Topic: Cannonlink with matrix 25 and digi troll 5's

[Mainetreeman]

I just installed a pair of digit roll 5 down riggers and hooked them to my humminbird Matrix 25.  I updated to the latest firmware so I could get the cannonlink menu.

I went and tested them out this afternoon.  The manual and cycle functions work fine.  But the bottom tracking feature seems to act funny.

Has anyone tried using the cannon link with this older fishfinder? 

Is there a specific sequence I should be using when initially setting them up? 

What's a good wave and offset setting to use?

Any tips would be great.  I'm going to attempt another run tomorrow see if I get better results.

[babarosa]

can you give more detail as to whats happening. Can you see the ball on the screen tracking with the bottom. Remember you have blow back and lure depth to contend with. Are your lures diveing to deep for your offset. I set the wave for conditions, one foot of wave to one foot on the depth finder. good luck.

[Mainetreeman]

I'm not really getting anything consistantly.  Some times they work like I think there supposed too.  Other times they just do nothing.  Sometimes I put in an offset and wave value, and save it and it does nothing.  A couple times I have hit save and the downriggers go down but they go down way too deep?  I wish I could figure out a problem that happens consistantly.  Perhaps its just user error? 

The most consistant response from the downriggers seems to be that the fishfinder will say Downrigger 1 Bottom tracking, but the downriggers have never decended there still at the top.  If the downriggers are down and I change them to bottom track and then save, The downrigger will just bring the ball back up to the top.

I think once or twice it actually worked the rest of the time it was a guess as too what they were going to do.

[Mainetreeman]

Oh yea I have a weather sense and a handheld GPS linked to the fishfinder as well.  I did try disconnecting both just to see if there was any interference with them but it didn't seem to make a difference. 

I also got the "no downriiger detected, check terminal connections, etc" message.  I don't remember the exact message but it was something like that. 

I really hate to buy a new fishfinder.  One of the main reasons I decided to purchase the Cannonlink with the Digi-Troll is because I already had a fishfinder thats supposed to be compatable.

[babarosa]

I'm not really sure what is going wrong with yours but i do have a persistant problem with the cables from the finder to the cannon link lossing connection and haveing no control over the rigger.

[Mainetreeman]

Have you been able to determine if its a faulty cable or something else interfering with it?

I didn't get out yesterday to test them again.  It will probably be next weekend before I can get out again.

Other than the cable how has the bottom tracking feature worked for you?

[babarosa]

I'm pretty sure my problem is the connection at the cannon link. I assume that you have the proper cable length programed into both units. I believe one becomes the master unit. Also is the unit zeroed for the water line and not in a negative count. i have to do this every time i go out. I have intellitroll also and can tell you that blow back is two to three feet at 30 feet at 1.5 mph with a 4# ball. A sharp turn will bury the ball on the inside if tracking to close to the bottom. I believe that the wave function delays the responce time to smooth out any erratic changes in depth.

[Mainetreeman]

Well I went out today for a couple hours just to try it again.  Heres what I can determine works.  I can control the down riggers manually from the fish finder, the cycle function also works fine.  The only problem is with the bottom tracking.  I program the settings but when I save it sometimes it actually saves and sometimes it doesn't.  Even when it saves and says the downriver is bottom tracking the down rigger does nothing but the fish finder shows its at the depth off bottom I set it for.  Yet the ball is still at water level with counter reading 0.

So I tried putting the rigger down manually and then reset it to bottom track.  When I do this the rigger retrieves the ball to the top and stays there.  It's almost like the fishfinder and the rigger don't know what the other is doing.  I may try re-installing the firmware on the fishfinder?

Wish I lived on a lake its a pain to keep taking the boat in and out just to try to get it to work.

The cable length is set correctly according to the cable length that came on the riggers. (there new with factory cables)

[Mainetreeman]

Went out again yesterday.  Now I have one downrigger that's got a mind of its own.  I mainly used manual settings.  But every once in a while downrigger 1 would randomly switch to either bottom track or cycle all by itself. If it switched to bottom tracking it would just bring the ball up and it would stay at the surface.   If it switched to cycling it would go to the last cycling program I had set.  I've ordered a new 788ci HD, hopefully the software is more current and it works.  I'm thinking maybe the memory in my Matrix may not be very stable.  Or the software (which is from 2008 which is the most current I can get cause humminbird doesn't really support this model anymore) has glitches in it.  It definately seems like its the fish finder that's causing my problems.

I think the matrix is at least 8 year sold so I guess I won't hurt to upgrade.  I just hope it works cause this is getting expensive in a hurry and my wife isn't overly impressed....lol

[Roddy]

Mainetreeman, You told your wife!!! Brave man.

Check the GPS wire, move it away from the cannon link cable. Mine was cross talking.

Roddy

[Mainetreeman]

Thanks Roddy.  Well I didn't tell her how much it all cost.  Just told her she's better off not knowing.  I just hope if anything ever happens to me she doesn't sell all my hunting and fishing stuff for what she thinks there worth.  Somebody will get a really good deal.

I've already tried disconnecting the GPS completely and turning it off.  Didn't seem to make a difference.

[Mainetreeman]

Long story short.

Got the new fishfinder and installed it.  Went out this evening and everything worked perfect.

Anyone with a matrix, don't go buy digitrolls and a cannonlink thinking it will work with your matrix.

Plan on buying a new fishfinder too.

The new fishfinder is pretty nice though.  Now I see fish in colors.  Plus it has a built in gps, I just have the unimap right now.  I still use my handheld gps.  I need to figure out how to transfer all my waypoints over before I can stop using it.