What brand transducer is this?

[Ben16737]

The display for my sounder used to have a cover to protect it when not in use, but that cover broke and I never found a replacement soon enough. So the display is toast now. Everything was functional prior to that, so if I could simply buy a replacement display instead of replacing everything I’d be really happy. Trouble is, I can’t find a brand name anywhere so I don’t know what to search for.

The boat is a 1986 Capri 22. We bought it in 2002; the sounder is probably original to the boat but I have no way of knowing. Given its age, there’s a strong chance that whoever made this thing is no longer in business so I can’t buy a direct replacement anyway, but I figured somebody here might know.

How interchangeable are these things, anyway? If I bought a display from a different manufacturer, would it function with the sender that’s still in the hull?

Sorry for the crappy pics, it’s mounted in an awkward spot under the cockpit sole. I had to wedge my arm down there with cell phone to get any pics. So that’s another reason I’d rather just connect a new display to the existing transducer - it’s not going to be fun to work down there.

 

[dlochner]

Can't help you with the brand, however, those are ancient and it is highly unlikely that you can find replacements.

Back in the day all the electronics for the depth sounder were located in the display head. The transducer was basically an ultrasound speaker, the pings would be generated in the head. Today the sender and receiver and the electronics are located in the transducer and the data is sent to the display via a network and any other device on the network that can display data, such as chart plotters and computers. The data can be displayed on more than one instrument display. The short story, is the modern displays and ancient transducers are not compatible.

One benefit of the new devices is the combination transducer that includes speed, depth and temp and the ability of the displays to show all three on one unit. The NMEA 2000 network is also easier to install and wire than the devices of yore.

 

[Ben16737]

Can't help you with the brand, however, those are ancient and it is highly unlikely that you can find replacements…

Thanks, I appreciate the info. Looks like I’m going to be dragged into the 21st century. I was hoping for better news, but that’s about what I expected. I did start shopping for a new system but have not made much progress yet since I was still holding out some hope of finding replacement parts. Any recommendations are welcome. I’m looking towards the mid-price range. I’m a casual sailor, not a serious racer so I want something dependable but I don’t necessarily need all the bells & whistles.

 

[dlochner]

The bells and whistles are mostly software driven, so they are cheap to add in and the market is competitive in features if not price. Discounts for single instruments are hard to find.

The 3 major brands are B&G, Raymarine, and Garmin. You can also find Simrad and Lowrance, these are the same devices as B&G oriented towards different markets, powerboats and fishing.

My preference is for B&G, they have a long history of supporting sailing. Others will swear by Raymarine or Garmin, some will swear at all three.

 

[Ben16737]

The bells and whistles are mostly software driven, so they are cheap to add in and the market is competitive in features if not price. Discounts for single instruments are hard to find.

The 3 major brands are B&G, Raymarine, and Garmin. You can also find Simrad and Lowrance, these are the same devices as B&G oriented towards different markets, powerboats and fishing.

My preference is for B&G, they have a long history of supporting sailing. Others will swear by Raymarine or Garmin, some will swear at all three.

Again, much appreciated. I’ll check them out.

 

[Jacktar]

If you want a simple hockypuck transducer in toilet wax with a simple depth readout try Humminbird, only about 120 bucks total and easy peasy to install.Pix of readout panel below

 

[jssailem]

Hi Ben,
I’m going to assume your using the device on your Capri 22. We are talking a simple way of telling the depth of the shallows in the Chesapeake.

There are many options. The simplest is a hand held. The availability is everywhere i.e. Bass Pro shops, Walmart to Amazon. Hawkeye makes one popular with Kayakers. About $80. Dip it in the water it reports the distance to the bottom between 2.5 ft and 300 ft.


From there they are marketed as “fish finders”. $100-200. Again in the usual stores. These provide depth and more.

You can from there really go down the rabbit hole and spend money to the limit of your wallet. You might even hack a system together that uses your old transduce. It all depends on the path that you desire to take. When I had my 15 ft boat I chose a $115 fish finder by Hummingbird. Attached the transducer to the hull, a small 12v battery and I was sailing in about an hour.