Sounder problems
Up in Coral Bay at the moment and my sounder has started playing up. It's a Furuno 587 running through 2 x 1kw Airmar transducers. Relatively new with little use.
Was working fine and then the bottom trace just started to get thinner and thinner until it disappeared ! The bottom lock display just got lower and lower on the screen until it was gone. I was running on the 200 so I switched over to the 50 only to have the same problem, no bottom trace. Checked all connections, all dry and tight. Then a couple of hours later it started to work on 50 but kept on drifting in and out. The 200 works but only in water less than 5 meters. 50 works in 200 meters but keeps losing the bottom trace.
I don't know if I have an issue with the transducers, the leads or the head unit. Anyone else experienced anything like this ? I am going to ask around to see if anyone up here has a 585/587 who is willing to help so I can swap over the head units to see if I still have the problem.
I will post up some pics of the screen. It's weird, the temperature graph even starts to fall away. Any advice or help would be appreciated as I am running off the 600w Lowrance sounder in my HDS8 as a backup.
Note how erratics the temperature line is.
JohnF
Posts: 2836
Date Joined: 07/07/10
BruceSounds like it is the
Bruce
Sounds like it is the head unit as your SS264's are separate trannies but both are playing, Common denominator is the Furuno.
Sounds like it is loosing all gain. Go into manual gain and crank it to 100 percent with the boat out of the water, you should be able to hear them click away quite easily if you lay under your boat and get your ear under it. If they are clicking, give it a go in the water on manual gain.
Also make sure sure all other filters are off, basically do a factory reset.
I don't have my Furuno anymore, otherwise I could have sat on it and walked you through on the phone.
I had my old Raymarine go on the fritz in Broome several years ago. Major drama, ended up doing factory reset using a small nail to press the little indented button and fixed it but lost all waypoints, better than no GPS or sounder. I can't recall how to do reset on the 587, I will look it up and post.
good luck.
Boston Whaler 235 Conquest......getting the flogging it was built for.
Cruise Control
Posts: 970
Date Joined: 03/11/10
Hey Johnjust waiting for the
Hey John
just waiting for the wind to die off and then get under the boat (too bloody dusty ATM) and see if I can hear them pinging. Did the factory re-set, no joy. I will have a bit more of a play around with settings and see if anything turns up.
cheers
Scotte
Posts: 1142
Date Joined: 07/12/06
I know its a stupid question
I know its a stupid question but are you winding the transducer cable plug on to the head unit (not just plugging it in?)
Because you need to wind it in!
Cruise Control
Posts: 970
Date Joined: 03/11/10
Yes mate, plugged and
Yes mate, plugged and tightened. Also checked all other connections from transducers right through to head unit.
cruzy111
Posts: 274
Date Joined: 08/10/13
Afew years ago we had a
Afew years ago we had a similar problem with a furuno and it ended up being a bit of corrosion at the terminal box in a fuse holder not the sounder end. Wasnt getting full power. Run fine but had no power going to transducer was only getting readings in shallow water. It should have a battery voltage alarm on it or at least display battery voltage.
Cruise Control
Posts: 970
Date Joined: 03/11/10
Yep, getting full voltage,
Yep, getting full voltage, display is not on as I did a factory re-set to see if that would make a difference.
shortfuse
Posts: 211
Date Joined: 02/01/12
Hi Bruce poor timing for a
Hi Bruce poor timing for a problem like that, don't suppose you still have the mix and match lead for the lowrance? If your running lowrance for your GPS you could run the mix and match transducer lead l to your GPS to rule out transducer or head unit problems. Hope it's not in the shed at home. Hope you have a win but at a guess I'm thinking your head unit.
Might be worth checking the connectors in the bilge as well
cheers Michael
shortfuse
Posts: 211
Date Joined: 02/01/12
Hi Bruce something else you
Hi Bruce something else you could try just for the sake of it, from memory the 50khz transducer has the pig tail on it that goes to the 200khz. Try disconnecting the 50 kHz and go straight to the 200khz. Might rule out a failure somewhere between the 50 kHz side.
Cruise Control
Posts: 970
Date Joined: 03/11/10
Hey Michaelyep, got it in one
Hey Michael
yep, got it in one . . . .the Lowrance cable is sitting in the shed at home (dammit), I meant to throw it in the box but missed it.
Planning on separating the trannies today when I go through and have a much closer inspection of all of the cables just to be sure. Here's hoping something turns up.
cheers
Cruise Control
Posts: 970
Date Joined: 03/11/10
Well finally, after many
Well finally, after many questions and many, many, tests. I have the answer. The internal duplexes in the 50kHz has shit itself. Looks like that unit is a throw away. Just checking now to see if I can find a mix and match SS264 50kHz somewhere on the net but my o my they are expensive bits of kit
Obviously hoping like hell that the 200kHz is OK when I replace the 50, can't say that I'm keen to replace 2 of these buggers. According to the tech, you can't run the 200 properly without plugging it in to the 50. Something to do with how the diplexer works. Sound strange to me but that's what he reckons. However I will check this with Airmar in the states.
Anyhow, at least I have an answer.
sea-kem
Posts: 14853
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Is that the part that
Is that the part that connects to the flux capacitor Bruce?
Love the West!
Dale
Posts: 7930
Date Joined: 13/09/05
Lol
"Just because you are a Character, Doesn't mean you have Character."
Mr Wolf
Cruise Control
Posts: 970
Date Joined: 03/11/10
LOL
LOL
dodgy
Posts: 4563
Date Joined: 01/02/10
Interesting. I'm running
Interesting. I'm running just the 50hz of a ss264 pair and it works fine.
Does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?
Cruise Control
Posts: 970
Date Joined: 03/11/10
Hey DodgyYou apparently can
Hey Dodgy
You apparently can run the 50 without the 200 but not vice versa. From what the Tech said, the 200 is dependant on the diplexer in the 50 - my 50 has crapped itself so I can't run the 200 properly. I can get some kind of a signal but it's not as good as it should be.
However, I am waiting on Airmar to confirm this as it may mean that my 200 is possibly OK and is just being affected by the dud 50.
Here's hoping.
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8048
Date Joined: 07/05/12
That's suck mate. Could have
That's suck mate. Could have at least happened in Perth!
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
bsir
Posts: 565
Date Joined: 24/04/11
Cable
Good to hear you got it sorted.
i remember speaking to someone from furuno sometime back and they mentioned the 200 doesn't work without the 50
as I was considering just getting a 200.
On another note, where did you get the cable to adapt furuno sounder to lowrance unit.
I could do with one of those.
Cruise Control
Posts: 970
Date Joined: 03/11/10
Hey BSIRWhen I purchased the
Hey BSIR
When I purchased the trannys I ordered the Lowrance cable to go with the mix and match. When I picked up my Furuno sounder I sourced the Furuno lead from Allboats in Kingsley. They seem to be readily available off the net, anywhere from $100 - $150 mainly from the US though.
Anyway, watch this space, if I end up having to spend $4k to replace my transducers I will probably rip the whole lot out and replace with Simrad/Lowrance Chirp and sell my 587 and cables to offset some if the cost. I've just about had enough of all of the issues.
dodgy
Posts: 4563
Date Joined: 01/02/10
I'd be interested in the 200
I'd be interested in the 200 then.
Does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?
bsir
Posts: 565
Date Joined: 24/04/11
Axiom
Have a look at the new raymarine axiom pro. It looks the goods but haven't read any real world trials yet.
I have the 585 with in hull m260. It works fine other than haven't got good depth from it yet. Struggle over 150m but I think it is more operator error.
Blair