Running 2 fish finders?

[Wheel Wash]

I have 2 fishfinders in my boat in which I mounted the transducers a couple inch s apart. Sometimes they seem to be very confused when on at the same time and other times they seem fine. Question is : could having the transducers mounted close together cause them to work improper?

If it matters one is a Garmin and one is a Hummingbird 161

[24 on/ 48 off]

I also have two in my boat. I only run one at a time, because they interfere with each other.

[Starfish]

It just depends on what frequency the fishfinders are. If they are close to the same frequency or if one is a multiple of the other then you will get interference. I can run my Lowrance and Humminbird at the same time with no problem, but I used to have trouble running two Eagles.

[bluehewes]

I run 2 FF's, sometimes they will interfere with each other I'll just power one off then back on and it's fine. I'm about to run a 3rd:laugh:talk about overkill.

[Wheel Wash]

I did some online searching and the Humminbird is running at 200 khz The other one is 192 khz. Think this is to close?

[bluehewes]

I did some online searching and the Humminbird is running at 200 khz The other one is 192 khz. Think this is to close?

How often does it happen? Mine only does it once in a while maybe once every 3-4 trips. buy mine are mounted about 8 feet apart. maybe you can try mounting one on each side of the boat or mount one inside the boat if you have a glass boat.

[Wheel Wash]

It doesn't really do it consitantly, so its hard to give time frames. My boat is aluminum also. I may try the other side but I was trying to avoid more drolling more holes espically if it's somthing simple or going be the same problem if I split them apart being my boat isn't very wide.

[Starfish]

That's pretty close on frequency. I think you answered your own question by saying they sometimes get confused when running both units. It might help to separate them by a few feet but there's no guarantee.

[shorthair]

I ran 2 on my last boat & set the transducers 16" apart & could use both at the same time. :twocents:

[adobe wall]

I know it's a ways out but the Lowrance seminar at the Sportsman's show will be helpful. You'll see some examples of what interference looks like from other fishfinders.

Once I saw what that interference looked like, I was shocked at how often it affected my fishfinder. We're talking other boats in the same water (big ships, too, from a good long ways away). So my thought is that if someone else that is fifty yards away can light up my fishfinder then I sure don't want to have two units on the same boat unless someone that understands exactly what they are doing sets it up.

Maybe a dual beam unit would meet your needs a little better? To answer your question, yes having two transducers will cause problems.

regards, aw

[bluehewes]

I know it's a ways out but the Lowrance seminar at the Sportsman's show will be helpful. You'll see some examples of what interference looks like from other fishfinders.

Once I saw what that interference looked like, I was shocked at how often it affected my fishfinder. We're talking other boats in the same water (big ships, too, from a good long ways away). So my thought is that if someone else that is fifty yards away can light up my fishfinder then I sure don't want to have two units on the same boat unless someone that understands exactly what they are doing sets it up.

Maybe a dual beam unit would meet your needs a little better? To answer your question, yes having two transducers will cause problems.

regards, aw

This is probably true but for what I use mine for it's not going to make a difference. I mainly use for depth, structure, finding bait out in the ocean. I'm sure if you are bass fishing and looking for the fish suspended in the water column then it would probably be best only having one unit on.

But it's nice to have multiple units on board. If I'm sitting in back of the boat trolling I always know what the depth is and I don't always have someone looking over my shoulder wanting to know the water temp or depth or speed.

[Homertime]

As others have mentioned, running two on the same frequency can produce interference. I usually have two running simultaneously, but one running at "50" and the other at "200". This works OK for me, but if one or the other gets its frequency switched, sometimes one or both will produce false readings.

[cloudbusterb]

this is good info i just put a hummingbird and a garmin side by side . I have not tried it yet