I was late getting into the Garmin Livescope game, but I installed one on my boat last week, used it for the first time yesterday. First, I absolutely love it! I went to Wedowee by myself (because I knew I was gonna tinker with the Livescope and didn't want to take someone else not knowing how it would go). I'm guessing I caught 40 fish (+,-), about 75% bass and 25% crappie.

But here's a question.... in deeper water, it's ultra clear and precise, basically no clutter. I caught fish yesterday on a crappie jig and could easily see that tiny thing from the surface to however deep I fished it (caught some of those fish in 40'). But it's not nearly as clean of a screen in shallow water. Is this normal? It's not "bad", just an obvious difference when you pan from the bank out to deeper water. Is it a gain thing? Color palette?
I mostly used the "Black Emerald" color and my gain around 65-70 (left it on 68 mostly).

Any input from y'all?

My setup is:
GLS 10 black box
LVS 34 Transducer
106SV Echomap Ultra
I ran 8awg dedicated wire from a new 16V lithium battery to a block I installed in the front, and screen said I was getting 16.1V, and was only down to 15.3V after 8 hours. This lithium battery is solely dedicated to nothing but the Livescope and 106SV, no other equipment is on it.

I can't wait to join the Livescope club....following.

Not to be nosey, but been looking into one myself. What that whole set up run you? Ballpark figure. I understand if you don’t want to say. Thanks.

Amber or Blue are the better screens. Try adjusting the color gain in the settings not the overall gain from the main screen

Following.
Looking to pull the trigger.

Sounds like you have everything setup very well. I think it's normal to get a better picture in deeper water; at least mine does the same. I've also found that I get a much better picture in a clear lake like Harris or Martin than a place like Millers Ferry. There is probably a way to adjust it to make up for the difference, but I am still figuring it out. Seeing the fish isn't a problem, but finding my bait sometimes is, especially further from the boat. Mine is the 32 and everything I've read says that the 34 that you have is better, so maybe it won't be much of an issue for you.

The worst problem I have with it is that it's killing my neck and back to be looking down at that thing for so long. I ordered a Beatdown mount that will get it up to eye level and hopefully take care of that, but don't have it yet.

Last time I went bass fishing I decided to fish shallow and ignore the LS, but a couple of hours of not catching much and I was back to video fishing and caught a decent bunch. Good luck with it

Mine is only running on 12V and is pretty good. I think it'd like to try out a higher voltage though to see if it improves clarity.

This is the kind of picture I'm getting on my 106SV up front:

I found the 106SV on sale at The Bass Tank for $999 (normally $1,999).
The 34 transducer and black box was $1,600 total from my buddy who owns the local tackle store.
The lithium batter, charger, and mounting bracket were right at $300 from AmpedOutdoors.
Then I've probably got another $150 in wire, power block, disconnect switch, and connectors.
So what's that, about $3,050?

Good idea.... I'll tinker with that next time I'm out and give a report!

That’s not bad as I’d thought they was. I’m gonna look into little more serious I think. Thanks

I knew some prices of some of the stuff, but t didn’t know exactly what all it took to make that set up.

Me too, but I’ll have to wait till I retire in a year or two so I will have time to fish.

Aint that the truth!!

I have the LVS32. Feel like my view/clarity can change with the sun, after a good rain and certainly in shallow water. I don't fidget with it anymore. I run it between 68-72'ish gain. As long as I can see my jig in close proximity to the fish.....I run with it.





If you are going to take the plunge.....the pain is real...lol..this is the best advice and mount for helping with that. Sitting in a seat its just a head turn. Bonus.....it rotates out of the way up front so running down the lake is safer.

Any of you LS guys ever have the bottom slope down from left to right, even if you're on a flat bottomed area? A lot of slope, not a little. Something isn't right with mine I think. I don't know what it is, or where to start. Guess I'll call Garmin.

You have one? I read about it on another forum, looked it up, and decided I had to have one. I've never actually seen one; is it stable in the up position? My boat only runs 30, and I'm wondering if I can leave it in the up position when using the outboard or if I gotta let it down each time.
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I've noticed things like that when over a soft bottom. I believe that a mud bottom doesn't return the signal so well and it just washes out. I'm sure there is a way to compensate, but I am not sure of the best adjustment. I hope Garmin can help; their tech support is better than most companies.

Happens on occasion turn off and back on usually resolves it

PCP, mine does it every time I use it. And Ben, yes I've noticed that, but sometimes it takes a couple of times to fix it. I have a toggle switch on my black box that I turn off between fishing trips. I did that to try to keep it from eating batteries. I don't remember it doing this prior to me installing the toggle switch, but it could have.
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Do either of y'all, or anyone else know if doing updates to the unit also update things in the black box? Garmin stopped offering updates for the original 93SV that I had. I bought a new 10 something at Thanksgiving, thinking that would fix all my issues, but it didn't.

I'm sure you have thought of this, but is the toggle switch rated to carry enough current to run it? A typical 12 volt toggle switch isn't heavy enough. I don't remember the specs Garmin says, but I think you need one rated 450 watts or so; 35 to 40 amps if it's rated that way. A smaller one won't carry enough current, but it also has terminal screws that are too small for 10 gauge wire. If it doesn't meet those specs, I would suspect that is your problem. It sounds like you have a different issue than what I described regarding the mud bottom. Good luck figuring it out.

I'm so novice I couldn't really tell you if this is valid or not, but a few of the local sticks who are good enough to win tournaments with it, told me- "If you're not gonna get the better stuff, I'd tell you don't get it at all."

What they meant was this: Shopping online, I was gonna be able to get a 93SV and the old LVS32 for $1,700 total.
They persuaded me I would be so dissatisfied with the lower-end stuff that I'd feel like I had wasted that money.

Now, in total disclosure, I haven't been in a boat with the older transducer or a lower pixel graph, so I really don't know if their advice was hyperbole or not. But I spent a full day in the boat with a guy who has the LVS34 and the 8612xsv graph, and it was FAR beyond my expectations. I swear you could see the fish blink their eyes That 8612 is 1920 x 1080 pixels. He gets a boat deal on all that stuff through Sylacauga Marine though, so it's easy for him rig out top of the line that way. I'm pretty proud of my setup though, my 106SV is 1280 x 800 pixels and I couldn't really tell a difference between his and mine. Seriously, I noticed the other day that I can literally see the pressure wave from a fish moving (picture slow motion video of a bullet). Crappie would turn sideways and you could see their fins and tell it was obviously crappie vs bass. I was throwing a 1/16 crappie jig, and could see it hit the water and go all the way to fish that were 40' deep.

So I'm wondering the if the less expensive LVS32 and 93SV are capable of that? If so, that would be a FINE purchase for anyone.