Need help with sonar (Marcum lx3)

[ovidiu30]

I am new to the whole sonar scene and I just bought a Marcum a couple days ago. I used it today for the first time in 4-5 ft of water and I turned up the gain just a little bit and I was getting lines all over the sonar. I was also unable to pick up my jig (rapala jigging rap) in the water. It was extremely confusing and I am wondering if its something wrong with it or am I doing something wrong.

[Kevin23]

Was there anyone around you? It could have been interference, for which you need to hit your IR button once.

[hnd]

are you talking about all the stuff after the bottom?   that's normal and ok. 

[ovidiu30]

There was no one around me and it was just hard for me to focus on it. It never picked up my jig as a steady yellow line no matter how much I turned up the gain. If I turned on the gain just a little it only picked up the bottom.

[esox_magnum]

4-6' of water with my 5 I run the gain at around 1 to 1.5 for small panfish jigs, jigging raps are hard to pick up with such a narrow cone at that shallow of depth, if you are using braid bubbles from the line can also cause interference issues as the unit picks that up...

[Kevin23]

Were you in a brush pile or weeds by chance? they can mess with you.

If not, try checking the transducer connection on the back of the unit and make sure the battery is completely charged. Maybe even try a new battery if you have one at home, a bad battery can simulate a transducer going bad (false marks).

Place your unit on a table or hold it so the transducer hangs about 3' above a hard floor. Wood, tile, concrete.. anything but carpet. Turn your sensitivity up and you should see the bottom at about 9-10 feet and no other marks. If you are getting the crazy signal again, there is something wrong.

[ovidiu30]

I'll have to give that a try, and the battery was charged fully the night before. Could that solution possibly work in the tub as well? haha. One thing I did notice when I got home was the fact that my + cable that goes onto the battery was kind of loose and barely hanging on to the battery, although it was still making contact.

@BKK There were some weeds, but not that much. I watched the youtube videos of the Marcum lx3 and it seemed really easy to set up, but when I put it to use today it kind of backfired.

[esox_magnum]

That loose connection could have been an issue...

[Wyosledder]

They are not shipped with the battery leads  both connected,hope that  solved it.

[darkwater777]

I would suggest you try a few different areas at different depths to see if it is the machine or something else. Jigging raps really dart out to the sides and in the depth your fishing you cone angle is very small. Once the jiggin rap is still, directly under the transducer,it will display  really well as it is a horizontal lure.
If all tests fail....send it back.

[Kevin23]

Turn your unit on tomorrow and let it run at full gain for about 5 hours, then charge your battery back up again. Make sure your connections are good and tight, make sure your transducer cable is tight, make sure the power cable is tight in the back of the unit. Then all you can do is go out and try it again. If you still have problems, time to call marcum.