# Can't see Jig.. Humminbird 581i



## harv50 (Jul 2, 2014)

Hello all.. I'm new to the forum.. and need some help..








I have always ran a lowrance 350A (since 1993) Never upgraded mainly because I knew the machine well and it did what I needed it to do.. Now lowrance has decided that it won't repair anything more than 5 yrs old or at least that's what they told me.. So I decided that most people now run Humminbird so I better give them a try.. I just wanted a basic unit, Grayscale only and not alot of functions (to mess with my mind). I got a 581i HD DI Combo.. I figured that the res of 640x320 would show me better detail than the 350A (which it should.. Went out to test it out with a friend and it didn't live up to my expectations.. Didn't see fish where I knew there was always fish so I decided to see if I could see a 3/8 oz jig with a 2 1/2" gitzit .. couldn't see it. now I'm in 30 ft of water.. my 350A would have picked it up, top to bottom..hmmm .. something is wrong here Raised sensitivity from 10 (mid point default) to 20 (max) still can't see it..I had the manual printed before I went on the water and took it with me..Long story short I tried everything in the book.. Finally put a 3" x 3/4" U bolt on and dropped it over the side, hit bottom and pulled it up 5' moved it along the side of the boat and finally picked it up if I moved it more than about 6 inches either way I would loose it (I thought it should have showed up like a cannon ball).. 
So I came home (no reception on the lake) called tech support and really got no support,( not a real knowledgeable person at least for my problem) Wrote an email a got a response on the 2nd day, they outlined a couple of settings to try (ones I had already done) but did tell me that I should see an area of 8.4 ft with 455 KHZ and an area of 12 ft with the 200 KHZ.. 
On my old 350 A (200KHZ) i could see about a 8' area.. I would think it should be about the same for the 581i . 
Anyhow I think its 1st a bad transducer , 2nd bad unit ( or maybe both) ..
One thing I did notice is when I got home I checked the perceived strength of the pulse ( hand under the transducer) and the 350A was way stronger "thumping" ..
Any how what do think?? I'm sure that if it was working right that it should at least perform as well as the 350A..
How well do you see something like the 3/8 oz, jig?? Thanks Harv


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## swbuckmaster (Sep 14, 2007)

I think the humming birds suck. Should have bought a garmin or kept the lorance problem solved.


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