Side Imaging Forums > 598c SI HD
Old 597 DI - Head or Transducer Problem?
rnvinc:
I think ezfishn was referring to the idea that we know SI imaging uses depth from the 2d piezo in the processing and displaying the SI image ... I have no documentation if this is also true of the DI core unit models ...
Some of the larger DI core units (858 DI and larger) had a setting to allow digital depth from either the DI piezo or the 2d piezo ... I cannot find that same setting in the manuals of the smaller DI core unit models ... So is either piezo capable of depth - yes. Your 597 DI model - I do not know ...(manuals are here https://www.humminbird.com/support/manuals?_ga=2.228808924.1597017917.1662521143-1384636803.1662426675)
I have been in the SI xducers to verify that the 2d piezo is round and imaging piezo(s) are bar shaped ...
I also know that Humminbird uses many different materials in their transducer construction ... and probably more materials than I’ve seen in the transducers I’ve cut into ... there was no “goo” in this SI transducer ...
Here is good info about transducer theory and piezoes ...:
https://www.airmar.com/uploads/installguide/Theory-of-Operations-2014.pdf
Rickie
skipt:
Great info Rickie, that helps a lot. But in your cutaways I don’t see any goo. I expected the internals to look more like your photos, that’s why the goo was such a surprise to me. I need to think more about where that goo might have come from.
I suspect the 597 transducer has a disk-shaped sonar element at the wide end of the transducer teardrop, and a bar-shaped element along the remaining length of the teardrop for DI. This arrangement would be consistent with the beam patterns described in the user manual: a disk shaped element would have a cone shaped beam pattern and a bar shaped element would have a thin rectangular beam pattern perpendicular to the long axis of the bar element.
I have the 597 manual and know the menus well, and you are correct—there are not separate settings to choose which element (DI or sonar) provides the depth reading. But I believe there are two separate elements and the head uses each one independently for depth readings.
This morning I now have no depth reading on DI or sonar, whereas a few days ago I had depth on the DI but (as best I recall) not the sonar. No more images on DI either. So the failure is spreading but I still haven’t decided if it is the head or the transducer.
My next steps (short of buying another head and/or transducer) could include any of the following in any particular order:
1) Open the head and inspect for signs of electronics problems such as leaky caps or burned components
2) Put the head on the workbench and using resistors try to fool it into thinking the transducer is connected. Then look at the head’s transducer outputs for the transmit and receive signals with an oscilloscope
3) Leave everything on the boat and tap into the transducer cable (there is plenty of spare length readily accessible) . Measure each element’s impedance characteristics as described in the attached figure. Then connect the transducer to the head, power up and using the taps, look at the transducer’s transmit and receive signals with an oscilloscope
UPDATE: On a whim I connected a multimeter (set to AC volts) to each transducer element via the transducer cable pins, and tapped on the transducer. Both elements generated an AC voltage (sometimes 2-300 mv) on the multimeter. This suggests the transducer isn't completely dead/open circuit. Probably the next step is to open and inspect the head.
rnvinc:
In my mind the “goo” would most likely be a happenstance of an epoxy scenario not setting up completely/correctly ... uh.. maybe a reason Humminbird was so adamant of fixing the guy’s issue in the video post you linked ..
I can’t imagine a long term acoustic advantage of liquid inside a transducer housing ..
I also can’t imagine that these HB transducers (operating at their known power level) could cause enough heat to melt anything (like Airmar deep water transducers could)...
Rickie
rnvinc:
BTW .. I will check my transducer collection and see if I have a XNT 9 DI T that we can use for your troubleshooting ...
Rickie
rnvinc:
Also BTW ... Please note that no Humminbird representatives actively follow this forum ... (although a HB rep does occasionally pop in) ...
We, at sideimagingsoft, are merely users sharing info with users ...
Rickie
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