Topic: ALL SI Models - Towed Fish Transducer

[Jolly Roger]

Model:	ALL SI Models
Suggested Upgrade:	Towed Fish Transducer
Explanation:	Since there are a lot of people who want to build their own towed fish, it would be great to have SI transducers with extended connection cables. 50 meters would be perfect for a start!
Added in Software Version:
Comments on Update:

[ZEUS]

Great idea - off the shelf availability will save loads of soldering and risky sealing.  Would also be great for when you want to scan and the sea is a bit rough due wind.  You can still have the standard transducer transom mounted for daily use.

[keizerh]

Hey harry, good idea.
Is your's ready yet?
hendrik

[sonar2000]

I agree that a towfish off the shelf wold be a great marketing item for Humminbird. Some folks spend a lot of time trying to make a fish.
Wake up Johnson Outdoors....we have a need.

Chuck

[pmburesh]

I'll put my 2 cents in also. I have looked at several towfish models and would love to have a humminbird towfish for our SAR work. We just can't compete with the more expensive models with depths below 50 ft using a transom mounted transducer. In Kentucky we have several lakes with depths over 50 feet in depth.

[Jolly Roger]

@Hendrik:

I had the first test, but that wasn't successfull. the fish turned out way too heavy to handle without a capstand or winsch. Besides that, I couldn't get a decent picture from the fish to the display. Too much interferences. Don't know if these came from the soldering, the cable or the engines (had to place the bucket with the cable on the engine room hood with the ignition and distributer right underneath it).

@all:
I wrote to Humminbird support and got an automatically generated response so far. They will look into this and will get back to me.
I asked Greg as well to help us here. He will try to push from his end.

Let's keep our fingers crossed.....

Regards / Harry

[ZEUS]

What volume would be minimum that HB would produce?

If we had say 20 confirmed and deposited orders would HB do a small run with longer cables?

[plastikboot]

Hi there,

I built my own transducer and the trick is a very good shielded cable - CAT7 is perfect. My solution for the winching problem: Cannon Downrigger MAG20 - I use two transducers with a y-cable - the one mounted on the boat hull gives me the "real" depth and feeds the downrigger - the one in the towfish gives me the sidescandata. In the beginning of the survey I just throw as much cable in the water as I will need for the depth - the downrigger goes up and down automatically and everything is fine.
The Towfish is just an aluminiumbody with the normal transducer attached to it.

Aquatically yours

plastikboot

[Rickard]

Nice, Plastikboot,

I think many of us would appreciate a thorough description of your system with weight, cable length, towing speed etc etc and some images. Please, start a thread in the Towfish section so we all can learn!

As for the wish for a factory made towfish transducer I think it would be quite easy for Humminbird to make a towfish-ready transducer. All that is needed is a longer cable. The standard transducers can stand the pressure at 45 m (the deepest I have tested) and don't need any modifications. But since the cable will make the system very susceptible to interference, I think we will have to accept a comprehensive disclaimer and be prepaired for problems because of the interference conditions in the particular boat.

Rickard

[keizerh]

Hi there,

I built my own transducer and the trick is a very good shielded cable - CAT7 is perfect. My solution for the winching problem: Cannon Downrigger MAG20 - I use two transducers with a y-cable - the one mounted on the boat hull gives me the "real" depth and feeds the downrigger - the one in the towfish gives me the sidescandata. In the beginning of the survey I just throw as much cable in the water as I will need for the depth - the downrigger goes up and down automatically and everything is fine.
The Towfish is just an aluminiumbody with the normal transducer attached to it.

Aquatically yours

plastikboot

My idea (as well), with the downrigger.
Discussed it with Greg and one of his collegues tried to build it this way
Worth a Schwarzwalder Kirsch and Eisbein.

How is the quality of the starfish?

@ Harry,
Did you use the Conrad CAT7 cable?

hendrik

[Jolly Roger]

Got an answer from Humminbird and I'm a bit confused about it. Sounds like I have to go through some legal issues before they would consider my idea at all. Patends and stuff......

A bit too complicated for my English capabilities 

Can someone jump in and pick up the ball?

Regards / Harry

[SGann]

plastikboot,
Please give us more info on your fish. Did you fabricate it?

Bitte geben Sie uns mehr Informationen über Ihre Fische. Wussten Sie fabrizieren sie?

[IRC Kevin]

I am useless at anything to do with electrics and fabrication. If Humminbird made an off-the-shelf towfish I would buy one like a shot! Then all I'd have to do is work out some way of deploying it without drilling holes in my boat, or fouling the propellor.

[sonar2000]

Actually they deploy quite easily. But yes the control of the fish can be challenging. And of course not to foul in an impellor.  As with anything it does get easier with use.
I too would like to see HB make a tow fish.
Chuck