Currituck Posted March 5, 2023 Report Share Posted March 5, 2023 I am all in on Garmin Livescope plus. I was ready to pull the trigger but have discovered an issue. My console mounted Garmin 7607XSV cannot accommodate two transducers (Livescope and transom mounted GT51). I think my options are: 1) Purchase a newer Garmin that has the options my current unit has but includes the new Livescope port. (My plan was to interface my IPAD via Wi-Fi and have it at the bow as the livescope screen). My wife said no. 2) Purchase a second Garmin and mount it at the bow. My wife said no, again. 3) Have someone on this forum suggest a solution. 4) Finally……A fine MBG Forum member volunteers to speak with my wife and thus convince her to say yes. If this one pans out there is a twice a week PAYING gig available to extract a yes Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings. Currituck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whichwaysup Posted March 6, 2023 Report Share Posted March 6, 2023 20 hours ago, Currituck said: I am all in on Garmin Livescope plus. I was ready to pull the trigger but have discovered an issue. My console mounted Garmin 7607XSV cannot accommodate two transducers (Livescope and transom mounted GT51). I think my options are: 1) Purchase a newer Garmin that has the options my current unit has but includes the new Livescope port. (My plan was to interface my IPAD via Wi-Fi and have it at the bow as the livescope screen). My wife said no. 2) Purchase a second Garmin and mount it at the bow. My wife said no, again. 3) Have someone on this forum suggest a solution. 4) Finally……A fine MBG Forum member volunteers to speak with my wife and thus convince her to say yes. If this one pans out there is a twice a week PAYING gig available to extract a yes Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings. Currituck As an owner of a livescope plus system, I am happy to chat with your wife. It really will make you a better husband, fisherman, and human. It wont necessarily make you catch more (but I have had my best year ever since buying it) but it removes the stress of not knowing if you are doing it right. Learning curve is a little steep (but fun) and you have to get over the “fish tv” addiction stage, but eventually it becomes a tool just like your trolling motor or power pole. Just way more useful. As for options, you might look on Russel Marine products for used units, they are coming out woth a new 94SV and some folks may trade up. You can definitely save a few hundred by going used. Always happy to chat if you want some details, i know when I was considering it, it was hard to find people who used it in saltwater environments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Currituck Posted March 7, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2023 Thank you for the reassurance. I have actually decided to just switch the transducer cables back and forth as needed. Scooter, my wife, is fine with that. The next warm weekend I will run my 10ga. power wire and 9 pin cable from the console to the anchor locker. That is where the GS-10 will be mounted. I want to be able to remove the Livescope transducer just as I do the trolling motor when stored off site. I do not want to tempt someone into doing something I’ll regret. Currituck 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smilemaker Posted March 7, 2023 Report Share Posted March 7, 2023 Be sure to have the power off when switching transducers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whichwaysup Posted March 8, 2023 Report Share Posted March 8, 2023 On 3/6/2023 at 8:42 PM, Currituck said: Thank you for the reassurance. I have actually decided to just switch the transducer cables back and forth as needed. Scooter, my wife, is fine with that. The next warm weekend I will run my 10ga. power wire and 9 pin cable from the console to the anchor locker. That is where the GS-10 will be mounted. I want to be able to remove the Livescope transducer just as I do the trolling motor when stored off site. I do not want to tempt someone into doing something I’ll regret. Currituck Fantastic. Keep us posted on your progress with it. Its a great tool but the learning curve can be bumpy. I cant tell you how many trips I just sat there and watched fish without picking up a rod, and then how many trips I went nuts because the screen was loaded and I was getting skunked. Learning how to identify fish comes with time, and when you begin to get it, your understandjng of how fish behave in general will skyrocket. Gar are such a distraction in brackish waters!! One tip, pay close attention to those lumps on the bottom, especially if they move and no matter how small they look. Reds, trout, striper will hug bottom and blend into it, so any bottom activity should be investigated, whereas the fish in the middle of the water column are often not your real targets. Thats more true in winter than summer though. Somewhere in all that bait was a real fish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Currituck Posted March 10, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2023 Mr. Smilemaker, I surely would have made the switch while powered up. I will put a label on both cords and on the port saying “power off”. CURRITUCK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Currituck Posted April 8, 2023 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2023 My new Livescope Plus is in the house. First thing I noticed is there is an adapter cable in the box that allows the small pin cable to use a Ethernet cable port, of which I have 2 on my 7600 series Garmin. Problem solved. Since the work has to be performed outdoors it will be next weekend when the install happens. My installation will be different from most…okay different from any I have seen or heard of. My bride asked that I not drill holes in the boat. So….I am using a poleducer transducer mount and attaching it to a forward pop up cleat by way of a E size Ram mount ball with 2 SS threaded U bolts wrapping the bottom of the cleat. The GLS10 will be mounted to a piece of starboard and suspended from the anchor cradle in the anchor locker. That cradle has 2 pivot tabs that will lock it in place. I have already run the small comm. cable and power from the console to the anchor locker. Besides no holes drilled this will allow me to completely remove the transducer and or GLS10 when the boat is stored, docked, out for service or being towed out of town. I will post pics and updates as I do the work and complete the installation. My grandfather told me, “if you do not use your head you might just as well have two places to sit.” Currituck. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whichwaysup Posted April 8, 2023 Report Share Posted April 8, 2023 Looking forward to pics! Sounds like a great plan. I was able to avoid holes in my install as well and your cleat idea is way more creative than mine. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Currituck Posted April 23, 2023 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2023 (edited) Livescope Plus has been installed and water tested. The issue of attaching two transducers was solved as Garmin included an adapter that changed the small comm. cable to an ether net cable. I had two open Ethernet ports. Components: Poleducer from shut-up-and-fish. Holds transducer allows depth adjustment and aiming. Ram mount “D” size ball. Attached to pop up cleat to meet wife’s specification of no new holes in boat. GLS10 Livescope brain. Removable mount using the anchor locker cradle and attached to a scrap piece of starboard. Added a grab handle because wet hands could drop this expensive item. Once the wiring was completed this set up can be installed in about 5 minutes at home in the driveway. Takes a minute or two deploy and adjust once on the water. When the unit has been removed the cables left behind in the anchor locker are coiled up and stored using one side of the anchor cradle. I am still working out where to store the boat anchor. The Poleducer has a couple shortcomings but nothing major. Once deployed the transducer will not remain where aimed. When fishing in a current it just spun around freely. I will be drilling a hole through the 60” pole and the receiver that is holding the pole to lock it in place with a SS locking pin. I will use the trolling motor to point the bow of the boat and thus aim the transducer remotely. There is a steering arm, not shown my pics, that allows you to aim and know where the transducer is aimed. That arm when even slightly firmed up bites into the 60” fiberglass pole. I am going to see if I can buy another locking collar from shut up and fish. I will drill and tap it so the steering arm does not have to bite into pole when occasionally used. The Livescope is as advertised. Once your Garmin updates are loaded this is a plug and play system that lets you see all those darn fish that are not taking the bait. My hope, hope springs eternal, is if the fish are there and not biting that I can make bait and presentation adjustments until they do. Be sure to hold onto this post so you will know exactly what you are buying if I lose hope. Edited April 23, 2023 by Currituck Updated details Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Currituck Posted December 29, 2023 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2023 After most of a season of using the Garmin Livescope Plus I have decided to sell it. You can find the ad in the MBG FORUM classified section under electronics. CURRITUCK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whichwaysup Posted December 30, 2023 Report Share Posted December 30, 2023 If it helps I am happy to talk to anyone who is contemplating this but is on the fence. Its hard to find a lot of info about using the system in saltwater situations. For the way I fish, it is a game changer, but there are specific situations where it really shines. If you are on the fence about this thing and want to talk through it, I am happy to share what I have learned. As a recent example, Trout up my way are unicorns and we were fishing a bay where we thought they might be schooled up. It was a big bay, so it was a bit like a needle in haystack. Thanks to the scope, we found the school, but they were lockjawed. Without the scope, we would have worked right past them, never realizing they were there. Knowing they were there, we worked the area hard and finally got rewarded. That situation has repeated itself dozens of times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Posted December 31, 2023 Report Share Posted December 31, 2023 That’s a great explanation, Gus. Thank you for sharing that, again ! MM 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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