Ideal Placement of Transducer on Ranger RT178??: Hummingbird XHS 9 HDSI 180 T

[Wrightspace]

All,

I currently have a Helix 5 SI/GPS on the console and will be moving it to the bow and putting a new Helix 9 SI/GPS on the console with the upgraded HD transducer (XHS 9 HDSI 180 T). I will be moving the current XNT 9 SI 180 T tranducer to the trolling motor using the AD STM 9 bracket and installing a 12" x 3.5" mounting board on the transom to a) cover up the holes for the existing transducer and b) allow me to mount the new XHS 9 HDSI 180 T and make adjustments if needed.

Any advice on the following questions would be much appreciated:
1) As discussed on this thread I created, the current xducer is badly placed in front of the trim tab - I'm thinking that the location shown in green below is the ideal location for transducers on the ranger aluminum boats? Have others had good results in this location?

2) After reviewing many threads on this forum and others, I know some have difficulty getting on-plane readings with the HD transducer and some have to mount two transducers and use the Y cable. Have any other ranger aluminum owners been able to mount a single XHS 9 HDSI 180 T and get reliable on-plane 2D readings? (I have the F70 on my rt178 and top speed is approx 34 mph). I was thinking I would initially try to get reliable readings with the single xducer and only go to a 2-ducer setup if I just can tweak the single to work correctly - does this seem reasonable?


Thanks for the help!

[TritonTRXV8]

IMO where you have the green box would be te best spot. Also recommend getting a mounting board installed so you dont fill the boat full of holes if you have to make adjutsments. Good on plane readings are a little tougher on this style hull. One thing that is for certain where the transducer is installed now is wrong.

[Skeeterbait]

Where the green box is, is where I have seen factory mounted transducers located. Realize though that if you plan to try and get on plane readings there you may well loose bottom in turns. You will also have to trim the engine out considerably to get left side imaging without interference from the engine. You may still get some interference from the engine mount regardless. This will look like a constant line just left of the center line on the SI view. It may be the best of a less than ideal situation if wanting to try a one transducer solution. I am going to try and use an Alumaducer inside the hull for on plane readings and the HDSI transducer mounted directly behind the trailer bunk, but up from the bottom since I will be using it only at idle or slower speeds. That gives it a better shot to the left under the engine mount since it is deeper there. If the Alumaducer fails, I am going to mount a high speed transducer on the other side of the transom.

[Fishaholic Ty]

Thats where my 2d transducer is located, in the green box, and i still lost the bottom on plane. I think theres just too much turbulence to get a good reading while going fast. I also am going to be mounting a hdsi transducer there, slightly worried about engine clearance for the side imaging. But I will just have to wait and see...Im using a mounting plate also incase i need to make adjustments.

I think if it doesnt work i would just mount the hdsi up a bit higher to keep it protected and then use a skimmer xducer or something for speed and on plane readings.

[Lynn R]

Humminbird told me that the HD transducer will not read on plane. You will need an XNT 9 20 and a Y cable.

[Wrightspace]

Thanks all for the responses.

[Wayne P.]

Humminbird told me that the HD transducer will not read on plane. You will need an XNT 9 20 and a Y cable.

Whoever told you that is WRONG.

ANY transom transducer when installed properly will read on plane. The instructions included show how---"it ain't rocket science"

[Lynn R]

Sorry Wayne, maybe you should take that up with Humminbird Customer Service. That's what they told me Tuesday.

[ckRipley]

I mounted to right of farthest strake and I still lose depth/bottom at anything over 20 mph. I could probably lower it more but I don't know if it would matter.

[AlumRanger]

What a pain. If I had known this I would have had them put an alumaducer in at the factory. Silly me, I thought Ranger would have figured this out by now. The factory mounted mine just about as close to the trim tab and strake as they possibly could.

[pitcrew1025]

I removed my transducer and mounted a plastic board to those mounting holes. Then I mounted the transducer to the plastic board. I was able to move it and remount without putting additional holes in my boat. I have the x17 triton which is the same as the 178

[caskey_b]

Sorry Wayne, maybe you should take that up with Humminbird Customer Service. That's what they told me Tuesday.

Humminbird (whoever told you is wrong)..... I used to have my HDSI ducer mounted as an ONLY ducer and got GREAT on plane readings

[blueultra2]

The green area you have marked is where my transducer is located. Humminbird recommends that you're 15" from the motor on this type of hull. Here is a picture of it.



And without trimming the motor to get it out of view of the transducer you can see the line just to the left of the center line on the screen.



I also lose the bottom when I'm running across the lake. I'm going to try adjusting it a little to see if I can fine tune it to pic up the bottom.

[Fishaholic Ty]

How far up do you have to trim the motor to make that interference disappear?

[blueultra2]

To be honest I'm really not sure. It doesn't bother me being up by the center line. That picture is probably the worst that it gets.

[Wrightspace]

I too noticed that the Hummingbird install instructions stated that the transducer should be a min. of 15" from the motor. Does anyone know why they make this recommendation? Without that restriction location 2 in the diagram below might be an option - any RT178/RT188 owners tried this location?

[Skeeterbait]

1 is the common factory location. But as the boat lifts and especially in left turns air bubbles will form there and you will loose bottom. 2 and 3 are close to prop and to the livewell ports which could cause turbulence both when running and when sitting still and running the livewell. 4 is the same as 1. It is my opinion that the best place for the HSDI transducer is right above the trailer bunk and about a inch from the bottom. This give it the best left and right view and the bunk will actually give it some protection when on the trailer. But it will not be able to get on plane reading there. So another transducer like an Alumaducer or Humminbird XNT-9-20 and a Humminbird AS-SIDB-Y cable will be necessary. The HDSI transducer is capable of on plane readings but its size makes it hard to tune for on plane reading. And frankly it is expensive and easily broken so why hang it down below the boat bottom were it is more likely to get damaged. The smaller 2D transducers displace less water and are easier to tune. Problem is still there is no ideal location for the XNT-9-20 on the transom. You could try 1,3,or 4 but no guarantees any of these will work at top speed. I personally am going to try an inside shoot thru Alumaducer with Humminbird adapter cable first.

[buton]

this is my setup... so far so good

[Ranger RT]

[Wayne P.]

I too noticed that the Hummingbird install instructions stated that the transducer should be a min. of 15" from the motor. Does anyone know why they make this recommendation? Without that restriction location 2 in the diagram below might be an option - any RT178/RT188 owners tried this location?

The 15" statement refers to transducers installed on inboard type boats so the prop-disturbed water doesn't pass over the transducer.