Author Topic: Really could use some help with noise problem  (Read 7588 times)

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Offline Wfisherman

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  • Retired Great Lakes Charter Captain
  • Unit(s): 598ci si hd combo
Really could use some help with noise problem
« on: June 28, 2013, 09:49:28 AM »
Hello Everyone,
 
I’m exhausted and frustrated in trying to cure the noise problem on my new 598ci HD si combo and as a last ditch effort I’m once again (I’ve read every post on this forum and many others regarding noise problems and fixes) turning to the forum to see if anyone can offer a suggested cure to my problem that I haven’t already tried.
Humminbird has thrown up their hands saying there’s nothing more they can offer and Motorguide was about as much help as a wet noodle. I even offered to haul my boat from Maryland to Humminbird in Alabama to see if they can fix the problem but they came back and told me they couldn’t trouble shoot my boat, don’t bring it.
Several weeks ago I emailed Greg Walters with my noise problem and he replied that, according to my pictures and symptoms “ it is some of the classic signs of trolling motor RF interference.  It is being produced by the PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) circuitry of the trolling motor.  This is the circuitry that allows the trolling motor to run longer on a battery charge.  When the motor is at its highest speed it is not using this circuitry and so the interference disappears just as you have seen. He then suggested I work with HB Customer Resource Folks to fix the problem.  I have done this.
I will try to make what I’ve tried brief and hope someone might have an additional suggestion that I haven’t tried, so here goes:
My trolling motor is a Motorguide W75 (24V) which is wireless and because of being wireless you cannot run any wires up the shaft from the motor. The shaft runs through a stationary bracket when you raise and lower the unit out of the water.
My boat is a 17.5 Pro Alumacraft (all aluminum)
In no particular order I’ve tried with no success:
   When the trolling motor is running in 29 of 30 speeds (I have 30 speeds on the trolling motor) I lose definition and data with a haze coming on the screen. Picture S00009 and S00013 show the haze (noise).  Half the picture is with the trolling motor ON and the other half is with the motor OFF. Picture S00012 is with the trolling motor ON entirely. When I shut the motor off I get a perfect picture. Once in a great while when I decrease or increase the speed the haze will vanish and I get a perfect reading. When I run at the highest speed (30), the noise disappears.
With the boat on the trailer, I took the transducer off the motor but left it connected. I then ran the trolling motor and with the transducer in my hand and about 12" away from the trolling motor I did not have any interference. With the trolling motor still running, I moved the transducer closer to the motor and when I got within 6" the noise reappeared. I then moved the transducer along (within one inch) the curled power cord that leads from the motor up to the top of the trolling motor and the noise was still present.  When I moved the transducer away from the cord the noise disappeared. I also tried this along the trolling motor shaft, while running and I still get noise.  When I move the transducer one or two inches away the noise stops.
 
 
   I have also tried numerous different  Sensitivity and Noise Filter settings and nothing clears up the noise and gives me a good reading. 
The Ferrite Ring from HB installed 6” from the 598 on the transducer wire, no improvement.
Humminbirds’ trolling motor choke installed 16” from the trolling motor on the power lines, no improvement.
Although I cannot run a ground wire from the TM scag up to any battery in the boat, on land, I did run a ground wire from the scag to my main engine battery which I use to get the power for my 598.  With the TM running the noise did decrease by approximately 10%.  For the hell of it, tried running a ground wire from the main battery to a stand alone battery and then to the scag of the trolling motor. No improvement.
I tried hooking the unit up to a totally dedicated battery on the garage floor with the power wire and transducer wire separated from everything, no luck.
Tried making sure power and transducer cables were run apart from each other and every other electrical wire, no luck.
Thinking I might have a problem with just this one trolling motor I hooked up my spare Motorguide W75 and ran all the same tests. Results were exactly the same, no improvement.
Also made sure the 598 has all the latest updates.
I probably tried several other small remedies to no avail, just can’t remember them.  Installing the transducer on the stern or separately on a bracket on the bow are unfortunately not options.
ANY, ANY suggestions would be welcome.
Thanks,
Walt


 


Offline ITGEEK

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Re: Really could use some help with noise problem
« Reply #1 on: June 28, 2013, 09:57:52 AM »
Since your transducer is attached to the trolling motor,
there may not be a fix.   You might just have to live with the
interference.  Many people have complained about Trolling motor
interference.  And some people never got it cured.

Putting the transducer on the stern, and having a separate
battery for your sonar is probably your best bet.
« Last Edit: June 28, 2013, 09:59:42 AM by ITGEEK »


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