can i hurt the DFF3D by turning on without transducer

[mattology]

Hello

I am in the process of installing and commissioning the new setup on my boat

I have a DFF3D installed, I would like to power it up and make sure the network sees it etc etc before hooking up the transducer which is not yet installed.

Will that damage anything internally on the DFF3D? Any recommendations?

 

[Johnny Electron]

It would hurt unless you run it for long periods in transmit without a transducer. You also don't want to run it without the transducer being in the water (when connected) because the elements of the transducer needs the water for cooling. I would recommend turning it on and as you do your testing, just turn transmission to off (STBY) so you can continue to play with the setup and communicate with the sounder. Also long as the transmission is off you can run it many days non-stop. It is a good way to start testing your connections. Good thinking.

 

[Bayhouse]

I am in this same place, xducers were installed over the weekend but not connected yet because I don't want them pinging while on the hard. In addition to my 165, I have a B275 on the other side. A few questions:

Can I disable (STBY) the transducer in the DFF3D before I connect the transducer to it?
Same question for the B275 (which will be fired from the TZT19F.

If the above answers are no, the xducer needs to be connected, then they'll ping away until I can get into the menu settings and disable (I'd do one at a time). What's the fastest menu path to get to the STBY setting?

Perhaps this is another idea for engineering - why not default to STBY for first time use - in most cases, the install will be done on the hard.

 

[mattology]

press the power button on the mfd, the screen with the different network devices pops up, tap dff3d standby

 

[Bayhouse]

:respect :respect :respect Thanks Mattology! So, I should just wire up the DFF3D fully and not worry about leaving the xducer disconnected...?

Does that screen also show the internal sounder for the B275?

 

[mattology]

yes, it shows all the internal and network sounders / radars / etc on that screen

it's not going to hurt it if its only on for 5 seconds.

 

[Quitsa]

If it reduces your worries, I have been running the sounders both conventional and the DFF-3D with the boat out of the water for many years and just turning off transmission after a couple of minutes once the system powers up. Never had any issues whatsoever. I have even had enough sense in the past to put them in standby when the boat was about to he hauled, which is probably a good idea in case somebody else goes on the boat at your yard and turns on the electronics.

In real life I think it would take a fair amount of time for the transducer elements to heat up enough to be damaged since they can dissipate some of the heat to the air.

 

[Magnetron]

From the manufacture's point of view, it just is never recommended to Tx a transducer out of water for warranty related reasons.

On the DFF3D, you can have it on and running without an XDR just for testing and diagnostics.

- Maggy

 

[Bayhouse]

Related Question. On the port side, I have the 165T-50--200-SS260 wired up to the DFF3D and connected to the Port TZT19F. On Starboard, I have the B275LHW connected to the STBD TZT19F internal sounder.

Do I need to configure both transducers with the (bow/stern, up/down, port/stbd) settings?

I don't seem to be able to configure the 165T ducer probably because it's in standby mode.

 

[Magnetron]

Do I need to configure both transducers with the (bow/stern, up/down, port/stbd) settings?

Doing so for both the XDRs and SCX20 ship's characteristics improves the overall accuracy of the returns or how information is displayed & recorded on the MFD.

Hope this helps, :sail

- Maggy