I have just purchased a second hand boat and it has a simrad s2009 fish finder and a simrad nss12 chart plotter they weren't connected or talking to each other. I installed a ether cable thinking it's a plug and play but to no advail ... I have printed of the manuals for both reading though it tells me I have to name the fish finder .my Delamere is using the key board on the fishfinder where is the back button or the delete button as I have inputted some name and did it wrong . Help please .

 Hi took the boat out for a run and found the above sounder gave me no picture, or I should say it showed surface but no bottom...its less than 6 months old ,on a 5.3m trailer boat with a 1kw transducer...hasn't been in water for about 5 months due to moving...any ideas?

Hi, I'm looking at upgrading my sounders and require 2 units for my old flybridge cruiser, one for each helm.

I've always had Lowrance units but was looking at getting the EVO3 as also upgrading to the 1kw - SS175HW transducer. I believe it's a better unit than the HDS.

Trying to keep the cost down so was looking at getting the 7" Evo3 as main one for the bottom helm with the 2 x transducer inputs and wanted to connect a cheaper version of a 9" Simrad to the Flybridge.

I know that the Lowrance Elite Ti2 units will connect together as do the HDS units. I have also been told that the new Elite FS units will connect to the Ti2, HDS and even the EVO3 units but wanted to keep them all Simrad units.

Can anyone tell me if the EVO3 will connect to a different cheaper 9" Simrad unit?

Cheers

Just looking at my Navionics chart, it's a Navionics+ version and it's expired like many here I guess. 

Is there value in maintaining the subscription  ? 

Should I upgrade to platinum for the Relief shading, which looks cool but not sure I will find more fish ? 

I also don't think you can upgrade from plus to platinum ? You need to buy a new platinum card.

Doesn anyone use the sonar live to build their own detailed batho maps ? Hard to believe this works effectively... 

Appreciate peoples thoughts.

 Hey all my simard GO 7 touch screen has stopped working. I have tried resetting unit and it goes to set up menu but will not let me go any further. Has anyone had this issue before and managed to rectify it. The unit is about 3 years old.

 Hey guys , have a simrad go 7 and wish to upload some spots i have got on an sd card. The unit only has one sd card slot. Do i remove the current navionics sd card, insert my sd card , load the spots then reinstall the navionics card ?? Any help much appreciated as the manual is pretty vague ??

 Has anyone got that transducer for sale?

Also is it possible to get the botom lock to keep a flat line on the bottom? (like the furuno bottom lock)?

When i put it onto bottom lock theground still shows up as going up and down with the swell/boat. I would like it to stay flat and show any structure above the line? 

Thanks

  Hi All,

I have been asking a few questions on here in the public forum and via private messages so I thought I would post an update on my Sounder/Plotter upgrade project.

Some quick background, I purchased a 2003 model Cruisecraft 625 outsider last year that had recently been repowered with a 2017 Merc 150hp 4 stroke. The boat came with what I expect was original equipment being a JRC FF50 analog fish finder, and a Raymarine A77 multifunction device.

The JRC fishfinder lasted two trips then was gumtree’d along with the p58 transducer. The Raymarine then received a p66 upgrade and as a 600w digital fishfinder (not chirp) unit it actually did ok.   The photo below shows the detail I picked up as a school of salmon swam under the boat.

The raymarine is a 7 inch screen and was a little small for my eyes, but overall the combination of GPS/Chartplotter and Sonar had me sold.  I also liked the common sense operating system of the Raymarine and for a small unit could do cool things like use WIFI to mirror the screen on my phone.

So I started my search for a new unit.  The raymarine axiom pro was top of my list due to the inbuild 3D scanning capability and my familiarity with its operating systems.  I spoke to everyone I could about the practical application of the 3D, side scan, down scan technology vs chirp sonar.  While I never had the opportunity to see the raymarine 3D in action other than in the store, my conversations left me doubting it was going to be that helpful for dropping cray pots or fishing for demersals.

Then two things happened :

·         Two friends purchased SIMRAD NSS EVO3 / SIMRAD units; and

·         I got quoted a reasonable price for a SIMRAD NSS EVO3S 12.

Once that happened and I had a chance to scour the internet for all things SIMRAD, it was happening.  SIMRAD was ordered and matched to a Airmar TM185M.  Yeah, Yeah there are other transducers, should have got a Low/High/Wide.. I am the first to admit I am no expert on transducers but it’s a match for my needs on paper and if it’s not I’ll change it out.

<Insert Youtube DIY music>  It’s time to work out how to make the install look half reasonable. The cruisecraft doesn’t have much space so it was template time…

I transitioned from cardboard to fibreboard, to 6mm fibreboard so it would match the Acrylic I planned on using. Lots of templates later I cut into the black acrylic panel and started working on it to make a neat fit. I glued a few small pieces of acrylic together and drilled/tapped them and glued them to the back of the acrylic panel. This avoided having fasteners showing on the front.  Note : lots of very expensive Acrylic glue on the market, but my testing showed that normal super glue in small quantities bonds very well.

I also asked the hive on what to do with the instruments, my boat came with smartcraft gauges, I could replace these or add a mercury module that would cost in the $600-$1200 range. Ultimately I decided to try and mount the gauges.  My reasoning was I had the room on the acrylic panel, I was unlikely to get any resale value for the gauges and I would rather not have to split the screen on the SIMRAD to look at instruments/fuel etc if I didn’t have to.  The downside is I have to convince myself I am not missing out on valuable engine management data, fault finding etc.  I guess I can retro fit one at another stage if I need to.

The other downside was the viewing angle of the acrylic panel would make it hard to see the LCD gauges properly.  Off to the teenagers room to appropriate his 3D printer to make some mounts. I had to buy some other filament (ASA for the nerds out there) and crank up the heat but print number 12 and 13 came out with a perfect 14 degree angle. The mounts are black so you can't see them in the photo. 

And that was it, I assembled everything and cut out some big holes in the dash and it all fits quite nicely.  I still need to find a spot for the USB charger, but that shouldn’t be too difficult.

I have started to fill the holes in the transom from the paddle wheel (which wasn’t working) and the old transducer. I went with Epifill as the boat guys had it readily available and I wasn’t going to Bunnings otherwise it would have been araldite.  The transom is looking ok, but I haven’t had a crack with flow coat or sanding yet so still time to make a mess of it.

Thanks for reading, I’ll post up some demersal success when it happens… 

Hi Everyone, not sure if this is the correct place to post it, but I have question regarding installation of a Simrad NSS Evo 3s 12 inch and use of Acrylic.

Boat Bio - 2002 625 Cruisecraft outsider, 2017 Merc 150 4 stroke. 

My current setup up has space for a 7 inch (Raymarine MFD currently installed - actually a pretty neat unit) and two Mercury Smartcraft gauges.  See photo.

I want to remove it all and replace with the 12 inch Simrad, and to do that I need to cover the existing helm with new acrylic flat sheet and glue/fix into place.  Firstly has anyone done this or something similar before ? Is it easy enough to mount the new acrylic sheet, keeping it flat gives me more confidence.  I don't want a bracket mount.

Will I miss the smart craft gauges ?  Should I attempt to keep them, I do have room at the top of the new acrylic board (see photo with cardboard template) to put them back in but they will be on an angle that means you will only look at them whilst standing. 

Comments appreciated. 

 Looking into getting the new C map reveal map/overlay. 

Wondering if anyone has it? rates it? Deep water looks mint, interested to see 90m and less 

Currently running a platinum card on 2 evo 3's linked 

 Hi I'm looking to buy new transducer for my nss evo3 , where would be the best place ? 

cheers 

 Just like some ideas of these sounders shots i took NSS8 evo 1 with ss164 1kw airmar transducer

Hi all,

Recently purchased a simrad go7 xsr with a 3 in 1 transducer. The sidescan/downscan features are pretty irrelevant to my needs, I just really require the normal echo 83/200kHz and medium/high chirp features. Does anyone know what type of transducer I can get for my requirements? I know there's a airmar p66 transducer but it only has normal sonar 50/200kHz, if it had the chirp features, I'd be all over it.

I've installed the 3 in 1 transducer and it's massive for a 4.4m tinny lol, it's about 28cm long.

Any help will be appreciated

 Hi guys just brought a nss12 evo3 and a tm275lhw plugged it in and sound has a melt down when in under 3m of water, it freezes and skips between 2 different depths not sure what's wrong. I have had many Simrad systems and never experienced this? I am currently running it straight through screen no s5100

Hi guys, just after a bit of feedback.

I currently have a Simrad GO7 with the standard HDI skimmer transom Mount transducer but want to know if a totalscan transducer is going to make much of a difference to the down scan. I generally fish in the 40 metre range so just want to see if it is worthwhile upgrading to the totalscan or just stick with what I’ve got?

Any feedback much appreciated

Hi guys,

Just purchased a new boat which has a Simrad GO7 setup.  I was hoping someone with the same sounder would be able to give me some feedback on the sonar settings they use for fishing offshore for demersals etc.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers,
Mitch

 Does anyone know of a dealer where i can see a s2009 and have a look and play with one before buying it ?

Cheers Paul

 Just wondering if anybody in bunno is using an axiom. Thinking about getting one but I would like to get some real world  opinions as in can you pick small lumps in 35m. I would love to go for a ride and see one working.

 Hi all, not sure if anyone can help but on my simrad evo2 I cannot work out if there is a way to remove the black line that shows up at 0m depth when using bottom lock???

Thanks in advance.

Thought I would throw up a few pics of the new sounder out deep dropping. I have the S2009 and TM185M transducer linked to an Evo3 and totalscan transducer. Still need to fine tune and move transducer down a little but so far pretty happy with the results. I removed the Furuno and TM260 because I could never get 50khz to read at all and wanted to have a linked system where I can scroll back and mark fish and structure on the sounder. Loved the furuno in 200khz but the 50khz annoyed me to much working sometimes and then not. I have since learnt a few more settings since and am getting better returns. Will try get better pics next trip.

Drifting up a ledge

Drifting through fish. Lines and loss from holding the boat in reverse

Bottom of the drop off still playing with settings. Not the best picture but can see the fish. Had scroll and ping speed all wrong and reversing

Trolling for marlin

Totalscan transducer holding bottom but not marking the fish. Totalscan only good for me out to 50mtrs

  Hi all, 

I am looking at a boat birthday and Im considering a Mercury + SimRad combo as SimRAd talks to Mercury at a software level. Has anyone had any experiences with this combination good or bad? Considering the NSS Evo2 with a 150Hp Merc.

Cheers.

PT

 Hey guys. Ive dropped my simrad nss9 evo2 and smashed the back plate of it. Anyone got an old cooked one they wanna sell or know where i  an find these lil buggers.....

 hi all I have just purchased 2  x 12in evo 2s for my new genesis craft .I will also be running 4g simrad radar to overlay on  my gps.I hope I have done the right thing as I have had  furuno in my last boat which I loved.  I am chasing info on transducers . if someone could help  would be good any info would be great ... 

 Interestested in these, look like good value for money in that I can initially go with my existing HST-DFSBL ( equivilant to a P66, roughly) and then go up in transducer spec if I so desire. 

 Guys, I want to upgrade my P66 tranny to a chirp unit. I have been told a Airmar TM 185H-W transom mount unit will plug straight into my NSS12 Evo 2 unit and be good to go for the depths I usually fish in, up to 130m, but rarely. Im not really keen to go super high dollar with a BSM-3 added etc. With the recent software upgrade on the NSS12 Im thinking the TM 185 may just be what Im after..

Any thoughts.   Thanks fallas.

Just bought a Go 9 with the total scan transducer. Will whack some screen shots up tomorrow night after a test run tomorrow... 

Hi guys, 

So I've got an Nss7 Evo2 and Airmar p66 on order, and I also have a TotalScan transducer from a older unit. 

What i'm wondering is whether  it is possible to run the TotalScan and p66 simultaneously without any additional hardware? Ideally i'd use the p66 for bottom bashing etc and the totalscan inshore.

Appreciate any help with this.

Treated my self to an early Christmas present and joined the Simrad club today . Picked up the NSS9 Evo 2 and totalscan transducer.

Will be re wiring the boat and installing the sounder/plotter in the next few days. Is there anything I should be aware of that isn't mentioned or covered in the installation manual??

Looking forward to getting out there and having a play!

 Hey Lads,

After less than great results cray fishing so far this season I'm looking to upgrade my set up. My reasoning is that with the NNS7 and P66(non chirp 50/200) I'm struggling to easily identify differing bottom types (Sand, weedy sand, weedy rock and rock)

It makes pot placement difficult.

CHSmith currently offer the Sonar hub and LSS2 transducer for $499. The guy on the phone say that this addition will drastically improve my ability to differenciate bottom types and help improve pot placement. He says that the chirp capable sonar hub will most likely improve the P66 image and the LSS2 will give a much clearer image of bottom types, IE weed or sand, in bith down and side scan view.

I understand that LSS2 is only good for shallow <25m water but seeking dive spots and pot placements is my goal.

I don't want to over capitalise in a Gen1 system but I'm thinking if $500 will get me much better results with the crays and dive spots, I'm probably in....

The hook up will be as follows: Currently have Mercury Vesselview 7 and NNS7 networked via a network splitter with stand alone GPS on the network for the vesselview. The plan is to bring the current network cable for the NNS7 through the sonar hub and back to the NNS7 and take the P66 off the NNS7 and onto the sonar hub and obviously the LLS2 to the sonar hub.

Does anyone out there run this setup?

Will it work well for me?

Will it drastically improve my bottom clarification/discrimination?

Will there be any limitations?

Can I run a split screen on one unit with two sounder images either downscan with the LLS2 and the P66?

Will I get an overlay on my map screen showing the scan area?

Anything else I need to know before commiting to this purchase?

Is downscan just the same as the view I get now on my standard sounder but just using the LSS2 transducer?

How deep will I get if I ever decide to go out to the trench (if I ever get the day off and weather window)?

ive just brought a new boat and currently its running a 7inch simrad go7 chartplotter/fishfinder.
i have it all connected up with NMEA2000 so the question im asking is can i just buy a bare simrad unit and plug it in to the NMEA2000 connection and use one as a chartplotter and one as a fishfinder??