Thanks for all the helpful info. One question: Why do you (apparently) use Autochart instead of Autochart Live? I have both and find ACL to be much easier, but I wonder what I'm missing. Thanks again.
I do use AC Live from time to time, but usually only the first one or two times out on a lake I've never been on, AND when those new lakes either have no Lakemaster data at all, or have maps where the Lakemaster data is so incredibly wrong as to be useless (we fished a lake a few times earlier this year where the water level was 10-12 feet higher than Lakemaster claimed it should be, so I was basically mapping "dry land"). Once I have some type of basic map of a lake, I'll usually fill it in without the use of AC Live. In cases where I do use AC Live, I will use it on one graph, while recording raw sonar data on the other. This allows me to have a real-time map for some assistance that day, while being able to generate a Lakemaster map using AC Pro when I get home. Sometimes, I have even taken my laptop out on the boat with me to render maps on the fly (you can connect a laptop to the Humminbird network to generate real-time Lakemaster maps using AC Pro while on the water!). I have done a couple videos on AC Pro, both in how to generate maps, and how to repair the damage done by bad data (see my lengthy one where I had to scrap a bunch of data due to a bad GPS source). Next time I get out on the lake, maybe I'll record some stuff on AC Live and try to put together a comparison video. I prefer the Autochart Pro software because I find it much easier to edit the sonar data to produce more accurate maps. On the graph, you have to deal with lots of menu clicking, and use the 4-way directional pad, and it's cumbersome. On a PC, I can just use the mouse, and click into whatever menu I need, rather than following a pre-defined menu structure to get to the feature that I need. Autochart Pro also allows for the creation of Side Imaging mosaics, so I can get a better idea of what the lake actually looks like, rather than from just a countour point of view. I can also render the lake in 3D, and spin it around like a CAD drawing. AC Live can't do this since those data streams aren't stored or saved for playback the way they are when you record raw sonar data. Another part of it is that when AC Live was first introduced, it didn't do bottom hardness or vegetation - those features were AC/AC Pro only, so I have been using AC Pro for a while, and now I'm just used to it. There are other software packages out there such as ReefMaster (www.reefmaster.com.au) that can make use of the raw sonar data recorded for use with Autochart Pro. AC Live data is a proprietary format that cannot be used by these other programs. Some of these other programs can be useful to help get a better understanding of what a lake really looks like, vs just having a navigational chart. One of the things I don't like about AC Live is the way it overlays any other data that is on the display in real-time. It doesn't integrate with that other non- AC Live data to produce a cohesive map, and this overlay often times will hide other data from me that I still want to see, whether that's data that I already know is accurate (it may be part of a map I created using AC Pro, for example). This is the reason that once I have some type of decent "base map", I'll fill in the blanks by just recording my sonar data and then creating the map using AC Pro. I recall being out fishing one such lake that had no data, and I had recorded sonar and generated a map in AC Pro. There were a few very sharp, narrow points that came out into the lake. The second time we were out, I again had AC Live running, as well as was displaying my AC Pro map underneath. Since I knew there was a point there, and had already mapped it, I didn't drive across it, but rather just fished down the edge. AC Live data completely obscured that point from view, telling me it was 15 feet deep over there even though I knew it was 2 feet. Could that have been avoided if I exclusively used AC Live? Probably. But I have multiple graphs and multiple ZLCs, so there's no guarantee that one particular ZLC will ever make it back into the same graph. Some more diligence and creativity on my part could probably overcome that problem, but.. That's a story for another day. Long story short, while I think that AC Live has some definite use cases, and the ability to create maps in real-time is definitely an advantage, it still has enough drawbacks - for me - that I prefer AC Pro. Mapping accuracy is important to me since I have a group of guys that I share map data with. One of those guys may go fish a lake that I've mapped, and they've never been on, and I don't want them thinking there's a 30 foot hole somewhere there isn't because the graph mistakenly recorded a bad reading and AC Live made it too difficult to edit out. I know several people that prefer AC Live over AC Pro - and that's ok. I'm a bit of a geek, and I like all the extra nerd-knobs that AC Pro offers, and the greater level of detail I can get into with it. If AC Live gives you everything you need and you are satisfied with it's performance, then there's probably no need to change how you do things. It's the same as the spinning vs casting argument (watch my video on that if you haven't yet). On paper, spinning reels are superior in every conceivable way to casting reels - they are lighter, have more drag, pick up line faster, and have larger spool capacities. Yet most guys continue to prefer casting reels. That's part of the beauty of fishing - many, many different tools to choose from to get the job done. Just pick whatever one is right for you, and your budget (whether that's money OR time), and get out there and have fun!
I never knew this information 😳 I zero map a Resvoir in my hometown but never knew that I could do this stuff. Thank you
You're welcome! :) Thank you for watching!
Thanks for all the helpful info. One question: Why do you (apparently) use Autochart instead of Autochart Live? I have both and find ACL to be much easier, but I wonder what I'm missing. Thanks again.
I do use AC Live from time to time, but usually only the first one or two times out on a lake I've never been on, AND when those new lakes either have no Lakemaster data at all, or have maps where the Lakemaster data is so incredibly wrong as to be useless (we fished a lake a few times earlier this year where the water level was 10-12 feet higher than Lakemaster claimed it should be, so I was basically mapping "dry land"). Once I have some type of basic map of a lake, I'll usually fill it in without the use of AC Live. In cases where I do use AC Live, I will use it on one graph, while recording raw sonar data on the other. This allows me to have a real-time map for some assistance that day, while being able to generate a Lakemaster map using AC Pro when I get home. Sometimes, I have even taken my laptop out on the boat with me to render maps on the fly (you can connect a laptop to the Humminbird network to generate real-time Lakemaster maps using AC Pro while on the water!). I have done a couple videos on AC Pro, both in how to generate maps, and how to repair the damage done by bad data (see my lengthy one where I had to scrap a bunch of data due to a bad GPS source). Next time I get out on the lake, maybe I'll record some stuff on AC Live and try to put together a comparison video.
I prefer the Autochart Pro software because I find it much easier to edit the sonar data to produce more accurate maps. On the graph, you have to deal with lots of menu clicking, and use the 4-way directional pad, and it's cumbersome. On a PC, I can just use the mouse, and click into whatever menu I need, rather than following a pre-defined menu structure to get to the feature that I need.
Autochart Pro also allows for the creation of Side Imaging mosaics, so I can get a better idea of what the lake actually looks like, rather than from just a countour point of view. I can also render the lake in 3D, and spin it around like a CAD drawing. AC Live can't do this since those data streams aren't stored or saved for playback the way they are when you record raw sonar data.
Another part of it is that when AC Live was first introduced, it didn't do bottom hardness or vegetation - those features were AC/AC Pro only, so I have been using AC Pro for a while, and now I'm just used to it.
There are other software packages out there such as ReefMaster (www.reefmaster.com.au) that can make use of the raw sonar data recorded for use with Autochart Pro. AC Live data is a proprietary format that cannot be used by these other programs. Some of these other programs can be useful to help get a better understanding of what a lake really looks like, vs just having a navigational chart.
One of the things I don't like about AC Live is the way it overlays any other data that is on the display in real-time. It doesn't integrate with that other non- AC Live data to produce a cohesive map, and this overlay often times will hide other data from me that I still want to see, whether that's data that I already know is accurate (it may be part of a map I created using AC Pro, for example). This is the reason that once I have some type of decent "base map", I'll fill in the blanks by just recording my sonar data and then creating the map using AC Pro. I recall being out fishing one such lake that had no data, and I had recorded sonar and generated a map in AC Pro. There were a few very sharp, narrow points that came out into the lake. The second time we were out, I again had AC Live running, as well as was displaying my AC Pro map underneath. Since I knew there was a point there, and had already mapped it, I didn't drive across it, but rather just fished down the edge. AC Live data completely obscured that point from view, telling me it was 15 feet deep over there even though I knew it was 2 feet. Could that have been avoided if I exclusively used AC Live? Probably. But I have multiple graphs and multiple ZLCs, so there's no guarantee that one particular ZLC will ever make it back into the same graph. Some more diligence and creativity on my part could probably overcome that problem, but.. That's a story for another day.
Long story short, while I think that AC Live has some definite use cases, and the ability to create maps in real-time is definitely an advantage, it still has enough drawbacks - for me - that I prefer AC Pro. Mapping accuracy is important to me since I have a group of guys that I share map data with. One of those guys may go fish a lake that I've mapped, and they've never been on, and I don't want them thinking there's a 30 foot hole somewhere there isn't because the graph mistakenly recorded a bad reading and AC Live made it too difficult to edit out.
I know several people that prefer AC Live over AC Pro - and that's ok. I'm a bit of a geek, and I like all the extra nerd-knobs that AC Pro offers, and the greater level of detail I can get into with it. If AC Live gives you everything you need and you are satisfied with it's performance, then there's probably no need to change how you do things. It's the same as the spinning vs casting argument (watch my video on that if you haven't yet). On paper, spinning reels are superior in every conceivable way to casting reels - they are lighter, have more drag, pick up line faster, and have larger spool capacities. Yet most guys continue to prefer casting reels. That's part of the beauty of fishing - many, many different tools to choose from to get the job done. Just pick whatever one is right for you, and your budget (whether that's money OR time), and get out there and have fun!