Humminbird Side Imaging Forums
Side Imaging Forums => Helix Series Units => Topic started by: tundra on June 26, 2019, 10:47:31 PM
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I don’t know if I should just scrap these units or what. Helix 9 mega g2n and helix 7 g2n connected on dash using the mega ducer. Can never get a good 2d sonar reading and now depths are all over the place. Mostly read 1.1ft. Si works great though other than freezing up occasionally. Could I have a bad transducer or wouldn’t that cause the depth issues? Everything is updated and restored defaults several times. High speed ducer barely ever reads either. Very frustrating
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I’m thinking about installing the helix 7 transducer on the transom to see if the sonar will at least work on that. How far does it need to be from the mega ducer so they don’t interfere w each other?
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Are you using a Y cable ...??
If so, is the secondary 2d xducer in the bilge or on the transom ...
Rickie
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Yes, mega y cable and the 2d ducer in bilge. Went out today and the 7 was froze up right away, so I restored defaults again and the depths were good whole time, even high speed. Lake was flat today though, not sure if it matters. The sonar seemed to work better today also, I think I have it in max mode in order to show a solid bottom.
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It sounds like the bilge xducer may not be in the optimum spot and that part of the hull is coming out of the water in chop ...
Rickie
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That makes sense but the depths don’t always work when I’m just idled or sitting still.
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That makes sense but the depths don’t always work when I’m just idled or sitting still.
This sounds like the bilge xducer may be faulty or coming loose from its epoxy ...
You might try disconnecting the Y cable and test the SI xducer plugged directly into the unit ... If the 2d reads correctly at idle or stationary you can suspect the bilge 2d xducer ...
Rickie
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But shouldn’t the main transducer be reading the 2d at idle? I noticed yesterday that the when I unload boat in shallow water or if I’m in deeper water and go to shallow, the depths quit working, and when I idle out to deeper it takes the graphs about about 20-30 yards before the graphs unfreeze and start reading depths.
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When using a y-cable, 2D is hardwired from the secondary DualBeam transducer. There is no electrical path for the 2D from the imaging transducer.
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So your saying since I have the y cable, I’m never getting 2d from the mega ducer. I assumed the shoot through transducer is only for high speed. If that’s the case I shouldn’t be losing depth in shallow water.
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So your saying since I have the y cable, I’m never getting 2d from the mega ducer. I assumed the shoot through transducer is only for high speed. If that’s the case I shouldn’t be losing depth in shallow water.
Like ezfishn mentioned there is no switching of 2d source ... With the Y cable, 2d always comes from the 2d xducer ...
To troubleshoot the bilge xducer remove the Y cable and connect the SI xducer directly to unit ...
If 2d stabilizes - your issue is the 2d xducer, it's epoxy mounting, or the Y cable is bad ...
Rickie
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Ok, I will try that next. Another question with that, do I need to change my sonar settings because it will only read off the shoot through 2d? I believe The sonar is set at mega chirp or something like that.
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Leave the Connected Transducer selection at MEGA and test without the Y cable ...
This will transmit MEGA SI, MEGA DI, and 2d ...
If the 2d functions correctly then the bilge 2d xducer is faulty, has come loose from its epoxy mounting, or the Y cable is bad ...
Rickie
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I disconnected the y cable and it ran good. Reads fine in shallow water. Now how do I know if it’s a bad y cable or bad 2d ducer? The 2d ducer works fine on plane if the graphs are reading depth when I take off.
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I disconnected the y cable and it ran good. Reads fine in shallow water. Now how do I know if it’s a bad y cable or bad 2d ducer? The 2d ducer works fine on plane if the graphs are reading depth when I take off.
Plug the 2d xducer directly into the unit without the Y cable ...
Change the Connected Transducer selection under the Sonar tab to HB 83/200kHz
Test ...
Rickie
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I went directly into the helix 7 with the 2d and switched to 83/200 and can’t get any readings. I plugged the 2d back into the y cable and still don’t get readings in shallow but works good over 4’ still. I guess I’m wondering if the 2d ducer is bad, why will it work in deeper water? Does this mean that the y cable is good?
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I went directly into the helix 7 with the 2d and switched to 83/200 and can’t get any readings. I plugged the 2d back into the y cable and still don’t get readings in shallow but works good over 4’ still. I guess I’m wondering if the 2d ducer is bad, why will it work in deeper water? Does this mean that the y cable is good?
Do the very same test with the HELIX 9 instead of the 7 ...
I'm not really sure why its working in deeper water and not at all in shallow water ...
Rickie
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Just curious, in shallow water, under 4 feet, have you tried to adjust the Surface Cluttler?
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The graphs pretty much freeze up in shallow and don’t move until I get to deeper water.
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I will do the test with the 9 next weekend when I get back on the water and report back.
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I installed a new 2d transducer in the hull and it works good now.
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Yay!! This was a challenging one for sure ...
Rickie
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Try this technique for pin point 2d bottom readings. My 2d keep up with my boat running 43mph... It works. take a picture when you finish.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuYsmJRc_fE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuYsmJRc_fE)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuYsmJRc_fE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuYsmJRc_fE)
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Try this technique for pin point 2d bottom readings. My 2d keep up with my boat running 43mph... It works. take a picture when you finish.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuYsmJRc_fE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuYsmJRc_fE)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuYsmJRc_fE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuYsmJRc_fE)
Good video by James to show how to align the transom imaging transducer but with using a y-cable and in-hull transducer the 2D is not coming from the imaging transducer. The y-cable allows you to connect a 2D transducer with the imaging transducer and hardwires the 2D input from the 2D transducer. The 2D transducer can either be a in-hull or transom mounted transducer (83/200khz). You can expect depth readings even above 43mph depending on boat and installation.