Furuno 587 with TM260 install and having some problems

A

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Hi Guys,

Finally installed the new 587 with an airmar TM260, and am having some problems.

Here are some pics of the install.

back view.png

back view close up.png

back view level close up.jpg

More pics in next post.
 
side view ruler.jpg

side view.jpg

Essentially these are the main problems:

1. I am getting a lot of clutter on the screen - the bottom drops out occasionally and there is always a lot of noise towards the top of the screen. Seems to be independent of speed so not sure how that can be air bubbles? See pics below

HF with top interference low speed.jpg
 
2. huge amount of noise on the low frequency, almost unusuable. See pic

Low Frequency High Frequency.jpg

3. When I go to nav mode, the side bar showing the sounder shows a lot of interference, as if the auto gain becomes disabled. Is this normal? doesn't help navigating back to a marked fish with so much clutter - see pic

NAV mode with HF interference.jpg

4. Bottom discrimination function rarely works - and if it does, it's patchy. I have set transducer to 526TID-HDD. see pic

bottom discrimination.jpg
 
This is the best pic I can get (only occasionally and I don't know what changes to make it read this good) This pic was taken about 20 knots - sometimes the HF at speed looks great but the LF always has at least some clutter on it.

Why is it that sometimes the pic is this good? i can't seem to replicate the variables and the pic quality seems to change randomly. Even though this is quite good there is still a bit of clutter on LF - is this the best I can expect?

best pic HF Fine at speed but still clutter on LF.jpg

What do you guys suggest? According to my measurements, it looks a little too low than suggested if anything? It's also not directly in line with any strakes under the boat. Accufish works and NMEA is working great.

When I turn off the other electronics equipment it doesn't seem to make any difference to the picture coming through.

Appreciate any and all advice / thoughts!
 
Adamsanta,
Thanks for posting all the pictures. My first thought in looking through them is turbulence but I would like to see a better view of the center section of your hull. Would it possible to take a picture looking up and forward from the transom? If you measured of the centerline to the outboard side of the hull to appears that the transducer is mounted pretty close to the half way point, can you confirm this? There are a couple things to know about how the Bottom Discrimination mode works on the 587. First there is a minimum depth and I want to say it is around 15-18ft. Second is that it uses both frequencies to determine the bottom classification even though only you are displaying only 50 or 200Khz. This means that both frequencies need to have good bottom returns for the BD mode to function. When you are looking for turbulence the things to key on are gaps in the bottom on 50Khz. Start at the dock to see how well the 50Khz is working and then gradually increase your speed. If you start to seeing noise, weaker returns or gaps that is signs of turbulence.

Snips
 
thanks so much for your quick reply Snips - I do agree it does look like turbulence rather than anything else

attached are the photos requested -do you think moving it up or down will help (unfortunately it's already at its max down)? or should it be moved left or right... I hate drilling more holes in the transom!

you will see the boat has a strange concave hull design running down the centreline which is supposed to help "blast it on to the plane" according to the builder...

20150114_091647_resized.jpg

20150114_091649_resized.jpg

20150114_091713_resized.jpg
 
Admasanta,
Those pictures tell the whole story. This is the first time I have seen a hull with that type of configuration. Because of the concaved bottom, going outboard (starboard) of that strake is going to be problematic because of the turbulence it causes. If you had twin outboards I would say maybe putting the transducer really low on the centerline may be an option. But since you have a single outboard, installing the transducer there I for see is going to create water flow problems for the prop/engine. Where do other owners of that hull type mount their transducer? Sorry I don't have "X" marks the spot answer for you.

Snips
 
argh that's upsetting...

The boats generally come with a Garmin GPSMap 551S and have the standard packaged transducer installed when sold in the same position as I've put the Airmar - I essentially removed the existing transducer and put the Airmar in the same spot, moving the old transducer to the port side.

I guess I will have to move it a few inches to port and see if that helps and then perhaps again to starboard?

do you think moving it up or down is going to help any, and does the angle look good to you?

thanks again for your advice..
 
Adamsanta,
If I had to speculate on trying a different position I would look at the location above the starboard drain port. This location has two things going for it. First it is the lowest point on the transom thus bubbles/turbulence are going to be directed away from it. Second it's not directly in front of the prop/engine.

Snips
 

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thanks Snips

here is a photo of the boat from directly behind... putting it above the starboard drain hole looks like it will put the transducer very close to the prop - after taking a look at this photo, would you still recommend that position or are we too close to the prop?

unnamed.jpg

cheers

Adamsanta
 
Adamsanta,
You really don't have many options. I don't see any benefit of going more outboard. Going lower and more inboard will help but it's hard to say how much until you get to that drain plug. If it were my boat I would look at putting a strip of wood back there to attached the transducer to. I would attached the wood with two screws, one using an existing hole from the transducers current location and you would need to add a new one. In doing this you will avoid your transom looking like wood pecker attacked it.

Snips
 
so I moved the unit up half an inch and took out a shim to try out before having to drill new holes - seems to be doing much better.... only thing is, the top 1-2 metres or so always shows interference

now this can't be air bubbles or turbulent water flow as this also happens when stationary.

see pic below - now while this pic is in very shallow water it doesn't matter the depth the result is the same.

any ideas?

20150126_191005_resized.jpg
 
Adamsanta,
Have you tried it in deeper water and with the Bottom Discrimination mode turned off?

Snips
 
Hi Snips

yes have tried in water up to 40 metres and with bottom discrimination off. Same issue - the interference looks less though given the range on the screen and the noise only in the top 2 metres (whether stopped or on the go)

Adam
 
OK. So check to make sure the Zero Line function is on and adjusted. If this was already on try adjusting the 587's power setting.

Snips
 

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