Humminbird Side Imaging Forums
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: mako9man2 on March 11, 2014, 12:25:37 PM
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I've been following this forum for the last month in preparation for the installation of my new HB 999ci HD Si. It has saved me from making a bunch of mistakes and I thank you all. I finally got my unit installed and began the process of testing/adjusting the transducer. I anticipated that I would need to install a second transducer for highspeed sounding but wanted to try and use the supplied XHS 9 HDSi. I tested it yesterday and determined that I would have to install a secondary XNT 9 20 which is now on order.
I wanted to be able to fine tune the XHS placement so I came up with another custom transducer mount I'd like to share with you. This particular mount allows me to adjust the transducer to for depth and distance from the transom. During testing I figured out pretty quick that having this large transducer generating turbulence in the path of the propeller was not going to work so I was able to adjust it up so that at planing speed the XHS is completely out of the water and safe from damage. The secondary XNT will be installed on the starboard corner of the transom where you see the existing transducer mounting plate. This location is in front of the XHS si transducer so there won't be any interference.
[attachimg=1][attachimg=2]
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Love the custom mount mako9man2!
Any of those parts commercially available in case someone else wants to build one?
I wonder if you could have mounted the HDSi transducer over where the XNT transducer will be installed and got it to work at high-speed and Si. With longer arms on your bracket you could have extended it back far enough from the transom to clear that center section. Sometimes getting the transducer back away from the transom is a better spot for high-speed depth readings.
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All of the parts are available from any decent hardware store.
All of the main bolts, nuts and washers are 1/4" stainless.
The stainless steel HB transducer bracket is attached with 4 #8 stainless truss head screws and nylocks.
The metal is all 1/8" thick aluminum stock. The brackets were cut and shaped from a piece of 1" aluminum angle and the arms are cut from 1" aluminum flat stock.
I considered using the starboard corner mounting location but I would have to extend the Si transducer a minimum of 8"-10" to clear everything on the transom. There is just too much transducer dangling out there to do it that way. The other possible option on the starboard corner was to mount the Si transducer low enough that it had a clear shot under the hull but I did not want to expose it to the possibility of hitting something.
The best idea for my particular boat is the high mounted Si transducer coupled with the separate 2D transducer.
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Wow, I did not figure that you would have to move it back that far.
Thanks for the info on the bracket parts. I was hoping that at least some of them were ready-made parts meant for something else.