Fishfinder transducers

Killertraylor · 03-19-2001, 03:38 PM

On my old boat I had a moderately priced fishfinder - a Seaview 600 - made by Lowrance/Eagle and it had a huge transducer on it - about the size of the palm of your hand. The unit would read the depth at full throttle, which was 50+ mph on my old boat. My new North River has a fairly high priced fishfinder, the Lowrance x-85 with 3000 watts of depthfinding power, but a little tiny transducer about the size of a roll of 35mm film. It does a horrible job of reading the depth when I'm under way. Before I go moving the little transducer around to see if it will help, I though I'd ask if anyone else has cured this problem with the little transducer? I'm thinking of installing a big one like I had on my Seaview if I can't get the little one to work. Thanks in advance.

Doubletake · 03-19-2001, 03:52 PM

KT, I have an X-85 on my sled and have no problems with it reading depth at full throttle except when it gets less than 2 feet deep.

Doubletake

boater · 03-19-2001, 04:53 PM

i have a X-85 and it works fine, just make sure the transducer is getting clean water.

Killertraylor · 03-19-2001, 05:15 PM

Thanks guys. I'm going to move it over a little. It looks like it is right behind one of the bottom strakes (right word?) right now which might be giving it bubbly water. I'll have it out again on Wed. and let everyone know how it turned out - just in case anyone is interested.

Beer Waggin · 03-19-2001, 05:19 PM

Killer, I have the same set up on my NR and have the exact problem. I have mine mounted on the high side of the bracket that NR mounts on the transom. I know my angle is off a little bit, and it's out of the water to much when I'm running at high speed. I installed one on my buddies boat and put it on the low side of the bracket and it seems to works much better. Let me know if you find the solution, I'd love to know.

Doubletake · 03-19-2001, 05:51 PM

KT, one of my buddies had his behind a straker, wouldn't work at high speed, moved it over and lowered it a little and it worked great. He has an X-65

Good luck

Doubletake

spooner · 03-19-2001, 06:21 PM

If You cant get it to work try puting it in your bilge. if you have a flat spot in your bilge silacone a peace of pvc 4in. or 6in. that your transducer will fit in and put some vegitable oil in there so your tranducer is siting in it, about an in.will do. it works great on fiberglass and aluminum boats and you nevere have to worry about breaking off. you can mark botom and bait balls at full speed and fish when your trooling.

Killertraylor · 03-19-2001, 07:12 PM

NorRivDave - mine was mounted on the low side of the bracket and I moved it over to the high side. I probably have a different hull than you do - I've got the deep v Seahawk hull, so I think my transducer will still be in plenty of water even though I moved it to the high side. I looked at the Lowrance webpage and see that the big transducer I used to have on my Seaview will also work on my X-85 and also on my LMS 160 GPS Map. So, I went ahead and installed it back there too so I'll have one hooked up to the GPS also if I want to use it. The big transducer is an 8 degree, better for real deep water, and the little one is a 20 degree. Now I've got two to play around with on Wednesday - I'll let you know what works.

Spooner - are you serious???Sounds a little goofy, but I do know that they make thru-hull transducers, so maybe you've discovered something?

[This message has been edited by Killertraylor (edited 03-19-2001).]

Jellyhead · 03-20-2001, 06:58 AM

Also, don't forget to check which side of the boat it is on if you are using an outboard w/a prop. If it is on the port (left) side of the boat, all of the prop bubbles will not let it read on plane either.

In my boat (propped) I mounted on the starboard side, and can read bottom at 50+ mph.

Good Luck

Killertraylor · 03-20-2001, 07:06 AM

Thanks, JH. It's on the starboard side and I'm pretty sure my problem was that it was right behind one of the bottom strakes. I've moved it over a little and will give it a go tomorrow.

spooner · 03-20-2001, 09:05 AM

I been puting the transom transducer in the bilge for years. you dont have to drill any holes you just don't wont to get any air between the botom of your tranduser and the bottom of your boat.you dont have to youse vegetabl oil water will work fine vegetable oil is a beter conducter. try it if you have a littel water in the botom of your boat set it down there you will get a good reading. I do the same thing in my drift boat when I'm fishing salmon or stergen in the bay.try it let me know what you think.

Pilar · 03-20-2001, 09:43 AM

Hey Killertraylor. It's all about frequency. The size of the transducer is related to the frequency of the sound used to ping the bottom. Lower frequency = bigger transducer. Popular varieties include 455Khz (Humminbird), 200Khz and 50Khz (Eagle/Lowrance). The transducer you described is a 50Khz, based on the size.

In general the lower frequencies can work better in deeper water and through clutter or debris in the water. The higher frequencies give better detail but lack range. To get the most out of the transducer on a moving boat, make sure it gets a clean flow. No bubbles or turbulence from things on your hull. The best thing to do is to check it out when the boat is moving. Find a practical mounting location that has clear water flowing past it.

Yes, shooting through the hull works but you sacrifice some of your power and resolution. Most fish finders have pretty decent directions on transducer location and mounting. This is the number one performance issue with fish finders!

The bend is your friend!

Jetman · 03-20-2001, 10:15 AM

KT, I have a 19' 16 degree NR . When I got it they had the transducer mounted behind the strake and the speed wheel mounted to the outboard side. I just swapped the two and have no problems reading at speed.

Tanner · 03-20-2001, 11:34 PM

I have the x-85 also. Gives me perfect depth readings at 48 - 50 mph top speed.

------------------
Work is for people who have an expensive fishing habit to support.

Killertraylor · 03-21-2001, 08:39 PM

Well, thanks for all the input everyone - moving the transducer a few inches worked perfect - I never lost my depth reading all day - at full throttle, cruising speed, etc. Getting it out from behind that turning strake made all the difference in the world. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]