control gadget

Let's dispel the notion that using Hummingbird fish finders is a daunting task. As with any electronic gadget, the various buttons which control your unit may seem confusing at first. Once you understand the basics of the fish finder and what it can do, using it becomes second nature.

The old adage "if all else fails, read the instructions" has some truth to it, but oftentimes instructions can be confusing. Understand that you will NOT understand every aspect of the fish finder the first time you use it. Remember, this is a high-tech piece of equipment, but thanks to the good people at Hummingbird, it is easy to master with a little time and patience.

The first thing you will want to do is power on your unit using button, you guessed it, the POWER! The title screen will appear and moments later you will see your first images of what lies below. The first thing that will pop out as you is a horizontal line towards the bottom of the screen. This is the lake or ocean floor. feet prominently displayed will be a reading in depth. Most models will then display water temperature, with some models showing your speed. These are all important measurements if you are going to take full advantage of all that your fish finder can do.

As you move through the water, the line representing the lake bottom will move up or down, depending on the change in your depth. It will also show any sort of terrain or structure changes, such as rocks, logs, brush piles, weed beds, drop-offs, or any of countless things you may find on the lake bottom.

Now you can start to adjust some of the settings, fine tune to the fish finder for your particular conditions. You can choose which you want to have VIEW, from choices such as Sonar View, Zoom View, Split View, Big Digits View, Flasher and Circle View. The default view is set for SONAR, but this can be changed by using the VIEW button to obtain these other views.

The POWER button then controls the backlight and contrast of your display. The FOUR-WAY CURSOR want to adjust contrast and brightness settings in conjunction with the POWER key. The MENU button is used to access many of the options you have to choose from. Once you choose a MENU item, you use the FOUR-WAY CURSOR as a selector to choose any given setting within a specific MENU choice.

The EXIT button has multiple uses, such as canceling alarms exiting the MENU mode, and returning to the previous level in the menu system It also cycle through the available views in reverse order, and if FREEZE FRAME is active, it will return to a scrolling display.

These are some common controls you will find on most Hummingbird fish finders. There may be additional keys on certain units, but the general idea is the same. Adjusting your fish finder to your specific conditions may take some time initially, but once you have determined your best or most common settings, you can save them in memory for future use. You will find that if you jump into using your Hummingbird fish finder, in conjunction with your user manual, you will soon be able to take advantage of the power that technology can bring to you fishing experience. You'll be showing up your friends in no time!