Eagle Cuda 242 Portable Fish Finder Review
The new Eagle Cuda 242 fishfinder packs all the fishfinding features into a compact case and gives you a new level of screen resolution for the CUDA family! Put more bites in your fishing!

Question:
I am seeing the fish on the display with my cuda 242 portable but I don't know the distance the fish is away from my boat. Can you give me some advice?
Kristoff

I don't know if you have a manual but you can get one here
--> Eagle Cuda 242 Fish Finder Manual

Answer:
The Eagle Cuda 242 uses a 200 khz skimmer with a 60 degree cone. This is a wide cone which covers a much greater area than a 20 degree cone which comes standard on a lot of other fish finders.

Think of it this way. Take a circle, cut it into quarters, a quarter is 90 degrees, flip it so it points down, like an inverted "V". Now, narrow it to 60 degrees and extend it from the surface to the bottom and imagine that it is 3D (all the way around you). That's your coverage.

Remember, the fish finder doesn't track your fish. It only shows that it is in the zone at that precise moment in time.

Question:
Will the Cuda 242 work in a shanty for ice fishing?
Terry

Answer:
Yes, definitely. The only real problem I have seen is that the battery life is diminished if the fish finder is left in the cold, but seeing your in an ice shanty, you should get the maximum life out of the battery.

Question:
What can I use on my fish finder to go ice fishing? The ice can be very thick. Is there a bracket that I can use to get my transducer under the ice?
Terry

Answer:
How thick is very thick?
I have had no problem lowering mine almost to the full length of an auger. You might want to drill a second hole just to accomodate the fish finder.
You can also use the bracket minus the suction cup and mount it to a hinged piece of wood and lower down the hole.
Tip: Make sure you tie off the transducer cable to the fish finder or solid surface before lowering it down the hole. The transducer does not float and will sink like a rock.

Question:
I have to turn my sensitivity to 97+ just to see bottom; when I tried it once through the ice in 7 ft of water. After it warmed up, vertical lines as if it were resetting occurs. This is not normal? Only had it for a year, but only used it once in the summer and thought I could use it in the winter. Transducer is level and below the ice. Battery fully charged. Any ideas? Wish I could get this working.
Tim

Answer: The problem you are having sounds like the ASP isn't working properly. This is what ASP is all about.

ASP™ (Advanced Signal Processing)
Advanced Signal Processing (ASP™) is another innovation that uses sophisticated programming and advanced digital electronics to continually monitor the effects of boat speed, water conditions and other interference sources - and automatically adjusts the sonar settings to provide the clearest picture possible.

ASP™ sets the sensitivity as high as possible while keeping the screen free of "noise". It automatically balances sensitivity and noise rejection. The feature can be turned off and on and will work whether the sonar is in automatic or manual mode. With ASP™ operating behind the scenes you'll spend less time making routine sonar adjustments and more time spotting fish.

Sensitivity
The sensitivity controls the ability of the unit to pick up echoes. A low sensitivity level excludes much of the bottom information, fish signals, and other target information. High sensitivity levels enable you to see this detail, but it can also clutter the screen with many undesirable signals.

Typically, the best sensitivity level shows a good solid bottom signal with GRAYLINE® and some surface clutter. When in the automatic mode, the sensitivity is automatically adjusted to keep a solid bottom signal displayed, plus a little more. This gives the unit the capability to show fish and other detail. In automatic mode, the unit also adjusts sensitivity automatically for water conditions, depth, etc.

When you adjust the sensitivity up or down, you are biasing up or down the normal setting the unit's automatic control would choose. With ASP™ enabled, the automatic mode picks the proper sensitivity level for 95% of all situations, so it is recommend to always use this normal mode first.

But, for those unusual situations where it is warranted you can bias it up or down. You can also turn off the automatic sensitivity control for special uses. To properly adjust the sensitivity while the unit is in the manual mode, first change the range to double its current setting. For example, if the range is 0 - 40 feet, change it to 0 - 80 or 0 - 100 feet.

Now increase the sensitivity until a second bottom echo appears at twice the depth of the actual bottom signal. This "second echo" is caused by the echo returning from the bottom reflecting off the surface of the water, making a second trip to the bottom and returning. Since it takes twice as long for this echo to make two trips to the bottom and back, it shows at twice the depth of the actual bottom.

Now change the range back to the original scale. You should see more echoes on the screen. If there is too much noise on the screen, back the sensitivity level down a step or two.

Now, there are a couple of reasons why this could be happening.

You could be getting interference from other fish finders that may be close to you. You may have a bad transducer.

If you have any angler friends using a Eagle Cuda 242 fish finder see if you can swap the transducer and test on both units. This will verify if it is in the transducer or in the fish finder. You can try taking the transducer back to where you bought it and see if they will allow you to test it on a display model.

Check to see if there are any nicks or cuts in the transducer cable and check for corrosion at the connection to the fish finder.

Try turning the ASP off and see if it makes a difference. If everything fails you will probably have to send the unit back for service.

You can contact them here --> http://www.eaglenav.com/en/Support/Contact/
or

If you prefer to call, you can reach Eagle at their toll-free Customer Service line at 1-800-324-1354. Technicians and representatives are available to help you Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST, except holidays.