Mega 360 and Mega SI Questions

[Outsider]

I am considering adding a Mega 360. I have both Mega DI and SI on my trolling motor. I also have the Mega DI and SI at the transom. I normally leave the background pinging on so that I have a full screen of history when I switch to that view. Rather than jumping into this and experiencing a number of issues, I thought I would tap the knowledgeable resource here for some input.

I have some questions for those that run both the Mega 360 and Mega SI+. Do you have interference issues with both running at the same time? If so, how have you worked around this? Do you turn background pinging off on the trolling motor? How about background pinging on the transom? I am open to hearing ideas and suggestions on how people have made this work! Thanks

[Wayne P.]

The MEGA 360 is not like the legacy 360==it is not an Ethernet accessory. It connects to a unit's transducer port.
A proper installation is the MEGA 360 and another transducer connected to the same display via the M360 Y cable. Doing that, the sonar piezos are pinged in a sequence so cross-talk is impossible.
Since MEGA 360 and SI+ use the same display circuit locations, the SI in the SI transducer is disconnected (no wires) and the MEGA 360 is connected (wires) in its place. The MEGA 360 does 360 or SI but not at the same time. It makes no difference if you use a Minnkota built-in MSI transducer or the Humminbird MSI transducer attached to the trolling motor, the connections are the same.

The transom SI/DI should not cross-talk with the bow transducer since the Imaging pulses are not projected forward=they do left and right.

[SLYDoggie]

I have Mega 360, connected to one Apex, transom MSI+ connected to another Apex, and the Ulterra Quest MSI+ transducer connected to a third Apex Transducer. In my case, I don't typically have any significant crosstalk. That can sometimes change in shallow water with a very hard bottom, but it's still manageable.

I don't use the Y-Cable at all. I like to have the ability to have my "regular" SI+ running at the same time I have my Mega 360 running. If you use the Y-Cable, the SI actually comes from the Mega 360... it stops spinning and orients so the SI beam is perpendicular to the boat. Because of this, the Y-Cable prevents you from getting both SI & 360 at the same time.

[thyezer]

Without the "Y" cable...would that mean you direct connect (2) transducers to (2) separate units? I recall that mine has a 360 TD and a DI MEGA TD. If both are connected to units and both units are NETWORKED....does it matter which unit gets which? (XPLORE vs HELIX G4N)

Thanks

[Wayne P.]

Without the "Y" cable...would that mean you direct connect (2) transducers to (2) separate units? I recall that mine has a 360 TD and a DI MEGA TD. If both are connected to units and both units are NETWORKED....does it matter which unit gets which? (XPLORE vs HELIX G4N)

Thanks

Networked is irrelevant, whichever transducer you connect to a display is the only one that gets that function. NOTHING shares between Helix and Xplore.

[Outsider]

First, Thanks to those that took the time to reply! Since I will end up with 4 Apex units it appears that I have options. That is good to know ...I guess it may be worth trying in both configurations? One additional question ....since my 360 will be on a separate mount/pole, it may not be in the water all the time. I am thinking about how the SI pinging would work with a "Y" cable in that instance? the 360 wet switch would not be engaged, so would the TM SI transducer ping when using the "Y" cable?

My concern about cross talk from the transom transducer and the MEGA 360/TM SI is because of the amount of hard bottom (lots of rock) and the possibility of errant reflections from said rocks where I mainly fish.

[SLYDoggie]

First, Thanks to those that took the time to reply! Since I will end up with 4 Apex units it appears that I have options. That is good to know ...I guess it may be worth trying in both configurations? One additional question ....since my 360 will be on a separate mount/pole, it may not be in the water all the time. I am thinking about how the SI pinging would work with a "Y" cable in that instance? the 360 wet switch would not be engaged, so would the TM SI transducer ping when using the "Y" cable?

My concern about cross talk from the transom transducer and the MEGA 360/TM SI is because of the amount of hard bottom (lots of rock) and the possibility of errant reflections from said rocks where I mainly fish.

No. The Y-Cable physically disconnects the SI wire from the transom transducer and the SI wire from the Mega 360 is the only one connected to the head unit. There is no way to get the transom SI signal from the transom transducer... period.

[Wayne P.]

First, Thanks to those that took the time to reply! Since I will end up with 4 Apex units it appears that I have options. That is good to know ...I guess it may be worth trying in both configurations? One additional question ....since my 360 will be on a separate mount/pole, it may not be in the water all the time. I am thinking about how the SI pinging would work with a "Y" cable in that instance? the 360 wet switch would not be engaged, so would the TM SI transducer ping when using the "Y" cable?

My concern about cross talk from the transom transducer and the MEGA 360/TM SI is because of the amount of hard bottom (lots of rock) and the possibility of errant reflections from said rocks where I mainly fish.

A Y cable disconnects a function and replaces it with a transducer.
In the case of the M360 Y cable, the SI piezos are disconnected (no wires) and the M360 is connected in its place. It is impossible to get SI from a SI transducer using the M360 Y cable.

[Outsider]

Sorry guys .... I wasn't clear. I would be adding the "Y" cable to the bow mount TM with SI along with the MEGA 360. So I was wondering if the 360 is not "wet/deployed" would the built in SI on the TM work? Based on Wayne's reply my guess is that it would not?

So that may lead me to using 3 transducer connections on 3 different Apex. If I understand this correctly, I can select which transducer i am viewing and selectively turn on/off the various transducers, correct?

Thanks for the information!

[SLYDoggie]

Sorry guys .... I wasn't clear. I would be adding the "Y" cable to the bow mount TM with SI along with the MEGA 360. So I was wondering if the 360 is not "wet/deployed" would the built in SI on the TM work? Based on Wayne's reply my guess is that it would not?

So that may lead me to using 3 transducer connections on 3 different Apex. If I understand this correctly, I can select which transducer i am viewing and selectively turn on/off the various transducers, correct?

Thanks for the information!

This is exactly how I have mine set up. I have my Ulterra Quest Transducer directly connected to my Bow Apex 16, my Mega 360 is directly connected (no Y-Cable) to my Apex 13 at the console, and my Transom Transducer is connected to my Apex 19 at the console. I can have access to all 3 at the same time, but I usually don't. If I'm trolling with the trolling motor deployed, I turn off the transom transducer pinging and use the SI transducer on my Ulterra Quest. When the Ulterra Quest isn't deployed, I turn on the pinging of the Transom Transducer and use it. In both cases, I can have the Mega 360 in operation as well. In some conditions, I will get some slight crosstalk but it is manageable.

Oh, by the way, I'm typically running one, two, or three Mega Live 2 units at the same time. Yes, I know... I'm probably scaring away the fish with all the pinging

[Outsider]

"Oh, by the way, I'm typically running one, two, or three Mega Live 2 units at the same time. Yes, I know... I'm probably scaring away the fish with all the pinging "

Oh my ........

Thanks for the information.