depth sounder - replacement needed

[Brian W.]

well we sent back our Datamarine sounder a month ago as it seemed stuck on 2.3-2.4 feet. we replaced the transducer a year ago, so the consensus was to check the head unit. anyway, datamarine still has it, with no relief in site.

we're planning a short cruise in a week or two, so we need to have something on board. b/c new datamarine's are apparently quite $ it was recommended that until we get ours back, for the cruise we pick up an inexpensieve lawrence or hummingbird and use a hockey puck type transducer (don't think anything but datamarine will work with the thru hull datamarine transduce) mounted inside the hull. does anyone have any luck/experience with these? and where's the best spot to mount/stick the 'puck?'

mildly related, I've seen in West these 'forward scanning' sonar/sounders. it would seem quite the helpful tool to know in advance what underwater obstructions lie ahead. but in addition to their price, I'm guessing the transducer mounting is rather invovled (i.e. boat needs to be hauled). curious if anyone's had any experience with these as well.

Thanks,

Brian W.
cd 33

[jon]

well we sent back our Datamarine sounder a month ago as it seemed stuck on 2.3-2.4 feet. we replaced the transducer a year ago, so the consensus was to check the head unit. anyway, datamarine still has it, with no relief in site.

we're planning a short cruise in a week or two, so we need to have something on board. b/c new datamarine's are apparently quite $ it was recommended that until we get ours back, for the cruise we pick up an inexpensieve lawrence or hummingbird and use a hockey puck type transducer (don't think anything but datamarine will work with the thru hull datamarine transduce) mounted inside the hull. does anyone have any luck/experience with these? and where's the best spot to mount/stick the 'puck?'

mildly related, I've seen in West these 'forward scanning' sonar/sounders. it would seem quite the helpful tool to know in advance what underwater obstructions lie ahead. but in addition to their price, I'm guessing the transducer mounting is rather invovled (i.e. boat needs to be hauled). curious if anyone's had any experience with these as well.

Thanks,

Brian W.
cd 33

Lead line is quite reliable, easy to mount, and most have "forward scanning" capability built in at no additional cost-just hop in the tender.



jon007@yahoo.com

[LEN]

brian

as a back-up i use a 3 lb sledge with a hole drilled through the handle and line attached with knots every 6 feet - if you wanted to be even fancier you could attach different pieces of cloth, leather etc the way lead lines used to be rigged (so you don't have to count knots)

len



md.frel@nwh.org

[Bob Loewenstein]

Brian,

Please post the results of Datamarine's efforts.

Bob

[Tom S]

well we sent back our Datamarine sounder a month ago as it seemed stuck on 2.3-2.4 feet. we replaced the transducer a year ago, so the consensus was to check the head unit. anyway, datamarine still has it, with no relief in site.

we're planning a short cruise in a week or two, so we need to have something on board. b/c new datamarine's are apparently quite $ it was recommended that until we get ours back, for the cruise we pick up an inexpensieve lawrence or hummingbird and use a hockey puck type transducer (don't think anything but datamarine will work with the thru hull datamarine transduce) mounted inside the hull. does anyone have any luck/experience with these? and where's the best spot to mount/stick the 'puck?'

mildly related, I've seen in West these 'forward scanning' sonar/sounders. it would seem quite the helpful tool to know in advance what underwater obstructions lie ahead. but in addition to their price, I'm guessing the transducer mounting is rather invovled (i.e. boat needs to be hauled). curious if anyone's had any experience with these as well.

Thanks,

Brian W.
cd 33

Bryan I just replaced my Data Marine with a Lowrance X65.I epoxied the supplied transducer adjacent to the Data Marine through hull.Works great.I would never go back to a numberical display.I can now see a visual display of the bottom and it,s contour,know wither it is soft or hard,I am out of the stone age.From what I hear don't use a lower end priced unit as they are lacking in power to drive through the heavy fiberglass bottom of the Cape Dory.See Lorwance.Com for installation procedure.Good luck



TShel11523@aol.com

[Steve Alarcon]

Brian,
Our DataMarine was "toes up", so I purchased a new STANDARD head and puck-style transducer from West Marine. On a flash of inspiration, I hookd the new head to the old transducer and miraculously it worked. It seems that the new "head" and old transducer used the same frequency. I used all of the inplace wiring, so installation took about 5 minutes. To make up for their outrageous prices, West Marine has a very liberal return policy, so your exposure could be limited to the time invested.

Steve Alarcon
CD36 Tenacity
Seattle



alarcon3@prodigy.net

[Brian W.]

Steve,

What model Standard did you purchase? Is it the one that seems to have the same round dimmensions as the Datamarine? Do they infact have the same dimmensions, and as such can be swapped out without any fiberglass cutting?

thanks,

Brian

Brian,
Our DataMarine was "toes up", so I purchased a new STANDARD head and puck-style transducer from West Marine. On a flash of inspiration, I hookd the new head to the old transducer and miraculously it worked. It seems that the new "head" and old transducer used the same frequency. I used all of the inplace wiring, so installation took about 5 minutes. To make up for their outrageous prices, West Marine has a very liberal return policy, so your exposure could be limited to the time invested.

Steve Alarcon
CD36 Tenacity
Seattle

[Brian W.]

Tom,

I take it you had to cut another thru hull opening for the new transducer? A puck type transducer would presumably not work?

Thanks,

Brian

Bryan I just replaced my Data Marine with a Lowrance X65.I epoxied the supplied transducer adjacent to the Data Marine through hull.Works great.I would never go back to a numberical display.I can now see a visual display of the bottom and it,s contour,know wither it is soft or hard,I am out of the stone age.From what I hear don't use a lower end priced unit as they are lacking in power to drive through the heavy fiberglass bottom of the Cape Dory.See Lorwance.Com for installation procedure.Good luck

[Steve Alarcon]

No cutting at all. It fit the existing round hole perfectly. Took all of 5 minutes to do, and that was with interruptions by a pretty girl walking by. (grin)

Steve Alarcon
CD36 Tenacity
Seattle



alarcon3@prodigy.net

[Tom s]

Tom,

I take it you had to cut another thru hull opening for the new transducer? A puck type transducer would presumably not work?

Thanks,

Brian

Brian:
No hole is required.You epoxy supplied transducer to the inside of the hull.It shoots "through the hull" Re fiberglass.Check "Lowrance.Com" site fof instructions.They also give a list of recommend epoxies. Tom

Bryan I just replaced my Data Marine with a Lowrance X65.I epoxied the supplied transducer adjacent to the Data Marine through hull.Works great.I would never go back to a numberical display.I can now see a visual display of the bottom and it,s contour,know wither it is soft or hard,I am out of the stone age.From what I hear don't use a lower end priced unit as they are lacking in power to drive through the heavy fiberglass bottom of the Cape Dory.See Lorwance.Com for installation procedure.Good luck

TShel11523@aol.com

[Brian W.]

Hmmm. This sounds like a good option. I called West to inquire about stock, the frequency, etc. I was told that while the frequency is the same, the plug often is not. The datamarine has an RCA type plug, like a stereo patch cable. It doesn't sound like you had any problems though.

_____

No cutting at all. It fit the existing round hole perfectly. Took all of 5 minutes to do, and that was with interruptions by a pretty girl walking by. (grin)

Steve Alarcon
CD36 Tenacity
Seattle