Dr Depth

[reddog]

I just made my first map with Dr Depth with data that I collected last year. I was up against the ice line on the reservior at the top of the picture, thats why it ends so abruptly. Kinda adds a whole new perspective to your fishing spots.

Here is the map configured with the bottom hardness scale.

Obviously, you can load the contour map onto an SD card for use in your Lowrance or Humminbird gps units for a custom map of your special spot.

[LMITOUT]

There are some good tutorials that come with the software and there are others online as well.

Just like any new software you just need to dive in head first and start playing around, pressing the buttons, and see what happens. There are sample files that come with the demo software so you can practice compiling the data and seeing how different settings effect the results. That's how I started and then decided it was what I was looking for so I bought the license key to unlock the entire program. Once you have some .slg files from the sonar you can mess with them all you want. If you don't like it start over and try again.

The first step is just learning how to import and compile the files. Then after you're comfortable with that you can start playing around with multiple files and the database feature. After that you can import shoreline data, export to Google Earth, create topo files to use in your GPS, etc.

[LMITOUT]

Online is the only source. You can download the program for free and use it with minimal options and then buy the license key later when you decide it's what you want which will unlock the entire program. The software developer will email you the key after purchasing.

[jwmiller33]

is my humminbird 595c compatible with this? it has a gps and a spot for a memory card

[Ed Carlson]

I believe right now Lowrance is the preferred vendor interface for Dr.Depth software.

But, with NEMA connections it can be used on other vendor platforms too.

It can be ran by a laptop, and converted to usable file formats for other vendor GPS units as well.

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Lowrance/Eagle

All combined GPS/sounders with memory card slot,i.e. HDS, LCX, LMS and Fish Elite models. Data is recorded as sonar logs (.slg).

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Humminbird

Combined GPS/sounders from the 7/9/1100 series. These units store depth in the track log and you also have the option to store the sonar history similar to Lowrance.

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Garmin

Most Garmin marine plotters will store depth in the track log, if the unit has an inbuilt fish finder or if an external fish finder is connected (GSD models or NMEA 0183 so fish finder of any make).

Humminbird 'dat/son' data. Most 7/9/1100 series combined GPS/sounders with memory card slot are capable of recording this data (it is not restricted to SI units!).

Some chatter about Garmin is making a new unit capable of all of this on the water mapping right on the dash, build 3-D maps as you go and save to chip to refine your own database. Just "Rumors" so far. My guess... is "if" Garmin wants to do it, nothing will stop them once they are happy with the results.

[Doctor_Sonar]

Reddog asked me to answer some of the questions.

I probably know many of you but your forum names hide you well!

JimBuck

The software upgrades are frequent and free.

MNbowhunter

You can delete bad data points one at a time or you can select a series of them and delete that section.

You can show the bottom hardness maps as trail or as a Lowrance (LCM) map. I prefer to create the LCM map for depth and the trail as one line to show the transition from hard to soft. Photo attached.

Eyebjim

The map for Lowrance looks like the LakeMaster maps. The Humminbird maps are displayed as trails for now. Many HB owners are asking HB to change this.

You can log charts and view LakeMaster or Navionics at the same time if you have a two card slot sonar/GPS model.

You can send me sample logs and I will create maps for you. Most logs are too large to email but they can be emailed on a CD. I email the sample maps back since they are small files.

I will keep checking if you have any more questions. I have access to the developer of this software for the questions I can’t answer.

[duckhuntr21]

I have been on the fence with this for almost a year now, but it really sounds like the cat's meow now. Does anyone have the computer with them in the boat? The website made it sound like that was the best way. If so, what do you have to have to connect the computer to the back of a lowrance lms?

[LMITOUT]

The information for connecting a laptop to your sonar is on Dr. Depth's website. Click on 'Examples' on the top menu bar and then on the 'NMEA 0183 connection guide'

Thanks for stopping by, Doc!

[buddha]

Wow does this stuff look neat. I think this would be a great option for the lakes that we fish that are not mapped in any detail.

[solbes]

Wow does this stuff look neat. I think this would be a great option for the lakes that we fish that are not mapped in any detail.

Exactly!! The lake I fish most is just under 1000 acres but was last mapped in the 1940's. Not too accurate to begin with, much less 70 years later. I gotta think the walleye's are not pleased with all this new technology.

And Doc does do his share of web surfing, that's for sure.

[reddog]

Welcome to the forum Doc! Thanks for coming in.

[Doctor_Sonar]

I have been using DrDepth on my boat computer for a few years. You hook the Lowrance NMEA 0183 wires to a serial connection from the computer. Contact me for details. This year I will connect the HDS Ethernet to the laptop and I will be able to create bottom hardness as I collect data. This is new and works in my office!

[BoxMN]

Hey guys, just a quick update. I was able to get my 642c record data and I made my first attempt at a map of my lake. All went pretty well, except my stoopid Eagle keeps losing bottom at about 8-10 feet if there is any hint of weeds. It never did this before the software update, and now it is the same old Lowrance/Eagle issue so many of us get frustrated with. And they don't support it anymore, so that.... oh well.... I will make the best of it.

The next theing I need to do is figure out how to make the shoreline feature work, not sure if I can just record GPS coordinates with my 642.

One question, can I (or better yet, is it easy to explain to newbie me...) edit out single points like some bad bottom soundings that I know where a function of the Eagle/Lowrance weed glitch? I tried, but could not find how to "grab" points or ranges of points, but it sure seems like I should be able to.

Thanks to you guys who let me know that my 642 would log data I have a new toy now, without breaking the bank, cause I already have what I needed!!!

[reddog]

Congrats,

You can edit out corrupt data point by point of by selecting a series of points. I wish I could remember how, but I cant right now.

[LMITOUT]

There is an editing tool in Dr. Depth that will allow you to delete or add points. A little pop-up menu bar will appear and then you can hover or mouse-over each button to see what it's function is. Zoom in so that the points are easily viewable and selectable. The Dr. Depth help document should outline the editing tool as well.

For shoreline data I traced the lake in Google Earth and imported the file into Dr. Depth.

[BoxMN]

Thanks guys. I will do the tracing like you mentioned Limit, that should work great. Thanks!

[BoxMN]

Hey Limit, coudl you give me a bit of help with the importing the Google Earth kmz file into DrDepth? I see the import kml but not a kmz, or did I save the Google path incorrectly? I traced in Google Earth using the add path tool. I closed it, and it slected the entire area of the lake - - should Ihave left the path open? or I guess better question is, how do create the kml file in Google Earth?

Thanks all of you guys for the help!

edit - I figured it out - had to SAVE AS a kml instead of kmz. Now I have the points in the DrDepth and trying to figure out how to add the shoreline points

[Nick Kuhn]

Anyone have an example of what the map looks like using a Humminbird sounder?

Also let's say I just set my sonar to log while fishing and don't make a conscious effort to zig-zag an area. It won't make for a good map from a single trip but would I be able to further refine the map after each subsequent trip?

How are data points stored? Lets say I scan a paper map and use that as a reference to punch out the 5,10, etc contour lines. Then later I collect actual data. Are all points treated equally or can you easily differentiate between log points and those you manually punched in?

[reddog]

Anyone have an example of what the map looks like using a Humminbird sounder? The Humminbird data is only just beginning to surface in regards to its mapping capabilities. As for right now and my experience, the data is earier collected/processed with Lowrance equipment. That may change in the near future as the software progresses

Also let's say I just set my sonar to log while fishing and don't make a conscious effort to zig-zag an area. It won't make for a good map from a single trip but would I be able to further refine the map after each subsequent trip? The map will only be as good as the data collected. The best maps are going to be made from dedicated trips logging sonar files. To do it with subsequent trips, more than likely would result in duplicated data which would be a waste of time and resources. If you take the time to collect the data, you only have to make one map of each area need and can then use it whist fishing and not have to worry about collecting more data.

How are data points stored? Lets say I scan a paper map and use that as a reference to punch out the 5,10, etc contour lines. Then later I collect actual data. Are all points treated equally or can you easily differentiate between log points and those you manually punched in?

Cant answer that question.

[mn_bowhunter]

Best advice I can give is to join the yahoo group about Dr depth and do the tutorial they have on there. It answered almost all my questions. Points are stored by logging your depth and position, and manually entering would be extremely tedious in my opinion. You are then relying on the "accuracy" of whoever created the paper map. I tried to walk the perimeter of the small lake I mapped, and the invalid depth readings caused the position points to be invalid. Based on that I'd just use google earth. If the overlay of the map is off you can shift the points.

[LMITOUT]

So has everyone been out plotting their favorite structure? I made it out today for the first time this year and did quite a bit of logging on a lake I haven't mapped yet.

Now is a perfect time to get your mapping done for the summer as well as next winter. There aren't many boats out and the ones that are fishing are in the back bays or on the shorelines hunting for crappie and sunfish, leaving all that mid-lake structure free for the taking. It's nice to do it now so you can map interrupted as well as not bothering anybody while you're criss-crossing aimlessly looking lost to the uninformed eye. I'm sure people have to wonder why that boat is going back and forth. LOL. Little do they know the next map is being made that will be the ticket for finding that tough to find structure next winter.

[JimBuck]

*Bump*

Any updates guys? How has the data collection been going. I just got the tax return and I'd love to put it towards something useful.

[LMITOUT]

I've only been out once so far this year due to the cruddy weekend weather.

If you are fairly comfortable with a computer and don't mind putting some time into learning the software I don't think you'd have any regrets buying Dr. Depth to do some personal mapping. There are tutorials with it that really take you step by step to making your maps. If you're still not sure you can download the program and use it in demo mode. There is some data included that allows you to play around with the different options to see how it all works. Can't beat free. When you decide to purchase you'll get a code that you'll enter and it'll unlock all the features.

The mapping I did a few weeks ago was really eye opening and I can't wait to put it to use this year and beyond. The best part of all of it is analyzing the map you made and seeing all the structure that you never realized was there. To me it's fun to look at the contours and think of the ways I'd approach it when fishing. It's also interesting to compare it to the DNR maps and see how much difference there really is.

If you primarily fish a lake that is already listed as a high definition map from Lakemaster or Navionics then there really isn't much reason to use the software and you'd be better off just buying one of those chips to use in your GPS. I don't have any of those lakes in my area so that's why I decided to make my own.

[JimBuck]

Well, I finally caved in and ordered it this afternoon. I forgot to include my download number when I purchased so I still am waiting for my copy to be unlocked.

I went out to one of my favorite local lakes and collected data for about 45 minutes. The guys out there must have thought I was nuts for cruising back and forth in a bay then landing the boat and taking off. Really, really looking forward to seeing my results and collecting more data.

It was either this or a new Lakemaster chip. A new chip wouldn't have given me anymore local lakes so I think it was a wise decision.

[LMITOUT]

Another mapper!

One thing I've found is not to go too fast when mapping. When I first got into this I did some experimenting and tried mapping while going just fast enough to get and stay on plane. What happens is the sonar doesn't ping fast enough to collect enough data points to make a good map.....they are spaced out too far from each other. I suppose you could do it if you thoroughly covered the area, but I don't think it'll work real well. I go about 4-7 mph when I do my mapping. My boat won't stay on plane unless it's doing 20-25 mph but it's a heavier boat and a tiller to boot.

BTW, there is a users group for Dr. Depth at Yahoo where you can learn a lot and fire questions that will be answered by the seasoned vet's along with the developer of the software. There seems to be a fair amount of users here as well, so I'm sure one of us could help you out too if you have any questions.

[BoxMN]

I have been enjoying my mapping, but my Eagle/Lowrance unit has been giving me grief. I lose bottom in any weeds, and for some reason at 26 FOW (not 24 or 25, but 26) I lose my reading. So I have a bunch of bad spots really deep and shallow. I will get off my wallet some day and get a new unit but not anytime soon. It is fun, and I still don't know enough about the software, like getting shoreline data in. I have it, but it is not showing up yet - I think I entered it backwards (water on left instead of water on right, or something, ha!)

[solbes]

Doc Samson is a great resource for Dr Depth. That's who I bought the program through. He's readily available for questions on various boards, including the Dr Depth board.

I took some logs last fall just to play around with during the winter months. Could not be easier on my HDS 7, especially if you have a blank SD card. Saw some things that I did not know about even after trolling the same shorelines regularly for 5 years.

I'm going to try and map out the bottom that's less than 25 feet this weekend in a 300 acre basin. Should take a few hours of trolling back and forth, but I want to get it done before the weeds cloud any reading of bottom. Doc's reco on another board was to take readings at 6 mph, and space your passes 50-150 feet apart. Obviously closer if you want more detail.

The one thing I am a little concerned about is taking readings on different days. If you have a position lock that is off 20-30 feet from the last time you did it, and you overlap some of the bottom readings, I would guess the software would wrongly interpret some of the depths. That's why I want to cover the < 25 feet stuff all at once. I can come back and do the deeper stuff later. This program is AWESOME!! Can't wait to get the mapping done and look at the 3d renderings at home.

[JimBuck]

Went on a bit of a trial run last night and was finally able to log some data.The whole process was pretty easy and navigating around the UI was simple. This is only a small portion of the total body of water and I'm already looking forward to adding on. I'm interested to see how the data behaves when collected from several different dates and compiled into one.

What is the data correction prompt about when you open a file for the first time? Does further process the material gathered and modify changes based on earth's axis, tilt etc.?

Here's my first run....

[Deitz Dittrich]

Very Cool!

[solbes]

I took some readings up north today. Basically covered the entire shoreline out to 20-25 foot depths all around our 300 acre basin. Through the rain, the wind, you get the idea. Anyway I started the sonar log file, but forgot to select the 2GB SD card instead of the internal memory. So I got home today, opened the Dr Depth software, and no data. So just a reminder to select the card instead of the internal if you're using an HDS

I got spotty WAAS coverage and had EPE's in the high 20's/low 30's. I wonder if this will be good enough. We usually drop from 12 feet to 20 in the space of 20-30 feet, so it does make a difference.

[LMITOUT]

Ouch. I have an HD unit as well and have nearly made that mistake myself.

There isn't a way to move the data from the HD to the card?