Any Raymarine C120 owners out there?

Just wondering if there is anyone out there who is running a raymarine C120 and has or had the problems i am having at the moment which I hope is just teething dramas:

Firstly the dsm 300 seems to constantly drop out for no apparant reason even when the motor is running and to restart it i need to isolate all power source at the battery isolator-is this common? I am running dual batteries(do i need triples?) and there is a direct power cable to the dsm from the isolator(not from the bus bar) as i have been informed that the dsm does draw a lot of power.

Secondly i recently purchased a TM260 transom mount transducer which i thought would be ideal in water depth 100-150m for sounding fish but am horribly diappointed atm! I cannot hold bottom travelling over 10 knots and to sound around that depth i am struggling at trolling speed?? Is there something i am missing or does anybody have any ideas on how i can improve its performance.

At present i cannot see any benefit from a 1kw over a 6oow tranducer? Ihave used both lowrance and navman systems which were extremely cheaper which i believe did just as good a job if not better.

Any help would be extemely appreciated because i am ready to butch this whole system and look at a furuno replacement.


Posts: 614

Date Joined: 24/02/11

Sounder

Tue, 2011-06-21 06:12

I run c90 30 dcm no problems have agm 100 amp battiery I think that's your problem I also run hds 10 and auto pilot of same battiery

JohnF's picture

Posts: 2838

Date Joined: 07/07/10

Mate, no way is the dsm300

Tue, 2011-06-21 07:26

Mate, no way is the dsm300 reset normal! Sounds like you have interference. Old man has an e80, does not switch on or off when you start the boat. Your issue with the tranny at speed will almost surely be the tranny location-setup. It needs to be in clear water ( no strakes or anything in front of it), about 5 mm deeper on the leading rounded edge than the underside of boat( use a straight edge) and angled down 5 degrees. This last point is critical if you want your sounder to work at anything much over 10 knots. Once sorted, you should be able to hold bottom at 25 plus knots in 50m water.

____________________________________________________________________________

Boston Whaler 235 Conquest......getting the flogging it was built for.

Posts: 459

Date Joined: 28/10/08

Sounder/GPS dropping out

Tue, 2011-06-21 09:19

It might not be the same issue you are experiencing, but I have an older boat with a Lowrance GPS/sounder combo and a 400ci Chev inboard.  The GPS used to drop out every time I started the engine (obviously through momentary current draw to the engine), and have to re-locate the satellites each time.  I run dual batteries and ended up installing a three way switch that allows me to run the GPS off whichever battery I am not starting the engine from.  If I am using Battery 1 for the engine, I run the GPS off Battery 2.  Next time I am out, I start off Battery 2 and run the GPS off Battery 1 to maintain charge. 

Sealegend's picture

Posts: 8

Date Joined: 16/06/11

C80 owner

Tue, 2011-06-21 09:20

I have a c80 with a dsm 30. Every now and then it drops out too for no apparent reason. It says on the sceen no data source. What i have been doing is pulling out the fuse and wiggling some wires and most of the time it will work. It can be very frustrating and i would love to know why it does this too.

I run a 600w transom mount transducer and it starts to fade at 120 -140m. As for speed it works at 30 knts on flat water but when its rough anything over 15 knts it will struggle. My boat has a 23deg deadrise so it sort of explains maybe why it struggles.

alfred's picture

Posts: 3097

Date Joined: 12/01/07

Loose connection somewhere. 

Tue, 2011-06-21 09:31

Loose connection somewhere.  Had this problem too and it turned out that the coil of extra wire that I didn't cut off was bouncing allowing the system to loose power every now and then.

The_Wanderer's picture

Posts: 735

Date Joined: 24/09/08

It is most lilely to be the

Tue, 2011-06-21 11:12

It is most lilely to be the DSM 300. There were a few faulty ones... We have dual E80s and have had the same issue. Speak to Raymarine they should be able to help. Also you might need a software upgrade.

 

Ben

dan1's picture

Posts: 379

Date Joined: 11/07/07

c120

Tue, 2011-06-21 15:02

I did alot of research on thehulltruth.com there is heaps of info on there

Posts: 3

Date Joined: 30/04/11

Thanks for the replies

Tue, 2011-06-21 23:39

Thanks for the replies fellas, the dsm 300 is brand new as is the transducer which i imported from the states and installed myself so any help from the raymarine dealers is going to be non existant i think(couldnt justify an extra $3000 to buy locally!!) I havent repositioned the transducer as yet as i put it on via an installation video on u tube which was very informative and used a straight edge on it, maybe has to go lower.

I might try an auto sparky to check current draw for the dsm but i have a 300 suzi on the back which i thought would be pumping more than enough amps back to the batteries.

carnarvonite's picture

Posts: 8673

Date Joined: 24/07/07

Battery size

Wed, 2011-06-22 06:11

Sounds like the battery is just big enough to start the motor and everything else suffers through the current draw. Getting a lot bigger battery or setting up twins will be the way to get rid of your problem.

It's not what your motor is pumping out but what it is sucking in on start up.

Posts: 614

Date Joined: 24/02/11

Dsm300

Sun, 2011-07-17 17:37

Just ordered a 300 with 260 transome mount will let you know how it performs

big blue's picture

Posts: 57

Date Joined: 25/03/10

hey fella --- I had similar

Sun, 2011-07-17 18:04

hey fella --- I had similar problems with an older Raymarine unit --- phased out three units that were replaced under warranty but in the end the dealer wanted to see the set up on the boat.............. and the problem was with the battery set up --- I don't know if many people realise that these new electronis units are pretty forgiving under most circumstances --- especially when it comes to hooking them up in reverse polarity or varying voltages ,which by all accounts they will deal with , but what the units won't handle is big shifts in voltages quickly -- like when you start the engine ,,,, if the sounder is hooked directly to the start battery when you hit the key the voltage drop is too much too quick and the souder will flick off then restart ---- I put in a dedicated house battery just for the boat, electronics lights etc--- and only use the start battery for starting and anchor winch 

 

 

 hope this helps  

Posts: 614

Date Joined: 24/02/11

120

Sun, 2011-07-17 21:13

Just looked on web hull truth photos of raymarine 120 with a260 tranni in 450mt and 700mt and good looking shots