Help me with my transducer before I scuttle the boat, please..............
Hi guys,
I am in need of help................... with my transducer. I have just purchased a furuno 585 with a 1kw transom mount transducer. I know there have been many topics already aired on this but I am pulling what is left of my hair out.
It's on a Haines Hunter 680 Patriot with a Mercruiser sterndrive.It has trim tabs on its arse also.
I have adhered to the 'instructions' when mounting the transducer. There are no strakes, chines or through hull fittings to caused turbulance.
I have taken the boat out everyday this week to try and get the unit up and running but the best i seem to get out of it if i am lucky is 15knots on 200hz, after that the picture breaks up and the screen goes blank but still gives a depth.
I have tried adusting the bracket up and down and have moved it further out to the starboard side, which improved it a bit. I have increased the angle and decreased but to no avail.
I would have expected a fairly good picture at speed from a1kw transducer, especially in shallow water. I have been testing it in about 10 - 15mt.
Some people have told me it may just be the hull shape and i am lucky that i am getting 15 knots out of it, but when reading the forums, some of you guys reckon you are getting a good picture at 30 knots.
I have run the transducer cable up the centre of the boat, over the aluminum fuel tank. It runs close to the alternator, about 300mm or maybe a bit less ?(could be part of the problem??)
I have been trying to track down mako for his advice whilst he is in exmouth, but cant spy him. Unfortunatly i'm not in the comp this weekend.
Any ideas, i have included some pics, but dont know if they can show the correct angles etc.
your help is appreciated.
Kev.
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Andy
Posts: 522
Date Joined: 08/10/05
Have you tried running the
Have you tried running the transducer higher?
fishfinger
Posts: 64
Date Joined: 08/09/07
gday mate i have had a lot
gday mate i have had a lot of the same trouble with mine. it is a lot better but i still lose bottom at about 15/20kn it seem to be bad if there a bit of chop what i have done is to put trany a lot lower than yours plus much more angle to get clean water hope it helps
big john
Posts: 8749
Date Joined: 20/07/06
Low
Yeah I reckon that trannie is sitting a bit low muppet.
I've got a smaller 600w fitted to mine and it reads well at all speeds.
WA based manufacturer and supplier of premium leadhead jigs, fligs, bucktail jigs, 'bulletproof' soft plastic jig heads and XOS bullet jig heads.
Jigs available online in my web store!
scotto
Posts: 2470
Date Joined: 21/04/08
likewise
i have the same setup as you bj, and mine will read consistant @ 30 knots.
big john
Posts: 8749
Date Joined: 20/07/06
Speed
Being able to read at speed is key IMO.;)
WA based manufacturer and supplier of premium leadhead jigs, fligs, bucktail jigs, 'bulletproof' soft plastic jig heads and XOS bullet jig heads.
Jigs available online in my web store!
Freofish04
Posts: 4
Date Joined: 31/01/10
Transducer
Mate I had the same problem with my old boat I had the same transducer
on a different model boat I tried everything to get rid of the problem, which I couldnt so I decided to utilise a shoot thru in a wet box which fixed the problem it would sound at 30 knots plus.
After discussing this problem with a few guys they come to the conclusion that I was probably getting alot of interference from my Trim Tabs.????
You can speak to Ray Petty from Ray Petty Marine or Peter from Maritime Electronics both these guys are very switched on I hope this helps
Cheers
grayzeee
Posts: 2283
Date Joined: 09/07/09
i have same set up on 6
i have same set up on 6 meter h h
i took mine off and went for a spin
marked on the transom where the clearest water was and mounted there
i start to lose pic at 15 to 20 knots unless its glass out there , then it reads well at speed.
the arse end of your tranny def is lower than mine, or the flat bottom surface of my tranny is virtually in line or parallel to bottom of hull.
in short tho , it's a big hunk of plastic to hang off a transom and not expect it to move some water.
If I spent half as long fishing , as I do reading this bloody forum , I'd be twice the fisherman I am.
CrazyDhufish
Posts: 15
Date Joined: 06/05/10
As said before
Too low, I reckon it needs to be lifted at least a inch more.
The angle looks a bit much as well.
If you think it may be interference just rev the boat out of gear and see if that does anything.
Where are you located ??
Den
Posts: 24
Date Joined: 17/08/07
Hey mate I to have a 680
Hey mate I to have a 680 patriot and I have my trans shooting through the hull and I can still read bottom at 30+ kns with enough signal to read just depth at 47kns. I have an outboard so i dont know how you would go for space but mine is located dead center about 3 to 4 inches in front of the bung hole, I just put about 2/3 of a tube of good silicon down, then pushed down the trans so no air was in there(start with it on an angle), with a good seal and its level, works fine for me. I also have a spare tran mounted on a drop down bracket on the stbd side of transom just in case
Muppet
Posts: 408
Date Joined: 23/11/09
Hey Den
Thanks for the advice. Just wanted to clear up some details. Have you put a wetbox over the trany after you siliconed it to the hull ? Or is the trany just bare ? I will have to look at putting it inside the hull i think. The previous owner had one in a wetbox, and now i think i know why !
cheers
.
Muppet
Posts: 408
Date Joined: 23/11/09
cheers guys
yeah, when those pics were taken, thats when it was lowered. since then i have lifted and taken the shims out to decrease the angle, and then tried extra shims to see what that did. But that only made it worse. Its got me stuffed. I may have to look at the wetbox option. I was going to go for a through hull but i'm not keen on drilling large holes in the bottom of my boat, especially when you only have one chance of positioning it in the right place.
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Den
Posts: 24
Date Joined: 17/08/07
Hey Muppet the tranny is
Hey Muppet the tranny is just bare no box if you want a photo of it just let me know and I'll try to get one for you, hope it works out
buxcey
Posts: 63
Date Joined: 09/04/10
Had same problem with
Had same problem with my1kw
dropped it over an inch under your straight edge
getting good reading at 30kts
get a mate to drive the boat and have a good look at the back
of th boat especially at the speed you are losing picture
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lowrance
Posts: 34
Date Joined: 17/07/10
transducer mounting
Ok i would for one move it closer to the keel as its way too close to the trim tab! the ass end is to far down, the angle.
keep it same angle as your hull, gotta think when your underway your bow is up which makes the face of the transducer more into the water wich causes problems. i would lower it towards the keel atleast 4'' and dont have it protruding below the hull that 10mm. if that doesnt work purchase a wet box kit from a furuno local dealer.
Muppet
Posts: 408
Date Joined: 23/11/09
cheers for the replies
I ended up having to build a wet box. Checked with taylor marine and Couldnt purchase one separatly to fit that transducer. Seems to be working fine. good picture up to 30kts, yet to test the sensitivity in deep water though.
cheers
.