HDS 7

I am converting my HDS 7 to an ice unit, and I am wondering if there is a way to shut the GPS off when i am fishing?

why would you shut it off? Then you know where your waypoints are?

the reason i would shut it off is that when i am fishing i don’t need the other way points. And to save on battery life.

I think the only way to turn it off is to put it in simulator mode- still using the battery to run the processor. I had to try to shut it off while editing way points so it would quit telling me I had no GPS positioning in the middle of changes.

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I am converting my HDS 7 to an ice unit, and I am wondering if there is a way to shut the GPS off when i am fishing?

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Not saying it can’t be done, but I tried shutting the GPS off on my HDS 5 gen 1 and couldn’t find a way to do it and still be able to use the sonar. I thought I could find a way through the simulator, or “demo mode”, but everything I tried did not work. I could shut the GPS function off by using demo mode, but then also lost function of the sonar as well.

My advice is to look through and play around with the “advanced simulator settings” and there may be a settings configuration that will work.

If it’s any consolation, I set my HDS 5 up with a 10 ah battery and digital battery gauge; it never got below 30% in a full day of fishing. I also never fished multiple days in a row without charging the battery each night. The bigger screen of the HDS 7 will draw more power, but if you keep your screen brightness as low as comfortably possible you should have no problem making it through a full day of use.

I liked using my HDS 5 on the ice last winter, but you need to have it set up correctly to function well for ice fishing. Make sure the sonar is in manual mode and adjust the settings properly; sensitivity, colorline, and range are the important ones along with surface clarity, noise rejection, and ping speed also being used.

Here’s how I set up my sonar options:

Sonar Mode: Shallow Water
Auto Sensitivity: Off
Sensitivity: High enough so my jig is black (first color) with a little blue (second color) when my jig is moving. ~55%-75%
Colorline: Low enough to so my jig is a nice thin line. ~50%-65%
Ran*e: Custom… Upper limit between 2 feet and 10 feet depending on how deep of water I’m in and where the fish are. Lower limit 2 feet deeper than the bottom in my deepest hole.
Ping Speed: Max. If I am getting interference turn it down, but keep it as high as possible.
Noise Rejection: Low. Turn to medium or high if getting interference.
Surface Clarity: Low. Turn to medium if a lot of clutter on the screen.
Palette: Not sure what number, but it’s a white background and I think it goes (from first color to last) black, blue, green, yellow, red. Usually only black, blue, and green ever show up when fishing panfish.

Couple more comments:

The default, “no split”, sonar display was a lot better than the “zoom”, “bottom lock”, or “flasher” displays.

Don’t display combo pages. Having the Chart page up while using the Sonar really slows down the readout of the Sonar. I assume the processor just isn’t fast enough to keep up.