Depth finder not working?

[GREASEMONKEYSC]

I recently picked up a sweet 06 G3 19' with a 115 Yamaha, eagle fish finder, and only 45hrs on the whole rig.
I found only one issue with it. The depth finder stops working at about 20mph. So I have no depth at 1/2 throttle and above.
The transducer is mounted about 16" from the side, and at the bottom of the transom. I have tried all different angles, but nothing is taking care of the problem.

I appreciate any help!

 

[TMALEGA]

Re: Depth finder not working?

I have never had a depth finder work past a 1/4 throttle. I have never had a nice depth finder anyways. However my understanding is that the sonar cant keep up with the transducer at a very high amount of speed i.e. 1/2 throttle or more. May be wrong however its how i understand that.

 

[GREASEMONKEYSC]

Re: Depth finder not working?

Ok, that may be the case. I was just on a friends speed boat and his works at 75mph, so I figured mine should do better than 20.
I am looking at a nicer unit with gps plotter, but $500 isn't so easy to come by these days.

 

[TMALEGA]

Re: Depth finder not working?

This is very true that is also the reason i fixed the hummingbird transducer for the wide 128 that is on my boat, it was on there when i bought it. Have yet to use it. But i figure it has got to be better then the lowarce portable model i have been using from about 10 years ago. If not then i will figure out some thing to mount my old one some how more permenant. The lady in charge of the finances says no new depth finder this year since we just had to get the new hull. So i understand the money thing.

I can get to about 1/4 throttle on that old portable unit and then it stops reading anything and starts beeping like crazy on us.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Depth finder not working?

However my understanding is that the sonar cant keep up with the transducer at a very high amount of speed i.e. 1/2 throttle or more. May be wrong however its how i understand that.

Not true at all. 99.9% of all speed related problems are from a bad transducer installation.

 

[GREASEMONKEYSC]

Re: Depth finder not working?

Not true at all. 99.9% of all speed related problems are from a bad transducer installation.

So it needs to be moved? Got any better locations than where it is?
I can post a pic of the transom if that wouldhelp.

 

[EddiePetty]

Re: Depth finder not working?

On both our 14' Stumpnocker and V-20 the depth finder works perfectly at all speed.

Both transducers are mounted at the extreme outboard edge of the transom and barely a 1/2" below the hull.

My fishing partner's Bass Tracker has his transducer mounted in the same general area but about an inch below the hull. It also works at all speed but does throw a bothersome spray at speeds.

 

[GREASEMONKEYSC]

Re: Depth finder not working?

I'll try and move it to the outer edge and see what I get.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Depth finder not working?

if the transducer dose lose contact with the water due to cavation caused by the hull it will stop giving you a depth or a display if its a fishfinder it will show hash on the screen. I just recently made several trips to the lake to get one working on my pontoon, dropping it lower will help

 

[GREASEMONKEYSC]

Re: Depth finder not working?

I think that's the problem. Mine does the same thing, just shows static on screen. I'm not sure where I can move it to keep it submerged. My boat is just about skimming the surface at full throttle. I'll see what I can come up with. I may have to make a mount that will allow it to hang lower.

 

[GREASEMONKEYSC]

Re: Depth finder not working?

So Before I started drilling holes all over my transom, or taking a guess at functionality of my unit.....
I decided to contact G3. The tech there told me that the transducer is located properly, just a basic model they install.
My solution
I found a humminbird 365i for $199. Can't beat the deal, and it will function at any speed. Not the model I was looking for, but it will do everything I want.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Depth finder not working?

So Before I started drilling holes all over my transom, or taking a guess at functionality of my unit.....
I decided to contact G3. The tech there told me that the transducer is located properly, just a basic model they install.
My solution
I found a humminbird 365i for $199. Can't beat the deal, and it will function at any speed. Not the model I was looking for, but it will do everything I want.

Getting a new unit is not going to resolve anything. You have a problem with turbulence passing over the face of the transducer. Until you solve that problem, nothing is going to work properly

 

[TerryMSU]

Re: Depth finder not working?

Sorry, but I have to agree with Dingbat. In fact, a new fishfinder may even be more sensitive to those sorts of issues. If you can do a thru hull installation, that may have the best chance to succeed. Other than that, the fact is that trubulence will kill your signal with noise. There are at least three factors that affect turbulence.

1. Height. Depends on the transducer. See if you can get a hold of the original instalation instructions. On my HB 597DI, the centerline of the ducer is supposed to be in line with the bottom edge of the boat.

2. Left to right position. Avoid the strakes, keep it as far as reasonable away from the motor. On traditional single prop motors, the ducer should be on the starboard side of the boat.

3. Tilt angle. Straight in line with the bottom of the boat. Not too much up or down. This is probably the only one you can do without drilling new holes in the boat.

If you have noise rejection adjustment on the finder, set it as high as you can get away with for depth finding only. For fish finding, you will need to set it lower. Fish finding and bottom following requirements tend to conflict.

Good luck. By the way, the HB 365 is a decent unit from what I recall.

TerryMSU

 

[ufm82]

Re: Depth finder not working?

Go here and eliminate the problem. http://vexilar.com/pages/accessories/accy_transducers_au.php

2 people I know have them and love them. No issues like those you see with transom mounts. I still don't know why they still offer that option with all the issues they cause. This style is inside the boat, no speed issues, no getting hit by debris, getting hit in the driveway, etc.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Depth finder not working?

Go here and eliminate the problem. http://vexilar.com/pages/accessories/accy_transducers_au.php

2 people I know have them and love them. No issues like those you see with transom mounts. I still don't know why they still offer that option with all the issues they cause. This style is inside the boat, no speed issues, no getting hit by debris, getting hit in the driveway, etc.

Even the best shot thru transducers reduce your sensitivity at least 3% right off the bat. Poor installation, poor transducer design/performance and that the number soars.

I have no speed issues/ damages issue with my thru hull and my sensitivity is 20-50 times higher.
I?d be interested in seeing the performance specification of those transducers if you can find them

 

[GREASEMONKEYSC]

Re: Depth finder not working?

So I ran into a guy this weekend with a near identical boat. He has a 16' G3.
He originally got the same fish/depth finder as came with my boat. He suffered from the same speed/turbulence issue. He now has a 5 series humminbird, used the same location for the transducer, and no more problems. He said it will loose signal for a few seconds every now and then, but 99% of the time it's flawless.
I hope to have the same luck. It seems from the opinions on here, as well as a few from other boaters, I have a 50/50 chance of the new unit solving my problems.
I'll have the new unit installed by this coming weekend, so I can get it tweaked. I'll report back on how it turns out!

 

[GREASEMONKEYSC]

Re: Depth finder not working?

New unit is installed, and been tested.
It works flawlessly. I moved the transducer over about 8"from the old location. I get fish readings and depth at full speed. The gps also gave me an accurate reading of 45mph. I love it. The transducer does have about a 4' tall rooster tail kicking up, but I'm not gonna mess with it because it's working!