TZ2 DFF3 Sonar Image weak

[CQuestII]

I have a TZ2 displays that are connected to a DFF3 and an R109 2kw transducer. I recently added the DFF3 and R109 transducer about 6 months ago and it worked very good. Yesterday i went to go out in the boat and the image was very weak and looked like it had very little power. I tried to first restart the system and then went to look at the settings. I went ahead and restored the settings back to the factory default but the results were still the same. I check the power feeds and connections and everything looked good.

Any troubleshooting advise?

 

[Deep Blue]

CQuestII,

Would it be possible to provide pictures of the DFF3 using both the High and Low Frequency..?

- Deep Blue :think

 

[Rampage13]

Yes. I did try both the high and low frequencies and they both were very similar.

 

[Rampage13]

I first just turned the unit on and set it to split screen with High / Low the gain was set at 50% in manual mode. This is photo 1.

I then went and tried removing and verifying all connections on the DFF3 were good. I also fooled with some of the settings and the returns got much stronger but there was now no real bottom being shown just noise under the actual bottom. This is photo 2.

I am not sure if this is a DFF3 or a R109lh transducer issue or some other setup. Is the shielding on the transducer cable a possible issue? There is not much of a foil shield but there is a bare ground cable that I have screwed to the case where the cable is clamped down.

The actual depth of the water was 10 ft.

 

[Deep Blue]

Rampage13,

Thanks for sharing these photos, it greatly helps.

I do have a few more questions for you regarding the DFF3:

- Have you set the DFF3's Output Power to "10", and the TX Rate to "20"..?
- Can you provide pictures of the DFF3's Settings..? (pictures should include all three of the set-up pages)
- Are all the transducer's shield wires currently connected..?
- Can you provide pictures of the current R109 Transducer Installation..?

- Deep Blue :think

 

[Rampage13]

I will get photos of the setup tomorrow. I just have a couple pictures when I hauled the boat and installed this transducer and relocated another a few months ago. They were previously about 4 ft. further forward and they got washed out really bad. The current position worked great for the last 4 months of use but just stopped working? Held bottom at 30 kts in 3,500'.

Picture of Transducer location

 

[Rampage13]

Additional Photos of the Setup Screens:

 

[Rampage13]

 

[Deep Blue]

Rampage13,

Thanks again for the pictures, it greatly helps with the all this troubleshooting. :wink7

Looking over all the DFF3's settings, I don't see any thing that is a red flag. It should be running normally with all the settings that you have programmed. So, my recommendations is remove the DFF3 and then send it the our Camas Service Department to have it completely checked out.

- Deep Blue

 

[Rampage13]

Ok do you think it could be the transducer? I think I found someone with an Airmar TDT1000 tester.

Thanks Tom

 

[Deep Blue]

Rampage13,

At this point I'm leaning more toward the DFF3 having an issue, but testing the transducer isn't a bad idea, just to be sure. :think

- Deep Blue

 

[Deep Blue]

Rampage13,

If you can get that transducer tested, at this point it would not be a bad idea. It would certainly help rule out the possibilities between the DFF3 or the Transducer being the issue.

- Deep Blue

 

[Rampage13]

It did turn to be the DFF3. It works good now but now have an issue with getting the heaving correction to work properly. I will discuss that in a separate post.

Thanks Tom

 

[Johnny Electron]

Thanks for following up. :jump