Topic: 998si screen very dim on new installation

[fishbone]

I had my 998si moved to my new fiberglass boat. Wanting to have depth reading at speed, I had Stratos mount a puck xp-9-20 and the dealer install a splitter cable to the SI transducer that they mounted.
On the water for the first time yesterday I found the SI screen unreadable. It is super dim where cupping my hands around the screen I could just barely make out some structure.
The fact that I saw something tells me that It's hooked up correctly. I have no idea what to look for that would account for the dimness.
Is there something that needs to be done other than cable connections for two transducers to operate correctly?
I plan to disconnect the xp-9-20 to see if the brightness on the SI reading improves.
Help !!

[rnvinc]

My 1197 screen was dim the first time I used it this year...

My battery was kaput...

New battery...all is well...

Rickie

[fishbone]

I can see that being a problem, Rickie.
You are talking about the boat starting battery, right?
But my problem is with a brand new boat.
All of my display is normal, except the SI display.

[Jw2000uk]

The simple answer is.

whilst on. Press power button, And turn brightness Up...

altough im sure you would have tried this..



P.S. Mines the same, but it does warm up, And after 10 mins is bright enough to see. Altough not really up to price tag in brightness. :-(

[Humminbird_Greg]

I would first make sure that your 998 unit is powered by the cranking battery.
Next I would see how it is connected to that battery; what wire gauge was used and are there any loose connections (check the fuse and fuse holder as well).  Too small of wire gauge may not allow enough current to flow to the unit so while it may have enough voltage at the unit it may not have enough current (Voltage X Current = Power).
I would also have the new battery load tested.

Does the backlight brighten and dim when you turn it up and down?

What voltage is the unit showing?

[fishbone]

Greg, I will certainly check those things.
However, the display for down image, GPS and numerical data all look normal brightness. It's only the SI display that is dim.
It's difficult to test in the driveway and will take a trip to the lake for a proper look-see.
Both the SI and in-hull puck transducers provide some of the same data. How is the data selected from the two sources for display?
Thanks.

[rnvinc]

In the driveway...

Are you testing the SI view in "Normal" or "Simulator"....??

"Simulator" mode would give a good reference to brightness compared to other views...
"Normal" mode (out of the water) is not going to give actual operating comparisons...

Rickie

[4d-rock]

I know it's not a solution, but have you played around with the different colour palettes?  Some of the colours of SI/DI just don't work very well with certain light conditions and you might be able to toggle through and find one that works better.

[Humminbird_Greg]

Greg, I will certainly check those things.
However, the display for down image, GPS and numerical data all look normal brightness. It's only the SI display that is dim.
It's difficult to test in the driveway and will take a trip to the lake for a proper look-see.
Both the SI and in-hull puck transducers provide some of the same data. How is the data selected from the two sources for display?
Thanks.

fishbone,
While it is true that both transducers have the same 2D sonar elements within them the one on the HDSi transducer are not electrically connected to anything if you are using the AS-Si-DB-Y cable.  So there is no choice for the unit to make as it only sees one whole HDSi transducer.

[fishbone]

I didn't install the units in my new boat (dealer did), but your statement got me thinking....could the two transducer cables be reversed causing the symptoms like I see?

[Humminbird_Greg]

No, if they were reversed you would get no Si/Di sonar readings at all.  These transducer beams would not be electrically connected to your 988 unit.

[fishbone]

I finally got back out on the water today. Everything looked fine.
I believe the sun was at a low angle the first time, along with it being dash-mounted giving up adjustment for best angle.
Today was bright sun but the display worked fine.
My error.
Thanks for the help and suggestions.

[Colt45]

Make sure you are NOT wearing polarized sun glasses when viewing a Humminbird.   The display will be dim when viewed straight on and completely blank if your head is tilted to the left.

[fishbone]

Gotcha.
That first day is still puzzling. Weird sunlight/angle.