Shoot Thru Hull Transducer signal spotty...

[lazersnake]

Hi Guys,

I have installed a shoot thru hull transducer in the bilge area of my old fiberglass boat. It is epoxied down firmly and works but is spotty with it's signal reception. Some days it works fine and other days it's spotty with reception, no apparent reason. I know back trolling, under speed, etc. will cause bubbles, cavatation to block it. I'm talking about just sitting, no movement.

I have a Hummingbird 170 which has 200 watts RMS output to the transducer. I'm thinking about upgrading to the Humminbird 385ci for many reasons but don't want to waste the money if I'm still going to be spotty. The 385ci has 300 watts RMS.

Will the extra power be enough to give me that little extra to shoot thru the hull and give me a better lock on the signal?

Thx,

Jack

 

[dingbat]

Re: Shoot Thru Hull Transducer signal spotty...

It?s not a power issue.

You should be able to see down 600 ft. or so at rest. The absorption of a shoot thru is in the range of 5-15% so you still should be able to see in excess of 500 ft. shooting thru the hull.

The fact that it is intermediate would lead me to a bad installation location or your transducer is on the way out. Put the unit in manual operation and ratchet up the gain. What does it do then?

 

[lazersnake]

Re: Shoot Thru Hull Transducer signal spotty...

The Humminbird 170 is a basic unit. It has a sensitivity setting but that seems to be just for detail. I cranked it up just for kicks but it didn't change anything. There is no gain control setting.

I know that a crack in the epoxy will play havoc with the readings. I haven't stuck my head down there yet, it's a very tight space. I did get my hand down there to wiggle it but it felt solid. I hope the transducer isn't going. It's barely a year old. Are they prone to dying young like that?

 

[dingbat]

Re: Shoot Thru Hull Transducer signal spotty...

Are they prone to dying young like that?

Inexpensive ones, yes.

 

[lazersnake]

Re: Shoot Thru Hull Transducer signal spotty...

Do you mean the transducer or the 170? It looks like the transducer I have is the only dual beam shoot thru hull transducer Humminbird sells. Is there a better one that would work with my system?

I can also hear it ticking. I don't remember hearing that noise before. Slower tick when it's not reading and faster when it is...