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Pub. 988-0105-951
www.lowrance.com
X51 and X58DF
Fish-finding & Depth Sounding Sonars
Installation and Operation
Instructions
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Copyright © 2002 Lowrance Electronics, Inc. All rights reserved. ® Lowrance is a registered trademark of Lowrance Electronics, Inc. Marine-Tex is a trademark of Illinois Tool Works Inc. Lowrance Electronics may find it necessary to change or end our policies, regulations, and special offers at any time. We reserve the right to do so without notice. All features and specifications subject to change without notice. All screens in this manual are simulated. For free owner's manuals and other info
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Table of Contents Introduction .................................................................................. 1 Capabilities and Specifications: X51 and X58DF........................ 1 Installation.................................................................................. 2 Transducer Installation................................................................ 2 Recommended Tools and Supplies ........................................... 3 Selecting a Transducer Location................
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System Setup............................................................................ 44 Backlights................................................................................ 44 Display Contrast ..................................................................... 44 Depth Units of Measure.......................................................... 45 Temperature Units of Measure.............................................. 46 Speed and Distance Log Units of Measure.......................
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Introduction Thank you for buying a Lowrance sonar! Your unit is a high-quality sonar designed for both professional and novice fishermen. All Lowrance sonars have an automatic mode that finds and displays the bottom, fish, underwater structure and more – right out of the box. All you have to do is press the on (PWR) key. However, if you want to fine-tune your unit, press the MENU UP key. The X51 and X58DF have several powerful features you can control by scrolling through easy-to-use menus wi
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Sonar Frequency:...................... 200 kHz (or 50/200 kHz – X58DF only). Transducers: .................. A dual-frequency Skimmer transducer comes packed with the X58DF. It has 35°/12° cone angles. Single frequency models for X51 with a 20° cone angle are sold separately. Both models offer a wide fish detection area of up to 60º with high sensitivity settings. Transmitter: ................... 1500 watts peak-to-peak power (typical); 188 watts RMS power (typical). Sonar sounding depth capab
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both single- and dual-frequency Skimmer transducers. Please read all instructions before proceeding with any installation. The smaller single-frequency Skimmers typically use a one-piece, stainless steel mounting bracket. The larger dual-frequency Skimmers typically use a two-piece, plastic mounting bracket. The trolling motor mount uses a one-piece plastic bracket with an adjustable strap. These are all "kick-up" mounting brackets. They help prevent damage if the transducer strikes an object wh
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then the chosen location must be in the water at all times. If the transducer is not placed in a smooth flow of water, interference caused by bubbles and turbulence will show on the sonar's display in the form of random lines or dots whenever the boat is moving. NOTE: Some aluminum boats with strakes or ribs on the outside of the hull create large amounts of turbulence at high speed. These boats typically have large outboard motors capable of propelling the boat at speeds faster than 35 mph. Typ
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Transom Transducer centerline Hull bottom Align transducer centerline with hull bottom. However, there are times when you may need to adjust the transducer slightly higher or lower. (The slots in the mounting brackets allow you to loosen the screws and slide the transducer up or down.) If you fre- quently lose bottom signal lock while running at high speed, the trans- ducer may be coming out of the water as you cross waves or wakes. Move the transducer a little lower to help prevent this. If you
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The following instructions sometimes vary depending on the mounting bracket that came with your transducer. Single frequency Skimmers come with a one-piece stainless steel bracket, while dual frequency Skimmers come with a two-piece plastic mounting bracket. Use the set of instructions that fits your model. 1. Assembling the bracket. A. One-piece bracket: Press the two small plastic ratchets into the sides of the metal bracket as shown in the following illustration. Notice there are letters mold
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Transducer Transducer bracket Ratchet Ratchet Add ratchets to bracket and transducer. 2. Aligning the transducer on the transom. A. One-piece bracket: Slide the transducer between the two ratch- ets. Temporarily slide the bolt though the transducer assembly and hold it against the transom. Looking at the transducer from the side, check to see if it will adjust so that its face is parallel to the ground. If it does, then the "A" position is correct for your hull. If the transducer's face isn't pa
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B. Two-piece bracket: Assemble the transducer and bracket as shown in the following figure. Temporarily slide the bolt though the transducer assembly but don't tighten the nut at this time. Hold the assembled transducer and bracket against the transom. Looking at the transducer from the side, check to see if it will adjust so that its face is parallel to the ground. If it does, then the "A" positions are correct for your hull. If the transducer's face isn't parallel with the ground, remove and d
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B. Two-piece bracket: Once you determine the correct position for the ratchets, assemble the transducer as shown in the figure in step 2B. Don't tighten the lock nut at this time. 4. Drilling mounting holes. Hold the transducer and bracket assembly against the transom. The transducer should be roughly parallel to the ground. The trans- ducer's centerline should be in line with the bottom of the hull. Don't let the bracket extend below the hull! Mark the center of each slot for the mounting screw
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Both bracket types: Attach the transducer to the transom. Slide the transducer up or down until it's aligned properly with the bottom of the hull as shown in the preceding and following figures. Tighten the bracket's mounting screws, sealing them with the caulking compound. Adjust the transducer so that it's parallel to the ground and tighten the nut until it touches the outer washer, then add 1/4 turn. Don't over tighten the lock nut! If you do, the transducer won't "kick-up" if it strikes an o
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7. Make a test run to determine the results. If the bottom is lost at high speed, or if noise appears on the display, try sliding the trans- ducer bracket down. This puts the transducer deeper into the water, hopefully below the turbulence causing the noise. Don't allow the transducer bracket to go below the bottom of the hull! TROLLING MOTOR BRACKET INSTALLATION (single-frequency only) 1. Attach the optional TMB-S bracket to the transducer as shown in the following figure, using the hardware su
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TRANSDUCER ORIENTATION AND FISH ARCHES If you do not get good fish arches on your display, it could be because the transducer is not parallel with the ground when the boat is at rest in the water or at slow trolling speeds. Partial fish arches Transducer aimed Transducer aimed too far back too far forward Full fish arch Proper transducer angle Transducer angles and their effects on fish arches. If the arch slopes up – but not back down – then the front of the trans- ducer is t
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transducer installation can be made on hulls with flotation materials (such as plywood, balsa wood or foam) between layers of fiberglass if the material is removed from the chosen area. Fill with epoxy Inner hull Flotation material Epoxy to hull first Outer hull Epoxy the transducer to a solid portion of the hull. For example, some (but not all) manufacturers use a layer of fiberglass, then a core of balsa wood, finishing with an outer layer of fiberglass. Removing the inner layer of fiberglass
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cation that shot through the hull the best and follow the instructions on the following pages for a shoot-thru-hull mounting. Transducer location Transducer location (high speed) (trolling speed) Shoot-thru-hull transducer locations for high speed or trolling speed operation. Shoot-thru-hull Installation 1. Make sure the area is clean, dry and free of oil or grease, then sand both the inside surface of the hull and the face of the transducer with 100 grit sandpaper. The surface of the hull must
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Place the transducer into the epoxy, twisting and turning it to force any air bubbles out from under the transducer face. The face of the transducer should be parallel with the hull, with a minimum amount of epoxy between the hull and transducer. After the epoxy dries, route the cable to the sonar unit. Speed/Temperature Sensors The X51 and X58DF can accept as many as two temperature sensors, which can be used to monitor the temperature of surface water, a live well or some other location. These
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X51 or X58DF rear view Temperature sensor built into transducer MY-4X Cable SP-X speed-only sensor X51 or X58DF with external speed sensor. A temperature sensor is built into the transducer. X51 or X58DF rear view Transducer with no temperature sensor MY-4X TS-1X Cable temperature sensor X51 using a transducer without built-in temperature sensor. In this example, an external temperature sensor is used. 16
