Humminbird fishfinder problems

[Jason W. Coym]

This past summer I've used a Humminbird Wide-Eye fishfinder offshore in the
Gulf of Mexico. I've noticed that whenever the boat speed exceeds about 7 or
8 knots the unit quits reporting a depth and loses track of the bottom. Also,
at times when I'm in shallow water (3-5 ft) the unit will reports something
crazy like a depth of 250 feet. Could this be a problem with transducer placement
or is it more likely a dud unit that would be better used as a fishing weight?
Any suggestions?

Thank you,
Jason

[Paul Ziajski]

I had the Wide Vision 3D on my last boat and it had the same problem. Not only it
would lose track of the depth and bottom but it would show some wild things like
hundreds of fish under the boat, piramids, depth would go from 2' to 250' and back.
Also it had a bad habit of locking-up if the voltage from the battery would drop for
some reason. The screen would freeze and I could not turn the unit off with the
power button so I had to turn off the switch on the panel. This forced me to go out
and install a second battery which seemed to have corrected the problem. I don't
think I will ever buy a Humminbird again. I'm awaiting the delivery of my new boat
and decided to put the Apelco 460 on it. We'll see what happens.

Paul

[WTDOG]

In article <424fhh$k...@sanews1.morgan.com>, Paul Ziajski
<zia...@morgan.com> writes:

>I've used a Humminbird Wide-Eye fishfinder offshore in the
>>Gulf of Mexico. I've noticed that whenever the boat speed exceeds about
7
>or
>>8 knots the unit quits reporting a depth and loses track of the bottom.
>Also,
>> at times when I'm in shallow water (3-5 ft) the unit will reports
something
>>crazy like a depth of 250 feet.

I had a Humminbird Platinum ID that came with my skiff that worked OK
until it failed, then I replaced it with the (very cheap) Humminbird Wide
100....same story as yourself, it only works reliably when at a dead stop
in 5-50 feet of water.

I guess we get what we pay for..

Bob Reed
Florida

[sk...@cruzio.com]

The unit was probably not build with any kind of speed in mind.
You may want to look into something a bit more 'substantial'.
Forward scanning and phased-array sonar from Interphase has just released
3 new products which have been tested to 40kts!
a great bottom picture as well as 90 degree scanning (forward, downward,
or side to side).

[Watt73052]

> I've noticed that whenever the boat speed exceeds about 7 or
>8 knots the unit quits reporting a depth and loses track of the bottom.

The problem with bottom tracking may be caused by an improperly adjusted
transducer angle. At higher speeds if the face of the transducer looses
contact with water, or picks up turbulence the unit will not work. Try
adjusting the angle of the transducer relative to the transom - so the
rear of the tducer is deeper in water, or try the hieght of the tducer in
the water. Try fine adjustments until it works. Also, make sure the
transducer isn't located behind anything on hull causing turbulence - like
a strake or rivet line - these produce air bubbles which will give false
readings.

[DARRELL FARLEY]

I'VE HAD SAME PROBLEM SINCE THE UNIT WAS NEW. I'VE CALLED FACTORY SEVEAL
TIMES AND THEY SUGGEST THAT THE TRANSDUCER IS IN "WRONG' LOCATION. I'VE
MOVED IT THREE TIMES SO FAR AND IT STILL STOPS WORKING WHEN ENGINE RPM
GETS TO 1000. DEPTH SEEMS TO NOT BE PART OF THE PROBLEM, JUST BOAT
SPEED.

[WB4FLYNNS]

I have a Humminbird Wide vision . I have had similar problems . most of
the time it is the transducer is out of ajustment. or comes out of the
water causing the anomilly. i suggest consulting your manaul, or try
calling humminbird.
dan f

[WB4FLYNNS]

you might try mounting the unit on the inside of the hull or through hull
using epoxy resin
dan f

[Scott]

I have had this problem with the humminbird aswell, though I just live
with it. It only seems to be a problem at about 15 knots or so.

[Fishurman]

Every Humminbird I have owned (fo9ur) has had this problem. I wouldn't
buy one, but they often come on used boats people sell. The only thing
that works is mounting it so it shoots thru the hull. People say that you
should use epoxy but it works fine using silicone, as long as you avoid
air bubbles. The factory will tell you that it is you fault due to
impropoer mounting, but other units do not have the problem. My current
boat has a sitex CVS 103 and a bottom line tournament LCD, as well as a
Platinum. Only the bird won't work when running.

Good luck

CL