Side-Scan View Is Unavailable

Use this when

The Swath or Split view tab is missing, greyed out, or switching to it shows the message "Side-scan swath requires port + starboard channels."

Common reasons

• Recording has no Side Imaging transducer — Side-scan view requires both an SI Port and an SI Starboard channel. If the Humminbird unit was not fitted with a Side Imaging transducer, neither channel was recorded.
• Only one side was recorded — HumVision detects SI channel pairs by finding two adjacent .SON files with matching ping counts and compatible frequencies. If one channel file is missing or truncated, the pair cannot be confirmed and neither channel is classified as Side Imaging.
• Channel classified as a different type — HumVision reads a median frequency from the ping headers to identify each channel. If the frequency field in the headers reads back as zero or an unexpected value (which can happen on some older firmware), the file may be classified as a Down Imaging or Unknown channel instead of Side Imaging.
• Down-imaging-only recording — MEGA Down Imaging (DI) recordings use a single transducer and do not include side-scan data. These recordings open normally in the standard sonar view but side-scan views will not be available.

How to check

1. Look at the channel tabs in the viewer top bar. SI channels are labelled SI Port, SI Stbd, MEGA Port, or MEGA Stbd. If none of these labels appear, the recording has no recognised Side Imaging channels.
2. Open Finder and look at the recording folder. A Side Imaging recording will typically include at least two .SON files. Check that both files are non-zero in size.
3. If two .SON files exist but no SI tabs appear, check whether their sizes are close to equal. Unequal sizes indicate that one channel was truncated mid-recording.

What to try next

1. Open a different recording made with the same unit. If SI tabs appear there, the specific recording was likely truncated or the unit was not in Side Imaging mode.
2. Confirm the Humminbird unit's active sonar mode before recording. On most units, "Side Imaging" or "SI" must be explicitly selected; some modes record only 2D or Down Imaging.
3. If you expected SI data but see only DI or 2D channels, check the recording was made in SI mode (not just that the transducer is installed).

If it still does not work

Contact support at support@gethumvision.com with the Humminbird model, the sonar mode used during recording, and the names and sizes of the .SON files in your recording folder.