Garmin Fishfinder 250 Paddlewheel Triducer replacement? China? Low budget?

[Franziska]

Hi,

we have a Garmin Fishfinder 250 with a B&W display.
It does show depth and water temperature, but unfortunately, not speed. We tried a new paddlewheel, but the speed keeps showing only two bars.
(See image).
I suspect the transducer is broken.

The transducer is an Airmar P66 trandom mounted unit with paddlewheel. The sensor connector is the 6pin version. It connects to the larger cable, which then connects to the large plug at the back of the unit.

Don't be surprised that it's a transom mounted unit, it's mounted retractable on a pole out of our bridgedeck.

I'm wondering if someone has found a cheaper sensor replacement than an original Airmar P66. 180€ is quite expensive.
Maybe from Alibaba?

The main reason is that we like to see TRUE windspeed again.
On a cat, that's a real safety feature.

[Franziska]

I'd been thinking to use GPS Speed and Heading info from our heading sensor, but not sure if that is really accurate.

Another advantage of the paddlewheel is the chance to see how much current there is.