Humminbird Helix Noise/Voltage question

[Allsop]

Hi all. I recently purchased a Humminbird Helix 7 Chirp G2 DI GPS to replace an older Garmin D2 unit. The Garmin unit never lost bottom or gave any kind of interference but it was an older unit and I wanted to upgrade to add DI capability. I have run into two separate problems since installing the Humminbird unit and I was hoping someone might have seen and solved these problems before.

• Problem #1: When first installed I checked the voltage reading from the unit on the system diagnostics screen and it seemed to be pretty close to what I expected for a charged battery. However, I charged my battery before taking my boat out today and when out on the water for approximately 5-10 minutes the Humminbird unit started giving me a low voltage reading. When I checked the diagnostics page it said the voltage was 0 even though the unit was still powered on. I have a second starter battery on the boat and switched to it and got the same reading from the diagnostics screen. Also charged the battery when I got home and checked on the hummingbird unit again and still says voltage 0. Not sure what is going on with this or why the reading would be 0 with a charged battery.

• Problem #2: I installed the transducer and unit per the instructions. However, I am getting significant interference on the 2D graph. I see some interference when the boat is sitting still and have revved the engine while out of gear and it doesn't seem to get worse. However, as I increase speed the interference is pretty significant to the point that the bottom reading is way off. For example, the true depth might be 25ft but due to the interference on the 2D screen the readout shows 78ft. I originally thought the transducer was mounted too high and was coming out of the water at high speeds. However, the last time out I used a split screen between 2D and DI. The 2D screen had so much interference that the depth reading was thrown off. There was some interference on the DI screen but not as bad as the 2D screen and I could clearly see the bottom and determine the depth. Any thoughts on what might cause this type of interference on the 2D screen? I have tried moving the transducer up/down and the angle and none of it seems to have fixed the issue.

[rnvinc]

Problem 1 - Try Restore Defaults to see if the voltage readout issue gets resolved ...

Problem 2 - Is this interference... or bubbles from turbulence coming off the back of the hull ...?? (Is the screen clear with the boat drifting and nothing else on but the sonar unit ...?) ...

Rickie

[Allsop]

Problem #1: I restored the defaults but the voltage was still showing 0 on the system diagnostics screen. I had been checking the system diagnostics screen from the option when you first power up. You have the option to go to normal mode, simulator mode, or system diagnostics. When going to system diagnostics from the main power up the voltage shows as 0. However, one of the views in normal mode shows the system diagnostics as well. I normally have this view hidden. I made the system diagnostics view visible in the normal mode and the voltage shows properly (12.4V). For whatever reason the voltage reading from system diagnostics view on main power up does not work. I'll just check it from the normal operation mode. They were and should be reading the same. However, they aren't. Kind of frustrating that a new unit is this buggy but I'll just ignore the other view.
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Problem #2: I'll have to check the next time I take the boat out. The screen seems pretty clear but not as clear as simulator mode while drifting. I'll need to check this more the next time I'm out. I'm thinking it may be due to some kind of turbulence (e.g., prop from the main motor). The transducer is mounted closer to the motor than the instructions recommend but I was limited on mounting options based on my boat and setup. This seemed to be a pretty good spot based on the chines and flat portions coming off the bottom of the boat. The transducer is also mounted within 1-2 inches of the previous transducer (garmin). I never saw this kind of interference/turbulence on the Garmin unit but it was pretty basic. I'm guessing because the new unit is much more sensitive that it is probably picking up interference/turbulence that the old unit never saw. Just a guess. I may have to try and move the transducer further out but I'm limited on my options there based on my boat setup.

[Barnacle Bill]

Was the motor just idling when you read that 12.4 volts? The reason I ask is because the battery is just 80% charged at 12.4 VDC.