Author Topic: Hummingbird 898c losing sonar signal on Ranger  (Read 4027 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline hutcher1

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Joined: Mar 2017
  • Location: Versailles KY
  • Posts: 2
  • Unit(s): 898c si
  • Software: 7.67
Hummingbird 898c losing sonar signal on Ranger
« on: March 06, 2017, 05:54:56 PM »
I am a first time Humminbird owner.  I purchased a used 2011 Ranger Z118 last summer and it has a Humminbird 898c installed.   It has a side imaging transducer installed on the rear transom and a shoot thru transducer installed in the rear floor floor of the boat right in the center.  The side imaging works great at slower speeds as expected, as well as the trolling motor transducer on the front of the boat which is connected to a 788c unit.

Since I first started using the boat last summer I have experienced an erratic loss of sonar signal at speeds of 30 MPH.  I have had the shoot thru transducer replaced, tried both the 200 and 83 kHz signal, have updated the software on the units and continue to have the erratic signal loss at higher speeds.   Sometimes it appears to do worse in choppy water, but sometimes it will lose the signal in fairly smooth water at higher speeds.. 

Several folks have told me that this is hard to avoid with the step hull design of this Ranger.   The air pockets just build up when the boat is at high speeds and/or choppy water.

Any input from anyone on this ?   Would appreciate any suggestions for alternative solutions that might give me a steadier signal.


Offline rnvinc

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Joined: Nov 2009
  • Location: Western KY
  • Posts: 4329
  • Unit(s): 1197c SI Combo, SOLIX G2 MSI
  • Software: Dependent on whim
  • Accessories: AS GRHA, MEGA 360, LowBird LSS 1 & 2
Re: Hummingbird 898c losing sonar signal on Ranger
« Reply #1 on: March 06, 2017, 06:42:04 PM »
The challenge with high performance hulls is that there is actually very little of the hull in the water when trimmed out and on plane ...

It is imperative that the shoot thru be installed in the bilge that has constant contact with the water at higher speed when the boat is on pad ...

This means the shoot thru must be as far rearward as possible and as close to the keel line as possible ...

When the boat is up on plane you can try trimming the motor down some to stick more of the hull in the water ... If the depth reading seems to improve, it means the shoot thru is too far forward and that part of the hull is coming out of the water as the boat planes out on the pad ...

It is also possible the hull wasn't properly prepared by sanding and cleaning the install area before the shoot thru was epoxied in ...

I've even heard of rare instances where the hull is delaminated at the install spot and another spot must be used ...

The shoot thru should be (should have been in your case) tested before epoxying to test for performance at all speeds ...

Here is more info on proper preparation, testing, and installation  ...

http://www.bbcboards.net/showthread.php?t=172972&p=1538600&viewfull=1#post1538600

Rickie
« Last Edit: March 07, 2017, 09:40:40 AM by rnvinc »

Offline hutcher1

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Joined: Mar 2017
  • Location: Versailles KY
  • Posts: 2
  • Unit(s): 898c si
  • Software: 7.67
Re: Hummingbird 898c losing sonar signal on Ranger
« Reply #2 on: March 06, 2017, 07:18:36 PM »
Thank you for the great information - very helpful


Share me

Digg  Facebook  SlashDot  Delicious  Technorati  Twitter  Google  Yahoo

 

Related Topics

  Subject / Started by Replies Last post
23 Replies
11690 Views
Last post March 23, 2010, 09:21:30 AM
by Humminbird_Greg
1 Replies
4546 Views
Last post April 28, 2011, 03:24:49 AM
by xSilmarilSx
4 Replies
3947 Views
Last post April 26, 2012, 12:28:08 PM
by Humminbird_Greg
7 Replies
7437 Views
Last post November 20, 2012, 03:14:56 PM
by sarasotawingman
4 Replies
5400 Views
Last post May 11, 2014, 03:52:24 PM
by sfw1960
1 Replies
3405 Views
Last post June 09, 2016, 09:45:32 PM
by newkid4si
4 Replies
4561 Views
Last post August 03, 2016, 06:08:47 PM
by Bob B
3 Replies
4178 Views
Last post June 13, 2017, 10:35:59 PM
by rnvinc


SimplePortal 2.3.3 © 2008-2010, SimplePortal