Humminbird Side Imaging Forums
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: johnbaker on April 13, 2013, 09:23:38 PM
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My sonar has been giving be trouble for some time. It is erratic, with the depth readings going from the right depth to 1, and then back again. Seems to have intermittent noise. I do not see the Fish ID either. It is a thru the hull transducer that was mounted by the marine dealer. Finally I decided that it must be the transducer, so bought a new one and installed it being very careful to do it according to the instructions. Took it out today, and it is doing basically the same thing as the other one. Usually worse at 25 mph.
This thing is driving me nuts as well as costing a bunch of money. I am wondering if it could be the y cable that is causing the problem? I guess the best way to check it is to go directly to the unit and see how it works. The SI view seems to be ok.
Anyone have any problems with the y cables?
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Check your connections at the back of the unit - especially if that is one part of the setup you didn't alter when changing the transducer (assuming you just plugged the new one into the existing Y cable). Is the problem worse in rough conditions?
I get some similar problems with my 2D sonar, and a lot og grief with the GPS connection.
matt
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hi, have you tried to set your 2 d view to a fixed depth(or do you run it on auto). so id displays only the top 100 feet or so. this quite often can be a solution when this happens. at least you can track the bottmn on screen even if the depthreading is wrong. :)
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So, the inside-the-hull transducer worked correctly when you tested it during the installation process but now it does not, correct?
I have heard of some having problems with the AS-Si-DB-Y cables, but lets do some troubleshooting first:
Has the 2D sonar always given erratic depth readings?
Does this happen with everything else on the boat (all motors, radios, other sonar units, etc.) turned off?
Try connecting the HDSi transducer directly to the 998 unit and test it again while drifting. Then try the same with only the inside-the-hull transducer connected.
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I thought it was working ok when I tested it, but I was out only a few minutes. I think that it is working fine most of the time, but as I am cruising across the lake in open water the depth will suddenly go from 25 ft to 1 ft. It is much more stable when at less than 5 mph, but even then it will drop back to 1 ft and then go back to the correct depth. I think the 25 ft is right. I will try hooking the cable from 2d directly to the unit and see what happens.
Is it possible to tell whether the unit is seeing the 2D sonar or if it is relying on the SI transducer?
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If you are using the AS-Si-DB-Y cable than the 2D sonar is always coming from the inside-the-hull 2D transducer.