Replacing a depth sounder

[Sir Rondo Normal]

I will be replacing my pretty-much-brand-new-but-never-worked-consistently Maretron DST110 triducer and would like to know what (if any) other tri or transducers might plug right into the Marathon thru-hull.
I would really like to avoid the haul out expense since I'll be replacing the Maretron P.O.S. without warranty coverage from Maretron.
Seems they aren't interested in honouring their warranty.

What a waste of money!

Thanks, any advice is always appreciated.

Ron

[Jim Krause]

I would be hard-pressed to pop out the insert (while the boat's in the water) with one from another manufacturer in the hopes it would fit. If it were a total POS, I'd haul the boat and replace the entire assembly (sleeve as well) with one from another manufacturer. Otherwise, I'd just eat it and buy a replacement unit. Good luck...

[Ziggy]

Chances are that the Maretron DST110 is a rebranded Airmar triducer. The distributor for Airmar is Gemeco. You could get a model cross reference by emailing sales@gemeco.com or calling them at 803-693-0777. Airmar makes depth transducer for just about everyone in the world.

What is the problem with the Maretron (besides poor customer support)?

[Sir Rondo Normal]

Well the process for pulling the sounder is no different than when you swap out the unit for the blank plug so I wouldn't be too concerned, beyond the hassle of finding out that the new one wouldn't seal. Hence the request here.

Originally Posted by Ziggy

What is the problem with the Maretron (besides poor customer support)?
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Thanks Ziggy. Right from the beginning the depth has been inconsistent, (randomly reads 3.9 ft regardless of depth. Now the temperature has stopped working altogether.
I have gotten nothing but grief from the retailer and from Maretron. It's been a year and a half since I bought and throughout the whole process the one saving grace has been that the wso100 weather sensor has performed flawlessly.... until recently. Now even this $1000.00 piece of equipment has started throwing funny readings. (Wind howling through the rigging from the north and it's telling me the it's 1.9 knots from the south - more like 19 knots)

I'm not impressed with Maretron at all.

[OS2Dude]

I take it you have checked all the cable runs, made sure the T-connectors etc are tight? I had an Airmar P-79 go bad, but the Garmin gWind was also dropping out from time to time. While I was running the new Airmar transducer, I did find a T-Connector for the gWind was looser than I liked. Since I tightened all the the t Connectors, the gWind has been fine. (The connector in question was under the cover for the pedestal, not easily gotten to.)

[GrahamHO]

Originally Posted by Sir Rondo Normal

I will be replacing my pretty-much-brand-new-but-never-worked-consistently Maretron DST110 triducer and would like to know what (if any) other tri or transducers might plug right into the Marathon thru-hull.
I would really like to avoid the haul out expense since I'll be replacing the Maretron P.O.S. without warranty coverage from Maretron.
Seems they aren't interested in honouring their warranty.

What a waste of money!

Thanks, any advice is always appreciated.

Ron

With any sounder you can get a situation where it won't work. It's called "keel bounce". The location of the transducer can cause the signal or part of it to bounce off the keel. Or the signal can be interfered with by the slipstream from the propellor obviously only when motoring.


If you are experiencing keel bounce, a replacement sounder will not help.
It is not always necessary to make a hole in your hull for the transducer as I recently wrote somewhere. If you have solid glass where you want to position your transducer you can make a bed of epoxy inside the hull using the transducer as a mould, temporarily protecting it with cling film. Then set it firmly in clear silicone. Someone wrote that they simply set it in clear silicone. It will "beep" through the hull.


The heeling of a yacht can cause sounder problems. I have not experienced that I but I have read where some people use 2 transducers with a Mercury switch automatically selecting the one on the low side.


If you have a full length keel you might be getting keel bounce. I experienced that with a replacement fin keel with a bulb. I moved the transducer further forward (without cutting a hole).


I think it's unlikely that a new sounder is a faulty unit, though I suppose it can happen. Installation problems are more likely.

[KidSheeleen]

I have epoxied transducers into a small plastic pail, epoxied it to the inside boat floor, 3/4 filled pail with mineral oil (doesn't evaporated much), placed a lid on pail.. has worked great on several smaller boats, IE around 20-25 footers. Check occasionally to see if need to add more mineral oils. Sounds strange but it woks with out hauling out. Also if you search internet there are many other " home remedy" ways.

[GrahamHO]

Thanks Ziggy. Right from the beginning the depth has been inconsistent, (randomly reads 3.9 ft regardless of depth. Now the temperature has stopped working altogether.

If as you say it's reading 3'9" the problem is very likely "keel bounce" as I wrote before.

It "sounds" as though it is roughly measuring your keel depth which will be approximately your draft minus the depth of your transducer in your hull.

When I had keel a bounce problem with a new keel, my reading was 1 metre or 39" and similar to what you are experiencing.

If you consider that likely you might be able to get another transducer and install it in a better location, maybe fwd of the keel ( I can't see your boat). You can do that without hauling out as has been explained. Leave the old transducer in place until your next haul out.

If you have keel bounce a new system will also have the same problem.

Your temperature ( and possibly the sounder) can also be affected by EMI; electromagnetic interference from various possibilities. In my boat my Wind direction and Temp were affected by EMI from the alternator to smart regulator cable until I shielded the entire length of the cable with tinned copper braid earthed to the engine earth point.

I have 2 sounders with transducers both ahead and behind the keel. One reads inside the cabin. The other in the cockpit. The fwd one needed its transducer relocated even further ahead which fixed the bounce problem.

[ramblinrod]

Originally Posted by GrahamHO

If you have solid glass where you want to position your transducer you can make a bed of epoxy inside the hull using the transducer as a mould, temporarily protecting it with cling film. Then set it firmly in clear silicone. Someone wrote that they simply set it in clear silicone. It will "beep" through the hull.

Not with a triducer, it has to be mounted in a thruhull.

The heeling of a yacht can cause sounder problems. I have not experienced that I but I have read where some people use 2 transducers with a Mercury switch automatically selecting the one on the low side.

Not necessary, most transducers have a half power beam width of 40 degrees, and will work perfectly well when the vessel is heeled, just with lesser max range.

If you have a full length keel you might be getting keel bounce. I experienced that with a replacement fin keel with a bulb. I moved the transducer further forward (without cutting a hole).

I think it's unlikely that a new sounder is a faulty unit, though I suppose it can happen. Installation problems are more likely.

Ramblin Rod
About Sheen Marine

[ramblinrod]

Originally Posted by Sir Rondo Normal

I will be replacing my pretty-much-brand-new-but-never-worked-consistently Maretron DST110 triducer and would like to know what (if any) other tri or transducers might plug right into the Marathon thru-hull.
I would really like to avoid the haul out expense since I'll be replacing the Maretron P.O.S. without warranty coverage from Maretron.
Seems they aren't interested in honouring their warranty.

What a waste of money!

Thanks, any advice is always appreciated.

Ron

To troubleshoot the transducer, pull it out and put in the dummy plug.

With power applied press the palm of your hand firmly on the face of the transducer, and slide your hand (while applying pressure). If the transducer is firing, you will feel the pulses. This will confirm that the transducer is transmitting.

After transmit confirmation, hang the transducer over the side of the boat in the water, with unimpeded "view" to the sea floor.

If all is well, you will get a good reading. The problem is most likely with your transducer mounting location.

If you don't get a good reading, the first suspect is a wiring fault. Did you cut the cable during install? (That the temp was working and is now crapping out too, increases the suspicion of a cable fault.) If so, check your splice(s) for opens and shorts.

If the cable is good, then it could be a transducer or transmitter fault. Get your hands on another transducer and perform the tests above. If it works, the transducer was bad, if it doesn't transmitter.

Ramblin Rod
About Sheen Marine
Certified Raymarine Installer / Service Provider

[Hard Rock Candy]

I had a depth finder quit on me in Mexico. I had a friend bring me one when he came back from the state's. Mine was a 1978 model of some kind. I pulled my through hull while in the water, put the plug in the hole and commenced to drill the inside out of the old transducer. after I got all the filler and the coil out I stuck the new transducer in the hole and fill it with epoxy. I replaced it in the threw hull and it worked flawlessly for the next 5 years. Mac

[Sir Rondo Normal]

Hey thanks for all the suggestions. Funny I hadn't gotten any notifications for this thread so had forgotten about it.

Anyway, lot's of good suggestions. I will bookmark this thread and refer back to it when I'm back at the boat (April).

Thanks everyone!

There is hope!

Ron