Fishfinder HELP

[Poolz1]

This may be a dumb question but when I place the transducer does it matter what direction it is in? In other words does it have a front and back? Thanks for all the tips fellas... This forum has proved to be invaluable.

[J.A. Veil]

This may be a dumb question but when I place the transducer does it matter what direction it is in? In other words does it have a front and back? Thanks for all the tips fellas... This forum has proved to be invaluable.

The narrower end faces forward -- the flat end faces backwards. Try to position it as level as you can (i.e., not part way up the side wall). You want it to shoot as straight up and down as possible.

[rwh]

I installed my transducer in my Ride 135 this weekend with duct seal and tested it out on the lake I live on and it worked fine. I didn't make any kind of well or cover the entire transducer. I just took about half the block, made it like a hamburger patty and put it on the flattest part of the hull then smashed the transducer down into it, twisting it a bit to make sure there were no air bubbles. The transducer is about half deep into the putty patty with probably 1/4" of putty between the transducer and the hull. Then I just packed the edges of the putty down and into the sides of the transducer with my fingers to make sure it was tight all around and no holes for air. That stuff works great.

[Poolz1]

The narrower end faces forward -- the flat end faces backwards. Try to position it as level as you can (i.e., not part way up the side wall). You want it to shoot as straight up and down as possible.

Got it, Thanks. Transducer is going in this afternoon...next is where to put the battery and how to fix it so it doesn't shift around.

[Fish]

I just bought some adhesive velcros from Walmart, again, for easy transport of the battery box

Got it, Thanks. Transducer is going in this afternoon...next is where to put the battery and how to fix it so it doesn't shift around.

[Poolz1]

So, is this a waterproof battery box?

[Fish]

Yeah I looked at Walmart for some waterproof box and they sell some for like 10 dollars, so I just got one of my household waterproof plastic lunch boxes.

[rwh]

Home Depot sells a three pack( S, M, L) of Plano waterproof boxes for $10.00. This is a great deal:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Plano-Sto...6#.UVnrtaJm_DY

The medium and large boxes have adjustable sections just like the regular tackle boxes. Since I am using 8 AA batteries for my fish finder, the small box is the perfect size for my batteries and the extra length of power cable. I used spray adhesive to put a piece of rubber no slip drawer/tool box liner on the bottom.

[Poolz1]

Well, I completed the installation and took the kayak out on the river for testing yesterday. Results were so so. Here is how it went...

Depth readings were not accurate to begin with....seemed to be double what the actual depth was. After playing with the settings and having no luck I decided to restart the unit. After turning the unit off and back on depth readings were then accurate for the rest of the day.

My biggest snag was that I was not seeing any fish. With sensitivity set to 100% it would not pick up my oar when I would stick it under the kayak. I tried this countless times and the most I got was a very small blip...I mean a hand full of pixels.

I thought maybe I had too much duct seal under the transducer. I pulled over, got out and removed the transducer and some of the duct seal under it. I then reseated the transducer and tested it again. No luck with the oar being picked up all the time but it seemed better...depth was still accurate.

I then decided to remove the transduce and try it with just holding it over the side of the kayak. This worked. It picked up the oar every time and seemed to give more detail of the bottom. I actually had to turn down the sensitivity to remove clutter from the screen.

Now I'm stuck. Is it poor installation on my part with the duct seal? Maybe I still have too muck seal under the transducer (.25-.5"). I know its a cheap finder so maybe it just a case of a poor product. Do better finders have a more powerful sonar that would shoot through the duct seal more easily?
Like I said, the depth works fine but I even floated over large limbs submerged in the water and it would not pick them up.

Settings...Sensitivity 100%, all alarms off, fish id off, chart speed at 25%

Any help, again, would be appreciated.

[rwh]

It could be that there are air bubbles between the duct seal and the puck or the duct seal and the hull. You definitely need to make sure there are no air bubbles. I have seen other posts where people use duct seal to make a well and either leave it open at the top to add a bit of water to force out any air bubbles each time they go fishing and have seen where a well is made in the duct seal, add water to force out air bubbles and totally enclose the puck and water in the duct seal. Here is a thread with a video clip on page 4 that may give you some ideas:
http://www.snaggedline.com/showthrea...r-installation.
You may have to experiment around with the install and settings to get it right.
My fish finder is really old and not as sensitive as the newer ones and I only want it so I can get an accurate depth and see the shape of the bottom, so just smashing it down into the putty seems to be working fine for me.

[J.A. Veil]

Home Depot sells a three pack( S, M, L) of Plano waterproof boxes for $10.00. This is a great deal:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Plano-Sto...6#.UVnrtaJm_DY

The medium and large boxes have adjustable sections just like the regular tackle boxes. Since I am using 8 AA batteries for my fish finder, the small box is the perfect size for my batteries and the extra length of power cable. I used spray adhesive to put a piece of rubber no slip drawer/tool box liner on the bottom.

Thanks for the heads up. I went to both of the Home Depot stores in Annapolis yesterday looking for this set. The store employees could not find them on the shelf. I went home and ordered three sets online to pick up at one of the local stores. Within less than an hour, I received an email notifying me that my order was waiting for me. Apparently they had them all the time, but the staff on duty when I went did not know where they were.

Despite my frustration in running around, this is a good deal. If you tried to buy the three boxes individually, they would cost much more.

[rwh]

I had the same problem. The store employee didn't know where they were, but when I pulled them up on the Home Depot app on my phone and selected that particular store to check inventory, it told me what aisle they were on and I went right to them.

[Poolz1]

Thanks for the tips rwh. I will try that out...If I still dont have success I may rig up an external system for the puck.

[sparky1423]

That stinks Pooz1...wish I could help more, but it's now out of my league. I remember when my transducer wasn't cooperating, it would be me up at night!

[Poolz1]

It's all good sparky...It wont keep me from fishing but I will figure something out to make it work....I've already got great tips and if it wouldnt have been for all the replies I would have seated that thing in sealant and had mess on my hands trying to remove it.