H26 Transducer - Garmin 498 issue
About 6 months ago I replace the Uniden depth gauge on my H26. It was very hard to read from I guess exposure to the elements. I replaced it with the same flush mounted Uniden product. A month ago I went to go out on the boat and I noticed some moisture droplets inside the display. This is the lead up month to the rainy season here in Rep of Panama. The system was on only about five minutes and it starts beeping and didn't stop.
I pulled it out the next day when it was still not able to function. I was advised by the marina owner that this Uniden just isn't a serious depth finder. It had been just fine, oh well. I was going to have a wait a month to get a replacement or....
The owner had a Garmin 498 unit. I didn't need the navigation because I already had Navionics running on my netpc. However I wasn't going to go buy another Uniden and there was a month I'd have to go sailing without a depth finder. That really limits the range of sailing available to me.
It sounds like a hard sell trap I fell into, but it's not. There's a problem which I'm about to get into. If we can't solve it, we'll just pull the 498 Garmin which I haven't paid for.
The problem is: after running the system for about an hour the depth finder can't maintain a depth reading. It starts flashing the number and often get's stuck on the that number. It can not regain a reading. It has either a 50 or 200 mHz or both setting. This happens regardless of which setting we put it on. The transducer is on the stern behind the rudder. Temperatures are around 80-85 F. and humidity is around 85% if it's not raining.
We've played with the angle of the transducer, we've tried numerous settings. Prior to about an hour of use it's working almost 100%.
One suggestion was that the ground lead is heating which is building up resistance and then I loose the signal. I checked the ground connections on the batteries, the connectors themselves and the cable (as much as I can tell ) they all are clean and tight fittings, no corrosion. The transducer is firing! You don't want to get your hand under it or you can "feel" the firing.
Does anyone here have experience with a Garmin 498 or Garmin period.
Is it a bad unit? or is there something you can suggest I try before I go and find another unit for my boat. I'm thinking of a Lowrance Elite 5 if I can mount it close to the panel out of the way of the sheet.
About 6 months ago I replace the Uniden depth gauge on my H26. It was very hard to read from I guess exposure to the elements. I replaced it with the same flush mounted Uniden product. A month ago I went to go out on the boat and I noticed some moisture droplets inside the display. This is the lead up month to the rainy season here in Rep of Panama. The system was on only about five minutes and it starts beeping and didn't stop.
I pulled it out the next day when it was still not able to function. I was advised by the marina owner that this Uniden just isn't a serious depth finder. It had been just fine, oh well. I was going to have a wait a month to get a replacement or....
The owner had a Garmin 498 unit. I didn't need the navigation because I already had Navionics running on my netpc. However I wasn't going to go buy another Uniden and there was a month I'd have to go sailing without a depth finder. That really limits the range of sailing available to me.
It sounds like a hard sell trap I fell into, but it's not. There's a problem which I'm about to get into. If we can't solve it, we'll just pull the 498 Garmin which I haven't paid for.
The problem is: after running the system for about an hour the depth finder can't maintain a depth reading. It starts flashing the number and often get's stuck on the that number. It can not regain a reading. It has either a 50 or 200 mHz or both setting. This happens regardless of which setting we put it on. The transducer is on the stern behind the rudder. Temperatures are around 80-85 F. and humidity is around 85% if it's not raining.
We've played with the angle of the transducer, we've tried numerous settings. Prior to about an hour of use it's working almost 100%.
One suggestion was that the ground lead is heating which is building up resistance and then I loose the signal. I checked the ground connections on the batteries, the connectors themselves and the cable (as much as I can tell ) they all are clean and tight fittings, no corrosion. The transducer is firing! You don't want to get your hand under it or you can "feel" the firing.
Does anyone here have experience with a Garmin 498 or Garmin period.
Is it a bad unit? or is there something you can suggest I try before I go and find another unit for my boat. I'm thinking of a Lowrance Elite 5 if I can mount it close to the panel out of the way of the sheet.
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