new 587 with tm260

[laram51]

I just purchased the above unit in Miami in May 2014 and installed it on the boat in August. It is working very well up to 250 feet . Cuts out in the deep and does not hold bottom for long, At one instance it gave me a reading of 472 ft and in another 953 ft and this too cuts out after a minute.

I have the TM260 installed midway between the keel and the outer starboard side. Seas were choppy, 4 feet and a 15 mph wind blowing. It also cuts out after speeding beyond 17 mph. I am still in the process of "setting up" but in the meantime, would appreciate any suggestions to improve the situation.

24 FT Proline WA with 200 hp motor.

 

[Snips]

Laram51,
It is most likely turbulence going over the face of the transducer. The easiest way to tell is by looking for gaps in the bottom on the 50khz side when you are traveling at different speeds. Do you have any pictures of how the transducer is mounted? Remember that 50Khz is more prone to turbulence than 200Khz so using 200Khz when running is a better choice. Below is a classic example of what turbulence will look like. Also I would set your TX power to 100% and TX Rate to 10.

Snips

 

[laram51]

 

[laram51]

Thanks for the quick response. I have attached the photos as requested. I have also made note of your comments about the settings.

 

[Snips]

Laram51,
Thanks for the pictures, unfortunately they are to close range to help. Would it be possible to take and post one like below?

Snips

 

[laram51]

Snips,
Unfortunately I am unable to send those pics now as the boat in the water. Will also adjust settings as suggested and give you a report. Will send the pictures as soon as I haul her out, within a week.

 

[Snips]

Laram51,
Also take a few screen shots of both frequencies at different speeds next time your out.

Snips

 

[laram51]

ok

 

[laram51]

I tried the settings you gave me and there was a lot of improvement. Got depth reading up tp 1343 feet guess was the deepest water I was fishing at. Still having a challenge with the transducer reading while the boat is on plane. I discovered that the wash hits directly at the transducer and it might be a good idea to move it nearer to the keel. The problem is that the outboard bracket is in the way.

Tried to send pics but having a challenge with windows 8.

 

[Snips]

Laram51,
Thanks for posting another picture of your boat. Sounds like the setting changes helped so that's a step in the right direction. Experience has shown that the best water flow is as close to the keel (centerline) as possible. But for most vessels this is not a viable because of (A) the location of the drain plug and (B) they have a single engine. So the trick is to pick a location as close to centerline at won't affect the water flow to the prop when going straight. Once you have a suitable location I like to have a mount that has some range of adjustment to it. This way you can try different transducer depths and tilts to see how it affects the sounders performance without drilling a bunch of holes in your transom. From your picture it looks like you could move the transducer more inboard next to the engine bracket (location 2), true?

Snips

 

[laram51]

Thanks for the response Snips. Agree with your suggestion. The engine is on a bracket about 30 inches behind the transducer so I doubt if it will be in the way of the engine.
Will move it nearer to keel. Will repaint bottom and drop her in in four weeks so wont be able to report on this before.

I have not seen any fish nor heard any alarms like the guys on "Wicked Tuna" :jump . Perhaps you can fill me in as to what I am not doing or is this a marketing gimmick?

Also what is the best way to control marine growth on the Transducer.

Cheers

 

[Snips]

Laram 51,
Turbulence will take away fish targets. Your screen shot in 1300+ft is showing a weaker bottom than I would expect to see. The fish alarm does work if set up properly. One other item is to check is that your transducer is pointed straight down. It just may be the angle that your picture was taken at but it looks like the transducer is pointed slightly off to starboard.

Snips

 

[laram51]

Here we go again Snips, and sorry about the dirty bottom. Will paint soon and drop her in. Hope this will improve the situation with the new location of TM260. Will give you a report when done. If this does not improve the situation someone said to install it in the bilge. 24 ' Proline and all the space I have is about an 18X18 with the hull about 1/4 thick. I also read about a tank for the old m260 which could be retrofitted.
Thanks for your assistance.

Lloyd

 

[Snips]

Laram51,
I trust this location will be an improvement. Will it completely solve issue? No, but it should be better. I can guaranty you will lose some fish detection capabilities using an in-hull set up.

Snips

 

[laram51]

Hi Snips,

Sorry for the late reply just painted bottom and put boat back in water. This new location has shown marked improvement. I now can run up to the maximum speed of 27 knots and still have good bottom reading.
Only thing, when I am at deep line fishing at 1200 feet or more reading cuts out for 30-60 seconds before coming back. I would get the four dashes on monitor screen during the break time. I suspect this could be as a result of turbulence while backing up to position fishing line. Sorry my " good " phone was broken and I could not take any pics. Is this normal for readings to cut off, though temporary just like that ? I suspect I might have to set the transducer wedge to the taper down position when next I am on the trailer. Any comments would be appreciated/

 

[Snips]

Laram51,
Thanks for the update, sounds like good progress. It's pretty normal for a sounder to blank out if you are travelling in reverse.

Snips

 

[laram51]

Hi Snips,
When I am fishing the deep line, 1200-1400 feet, when retrieving line by electric motor (dolphin electric 12 volts), the units cuts out showing ---- the four blanks. Tried switching motor and battery connection to the port side and there is some improvement. As soon as the motor is turned off proper reading returns.. Any way to correct this ?

( 24 ft Proline one battery on each side. Transducer runs on starboard side one foot away from battery. Both batteries are linked through an isolator.)

 

[Snips]

Laram51,
If you are seeing gaps in the bottom I would suspect turbulence going over the face of the transducer. If you are seeing vertical lines through the display I would suspect electrical interference. Do you have any screen shots of the display when this happens?

Snips

 

[laram51]

Snips, vertical lines with a solid dark background. Will send you pictures by weekend.
Any way to correct if it electrical interference ?

 

[Snips]

First you will need to determine how the noise is getting into the sounder, is it on the DC power cable or transducer. If you unplug the transducer and the noise goes away there is not much you will be able to do because its a radiated noise and the transducer is acting like an antenna. If you unplug the transducer and the noise is still there, there is a "possibility" you may be able to suppress the noise by using some sort of inline DC power filter. One other thought is to try grounding the case of the sounder to see if that helps.

Snips