Fortrex, US2, Lowrance...couple quick questions

[coreynov902]

I recently bought a used Fortrex and want to use the US2 to hook up to an older Lowrance unit. The particular Lowrance unit is not listed on the Minn Kota compatibility chart online, but according to an online chat with a Minn Kota rep, he said to get the MKR-US2-10 adapter cable, so that's what I did. He seemed pretty confident that it would work for my unit. I hooked the cable up this morning before heading to work, and the male and female match on the trolling motor end, but on the Lowrance unit, there is one less male pin on the adapter cable than female pin hole on the Lowrance unit. Everything is still frozen up here, so I can't take it out and test it on the water yet. So I had two questions:

1. Is there a way to test the Lowrance sonar to see if it is working and that the adapter cable was the correct one without actually having it out on the water?
2. Probably a dumb question, but does the trolling motor power have to be on in order for the Lowrance unit to utilize the US2 sonar unit in the trolling motor?

Thanks

[Bradrodfish]

Question 2 answer is No
Question 1 -So your saying the the plugs do not match up and won't plug into each other?
If not then you have the wrong adapter plug. What Lowrance Unit do you have? They may not make an adapter plug for that particular unit.

[CatFan]

You can sometimes detect the floor under your TM if it is deployed. Unused pin may be for temperature.

[coreynov902]

Question 2 answer is No
Question 1 -So your saying the the plugs do not match up and won't plug into each other?
If not then you have the wrong adapter plug. What Lowrance Unit do you have? They may not make an adapter plug for that particular unit.

No, the male and female ends match up just fine. It's just that the male end is missing one pin to go into the female connector. Like CatFan said, it could be for temp. My main concern is for the unit to read depth, so as long as it does that, I'll be happy. Thanks

[coreynov902]

I'll try and see if it will read the floor. I guess I always thought that it will only read through water, not air. Only other thing I thought of was to get a 5 gallon bucket and fill it with water and see if I can get a reading through that.

[CatFan]

I'll try and see if it will read the floor. I guess I always thought that it will only read through water, not air. Only other thing I thought of was to get a 5 gallon bucket and fill it with water and see if I can get a reading through that.

They don’t always see the floor, but if it does it’s a fast, easy check.

[Jonestrollingmotor]

If your unit isn't listed on the US2 chart, then you probably have a unit that reads either 200 or 83khz. The US2 is a 83/200khz transducer, so you'll need to set the depth finder probably for the 200khz transducer. The other problem could be the temp as mentioned above. It's my understanding that sound travels 3x faster in water than in air, so if you're trying to read from the transducer to concrete, if it's a foot away it may read apx 3'.
John

[coreynov902]

John, thanks for the information and help. It would be nice to have the temp reading but my main concern is simply getting a depth reading at the bow. I can use my console unit for temp readings if necessary.

[rat0502]

If your unit isn't listed on the US2 chart, then you probably have a unit that reads either 200 or 83khz. The US2 is a 83/200khz transducer, so you'll need to set the depth finder probably for the 200khz transducer. The other problem could be the temp as mentioned above. It's my understanding that sound travels 3x faster in water than in air, so if you're trying to read from the transducer to concrete, if it's a foot away it may read apx 3'.
John

So that's why mine always shows 5' in the driveway. I always wondered about that!
Thanks!