Syncing Active Target 2 and HDS Pro Together To Clean Up The Noise

[@scottsasanecki4106]

Great stuff as always Garry. For those of us using the Lowrance platform, there is so much to learn which can be overwhelming. You help make things understandable. Appreciate all you do and look forward to having you work on my boat.

[@garrywoodruff960]

Thank you. I appreciate you watching the videos.

[@kellydearwester6782]

Thank you for posting this. I am getting ready to install this setup next month.

[@garrywoodruff960]

You're welcome. Let me know if you have any problems with the installation or setup.

[@Cman12972]

Keep up the great work my friend

[@garrywoodruff960]

Thank you. It seems every time that I do a video, I find more ideas for additional ones. Now if I can just figure out how to attract more subscribers.

[@616_overlanders9]

Hey Garry, I have a HDS Pro12 and 2 Active Target 2 at my bow. Do you know how to access the new 3 views that’s supposed to be capable of doing. Do you know if your suppose to plug both of the AT2 yellow plug into the HDS pro 12 or do you plug one into the 12 and the other into another unit. Even so, how do you get into the mode of changing the view to the 3 new views. There’s like no description or demo of any online. If you do know the answer please 🙏🏻 provide me some info.

[@garrywoodruff960]

You will need to turn on the Active Target 2 features. You can access them in Settings -> System -> Advanced -> Features then look for the AT2 features and enable it. You will need to make sure that the Blue (sync) wire for both AT2 modules and the Yellow wire on Pro units are all connected together. For the network, you can connect the AT2 modules to any unit on the network but I would use a NEP-2 to connect everything. Both AT2 modules, the Pro bow unit, and the console unit(s) should be connected to it. The NEP-2 module will have the same power cord as the AT2, so make sure that you label it. And it also requires the use of the Yellow wakeup wire as well to turn it on. I usually have the NEP-2 module turn on when the electronics power is enabled. And I have the AT2 modules on separate switches to control each one separately (like I did on the Caymas build). And on the bow Pro, enable the Ping Sync under Power Control on the System Settings panel. Let me know how it all works out and if you have more questions. It sounds like you will have a really nice setup.

[@616_overlanders9]

OMG!! Thanks for the tip on Accessing this feature. I had no idea of it. I have 5 graph units on my boat. Also all my units is all Ethernet connected and NEMA 2000 all connected together. Do I still need that NEP-2?

[@garrywoodruff960]

You're welcome. I would definitely use the NEP-2. While it only has 5 ports, you can connect 5 devices and then daisy chain the rest. You have 7 network devices - 5 units and 2 AT modules. If you have the S3100 then it would be 8. I like everything on the boat to be connected. That allows me to look at everything from different locations. For example, when I guide I use the trolling motor and Active Target while sitting at the console while clients are fishing.

[@brandonw409]

Great videos Garry. I have AT1 and an HDS 12 Carbon at the bow. Is this not a function I can utilize with my unit? I have a 3-n-1 transducer on the trolling motor that I have to stop to keep the noise down.

[@garrywoodruff960]

Unfortunately, the sync capability is only with the HDS Pro, AT2, and S3100 as of now. I had 3-in-1 noise when I was running the AT1 module as well. Yes, stopping the 3-in-1 does eliminate the noise but I left mine running and I just filtered the noise in my head. Thanks for watching the video. Sorry about the delay in responding, I'm just starting to feel better.

[@michiganfishingadventure4915]

Thank you for the great videos, help me a lot for my Lowrance units. I have question for you about active target 2 and live units. I have ghost tree same you have on this video. Please can you tell me how can fix this issue and make screen cleaner. Thank you in advance

[@garrywoodruff960]

Hi, you're welcome I'm glad that the video was useful for you. Unfortunately the HDS Live units cannot perform the Sync function with the Active Target 2 module. One way to clear up the image is to stop all of the Sonars on the boat including side/down imaging. If you put your console unit(s) in standby that will turn of the transducers. If you have a transducer connected to your Live unit then you can stop the sonar and downside on their respective pages. That is a bit inconvenient but it will help the screen. The other way is to adjust the Contrast on the Active Target menu and reduce it. You will have to experiment to get the best compromise for image quality and fish detection. Less contrast will show less fish and reduce the range that you can see fish. When I was running Live units with first generation Active Target, I was running the contrast at a higher value to see fish. And I just ignored the ghost tree on the screen. Also, make sure that you have the latest update for the Active Target as well. I have seen improvements in the images with the newer updates. Now that I finally have my boat back I can simulate a Live unit by turning off the sync and see if I can find something else that may help getting rid of the tree.

[@michiganfishingadventure4915]

@@garrywoodruff960 Thank you very much

[@garrywoodruff960]

You're welcome.

[@kellydearwester6782]

I just noticed you were setting the power control / sync option on the bottom unit. That does not seem right to me?

[@garrywoodruff960]

That unit has the Ghost transducer connected. So it needs to be synced with the AT2.

[@jbranham50]

Gary, Thanks for the great content. I’m still failing to understand the SSR you use in your builds. Why? What is it exactly? I’ve tried finding content that I can understand but I have not found anything that I understand. Can you help or lead me to content that will help me understand?

[@garrywoodruff960]

Thank you. I appreciate you taking your time to watch the videos. I am working on the next one about the sync right now on the St Lawrence. A SSR is a solid state relay. It allows me to use one voltage source (i.e. starting battery) to switch or turn on another source (the yellow wire on an AT module or S3100 module) that is powered from another battery. It is a way to keep the batteries isolated. This is really used when you want to use an accessory switch on the boat that is on the boat's starting battery to turn on/off the module on another battery. A relay in general lets you turn off a circuit with minimal power on the control side but that circuit may be high amperage or even a different voltage range as well. As you might suspect there are many relays available. The SSR that I use is a DC/DC relay. If you have an A/C unit in your house it will have something similar to allow your thermostats to turn on/off the AC unit but will most likely be one for AC and have different voltage requirements for both the control side and the relay side. And most likely a mechanical relay since they are generally less expensive and not subject to the wet and bumpy environment as your boat. Also your vehicle has multiple relays in it as well. Does that help? Let me know if that makes sense.

[@jbranham50]

@@garrywoodruff960 , that makes more sense. Do you happen to have a simple wiring diagram?

[@garrywoodruff960]

I'll make up a wiring diagram when I get home next week. I do go through all of the connections in the video that I did on the installation of the HD FR transducer/S3100 module on my boat.

[@jbranham50]

Gary, When you run power for electronics in a boat, do you run an individual power wire for each graph from the battery or do you run one power wire and bus from there? If you run individual power wires for each graph then why? TIA

[@garrywoodruff960]

I run 8 AWG wire to either the console or the bow. Then I use a fuse block with a position for each of the units. I usually use a 6 position but I've also used a 12 position (Caymas CX21) where there were 3 units, 2 ATs, network hub, etc. The 8 AWG is more than sufficient for that load with minimal voltage loss.

[@tcwest83]

Im getting the S3100 module and the AI HD 2 in 1 transducer for my carbon 16 at my console. I do not have active target, I have Garmin at my bow. Will I use the blue wire in the s3100 module's power cord if I am using it as a stand-alone unit just for my console units?

[@garrywoodruff960]

As I mentioned the blue wire is to sync with other capable modules and HDS Pro units. The yellow wire circuit must be different in the Carbon and Live units. So the sync function won't work on them. So for now leave the blue wire unconnected but don't cut it off in case you upgrade to a Pro unit.

[@gregmichel4886]

Hi Garry, would this sync feature also work with Active Target 2 and the HDS live 12" unit?

[@garrywoodruff960]

Unfortunately not. The Live doesn't have sync capability as of yet. I would suspect that the sync capability was added to the new Sonar/side/down imaging circuitry internally. If you get a S3100 module and plug the transducers into it, then you can sync the S3100 with the AT2. That could be a costly option though but cheaper than a Pro unit.

[@gregmichel4886]

Thanks Garry...wow, really appreciate your fast response, and for all your videos regarding tips and tricks along with install help.

[@garrywoodruff960]

You're welcome. I appreciate you watching the videos and I hope that you are learning good stuff.

[@peterv1459]

Hi Garry, Thank you for your videos, Should I sync if I am using a HD Pro with the supplied HD active imaging transducer and only 1 active target 2, as the lowrance tech told me that I should only need to activate the sync feature if I use 2 active target 2's.

[@garrywoodruff960]

Thanks you very much! Yes you should. The setup that I showed in the video had an AT2 and a HDS Pro with the Ghost nosecone. When we did the training on the Pro units and AT2, the initial training only covered the dual AT2 syncing. But in later training, it was mentioned that you could do more with the sync feature. I also have it on my console where I has Pro with older 3-in-1 and a S3100 module with HD fish reveal. Having the sync enabled between the Pro and 3100 results in no noise between the two. It is a very powerful feature to get rid of noise caused by other transducers. In fact, I am still planning a full video about transducer noise issues. Hopefully my boat will be ready at the start of Feb and I can get on the water and shoot the video.

[@peterv1459]

Thanks for all the information Garry@@garrywoodruff960

[@garrywoodruff960]

You're welcome.

[@denniswilliams3418]

Would you do the same if you have one hds pro and the 3 in 1 HD transducer mounted on the trolling motor with at2

[@garrywoodruff960]

Yes. That way you don't have to keep stopping the sonar and sidescan just to eliminate the noise. And it is a low cost option too, just a connector and maybe a switch for the AT2 module.

[@jbranham50]

Gary, one more… I have a HDS Pro that I use specifically for my AT2, my 2nd Bow unit and console units are Live units which are all networked together. Will the ping sync still be beneficial to utilize between the Pro unit and AT2? TIA

[@garrywoodruff960]

Yes it will be useful, just follow the connections that I mention. Make sure that the bow transducer is connected to your bow Pro unit otherwise you will not see the benefit of noise reduction on the AT2 screen. Then you can network the Pro sonar/side/down to other Live units and everything will work well. I have my lower bow unit (connected to Ghost nosecone) and my AT2 connected together with the sync wire. I also have my right console unit (with an in-hull transducer) connected to my S3100 module. All are Pro units. With sync enabled, I do not get transducer noise between the bow unit and AT2 or the console unit and S3100.

[@jbranham50]

@@garrywoodruff960, Thanks Gary. I’ll report back on how it goes.