Please excuse my ignorance here, I have been a beach cat sailor all my life and I am a newbie to monohaul sailing and sailing electronics. My hunter 25.5 came with a cheap hummingbird fish finder. I have a thru hull transducer mounted in front of the keel. The problem is I am getting false depth readings. I can be in 25 ft of water and it reads 3 ft. My first thought was I was reading fathoms but that is not the case it is set to feet. It doesnt matter if I am sitting still or moving. Reading through the forum history here on the subject, most say to replace the transducer. Does it sound like a transducer to you? Does my transducer go all the way thru the hull? If I pull it out will my boat sink? Does anyone have the web site for Hummingbird? On a related subject... My finder cycles through ranges. It first gives me the depth with a range of 15, then 30, then 60 and finally 120. It then starts over at 15 range. Is it suppose to cycle like this? I sure would like to be able to stop the cycling and keep it on a specific range but the book doesnt say anything about this. Any ideas? Ted
- Status
- Not open for further replies.
D
Dave West
It might be dead
Mike, It sounds like your transducer might be dead. On the auto mode a Humminbird will cycle to the appropriate depth display. In other words it will be on the 15 foot scale as long as you are in 10 foot .... 11 foot ..... 12 foot, BUT when you hit 15 or 16 feet it will jump to the next level. Before you pitch it, see if it has come loose from it's bedding material. There can't be ANY air between it and the hull/water, if you are shooting through the hull. (A thru hull unit uses an actual hole in your hull so the transducer is touching water ... most fish finder installations place the transducer in some type of bedding material on the INSIDE of the hull) Ol' Dave
Mike, It sounds like your transducer might be dead. On the auto mode a Humminbird will cycle to the appropriate depth display. In other words it will be on the 15 foot scale as long as you are in 10 foot .... 11 foot ..... 12 foot, BUT when you hit 15 or 16 feet it will jump to the next level. Before you pitch it, see if it has come loose from it's bedding material. There can't be ANY air between it and the hull/water, if you are shooting through the hull. (A thru hull unit uses an actual hole in your hull so the transducer is touching water ... most fish finder installations place the transducer in some type of bedding material on the INSIDE of the hull) Ol' Dave
A
Al
Check for marine growth...
...on the hull. If enough sea crude builds up, it may screw up the transponder and hence it's readings.
...on the hull. If enough sea crude builds up, it may screw up the transponder and hence it's readings.
T
ted
Ol' Dave .......
Dave, Let me repeat this back to you to see if I understand you correctly. You are saying the range refers to the scale of the screen based upon the depth I am in? Please clarify.... Ted
Dave, Let me repeat this back to you to see if I understand you correctly. You are saying the range refers to the scale of the screen based upon the depth I am in? Please clarify.... Ted
M
Mark M Smith
Think back to
the times you had false readings, was there a powerboat around? If so, what happens is the "prop Wash" from the powerboat causes the unit to give false readings because of the bubbles in the wash. The unit does a self test and thats what causes the- "range of 15, then 30, then 60 and finally 120. It then starts over at 15 range." Hope this helped.
the times you had false readings, was there a powerboat around? If so, what happens is the "prop Wash" from the powerboat causes the unit to give false readings because of the bubbles in the wash. The unit does a self test and thats what causes the- "range of 15, then 30, then 60 and finally 120. It then starts over at 15 range." Hope this helped.
H
Henry Scurlock
D
Dave West
It Depends
Ted, As I understand it, your fish/depth finder screen changes scale to give you the most accurate readings possible, so if you are in shallow water it will be enlarged to fill the screen ... if you are in deep water it will automatically scale to show you everything between you and the bottom, hopefully this will include things like fish,thermoclines and the condition of the bottom (hard, soft, or covered in vegetation) Several things you do while sailing will make the distance between you and the bottom change rapidly. Things like heeling and wave action for example. But the erratic readings you originally described are not standard stuff. I hope this helps. Ol' Dave
Ted, As I understand it, your fish/depth finder screen changes scale to give you the most accurate readings possible, so if you are in shallow water it will be enlarged to fill the screen ... if you are in deep water it will automatically scale to show you everything between you and the bottom, hopefully this will include things like fish,thermoclines and the condition of the bottom (hard, soft, or covered in vegetation) Several things you do while sailing will make the distance between you and the bottom change rapidly. Things like heeling and wave action for example. But the erratic readings you originally described are not standard stuff. I hope this helps. Ol' Dave
This won't be easy
If I read you correctly, the depth is fixed at 3 feet no matter what, and in addition the depth scale cycles from 15 feet to 60 feet and then back to 15. Hmmmmmm. Well, it has to be one of three things...the transducer and wiring, the control unit and the surroundings. There's also the possibility that the original installer didn't do a good job. Try this. Buy a new fishfinder exactly like the one you have now (I got a Humminbird Piranha 3 for $69 at WalMart) and hook up its control unit to the wire from your transducer. If you now have good depths readings, your old control unit is bad. If you get the same thing as you had before, then the problem is somewhere between the control unit and the water. Check the outside of the hull for algae or weed and scrub if necessary. If that doesn't work, find a new spot on the inside of the hull and install the new transducer. If you're not sure how to do this (there are a couple of tricks that will make life easier) let me know and I can walk you through it. Good luck. Peter H23 "Raven"
If I read you correctly, the depth is fixed at 3 feet no matter what, and in addition the depth scale cycles from 15 feet to 60 feet and then back to 15. Hmmmmmm. Well, it has to be one of three things...the transducer and wiring, the control unit and the surroundings. There's also the possibility that the original installer didn't do a good job. Try this. Buy a new fishfinder exactly like the one you have now (I got a Humminbird Piranha 3 for $69 at WalMart) and hook up its control unit to the wire from your transducer. If you now have good depths readings, your old control unit is bad. If you get the same thing as you had before, then the problem is somewhere between the control unit and the water. Check the outside of the hull for algae or weed and scrub if necessary. If that doesn't work, find a new spot on the inside of the hull and install the new transducer. If you're not sure how to do this (there are a couple of tricks that will make life easier) let me know and I can walk you through it. Good luck. Peter H23 "Raven"
C
Charlie on "Kestrel"
depth sounder
I was having eratic readindson my depth sounder and as with all things electrical on a boat I thought it must be the wires. It Was. The connection from the transducer to the depth unit was corroded just enough to mess with the signal. I cleaned it up and its been fine.
I was having eratic readindson my depth sounder and as with all things electrical on a boat I thought it must be the wires. It Was. The connection from the transducer to the depth unit was corroded just enough to mess with the signal. I cleaned it up and its been fine.
- Status
- Not open for further replies.