Fix for ActiveTarget transducer angle offset...

[yupitsme]

This looks like it solves that problem but I've been wrong before. If it works it's free and painless....

Normal Transducer install... Notice transducer kickout(8 degree angle)

If this has already been posted.... oh well.

20210922_084116 by Doug Wei, on Flickr

What the lines on the transducer mount look like. This is the portion of the mount that is on the shaft....

20210922_084128 by Doug Wei, on Flickr

Soooo... if you rotate that part of the mount to the right one click - it looks like this...

20210922_084714 by Doug Wei, on Flickr

And the resulting change in the transducer angle looks like this....

20210922_084701 by Doug Wei, on Flickr

This solution will work in the foreword and down mode I would suspect if you need/want to use scout mode you'll have to line the marks back up.

[htbboats]

Let us know if it seems to make a difference? I’ve noticed mine is the same way.

[FeFanatic]

Might work fine if you have it on a separate mount but if on the trolling motor it will be pointed right at the motor and some signal will be blocked.

[Want2fish3]

Doug, is that a separate pole mount? Did you make that or buy it? I have mine on my Ghost TM. Haven’t fished much since purchasing it but about to start fishing again and want to learn the AT better. Thanks!

[yupitsme]

Yes... this will only work on a separate shaft/mount - stands to reason. The transducer kick out was intended to be mounted on a trolling motor shaft and hence the reason behind the kickout. Because I have a Xi5 and there being no "good" way to mount the transducer on that shaft I made a separate mount utilizing an Xi5 carbon fiber trolling motor shaft.

[Want2fish3]

Good deal. Nice work there!

[Marc Marcantonio]

Yup, it looks to still be at an angle, but pointing inward instead of outward. Or is this just the camera angle making it look slanted in the picture?

I'm sure it will work like this, but if you rotated your shaft 360 degrees I would think it would scan a smaller diameter circle than in the outward slanted position? If the goal is to get it with no slant to be able to use it better in shallow water when on a separate pole, I would suspect this may not improve the image. Let us know how it works out. Like the use of another shaft!

[yupitsme]

Marc... The transducer was actually pointing to the right, well to the left if viewing from in front like I took the picture.

This is with the mark on the mount lining up... It clearly show the transducer angled to the left....

20210922_122038 by Doug Wei, on Flickr

This is from above with the mount one click to the right..... Looks pretty plumb to me...

20210922_122019 by Doug Wei, on Flickr

In the original pic with the transducer not pointing straight ahead I believe it gave the appearance of being angled in. Look at the following pic and see if you agree...

20210922_122146 by Doug Wei, on Flickr

My purpose is to be able to cast where I think the transducer is pointing and see my bait at the end of a cast. With the 8 degree angle it's a bit of a guess where the transducer beam actually is relative to the indicator saying it's straight ahead. All things considered: angle of boat in the water, wave action and any other uncontrollable variable I think it will help find the bait at the end of a cast with the transducer pointing straight or more down than it is when lining up the factory marks on the mount. I'll know fer sure next week.

[Marc Marcantonio]

Yes, that looks plumb for sure from that angle. I think you have solved the problem for those wanting a zero degree bracket.

Mine needs to shoot around my Ghost motor housing since it is mounted on the shaft of the Ghost. I can see my lure and fish with no problem now that I have experience with the setup and know exactly where to cast (just to the right of where the arrow points). If I had your motor I would copy what you did.

I must say getting experience with Active Target makes a huge difference in how you will like it and grow to depend on it. At first I struggled with mine in the forward mode (down was instant use success fishing in 60 feet of water). After using it while casting an A-Rig and learning what it is showing, and where, and how far from the boat, now I have great confidence even casting dropshot and Neko rigs well off to the sides of the boat when spotting fish, and catching them. The time I spent throwing big baits first, and learning the screen, was time well spent with the results I am now getting with all lures.

[yupitsme]

I've been on the water with mine exactly twice. The first trip was a dud as I had gotten one of the faulty units. The second trip was a semi-dud as I had battery problems I could not solve on the water and continued to have even after replacing the battery. Turned out 8 year old Stealth One had given up the ghost. But... on that second trip out I was immediately successful with the ActiveTarget. Couldn't always see the trap I was throwing but I could see the fish and knew I was in the right area. At times I could see the trap and the fish and see I was running the bait over the top of them. Killed it, let it drop and wa'la... Down view the same...

This mount I made is 4th generation of attempts to "get it right". The first one I made I actually installed on the Xi5 and while it worked it wasn't a final solution... Went the route of the ram mount solution and that "sorta" worked but was a PITA to deploy and stow plus it had tiller style aiming which of course required a hand to use. The one I ended up with it a breeze to deploy/stow and has both foot button steering/aiming and remote control steering/aiming. Steering motor turns a 5 rpm's which works out to 1 revolution every 20 seconds. That seems acceptable but I have the ability to add a speed controller if it's needed but I really don't think it will be.

[greenheadz]

That's how I've been using mine... but I'm also using it in Forward only... I haven't test down yet. I like the fact that my trolling motor placement is in line with the picture... I hated the gradual to the left concept you had to consider...

on the down question... does anyone know which of the 3 angles on the transducer does the graphs uses to make the image?

[yupitsme]

Was on the water Tue-Thur. Changing the angle by moving the mount one click to the right solved my problem - for the most part. I can cast where the cone is pointing and see my bait - most of the time. I think the technology is such that there is no way you'll pick up the bait on every cast. I could see a 1/4oz. one knocker out to 60' but there's a caveat associated with that statement. I could see it but it was more akin to seeing an electronic pulse and really showed/told me nothing. I know it was my bait because when I'd stop reeling that "pulse" would drop.

Shallow water... In less that 10' and mostly I'm talking about 5'-6' depth I absolutely had to dial back the range a lot. In the 5-6 foot depth the max range I could pick my bait on the screen was ~15'. Didn't seem to matter if I was in deep water aiming shallow or shallow aiming deep. 5-6 foot required dialing the range back.

Never actually saw a fish eat my bait but the ActiveTarget was instrumental in catching many of the fish we did.

[vafishing]

Moving it one click should not correct it. Each click is around 13.8 degrees as there are 26 teeth on the mount (360/26=13.85). So if looking at it from the front it starts offset 8 degrees to right. Twisting arm one click clockwise will subtract 13.8 degrees from the 8 degrees right offset so it would now be -5.8 degrees offset right or 5.8 degrees offset to the left now i.e. pointing at the trolling motor head. The only true way to get it to Zero degrees is 1) Get a zero degree mount or 2) Carefully bend the metal arm of the Lowrance mount to have an 8 degree offset to the left. Not sure #2 is feasible as that arm is pretty stout and may not bend easily. Last not that 5.8 degrees to the left would probably be better than the 8 the other way on forward because at least it turns the beam to intersect a line projecting straight out from the trolling motor head instead of it going further and further away from that line as distance increases.

[Gofish2day]

I went thru all of the above and purchased a zero degree mount. Much happier.
Another post on here had a link to one $30.

[RFSims]

When I installed my AT on my Ghost I set the clamp 8" above the motor housing and parallel the transducer to the motor housing.