings to have a better understanding of what is under your boat.
The sizes of the window panels are also customizable. So if you are viewing three panels at once by default they will be of equal size, but you can adjust the sizes making them bigger or smaller.
GPS Antenna
This fish finder comes with a built-in 16 channel GPS antenna. With the memory provided by this tool you can save up to 3,000 waypoints, 100 routes or 100 waypoints per route, 100 retraceable plot trails or 10,000 points per trail.
The addition of the GPS allows you to navigate through the waters and never lose your way. It also gives you the option of marking and saving waypoints, so you will always be able to come back to your favorite fishing spot or the spot where you know you will be able to catch that big fish again. The power of the GPS gives great precision and accuracy of up to one meter.
The device is compatible with Navionics Gold charts that cover most of the US waters, including coastal waters and inland lakes.
The chartplotter is also compatible with the Insight Genesis, which is a tool that takes your survey data and creates you a free customized map.
NMEA 2000 Networking Compatibility
One of the three plugs that are located in the back of the Elite 7 HDI is designed for the NMEA 2000 networking. This tool allows you to share data from one marine device to another. This feature is especially useful if you already have a separate GPS unit with all the saved waypoints on it. The NMEA 2000 port gives you the option to share the existing chartplotter data to your Elite 7 HDI fish finder. So you don’t need to find and mark all the new waypoints. You just connect the network port and instantly have all the information.
Ease of Use
Lowrance Elite 3x Review
The installation for the Lowrance Elite 7 HDI is similar to standard mount units. It comes with a bracket mount that you can use to set up the unit onto your boat. The device comes with an installation manual that features a schematic guide on how to properly complete it.
Mounting the transducer is also similar to any transom mount transducer. When installing it, make sure that it is not tilted, but is parallel to the water. Also, it should always remain submerged in the water.
There are only two wires that you need to connect: one for the transom mount and one for the power source.
Operating the tool is also quite simple. It offers one-thumb operation with the new page selector menu that allows you to quickly access all the data you need. So while you steer the boat or motor with one hand, you can easily use the fish finder with the other.
What’s In the Box
- Elite 7 HDI fish finder/GPS unit.
- Mounting bracket.
- Transom mount transducer.
- Installation manual.
Pros
- Big screen.
- High screen resolution.
- DownScan Imaging and Broadband in one unit.
- Gives a clear view of the surface, structure, bottom, fish and details underwater.
- Chartplotter precision.
- Multi-window viewing.
- One year warranty.
Cons
- Some users have commented that after mounting the transducer they were receiving inaccurate data. However, other users had the problem fixed by properly mounting the transducer. It’s really important that it’s done with the right position and angle.
- Some of the user’s Lowrance Elite 7 HDI reviews mention that they had found the map and location updating to be a bit slow when at high speeds of the boat.
The Bottom Line
Overall, offers pretty good quality and you will definitely enjoy the features that it has to offer. Having the Hybrid Dual Imaging, the tool allows you to better understand what is below your boat, which gives you more success of targeting fish. The big sized display gives the benefit of viewing the data in greater detail and also allows viewing different sets of data simultaneously. The addition of the internal GPS antenna is also definitely a plus, as you can have the convenience of using two tools in one and you can always be sure that you are navigating the boat in the right direction. I hope that reading this Lowrance Elite 7 HDI review has helped you in deciding if it’s the right unit for your fishing needs.