Another fishfinder question

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whitewheels

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I've plugged my lowrance elite x3 so it get power through the aux light switch but I would like to have constant 12v. Do I have to hook it up back inte enginebay or is there constant 12v under the "dash" somewhere?
Sportster LE
 
Just wondering ,where did you mount the transducer on your sportster and is the fish finder working well ? I am looking into mounting a similar unit on my Speedster. Most convenient would be through hull but not so sure exactly where to mount it and how well it would work.
 
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Just wondering ,where did you mount the transducer on your sportster and is the fish finder working well ? I am looking into mounting a similar unit on my Speedster. Most convenient would be through hull but not so sure exactly where to mount it and how well it would work.
I epoxyd it on a spot just next to the muffler. Didn't work but turned out to be a transducer cable problem. So I can't tell you if that was a good location becase I hadn't time to test before winter
 
Thanks, I am trying to figure this all out so I can be ready with a fish finder for next season.
 
Does anybody have a last generation speedster with a fish finder transducer mounted inside the boat. I will like to locate my transducer in the engine compartment , just not sure where the best place may be.
 
I used silicone and placed in the hull on the port side, opposite the bilge in a 97. Works pretty good at lower speeds.
 
Thanks Mayberry Az. I like the idea of silicone as typically you can pull this apart if the location does not work. Do you recall if this was a silicone sealant, like a bathtub calking or something more special. Also did it work well the first time around or you had to try different locations before something worked well ? If possible , maybe sometime you could post a picture of the exact location. I believe that the hulls are very similar between 1997 and 2010 but not sure. I think it needs to be a place with no plywood between the fiberglass ? I don't know much about fish finders but I don't see myself looking for fish at 20 km plus, what speed do you usually fish find at ?
 
Hey Gordo, I used clear window caulking type silicone. Worked fine first time. Not sure how to post a picture but I could text you one. Also my boat has a cup holder next to the throttles, so I modified an insulated can holder and bolted thru that to hold the finder. Works nice and I can stow it when not in use. The depth and fish finder work well to about 20 mph, after that they degrade in accuracy due to boat vibration. Hope that helps.
 
Thanks again Mayberry. I appreciate the feedback. The 2010 Speedster does not have a cup holder in the area you describe but I think I have a pretty good location for my new Garmin fish finder. 20 mph sounds fast enough for fish finding. I am in Toronto Canada not sure if I can receive texts with pictures from the USA, with my plan. I have posted pictures on this forum before. It is fairly easy , while typing your response you will see different icons at the top, hover over these with your mouse and one of them is to insert image (or ctrl+ P) or bottom left you can attach files. From there you can go to the image on your computer, I am assuming you are using a laptop that has the picture and select it to be inserted. I think I will be fine without a picture, once the weather is a little warmer here, I will caulk in the fish finder. I think I will document it and if it works well I will then post it under the modifications headings. Here is a picture I just took of where I may mount the fish finder. I have not looked in the engine compartment recently , but soon will scout out the location for the transducer.

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Any opinions from someone with in hull transducer mounting experience. I am thinking of mounting the fish finder transducer near the 2010 speedster depth finder. Maybe the the hull is just fiberglass there with no plywood . I believe I should have the transducer parallel to the ground/water surface. The surface is sloped and the boat is also tipped upward at speed. Maybe I should create a dam and fill in the region with fluid (antifreeze) such that the transducer is submerged and then mount the unit to the lid so it is


oriented parallellocaction.JPGtransducer location.JPG to the ground. I had read about doing this on another site. Am i crazy, should I just mount the transducer at the outside of the boat at the back. Any more suggestions would be appreciated.
 
If you going to use silicone....try that location. Easy to undo. I'm gonig to try silicone as Mayberry az suggested.
This is my location....(pic not from my boat but same spot)
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Thanks for the great information. Just got back from boating on Lake Ontario. The transducer in hull seems to be working well. I am getting good depth readings , just don't know how well the fish finder is working , did not see any fish but it was picking up the bottom and the water seemed mostly clear above the bottom. I guess it is time to learn how to use the fish finder. Prior to the outing, I did disconnect the nearby Sea Doo stock transducer so as to not get interference. The next time I will see if the transducers can work side by side, I believe they both use 200 hz, so not so confident about that.
 
Thanks for the great information. Just got back from boating on Lake Ontario. The transducer in hull seems to be working well. I am getting good depth readings , just don't know how well the fish finder is working , did not see any fish but it was picking up the bottom and the water seemed mostly clear above the bottom. I guess it is time to learn how to use the fish finder. Prior to the outing, I did disconnect the nearby Sea Doo stock transducer so as to not get interference. The next time I will see if the transducers can work side by side, I believe they both use 200 hz, so not so confident about that.
I am glad you got the instal done! Looking forward to updates.
 
Just had the boat up in Haliburton Ontario (Cottage Country) for a week. Had the fun of using the boat every day for everything including fishing. Tried different settings on the Garmin 4cv plus to try to optimize the signal. I can see the bottom of the lake structure really well and do not get interference from the boat's depth finder. But was not able to find any fish (no arches) and usually get some noise within the image on the screen, these are vertical lines. I suspect that the transducer may work better if it was not in the hull but I am not going to relocate it as I just don't have a better location for it with the Speedster. It is mounted in a closed container of water within the hull, I may try mounting it in a bed of silicone and see if that gives better results.
 
I just installed a Garmin Striker 4 in my Sportster a couple weeks ago. I have the transducer just sitting on the floor in front of the bilge pump. There was a nice little pocket there that always seems to have water in it, and captures it nicely. I've been using it for 2 weeks, and haven't even glued it down! Getting good readings and picking up fish too.
 
Just a quick update on my transducer. Couldn't get it to work. As soon I started the engine I got crazy readings. There is no wire problem I thought I had either. Pulled it out and droped it outside the boat,worked just fine.
Will try jeffrt bilge location next
 
Here's a few pics of my install (first time posting pics - hope it works). Hard to get a good pic of the transducer, but you can see it sitting just forward of the pump. Looks like the floor layout on your 2010 is different than my 2006, so this may not help. Mine's still not glued down, and working great. I'll probably leave it loose till the off season when everything dries out. Picked up power from the 12V socket.

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Hello folks and thanks for posting just helpful information. Which transducers are you using? It seems all the transducers that come with these various 3.5-4 inch garmins are transom mounts. Are you using these same transducers in your hull?
 
Hello folks and thanks for posting just helpful information. Which transducers are you using? It seems all the transducers that come with these various 3.5-4 inch garmins are transom mounts. Are you using these same transducers in your hull?
I'm using transom transducer inhull. Donno witch others there is to use??
 
I too used the transom mount transducer that came with my Garmin striker 4cv plus. I never did get around to relocating it, maybe next season.
 
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