Depth finder question??

[gwp]

Have an older model depth finder which has a dial type face with a "spinner" which produces a red dot to indicate depth on the dial. When on, the spinner works but reads 0-3 feet regardless of the actual depth. A wire runs from the unit to the transducer which is mounted beneath the V berth. I guess it''s the transducer.....it looks like a ~1" pvc pipe about 6" long sealed to the hull, with the wire going down thru the top. Question....Does the transducer ping thru the hull? Because there is no thru hull type fitting on the outside of the hull. Just trying to make this thing work. If anybody has any ideas, I''d be grateful.....Gary

[GordMay]

Sounds like a, shoot thru'' the hull, Transducer. Transducers have a finite life. Likely, yours is dead and could be buried.
These type of Sounders (Flasher) can be had for < $100, so not much point in seeking a $150 replacement ''ducer.
Sorry,
Gord

[Irwin32]

I found that VC17 bottom paint seemed to stop my transducer from working inside the hull. As long as the present transducer is mounted inside, remove it, submerge it over the side and test it that way.

[fourknots]

Is this new to you or was it working before? My "spinner" had a the light width indicating battery voltage (pretty clever) when it was turned on and before it was adjusted. After adjusting the gain (I think) it would read fine.

Maybe there is a limited tranducer life, but mine was 31 years old and worked fine.

[gwp]

Yea, I wouldn''t consider an expensive fix on this old girl. However, there might be an easy fix. I just don''t know anything about them. I have checked very good and am sure there is nothing on the outside of the hull opposite the transducer. The piece of pipe has much blue silicone looking stuff globbed all over it''s base (very messy job) as if it was to stop a leak? Or maybe to "glue" it in place? I have a horror of manhandling it to get it off to check it out thereby sinking my boat. It''s something about working below the waterline that makes me nervous. Thanks....Gary

[popsla]

It sounds like a oil box for the tranducer to sit in to shoot throught the hull. It should be filled with oil so that the tranducer can shoot throught the oil and the hull, the transducer won't work through air. It could have leaked out, it won't work with the oil gone. If you can get the top off to get the tranducer out, you can check the transducer by putting in in a baggie of water and putting that against the hull.

[yachtvalhalla]

For what it's worth you may want to look at my article at:
http://yachtvalhalla.net/articles/tr...ransducer.html

I gave up on the oil bath technique and epoxied the transducer directly to the hull, as described in this article.

Terry