Shorten transducer cable... Ok or not ok?

[chex]

I've spent hours looking for an answer, and have found many... But nothing definitive.

1/3 of the answers say "yeah, no prob": cut, splice, seal and you're good to go.

1/3 say "possible, but not a good idea": the re-connections need to be very good and it's best to use a connector box or a coaxial splicing kit to retain the shielding quality.

1/3 say " no way, it will not work": changing the length of the cable will throw off the calibration of the unit and it will give false readings.

Obviously, the manufacturers say "don't do it!" and are happy to void your warranty. But I don't care about the warranty, I just want a shorter cable.

Anybody have any success or failure shortening a transducer cable?

[Pinch]

Ive done it and it worked fine. Make sure you insulate the splice to avoid elect.rical interference

[archeryrob]

I saw a post were Chad Hoover on KBF stripped the cable jacket off and rolled it up around his hand and heat shrinked the rolled up cable. It might be on youtube

[chex]

Thanks guys. I think I'll try it.

[chex]

Did it.

Cut. Spliced. Shielded with aluminum. Sealed with shrink tubing.

Works great. Not sure why so many people say it's not possible.

[tufnik]

From what I understand, when you shorten the cable, you change the impedance and so the signal is a bit attenuated. Nearly all installations are different. Some may experience problems. Some may not. It may work in the garage, but not when you're out on the water in certain conditions (e.g., certain depths, nearby structure). If you experience no problems in all your fishing situations, then your system is probably OK. It doesn't mean someone else will experience no problems too. That's why, generally speaking, many people say to not cut it.

[t227]

Did it.

Cut. Spliced. Shielded with aluminum. Sealed with shrink tubing.

Works great. Not sure why so many people say it's not possible.

How much did you shorten it? Yes the impedance would become less but not much. So I really dont think it will have much affect if any. I would not be afraid to do it.

[Grilled]

i did it on my lowrance elite 4 and works fine

[chex]

How much did you shorten it? Yes the impedance would become less but not much. So I really dont thing it will have much affect if any. I would not be afraid to do it.

A lot. From 20 feet to 18 inches.

[t227]

From what I understand, when you shorten the cable, you change the impedance and so the signal is a bit attenuated. Nearly all installations are different. Some may experience problems. Some may not. It may work in the garage, but not when you're out on the water in certain conditions (e.g., certain depths, nearby structure). If you experience no problems in all your fishing situations, then your system is probably OK. It doesn't mean someone else will experience no problems too. That's why, generally speaking, many people say to not cut it.

I dont think the signal will be attenuated? It has less resistance since it has shorter cable. The frequency response will probably change but not enough for the device to even notice. You would run into more problems if you lengthened the cable. I personally would not do it and I work with electronics every day. But I wouldnt do it because I like to try to keep things orginal. But I would not be affraid to do it. There is some fact in your statements. You should consider to leave things as designed if possible.

[t227]

Woah. Hmm, Still should not be a problem. The shorter wire will have about orginal length impedence divided by 10 as much resitance. In this case shorter is better than longer. Adjustments can have more effect on High end Sonars that are more sensitive than lower end models. The cable that comes with it is probably the best length max for that model.