Depth finder not working at speed

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steve1313
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Joined: Tue Aug 22, 2017 6:33 am

Depth finder not working at speed

#1 Post by steve1313 » Thu May 28, 2020 2:34 am

I have a basic transducer which feeds to my Simrad Go5. Most of the time, if I'm cruising over bout 25-30 MPH, it will stop showing the depth. If I slow down for a 30 seconds or so it will start reporting again. Does anyone else have this problem, and/or a solution?

Here's a picture showing where it's mounted.
transducer.jpeg
transducer.jpeg (224.94 KiB) Viewed 3101 times
Steve
"Serendipity" - 2017 Sweetwater 2286 WB Tritoon w/ 150HP Yamaha
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Coldbrew
Posts: 254
Joined: Tue Apr 08, 2014 5:16 pm
Location: Bedford, NH

Re: Depth finder not working at speed

#2 Post by Coldbrew » Thu May 28, 2020 4:30 am

For what it's worth....mine does the same thing. I just figured they all did it so I never looked for a solution. :donno
2014 Premier Gemini 201
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jrolin1
Posts: 400
Joined: Sun Jan 30, 2011 7:42 am
Location: Lexington SC Lake Murray

Re: Depth finder not working at speed

#3 Post by jrolin1 » Thu May 28, 2020 5:04 am

It may need to be lowered slightly. Also tilt the back down slightly. It needs clean water at speed to read correctly.

jediger
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Joined: Wed Aug 07, 2013 8:24 am

Re: Depth finder not working at speed

#4 Post by jediger » Thu May 28, 2020 5:31 am

There's physics behind it. Finding Clean Water behind a pontoon can be challenging. See this webpage for an explanation.

https://www.louisianasportsman.com/fish ... different/

It is fixable, however. You can jury-rig something yourself like the column above or buy a commercial product like

https://johnnyraysports.com/product/jr- ... r-bracket/

Hope that helps!
Pinawa Bay, Manitoba
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TheWhisker
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Location: Foristell, MO

Re: Depth finder not working at speed

#5 Post by TheWhisker » Thu May 28, 2020 6:20 am

jrolin has it right. I had the same problem when I installed mine, and thought it was just the way it is too. I found info on the intertubes about getting it a little below the log because of the disturbance they cause. I lowered mine just a bit below and it reads at speed now. I was happy to figure that out.
2007 Suncatcher 208C, Yamaha F90 fully rebuilt as a fishing vessel
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boocat
Posts: 269
Joined: Sun Aug 28, 2016 8:09 am
Location: Texas Hill Country

Re: Depth finder not working at speed

#6 Post by boocat » Thu May 28, 2020 12:24 pm

jediger wrote:
Thu May 28, 2020 5:31 am
There's physics behind it. Finding Clean Water behind a pontoon can be challenging. See this webpage for an explanation.

https://www.louisianasportsman.com/fish ... different/

It is fixable, however. You can jury-rig something yourself like the column above or buy a commercial product like

https://johnnyraysports.com/product/jr- ... r-bracket/

Hope that helps!
Thanks for that. I'm in the same "boat"

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Liquid Asset
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Location: ortonville,mi

Re: Depth finder not working at speed

#7 Post by Liquid Asset » Thu May 28, 2020 7:52 pm

Yup pretty much what's been mentioned they all do it. I had a Garmin on my boat and replaced it with a lowrance for the mapping that was available. Forgot the model but it fit the hole in my dash. My friends with big boats run a couple screens one zoomed out and one zoomed in when cruising at speeds. They pretty much use mapping vs. the actual depth. Apparently things can sneak up on you too fast at any amount of speed!
2018 Tahoe ltz elite windshield powered by a 175 Mercury verado with sea legs
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Steiner
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Location: Lyman, SC

Re: Depth finder not working at speed

#8 Post by Steiner » Fri May 29, 2020 5:49 am

Doesn't go out until 25mph? Man, that's just bragging!

I gained 5mph usable just by tilting mine down one click....all the way to 15mph. Want to lower it but some of the islands we ride up on have reeeaaally mild grades where the whole toon will hit the sand when the wake boats go by. Tried the anchor buddy out last trip though and it worked well.
2019 G3 SunCatcher V322 SS tritoon, Yamaha F200
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