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Posts: 793
Location: Ames, Iowa | Posted this by mistake (now two times) on the boats and motors forum- wanted it on general discussion-
Hi guys-
At the end of last summer I fished a much deeper lake than I usually do. After leaving that lake and for the rest of the year, my Garmin couldn't seem to find the bottom and return a good dark bottom line like it did before. Shows a very faint line, broken up, even in shallow water. I reset the range to auto countless times and every time it returned to the range of the deeper lake, which I had set for depths of 60-80 feet. I went back and set it to the factory settings. When fishing at 10-14 foot depth for instance, the unit can't show me a decent/detailed image of the bottom. I'm sure I should'nt have to send this into the shop for a look; any advice anyone has would sure be appreciated. This unit is 3 years old, used very, very little ( 2-3 weeks each year).
Don Williams |
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Location: WI | I love my Garmins, but I do end up having to replace the transducers more often than I would like. But I use mine 6-7 days a week, not sure its what ails yours, and kind of an expensive thing if it isnt the problem, but transducers do wear out. |
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Posts: 1536
Location: God's Country......USA..... Western Wisconsin | Is the transducer on the trolling motor, glassed in or mounted on the back of the boat? If on the trolling motor or on the boats back end check to see about transducer allignment. Make sure that the trans. is parallell with the water suface. If it is epoxied to the hull inside the boat check to make sure that it is still fastened down tightly. Does not sound like a failed transducer to me, most of the time with a failure the unit will never find bottom. A good electronics shop like Capra's in the twin cities can check out your unit with a transducer they have on hand. |
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Location: McHenry, IL | DJ-
Check the connecting post it sounds like the whitleine post may have been damaged. They can be bent easily and can break even easier when trying to straighten. I have had this happen to two of my units recently. |
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Posts: 419
Location: Appleton, WI | I'd give Garmin a call and talk to a sales representative. They probably have one of the best customer service out there. Very friendly and knowledgable people. I had sent my Garmin 168 GPS/Sounder in after having problems very similar to yours. In fact, It was after using it only a few
times that I did notice it couldn't track the bottom at all. After talking to a service tech they said to send the unit in, and they would take care of it. They also ran some updates on it so everything was up to snuff. I received my unit in about 8 to 10 days...can't remember exactly, but it didn't too long. I haven't had a problem with it since. Knock on wood. The only thing that it cost me was shipping cost to the plant.
Definitely would check this out before I would resort to purchasing a new transducer, but as suggested...check to make sure that the puck is mounted correctly and free of debris.
catch ya later,
Krappie |
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Posts: 32958
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Jcramer and One probaly have it, either the pin for whiteline of the tansducer. I have used the Garmin product for years and really like the equipment, plus they do have very good customer service. |
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Posts: 103
Location: Miller time Wisconsin. | On a side note; If your Garmin ever goes blank for no apparent reason, check the in-line fuse holder. The factory ones are junk. I replaced mine with a good after-market type outta the auto parts store. |
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Posts: 793
Location: Ames, Iowa | Transducer in great shape and the posts all there. I will check the female connection to make sure its making contact ok. Thanks for the tips about their service- their products sure are good ones.
Don |
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