HB 898 Transducer

Sorry I have not posted for a while but just got my HB 898 SI mounted around 6/15 and had about (3)
trips trying to adjust the SI. The 898 worked good with good pictures ( no snap shots at this time) at trolling speeds but as I got on plane the dept finder looked like it had air bubbles so I adjusted the transducer down to the bottum of the bracket. After the silicone had time to dry I tried the HB again the HB still had good pictures at slow speeds but when on plane the HB lost the bottom. I now have adjusted the transducer back to what the instruction said !/8 to 1/4" from the bottom and waiting on the silicone to dry again. I wanted to know if anyone has had this trouble with air bubbles and losing of bottom. I will try the HB maybe tomorrow but wanted to know if anyone has had this trouble. If I still have the trouble with no bottom I will call HB Tech.
Thanks for any help.

send pictures of transducer mounted,also mount on a wide plate and you can move it without adding more silicone,some of the guys will tell you what you need to do

mine does it too. i think its the big transducer [hb] if you find a fix id like to hear it

It’s all about getting the transducer mounted in an area on the hull that does not have a bunch or air bubbles mixed in with the water that flows across the transducer – something that cannot be done on all boats, especially aluminum ones. Make sure you do not have the transducer mounted behind a rib, strake or any rivets to begin with. Typically the deeper you can get the transducer into the water the better off you will be but this has the nasty side effect of exposing the transducer to damage from underwater stumps and such as well as sometimes kicking up a roostertail of water.

One thing that helps is to get the transducer farther away from the transom as it will help to move it into more air-bubble free water. A transducer mounting board is good for starters as it does move the transducer away from the hull but only a little bit. Adjusting a transducer for high-speed depth readings is often a game of very slight changes where an eighth of an inch makes all the difference. I once helped on an aluminum boat that we ended up with the transducer mounted to a piece of 4 X 4, but it worked great at high speed!

Thanks for your replies I put the boat in the water this morning with the adjustment back to 1/8 to 1/4" below the hull. The HB will read at higher speeds but with the air bubbles. Maybe try the boards later but I need to play with DI and SI to under stand what I am seeing at this time. Lake Guntersville does not have alot of under water objects any more but will learn to take snap shots and post some later.

Again thanks for the replies

Quote:

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Originally Posted by G3fisherman

Thanks for your replies I put the boat in the water this morning with the adjustment back to 1/8 to 1/4" below the hull. The HB will read at higher speeds but with the air bubbles. Maybe try the boards later but I need to play with DI and SI to under stand what I am seeing at this time. Lake Guntersville does not have alot of under water objects any more but will learn to take snap shots and post some later.

Again thanks for the replies

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Here's an analogy to help in SI/DI perspective...

The DI image on the display is "as if" you were standing on the bottom of the lake looking sideways at structure...

The SI image on the display as "as if" you were hovering above the boat looking straight down into the water...

Rickie

G3, I don't use SI when I'm going WOT but rather 2D and sometimes combo 2D with map ( if I don't know the water ).

Regarding Guntersville, there is a lot you can look at. I would first start looking at things you can notice out of the water like rip rap, grass, laydowns, bridge pilings, floating docks and did I say grass.
You'll also want to get out on known ledges to see its reflections. I'd check out the ledges from both the deep side and shallow side.

Well Stymie this is my first SI/DI unit and I have tried to look at some bridge pilings, creek channels, drop offs since I installed the HB but still not sure about want I see. I have fished Guntersville nearly all of my life (69 years old) so I do know alot of drops. But I don't think I have seen any grass any where in this lake..
HA HA

Ha ha!! I remember when I first got my 898 and was over at the mouth of Honeycomb. Thought I found the mother lode of scattered fish, but all I ever caught were clunks of suspended grass!!

Hard returns like bridge pilings and posts from docks should be some of the first things to look at, as well as the grass edges, but that's for another reason.
If you can't get a good bright return from pilings and posts, you may have the sensitivity too high. If you can see those bright returns, knowing how wide they are, you can interpolate what a 5 foot diameter object like a piling or a foot long object like a dock post or FISH looks like on the screen.
The fish don't always give as bright a return as those objects though, so what I do when searching them is to turn on the SI enhance sharpness to low. It makes a grainier picture, but the fish stand out more like a dock post. If I see a bunch of dock posts haphazardly arranged off to the side, I typically stop and fish.

rnvinc and stymie
Thanks for your replies and analogy for the DI/SI from adove but I am confused the HB.com site showes

Get a complete 180° view. Down Imaging® provides incredible detail directly below your boat, while Side Imaging® extends 240 feet to either side of your boat. These two detailed images are unlike anything you’ve ever seen.*

So I throught I was looking each side on SI and straight down on DI. But i don't think it takes to much to confuse me anymore. So any help I can get at this site can really help me. :biggrin

The first thing to understand is that there 2 completely different DI technologies....

"DI from SI" (797, 798, 898, 997, 998, 1197, 1198)
"Dedicated DI" (any HB unit that actually has "DI" or "Down Imaging" in the model name)....

"DI from SI" is a computer generated image created by blending the echo data received in the 2 SI crystals and processing that blend into a "DI looking" image...so basically anything that shows in the SI image will also show up in the DI..because it's the same echo data (from the SI crystals)..just displayed differently on the screen...

"Dedicated DI" is echo information received in dedicated DI crystals (455kHz 75° beam, 800kHz 45° beam)...

So, in effect, a "Dedicated DI" unit is, indeed looking down...(in the 455kHz 75° beam or the 800kHz 75° beam)

But a "DI from SI" unit is looking out to the sides are far as the SI looks...(in the 455kHz 180° beam or the 800kHz 130° beam)...

Rickie

Thanks again Rickie for your answers I also read the post on sub forum with all of the pictures with your and others post. I am still learning and I did get a good view of a old bridge over Town Creek last time out. So now I have to adjust the SI to see the fish better,no trouble seeing the bait balls. I will also start trying to look at boat houses and old road beds.

Thanks again and I am sure I will be asking more questions.:yikes