My Turn to Discuss Transducer Issues

[Sarge]

My problem is very similar to the one that Bill.Secure mentioned in this thread http://www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?t=5838&highlight=transducer EXCEPT that I have a Raymarine system E80 with a DSM300 transducer.

Problem description:

Intermittantly, the system works fantastically giving me exact depth measurements to 900+ feet at 20 knots and other times it can't find the bottom at anything over 5 knots. So far it always resets itself when I go less than 5 knots.

I have found that if I lose the signal, I can slow down and regain the signal and then speed up to the same speed I was previously at and it'll work. Other times it won't.

Facts:

The system is 1 month old. It worked fine on my trip from Edmonds to Lopez Island and back only it worked differently. As mentioned in the above thread concerning Bill.Secure's issue, my system would lose the exact depth, but always knew where the bottom was and the depth scale on the right side of the display would fluctuate with the depth and kept me informed of the depths greater than 200'. Less than 5 knots it could read the bottom exactly at all depths.

2 weeks ago I had the bottom painted with barrier paint and anti-fouling paint. The person who did the work painted the sides and top of my transducer with Micron66. He did not paint the bottom of it. This was unexpected and concerned me when I looked at it. I researched as much as I could, but could not find anything from Raymarine stating that the transducer should not be painted. Interlux only states that you should not use vinyl paints because they will attack the plastic.

My transducer is the kind that sits on a hinge. I made sure that it is fully 'locked' in the down position.

I can easily check the transducer for attached animal or plant life and the bottom is perfectly clean.

My hypothesis:

1. the system is cr@pping out....I hope not!

2. load placement and/or trim tabs could be affecting it. It 'seems' like when I have my load placed forward the system works well, but when I have the load placed in the aft of the boat it starts acting up. (Load as in adults sitting in the cabin versus the aft seats on either side of the motor).

3. I have the adjustments wrong. I have read the manual front to back and had my wife do the same and we both think it is set up correctly.

What I find frustrating is that the darn thing works better than it ever did at times and then other times it can't find the bottom until it goes slowly....but it always works. It has never NOT found the bottom when I slow down, which makes me think that there is something else at play other than the system is failing.

Any thoughts before I am forced to contact the dealer?

Thanks,

-Carl

[Grumpy]

Carl,

We have exactly the same set up and same problem on our 22 and it drives me nuts until I calm down and wait for it to catch up.
As you said, it is almost random. The only common feature I have noticed is that it often happens where there is a rapid increase in depth.

Have done the same checks as you and have also used it with two separate C-80 displays so hopefully it is not the display that is crapping out !!

Merv

[Doryman]

I had that problem (but worse) on my Hewescraft. Have not had any problems on the Lori Ann because I specified a through-hull transducer. The factory builds a spot in one of the sponsons for such an installation. It shoots through my bottom paint just fine.

Everything I have read, back when I was trying to fix the problem on my Hewescraft, was that you need to make sure the transducer is not causing turbulence in the water that is coming off the stern.

Warren

[Bill.Secure]

Probably not the answer but are there software upgrades that could be applied?

Although performance now is night and day better than before I changed the setting to "Auto", when the depth finder "loses it" the reset time seems inordinate. I believe I'm either one or two versions behind the curent software version so I'll probably update the software over the next month or two. There were a plethora of other settings I waded through as well, beam width, frequency etc..

Bill
Edgewater, MD

[Alok]

"It has never NOT found the bottom when I slow down"

Carl:

I know that you have checked to make sure that the transducer is locked down, but the "lock" is not very strong...it is worth double checking to see that it has stayed locked.

I was out today and the transducer was doing EXACTLY what you have described. I reached down, and found that it was not locked down. I clicked it back into position (took a wave in the face while hanging upside down from the transom) and it worked perfectly at all speeds the rest of the day.

Good luck!