Topic: Problems with 1197c

[saugerman]

 I bought a 1197c in march of this year.Since day one, Iv'e not been able to get a digital depth reading on the 2d sonar. It at first worked good for a minute or two,with a bottom reading and a digital reading, and then it would go to 1.6 ft in the digital reading and stay there for maybe 30 seconds and then it might read right for a little bit,and then go right back to 1.6.
 I contacted Humminbird and they told me what to check for,so I did every thing they said,but nothing changed.I sent it back to Humminbird and they sent it back right away,said they had replaced the board it it and it was fixed. The first time out after I got it back it did the same thing again I purchased another transducer and a new y cable and decided to replace them both. I first changed out the y cable, and that didn't help,so I got a man who installed transducers on boats for hire, and he replaced the new ducer. After changing the transducer, I tried it again and it was slow to even show the bottom at first,and then it showed 6,4 ft and stayed there for a while then went to 11 ft while I was running and never changed.After a while it showed 484 ft and  more unreal readings. I decided to set the unit back to factory default settings,and then it went to 1.6 ft and has been there since.
 I have a Skeeter 250 zx bass boat,and the first transducer was mounted about a foot from the very back of the transum of the boat,mostly becuse that was the only place I could find to put it.The next transducer the man took everything out of his way and said that it should be as close to the transome as posible. He sanded the spot, and placed a weight on it while it was drying.
 Does anyone on this forum own a Skeeter bassboat that has installed ther own transducer,that could tell me where they placed ther transducer? I mostly feel that the unit is bad ,but thought that it might not hurt to hear from other Skeeter zx bassboat owners.

[LocDown]

Please post some mounting pictures to help us help you.

[saugerman]

 I would be glad to post pitures,but my boat is 130 miles from hear,at our Lake Barkley home.The transducer is mounted on the center of the boat,on a perfectly flat place in the very back next to the transom,if that helps.I'd like to be more helpful but that is the best I can do at this time.

[LocDown]

Pictures will help a lot more.

[Humminbird_Greg]

You will have to try the following when you can get back to your boat:

First thing is to see if the unit will read the water depth and digital depth correctly when nothing else on the boat is running.  No motors, bilge pumps or other sonar units.

If it still is not reading the water depth correctly, try plugging each transducer directly into the 1197c Si unit – do not use the AS-Si-DB-Y cable.

What is the model number of the second transducer you are using with the 1197c Si unit and y-cable?  If this is an inside-the-hull transducer (like the XP-9-20), can you conform that the man who installed it tested the location before epoxing it in place?
Can you confirm that the y-cable you are using is the AS-Si-DB-Y?

[saugerman]

Greg, the transducer is a xp-9-20,and the y cable is the same as you listed.That is something I checked with Humminbird on the phone,to make sure I had the right ones. The unit will not read right with everything turned off, I have tried it before to make sure that there was no interference.
 Thanks for your reply.

[Humminbird_Greg]

Well try each transducer plugged directly into the unit (no AS-Si-DB-Y cable) and see if either will allow your 1197c Si unit to start showing the correct water depth.

If possible, try testing your 1197c Si unit on someone else’s boat that is running a Humminbird unit.  It does not have to be another 1197 unit but it does need to be one of the larger sized units due to the power draw of the 1197.  Look for someone with any of the 800, 900 or 1100 series units that are not any of the “DI” labeled models.  Any of these will work to test the sonar in your 1197 unit.