Ghost in the Fish Finder???

[txarmydude]

I have a Garmin 140 fish finder that was installed when I bought the boat. For some reason, it will not turn on when the boat is out of the water. When the boat is on the lake, no issues. It works just fine IN the water, but won't even turn on when OUT of the water.

Any ideas?

 

[foodfisher]

Re: Ghost in the Fish Finder???

If it works, don't fix it.

 

[KDAVID1]

Re: Ghost in the Fish Finder???

Is there a switch that you turn on only when you get in the water?

 

[Sixmark]

Re: Ghost in the Fish Finder???

Is there a switch that you turn on only when you get in the water?

I think what he is getting at here is there the chance that it is wired up to a power source that is only turned on once you have the boat in the water that you normally don't turn on when it's on the trailer.

 

[txarmydude]

Re: Ghost in the Fish Finder???

Actually, I had the boat running with the ear-muffs this weekend and still no power on the fish-finder. On the water, no problemo even if the boat is not running...

 

[foodfisher]

Re: Ghost in the Fish Finder???

I don't know if I'm reading this right but, a fishfinder has to be in the water to send and receive signals. Signals won't go thru air. On/off has me thrown.

 

[kahuna123]

Re: Ghost in the Fish Finder???

They will send through the air also. We used to test them that way. Not for distance or accuracy. Just to see if they were transmitting.

 

[robert graham]

Re: Ghost in the Fish Finder???

Maybe you don't need it when you're not in the water? So where's the problem?...

 

[Sixmark]

Re: Ghost in the Fish Finder???

I don't know if I'm reading this right but, a fishfinder has to be in the water to send and receive signals. Signals won't go thru air. On/off has me thrown.

No they don't have to be in water to send or receive a signal, a depth finder will give you the reading from the bottom of the boat to your driveway if you turn it on while it's on the trailer, they send out a radar "ping", then portions of that ping are bounced off from objects and returned to the unit, which then translates it into viewable data on the screen.....in water or air radar still works.

 

[KDAVID1]

Re: Ghost in the Fish Finder???

I think what he is getting at here is there the chance that it is wired up to a power source that is only turned on once you have the boat in the water that you normally don't turn on when it's on the trailer.

That is correct. I do agree if it works on the water your are good but this would be one of those things that would bug the heck out of me until it was fixed.

 

[KDAVID1]

Re: Ghost in the Fish Finder???

Actually, I had the boat running with the ear-muffs this weekend and still no power on the fish-finder. On the water, no problemo even if the boat is not running...

I wonder if it may have something to do with the transducer--just to rule it out you could put some water in the hull (to cover the transducer) and see what happens--just a thought doesn't make sense but you never know.

 

[txarmydude]

Re: Ghost in the Fish Finder???

I will have it out on the water all weekend. I will let yall know what happens then. I am starting to think there is a grounding issue with the sensor that is mounted on the back of the transom, and maybe being wet helps it connect. I still have no freaking clue, but I will run it this weekend and see what happens...

 

[brianvolt7]

Re: Ghost in the Fish Finder???

Have you tried wiring strait to the battery? If this works then you need to redo the power wires.

 

[feklar]

Re: Ghost in the Fish Finder???

First I would isolate any power issues by hooking the fish finder directly to a spare battery, pos to pos, neg to neg. The fish finder should turn on, but probably won't give you any readings beyond temperature.

If this works, then you know its a power issue. Most likely you tapped power from a switch which is not hot all the time. I'd try to wire it hot, the fish finder would drain power if left on, but very slowly.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Ghost in the Fish Finder???

No they don't have to be in water to send or receive a signal, a depth finder will give you the reading from the bottom of the boat to your driveway if you turn it on while it's on the trailer, they send out a radar "ping", then portions of that ping are bounced off from objects and returned to the unit, which then translates it into viewable data on the screen.....in water or air radar still works.

Radar and sonar are two completely different things.
Radar uses "microwave" radiation. Sonar uses sound.

 

[kahuna123]

Re: Ghost in the Fish Finder???

Dingbat yes and no. Its just a matter of frequency. But anyway I really want someone to find this ghost.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Ghost in the Fish Finder???

Its just a matter of frequency.

There is a little more to it than that
Acoustic waves (sound) are caused by differences in the pressure of the material that the wave is traveling through.

Electromagnetic waves are the result of variations in electric and magnetic fields, not air movement. Light, radio waves, X-ray and gamma emissions are examples of electromagnetic waves.