Airmar R109LH compatibility

Capt Poucher

New member
Greetings everyone,
New to forum… I recently installed a whole new Furuno package on a charter fishing boat here in Alaska. TZT16F with the DFF3D sounder. The old Airmar R109LH transducer was left in place and the new DFF3D mounted on the opposite side of the keel.

My question is, is the old R109LH compatible with my TZT16F MFD? I’d like to find a way to utilize the old transducer in addition to the new one.

Thanks
 
Sure there is no reason you cannot connect the R109LH to the internal sounder port on the TZT 3 16F. You will need to get the pigtail cable assembly TZ3-12P-PGT. and splice the bare cable from the R109LH to a 12 pin plug that will go to the transducer port on the TZT 3 display. The only thing you will lose is that the internal TZT 3 sounder is 1kW while the R109LH is capable of taking a 2kW input. That will only be an issue if you need to use the low frequency side in very deep water (over 1500 feet) where the extra power would make a difference. If you find that you have a problem with the deep water performance, you can get the DI-FFAMP sounder box that will boost the power output of the internal sounder to 2kW and use the full rated input power of the R109LH. But I would suggest giving it a try first before spending the extra money. I use a B175L 1kW transducer with the internal sounder and have no trouble at all reading bottom clearly down to 1800 feet. It might read deeper, although the only times I have been in deeper water I was transiting the area and not fishing. I did see it showing water depth over 2,000 feet so it was getting some returns.

The internal sounder on the TZT3 can be customized to allow you to use the R109LH in CHIRP mode or in a fixed frequency mode that you can specify. You didn't say which sounder you were using with the R109LH previously. You may be pleasantly surprised by the performance of the R109LH with the internal TZT 3 sounder.

You may see some interference noise on the display when the DFF-3D and the internal sounder are both transmitting, especially with high frequency. This is easily managed with the interference filter setting on "high." It is also possible to install a "key pulse" cable between the DFF-3D black box and the TZT 3 that will coordinate the transmissions to eliminate the interference. I didn't bother with the KP synch because I did not notice any performance impact from interference filter.
 
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Excellent!... Thanks for the reply. I’ll get that pigtail adapter on order here soon. The DFF3d gets distorted at speed and cuts out any depth below 1000’ and the Airmar sits in a recessed fairing so I’m hoping it helps read the bottom while cruising at 28 kts
 
What mode are you trying to use on the DFF3D at 25 kts? My experience is that only the single beam mode will work reliably above 15-18 kts. A conventional sounder using the R109LH is a better bet for reading bottom at cruising speed, assuming your installation keeps the transducer in clean water.
 
I typically keep the DFF3D in single beam mode. Still getting used to tweaking settings, 3D, and cross section views. We often travel 50-60 miles down the coast to the fishing grounds and sometimes stop short if the bottom is lit with bait.

I’m also hoping to find a better bathymetric chart than what’s currently unlocked. PGB is a great feature but doesn’t work well at cruising speeds or in rougher sea states. Overall though I like the performance of the system and would like to optimize its capabilities.
 
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