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  1. #1
    Member Hollada's Avatar
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    Shoot thru performance

    I went thru two shoot thru ducers in my prior boat. Recently picked up a 2019 with ducer installed at the factory. The sonar image performance of all 3 of these ducers is below the image I get off the TM ducer (us2 prior boat, Mega SI this boat).

    Are there any tricks to get better performance? Current image doesn’t pick up the detail that the bow gets. Is there a way to use a switch of some kind to only use the shoot thru for on plane depth and to switch to the mega ducer once off plane?


    2019 Basscat Caracal
    225 Evinrude G2
    Solix 12 Mega SI bow and console
    Mega Live
    36V Ultrex

  2. Member Wayne P.'s Avatar
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    #2
    No, there is no transducer switch that will work with the MEGA transducer.
    Wayne Purdum
    Charlottesville, Va.
    Helix 12 CHIRP MEGA+ SI G3N/G4N, Helix 15 CHIRP MEGA SI+ GPS G4N
    SOLIX 12 SI/G3, Helix 8 CHIRP MEGA SI+ G4N, Ultrex 80/LINK, MEGA360,
    MEGA LIVE, LIVE TL

  3. Banned
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    Florence Al
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    #3
    The guy that does my work goes to the water and tests the bilge transducer before epoxy. This time he let me help him :-)

    With my current boat I can get bottom and pretty good detail to about 40mph. If you turn it slightly left, no matter where the puck is placed, the picture is perfect. He said that tells him it's the way the water is flowing under the hull and there isn't much you can do about that. Since I was there and watched him move the puck at least 20 times to new locations I agree 100%.

    It was an eye opening experience for sure.

    FWIW he also said it's much tougher to get good images in the bilge than it used to be.

  4. Member
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    #4
    I believe the hull thickness and transducer location can both change the performance that's why they emphasize testing the location before epoxying. I didn't see any difference between the two when my boat was newer but after 5yrs now seeing a small difference in the image but the depth readings are still good for all my range of speed. The difference in the image may be due to age...which sorta sounds like me...LOL
    Wes
    Helix 10 MSI+,MDI+,Ultrex IPilot
    2023 Phoenix 818
    Never assume there's a tomorrow

  5. Member Wayne P.'s Avatar
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    #5
    Quote Originally Posted by ezfishn View Post
    I believe the hull thickness and transducer location can both change the performance that's why they emphasize testing the location before epoxying. I didn't see any difference between the two when my boat was newer but after 5yrs now seeing a small difference in the image but the depth readings are still good for all my range of speed. The difference in the image may be due to age...which sorta sounds like me...LOL
    Transducers do wear out. The piezo vibrates to broadcast sound and also when it detects return echoes.
    Additionally hull flex from waves/wakes can cause the transducer to loose adhesion to the hull partially or fully.
    Wayne Purdum
    Charlottesville, Va.
    Helix 12 CHIRP MEGA+ SI G3N/G4N, Helix 15 CHIRP MEGA SI+ GPS G4N
    SOLIX 12 SI/G3, Helix 8 CHIRP MEGA SI+ G4N, Ultrex 80/LINK, MEGA360,
    MEGA LIVE, LIVE TL

  6. Member
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    Jan 2005
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    Goliad, TX
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    #6
    just curious but if I go into my unit and select which ducer I want to use wouldnt that work- like if I had an in hull ducer and a transom mounted ducer?

  7. Member Wayne P.'s Avatar
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    #7
    Quote Originally Posted by skeeter150 View Post
    just curious but if I go into my unit and select which ducer I want to use wouldnt that work- like if I had an in hull ducer and a transom mounted ducer?
    No, if you are using the Y cable, the 2D element in the SI transducer is not connected (no electrical circuit). The shoot-thru is connected in its place.
    Wayne Purdum
    Charlottesville, Va.
    Helix 12 CHIRP MEGA+ SI G3N/G4N, Helix 15 CHIRP MEGA SI+ GPS G4N
    SOLIX 12 SI/G3, Helix 8 CHIRP MEGA SI+ G4N, Ultrex 80/LINK, MEGA360,
    MEGA LIVE, LIVE TL

  8. Member
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    Prior Lake, MN
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    #8
    Quote Originally Posted by pfisher View Post
    The guy that does my work goes to the water and tests the bilge transducer before epoxy. This time he let me help him :-)

    With my current boat I can get bottom and pretty good detail to about 40mph. If you turn it slightly left, no matter where the puck is placed, the picture is perfect. He said that tells him it's the way the water is flowing under the hull and there isn't much you can do about that. Since I was there and watched him move the puck at least 20 times to new locations I agree 100%.

    It was an eye opening experience for sure.

    FWIW he also said it's much tougher to get good images in the bilge than it used to be.
    @pfisher, I need to install a shoot thru once the ice here melts, DIY. What was the exact process for testing out yours - did the guy just tape it in random spots? If so, is it ok to tape directly to hull? I've seen some examples where guys use baggies or have to have it partly submerged in water? Just curious how your guy did it. Thanks for any help here.

  9. Member
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    #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Hollada View Post
    I went thru two shoot thru ducers in my prior boat. Recently picked up a 2019 with ducer installed at the factory. The sonar image performance of all 3 of these ducers is below the image I get off the TM ducer (us2 prior boat, Mega SI this boat).

    Are there any tricks to get better performance? Current image doesn’t pick up the detail that the bow gets. Is there a way to use a switch of some kind to only use the shoot thru for on plane depth and to switch to the mega ducer once off plane?
    I have two shoot-thru transducers in the bilge. An older standard 83/200 and the new XP 9 HW Chirp model. The Y cable is setup to where it is tie wrapped on the bottom side of the drivers console. In a matter of a few seconds, I can change from one shoot-thru to another or disconnect it from the Y cable and use the 2D in the XM 9 20 MSIT transducer. This last option does not work at speeds but does while trolling. I usually just use the bilge 2D hooked to the Y cable but since I had these available I figured "what the heck", it wasn't hard to configure so I set it up this way.

  10. Member Bob G.'s Avatar
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    #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Dubtee View Post
    @pfisher, I need to install a shoot thru once the ice here melts, DIY. What was the exact process for testing out yours - did the guy just tape it in random spots? If so, is it ok to tape directly to hull? I've seen some examples where guys use baggies or have to have it partly submerged in water? Just curious how your guy did it. Thanks for any help here.
    See posts 1 and 2.

    http://www.bbcboards.net/showthread.php?t=172972
    2006 Triton TR-21 XD, Mercury 225 Pro XS, S/N 1B287870