FCV 588 GAIN

My new unit is a 588 paired with a B260 transducer. What I am noticing is that I can barely turn the gain up before the screen clutters. On low frequency In 700' of water with TVG at medium, I can only turn the gain up to 3. Anything higher clutters so bad, it's not usable. with the TVG turned to high, the machine clutters with the gain at 0.

Settings are:
Pic Adv 1
Interference auto
color erase 5%
clutter 15%
smoothing on
Tx Power auto
Tx Rate 10

What is going on here? Why can I not adjust the gain any higher and why is my machine not usable with the TVG at high?

Good morning JLW1972,

Thank you for your inquiry. At what depth do you start to see the clutter appear, how big is the clutter band or does it completely wipe out the entire screen? Have you tried TVG set to the low setting while fishing at this depth? Sometimes it may take a bit more clutter control to clean the screen up than you would normally use. Could you provide any photos or screenshots of the fish finder with the settings below so we can get an idea about what you are dealing with?

All depths.
Correct me if I'm wrong but won't having the clutter control to high erase some of my fish targets in deep water(600'-1000')? Why would I run my unit on low TVG at these depths? This goes against everything I know about TVG.

The clutter is not a band. It is the whole water column. Imagine what happens when you turn the gain up to 10 and clutter the screen. This is what mine does on anything above 3 with TVG set at medium on low frequency. With TVG at high. I can turn the gain all the way down and still have screen clutter.

Sorry, no pics.

Will the clutter control being set to high filter out some of my fish targets?

Also, I fish as deep as 1400' some days. Why can my unit not function with a TVG setting at high. Isn't the high TVG setting for deep water?

Good evening,

The Clutter setting is different than color erase. Clutter does not eliminate a color in the color pallet it only suppresses the color band. It still shows the lighter colors just not as many of them. Depending on what kind of fish you are targeting having too much clutter control could certainly erase some weaker returns at depth. If your returns at depth for your target species are solid then you will continue to see them even with more clutter control.

TVG settings can differ from model to model. TVG for the FCV588 is different than say the TVG control for the FCV295 ect. My understanding of TVG for the FCV588 means the higher the setting the more you will see at shallower depths. I wanted to see how the screen looked with a low TVG setting. It should clean the screen up through the water column and maximize the gain value at the depth you have the sounder range set to. It was just an idea to try. You mentioned that you cannot get the clutter out of the screen. I gave you a couple ideas to try to see if it helps.

TVG high does not necessarily mean better for deep water. In some cases it could be good, in some cases it may not work so well.

I'll try the different setting next time I'm out.

My chasis ground is not connected. Do you think it may help to install a ground plate and connect it?

I will take some pics next time I'm out.

Its hard to say,

Take some photos next time your out and we will take a peak at them and try and figure out whats going on.

Kind Regards,

C-Bass

What about you Snips? Any ideals?

jlw1972,
I agree with C-Bass and would like to see a couple of screen shots using both frequencies. Remember that the FCV-588 is capable of using either 600/1Kw transducers. Since you are using an eight element B-260 (7 for 50Khz and 1 for 200Khz) that transducer has a lot more gain than a single element 600 watt P-66. So just by using a better transducer you are going to see more stuff in the water column. You can see the gain difference between the two transducers in the screen shots below. If there is a lot of life in your water using a High TVG setting along with a B-260 may make the 588 hyper sensitive.

Snips

Thanks Guys. Makes sense.
When I get back out I'll take some pics and update with my findings.