Topic: 797si c2 Bad need of some help please

[RayinVa]

Hello all, Im new here I just found this site Looks great btw. I am having some serious problems with my 797si c2 unit .. the unit is almost brand new bought it about 9 Months ago..

I was using the 700 series transducer that comes in the package .. I finally got it mounted and got to test it .. my images were very dark.. and after some reading I found that on pad .. I would loose my depth reading due to the fact of the transducer location ... anyways .. after talking to Greg and Doug, I Purchased the Y cable (AS SIDB Y) and the puck transducer (XP 9 20 T ) even though I didnt need the temp probe i was told this would work just fine  ...so I got it epoxied in .. about this time I saw  that HB released the newer 4.770 software . so I went ahead and did the upgrade ( yes I did a factory default before and after the upgrade) Now I didnt get to test it before leaving for Guntersville last week, I just took it for granted it should be working ...

I was very disappointed to find out I had problems ..  although I did have much better si images pic .. which I was pleased with .. but I have no depth readings at all .. it reads 0.7 all the time ..and nothing on my sonar ..gps works fine . But anyone thats been Guntersville knows how valuable a depth finder is down there  knows what im talking about .. Its a very shallow lake in most places .. I have changed about every setting I could think of while on the water nothing would get me my depth readings .. I have defaulted it over and over again still nothing ... I know there are a lot of variables due to the installations and ect..

But I really wish the unit was a little easier to get properly configured ..  one thing that has me puzzled is that the si images look great .. if it was location of my transducer I should not be getting that good of images .. I really hope some one can give me some input to this .. its getting very frustrating . thanks you all again for any and all help on this matter ..
Ray.

[RGecy]

Ray,

Welcome to the forum.  Sorry to hear you are having some issues, but I think we can certainly get you back on track.

I would remove the Y cable and just have the SI transducer connected and see if you get any readings from the 2d with it.

If not, then I would backdate the software to the previous version and see what you get with the Y cable setup.  If you get good readings with the older version, then we know it was the software update.  You could reinstall the software and see if it happens again or maybe was just a quirk.

If you do get good readings, it may be a software issue or a transducer installation issue.

I would also recommend making a small recording when it does this and forward it on to me or Humminbird Greg.  If it is a software issue, they would like to see some examples of whats happening.

Let me know what happens,

Robert 

[RayinVa]

thank you much RGecy for the input, I will do as you suggested , Im still looking for the the older versions of software for my unit , any pointers ? I would like to have that with me when I take it back on the water .. its at least an hour and half one way to the lake .. also I was going to ask Is there any means at all of doing some sort of testing of the unit out of the water ? I understand it needs water  .. but i was looking for anything that would give me some sort of different reading other than the 0.7 on depth .. thank you again .
Ray.

[RGecy]

You can find the old versions in the download section here on the forum.

http://forums.sideimagingsoft.com/index.php?action=downloads;cat=1

Good luck,

Robert

[RayinVa]

thank you friend , I was navigating around the site looking for it .. i figured it would be here .. thanks for the link .
Ray.

[stillbear]

Hi RayinVa when you go back to the lake check your surface clutter setting I have read where Gregg has been having guys change it for incorrect depth readings won't cost anything to try
it.    Gary

[RayinVa]

thanks stillbear, will do Im taking all the notes and suggestions back to the lake with me  ... all input is apprecaited ... it just really has me stumped why it always reads 0.7 and nothing on sonar ... surely Im not the only one that's seen this ..lol but again I dont have the best of luck either ... the replies so far have gave me hope at least ... thank you all for them ..more welcomed ..
Ray.

[DaveW]

Since ideas are free.............. 

With the splitter cable are all depth readings taken from the 2D puck transducer??

If so it could be a bad puck install - maybe something in the hull stopping signal?

Are you getting a good 2D picture (enough to tell the depth from the screen)?

I have an almost identical setup, my only issue is I have no temp readout..............

Good Luck!

[RayinVa]

I think you are correct , it may be something in the boat blocking the signal from the puck ,  I was informed that the 2d and depth are both read from the puck transducer when used with the Y cable .. so Im thinking it has to be something  blocking the signal.... all the replies are much appreciated .. I will report  back when I resolve the problem , meantime keep the suggestions coming .
Ray

[RayinVa]

I was going to ask if there was any tips or tricks to removing the puck transducer without damaging it ? im convinced it has to be a bad location and the puck isn't seeing through the hull ..  suggestions please thanks again for the valuable input you guys have given me .
Ray.

[RGecy]

Baseball bat should do the trick!     I would try and gently work the edges of the epoxy with a chisel.  See if you can get it to pop lose.  You do not want to damage the underside of the transducer or scratch it!

[RayinVa]

thanks RGecy, Might be better to just get a new one  .. Im thinking the xp 9 20 is what i need thought about getting the quad not sure if that would help me or not . Im looking for the best I can find for it  .. .thanks again ...

[Humminbird_Greg]

Ray,
When you installed the puck transducer; did you test it on the water prior to epoxying it in place?

I definitely would test it with both transducers directly connected to the unit without the AS-Si-DB-Y cable.  This will take a bad AS-Si-DB-Y cable out of the equation and either point out that the puck transducer is bad, installed improperly or you have a bad AS-Si-DB-Y cable – all depending on the results of this test.

If both transducers show the same problem without using the AS-Si-DB-Y than I would reset the menus to the factory defaults and this is in less than 10 feet of water; than set the Water Type menu to the Salt (deep) setting and the Surface Clutter to 9.

If that still does not help than I would try installing the older software version (right there while on the water) and test it to see if it works any better.  If it does than re-install the current software update and test it again.  You will need two SD cards for this with the older software on one and the newer software on the other.  Be sure to download a new copy of the current software just in case there was something wrong with the original copy you downloaded.

[RayinVa]

UPDATE!!!  First I would like to thank all you guys for the suggestions and comments ,  I did not do any testing for a spot on installing the puck transducer , ( yeah I know now BIG  mistake) I was able to remove the puck with the suggestions you guys gave me, so with that removed I started all over again . I was at Guntersville this past week. so with the boat back on the water I filled a portion of the bilge with water and moved transducer around until I got a good reading , this was a very small area .

Not where I was  expecting it to be either, Once I found the sweet spot I got the boat on pad .. and it works excellent .Im am very pleased with performance of it .. at 60 mph it still holds bottom ...

Im posting this for anyone that is having the kind of problem that I had .. You MUST do some testing before mounting that Puck down .. chances of me finding it without it on the water would have been almost zero to none .. Hopefully others can learn from my mistake.. thank you all again for the help .

RayinVa.