U S - 2 terrova rf interference (long winded but may be worth the time)

Hopefully this thread will save a few guys the many hours of effort and frustration that I just went through . First off let me say I love the terrova 80 motor , I also love my humminbird electronics 898csi and 858 c . The cost of these items built by Johnson outdoors is around $4000.00 for all three , I kinda think they should work properly. THEY DON'T!! . The terrova with the built in US-2 transducer was producing extreme rf interference on my bow mounted 858c this was also transferred to my console 898sci through the Ethernet cable . In an effort to get things right I was very carefull to follow all instructions and I also tried every suggestion tech support had to offer , the one thing that made perfect sence was this. I was told by tech support at humminbird that I would need to be sure my transducer cable was not at any time routed in close proximity to my power cable . HMMMM ! An interesting statement since the sonar cable is routed through the shaft of the trolling motor with the power cables from the factory !!!! Hear is what I finally did to fix the problem . I disconnected the US-2 transducer and hooked up the the transducer that came with the 858 mounted it externally on the terrova and LIKE MAGIC it works , US-2 is a great idea but simply does not work !!! Had I known this in advance I would have purchased a graph with DI and the terrova without the US-2 !!! Are they going to offer to trade these items out ? I highly doubt it !!! Now that I'm not working on there equipment any more I have time to go FISHING !! CHOOSE WISELY!!!!! Please post your comments and experiences with US-2 I'm sure I'm not the only one with this trouble !

Did you check the fuse in the head of your motor for the noise reduction circuit?

Yes , twice the fuse is good !

I having the same trouble but I'm not useing the US-2 but the RF is comming from the Ip-link setup with the ethernet cable connection I have been working with HB but still not fixed , I have installed a new choke on the transducer cable and did the negitive ground from TM batteries to crank ground still have massive RF, a $6000 pile of electronics made buy JOI's companies that won't work together................ I'm still a fan-boy of HB and Minnkota but its getting harder everyday to stay on their wagon lol, I'll get it worked out even if I have to rewire my entire boat

While I completely understand the frustration with tracking down and dealing with RF..(been there myself)...I also realize there are hundreds of users that install these setups every year without any type of RF problem at all...

Good stories are rarely published..
Bad stories always are....

RF is not a depth finder issue...never has been, never will be...(we must note here thar crosstalk interference is not RF and is a topic for another day)..

RF is generated in the our boat somewhere ...and today's electronics are sensitive enough to pick it up...

Every boat setup is different...requiring different solutions for each in it's own merit...

The only way to guarantee no RF showing up in our expensive electronics toys is to buy cheaper less sensitive electronics ...(and I doubt any of us would want to "not have the latest greatest")...

Rickie

mvinc I understand and agree with you 100% but my RF is comming from the new Ip-link that I have since installed on my TM, thats where I'm getting my RF from HB is sending me another ferrite ring to install on the ethernet cable, we shall see what this does I understand the RF thing and how and why it happens, but this is two products that are from the same compny JOI it just seems that they should work together when hooked up, I got the TM transducer extra made just for the TM I'm sure it will get fixed just upset that the only time I can tell whats on the locator screen is when I'm at a drift not under TM power ... lol we shall see

I dont get any RF when 1198 is mounted at the helm, only when it is hooked to the TM with the link system hooked up , so hopefully this second ring will help this will make 3 rings installed on the TM system, one that came with the link the second that is on the transducer cable and this new one which will go on the ethernet cable

My boats going to have alot of rings in it before we get done

and if this wont fix it I will be ready to rewire my entire boat, which will be an extreme pain lol

The interference mentioned when i started this thread totally quit when I unhooked the US-2 transducer and used an externally mounted one , to me it is clearly not coming from my boat but from the US-2 transducer and the cable being contained within the trolling motor and shaft . I changed nothing else at the time i did this and the problem went away completely , yes there may be some US-2 users out there that are having no issues , if there are I want to hear from them as we'll as the guys that are or have had a similar problem and if it was ever resolved!

Call HB. They have a noise kit for free. It is not the transducer, but noise coupled into the cable from pwm to the motor. Turn the motor to max speed, the noise will go away.

Hmmm , Ok I'll call them , this will be the the third call and also one email to humminbird greg on this issue , wonder why they never mentioned or offered a free noise kit ! Keep the info coming this may help a few others besides myself !

You can find more details on the Humminbird's FAQ's regarding things that can be done for interference that you may experience with a trolling motor

Humminbird: America