Humminbird 898 si hd combo

I used my Humminbird 898c SI sonar/GPS combo on LAKE SUPERIOR for the first time 3 weeks ago. We trolled in waters from 40' to 180' for lake trout. The unit performed flawlessly in depths out to about 100', but unexpectedly and unpredictably the digital depth reading would suddenly go to something ridiculous like 2 FEET. The sonar screen would stop and seconds later it would be full of crazy zig zag groups of pixels scrolling right to left. Sometimes the unit would "recover" and work properly, but other times it just kept on with the "nonsense." If I shut the unit off and then tuned it back on it would start reading just fine....BUT.....sometime later the correct digital depth would change to something very shallow and....here we go again.
I had all of the most recent software updates installed. The unit was set to all factory default settings. I have no other electronics on my boat. I was trolling at very low RPMs If this problem was due to electrical interference it should have gone crazy in shallow water too, but this problem is isolated to water OVER 100'.
It will be a huge inconvenience if I have to try out a new transducer or a new head unit because in order to get my boat back on water over 100' I have to drive about 200 miles...ONE WAY!
If anyone can suggest a reason why this is happening....and a fix.. I am all ears (eyes).
Thanks for ANY suggestions!

Are you running any other units at the same time...??

Are you using the AS SIDB Y cable with a shoot thru hull 2d xducer...??

Is there anyone you can test your head unit on their xducer or test their head unit on your xducer...??

Rickie

I have no other electronics on my boat except my marine VHF radio. The marina installed the transom mount transducer that came in the box with the unit. Yes, I can test either the head unit or transducer with different ones BUT.....then I would have to get the boat back to waters over 100' where the problem occurs. For me that would mean a road trip 200 miles ONE WAY. I just don't think (as the customer) I should have to go to that inconvenience and expense to isolate the problem. Unless this problem can be solved by something less than swapping heads/transducers and then driving 400 miles to test each one, I may just return it for a refund and buy something (Lowrance) else. I am still open to any other advice or suggestions.
The only difference in when it works properly and when it doesn't is the depth of the water I am in. I can troll in water less that about 100' all day and it performs great, but when I troll out to depths of 120'-180' the problem starts. Same everything except the depth is different. Makes no sense to me at all. Thank you for your post.

I feel your pain about long trips to check out a problem. Humminbird customer service would be the place to start. Seeing how you aren't making a trip tomorrow, save yourself some pain and wait until later in the week to call them. Early in the week there's usually longer hold times on the phone. Too late now, but did you try changing transducer frequency settings? You have, 200, 83, or both. I think 200 is better for deeper water. I set mine on both, and it should work properly in deep water. But there's always the chance of a failure.

I agree...the depth issue makes no sense at all...

Sometimes tracking down a problem is a process of elimination...

Can you post pictures of your xducer install...?? (From the rear and from the side at xducer level)...

These xducer's are very particular about placement...

Pictures of the xducer install may help us help you...(if its an installation issue)...

These are things some here may be able to help with while we wait for the weekend to be over where you can call HB...

Rickie

Maybe adjusting the surface clutter would help..also you could try changing from fresh water setting to something else . There's noise settings that be changed also. I would also try shutting the outbound off just to see if it makes a difference. That's all that i cab think of for now good luck

Here are a couple of pics.

Transom mounted transducer. The tech who saw this said the installation looks fine. http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...psa7c0f3b9.jpg

This screen shot shows it all. The left shows a good accurate view....the middle is wacko....and the right(newest information) is locked on again. Sometimes the unit recovers by itself like this and sometimes not. Notice the digital depth (top left) is 166' while the depth of the bottom at the grid on the right is about 140'. BIG DIFFERENCE!! http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...psbf051788.jpg This screen shot shows the whole screen gone haywire. The digital depth says 18.2' but the actual depth is 150'!!! http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps4b935935.jpg

Thanks for the suggestions. I will try 1) adjusting surface clutter. 2) adjusting the noise filter. 3) shutting off the motor while the screen is haywire to see it it recovers and 4) Check the xducer settin to see which one(or both) it's set on. This means another long trip to get the boat on deep water, but that seems inevitable with any solution. Having seen the photos, are there any other ideas?

All the things you just mentioned would be good to try...

It seems to me (from the screen images) that the unit is picking up enough clutter in the water column to make the unit think its the bottom...

Like kosmo mentioned...try the salt water settings as these settings will filter out some of this water column stuff...

I would also try the 200kHz only under the sonar tab so that the unit doesn't alternately ping the 83kHz ...this will make it ping the narrow cone 200kHz every time where the unit will have more frequent depth readings...

On another note not even related to this depth problem...

Is your left SI not getting a good picture...?? (it looks like the motor mount would block the left SI beam...)

Rickie

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shellback

Humminbird customer service would be the place to start. Seeing how you aren't making a trip tomorrow, save yourself some pain and wait until later in the week to call them. Early in the week there's usually longer hold times on the phone.

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This has been what everyone has been saying for years.... Is this a sign of a "good" customer service? Waiting on hold for 45 minutes or more, or just not getting through at all. I deal a lot with Dell, HP, and other companies for CS, and there isn't a day that I can't get quality customer service without wasting my time. Just saying that if it's been a problem for several years, you'd think the company would take care of it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mduncan62

This has been what everyone has been saying for years.... Is this a sign of a "good" customer service? Waiting on hold for 45 minutes or more, or just not getting through at all. I deal a lot with Dell, HP, and other companies for CS, and there isn't a day that I can't get quality customer service without wasting my time. Just saying that if it's been a problem for several years, you'd think the company would take care of it.

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Happy you got your little dig in? Thanks for contributing something useful for the man with a problem.

A smile - is a sign of joy.
A hug - is a sign of love.
A laugh - is a sign of happiness.
And a friend like me? Well...that's just a sign of good taste!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shellback

Happy you got your little dig in? Thanks for contributing something useful for the man with a problem.

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I asked if that is a sign of "good" customer service. Wasn't a dig. If he has a problem, he should be able to call on Monday or Tuesday, not sit on it.

Your transducer looks level with the bottom of the boat, but have you checked to see if it is level with the waterline? If it is level with the waterline, maybe try dropping the back end very slightly.

The SI on the port side is blocked to some extent when the outdrive is all the way down. I noticed the problem before I ever launched the boat and the tech who installed it said the only other way to lower it would be to opt for a thru-hull transducer. I'm not interested in doing that on my aluminum hull.
Someone else suggested tilting the back of the transducer down about 7 degrees. I can do that but why would the tilt of the xducer cause the problems in the pics? Thanks for the continuing suggestions.

I was just thinking that the angle of the transducer could be more critical in deeper water. If the unit can't get a reliable bottom reading, the ping rate does some weird things.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by crappietale

The SI on the port side is blocked to some extent when the outdrive is all the way down. I noticed the problem before I ever launched the boat and the tech who installed it said the only other way to lower it would be to opt for a thru-hull transducer. I'm not interested in doing that on my aluminum hull.
Someone else suggested tilting the back of the transducer down about 7 degrees. I can do that but why would the tilt of the xducer cause the problems in the pics? Thanks for the continuing suggestions.

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FWIW...There is the option of installing a port side HDSI xducer and using the AS SILR Y cable...

Post results of your 2d testing so we can figure this out for you...

Rickie

I was prepared to remove the transducer and try a new one. When I looked at the written installation instructions and then how it was done on my boat, I noticed somethings that didn't line up (pun intended). The marine tech who installed the transducer told me he put it as low as he could to allow side scanning on the port side (beyond the outdrive when down). The instructions said to install the BOTTOM of the transducer 1/8"-1/4" below the hull. SEE PICS! The bottom of the transducer is much lower than 1/4" below the hull. I am thinking that the front edge of the transducer (also below the hull) might be causing turbulence? The transducer IS tilted downward toward it's rear so maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree. I'm just wishing that by raising the transducer and increasing the tilt at the rear I will solve the problem. What do you think of this installation? http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps6d8d50c2.jpg

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...psb444e386.jpg

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...psd4559863.jpg

I mounted the transducer for my 798, and also my 998 similar to your's. The side closest to the motor has the seam in the puck right at the bottom of the boat, so the outside edge is deeper in the water. Maybe it's just the picture, but it seems your mounting block is above the bottom at one point, and below the bottom at another. Just doesn't look like a smooth transition. I'd try and fix that up. If you are losing bottom at speed, maybe some turbulence from what I pointed out could give you a problem. If you lose bottom idling along, I don't think it would be an issue.

I think it would be a good idea to mount it as specified, but don't know if that would be your problem.....does it have the problem if you are just drifting and not under power.
I think the suggestion to try the salt water setting is also worth trying.
The transducer should be mostly level with the waterline, not the boat....maybe slightly down in the back from level with the waterline. If you have a waterline on the boat you could use it to check level.

Humminbird just told me that their engineer saw no issues with the installation of the transducer in the photos I sent them, so they are sending me a new transducer to try. To save myself the work of completely removing the old one and installing the new one I intend to leave all of the routed wiring of the old one where it is and simply use cable ties to secure the old transducer to my downrigger board. For the new one I will simply connect the plug into the head unit, run it's cable across the boat floor to the transom, and fasten the transducer into the transducer bracket that's already there.

It's good that HB has sent you a xducer to try...

At least that will eliminate some possibilities of hardware issues...

If the problem still happens with the new transducer...then we look toward problems with xducer installation, the head unit, or Enviromental criteria as possible culprits...

Keep us posted...

Rickie