Need transducer advice - depth, in-hull

[onestepcsy37]

i agree with your designer. each thruhull has the possibility of sinking your boat. i glassed over the thru hull transducer and put in an inhull setup i figured out myself. my depthsounder, by the way, was a low priced hummingbird fish finder.

[George_SD]

Ok, that location looks fine.

As far as frequencies go - lower frequency will give you more depth penetration (if you care about sounding much further than is typically practical for anchoring or diving). Since depth instruments often run at all times, you may not want to have a 1kW transducer that can show you the bottom at 1500ft as it will have a more significant power draw and depth that you don't care about.

A 100-300w CHIRP, 50khz, 200khz or 50/200khz dual frequency transducer will do the job.
Take a look at p74. It's a $100 600w 50/200khz unit that is just under 3" in diameter and should be a good fit.

If you know the brand of the electronics you are getting, you can probably get an even smaller unit. I run one that is about 2", 90w CHIRP.


Difference between single/dual freuquency and CHIRP is that CHIRP "Sweeps" frequency range. Let's say it will go through the entire range of 150khz-200khz (depending on the model). This is better for fishing as it produces more precise results.

[Hunky]

Thanks George_SD.


I found this Airmar pdf about frequencies - someone posted it perhaps in another thread - that helps to get a grip on this stuff. https://www.airmar.com/uploads/broch...keel-chirp.pdf


I think things are narrowed down enough now that I can figure out what to install - still don't have the brands down but I'm not going to sweat it. Good to know about the power requirements..

[Cllewellyn]

I just installed a Vexilar SP200 T-Box Smartphone Fish Finder, Black $155 from Amazon on my 26' Stilleto last week. It connects via Wifi to the Navonics app on my IPad to provide split screen chart plotter and depth. I epoxied the transducer inside a 3' PVC pipe to the inside of my hull. (If were to redo it, I may have used the sealing wax method to facilitate moving. I tested the transducer with a ziplock of sea water before I epoxied it, and it worked fine. It even worked just lying on the floor of the hull). I only use the iPad and a handheld VHS for electronics. Works great so far, and can be read on a smart phone as well.

[Hunky]

Originally Posted by Cllewellyn

I just installed a Vexilar SP200 T-Box Smartphone Fish Finder, Black $155 from Amazon on my 26' Stilleto last week. It connects via Wifi to the Navonics app on my IPad to provide split screen chart plotter and depth. I epoxied the transducer inside a 3' PVC pipe to the inside of my hull.

Very interesting, thanks! I took a look at an Amazon listing of it and it looks like a transom mount bracket on the transducer. I assume if you take off that bracket it worked in your 3" pipe - or was it a different transducer? Hard to tell the dimensions on it. I may not go this route, but good to be introduced to possible solutions.

[Cllewellyn]

Yes, it can be mounted on the transom, but I didn't use the bracket. I placed the transducer into a bed of epoxy in the 3" pipe. I will be back at the boat next week and can send a photo.