schlepper
John m. Harrison
Okay, if you watched my Youtube video, you saw the sexy new Garmin 741XS that I mounted at the helm along with my venerable Garmin 541. The 541 does a great job, I really didn't need a new GPS except that the 741XS was on sale, it's touch screen, has blue tooth capability, and can be uploaded from satellites, etc. There are many advantages to that unit but the chief reason I bought it was that it had Sonar tie in.... since October 25, 2012 when I bought my Morgan 383, I have relied on a Datamarine LCD screen on the starboard side of the companionway to measure my depth. The LCD is so bad that you cannot read it in daylight without polarized sunglasses on; at night, forget it, it's unreadable. The transducer is fine.
I called Garmin today and ordered the converter box that takes me from an old transducer and you place the wires from the transducer in the appropriate slots inside the box and voila, you have depth reading... however, after ordering, I decided to call Gemeco who apparently are the successor to Airmar? The guy there told me that my DX-110 Datamarine transducer is an Airmar product and it is a 100 Watt 'instrument only' transducer, meaning, that my 741XS puts out 600 Watts and will fry that transducer so it must be replaced.
I will say the Garmin people I talked to today were native English speakers, they were extremely helpful and they didn't rush me off the phone. They scored twice in my book... they both recommended a 'thru hull' transducer, i.e. one that shoots thru the fiberglass hull to get signal, thus negating the need for holes in our boats below the water line. I am all for that, however, I know how well built and heavy these boats are. The recommendation for this type of transducer is 5/8" or less hull thickness.
Has anyone used this type of transducer? If so, does it provide reliable date? Where did you mount it if it works? I am ready to get this show on the road and have it all work and get rid of the Mickey Mouse stuff I now have... but want to avoid a haul out!
Thanks and please advise,
John Harrison, a.k.a. "Schlepper"
S/Y Tranquility
383 hull # 037
I called Garmin today and ordered the converter box that takes me from an old transducer and you place the wires from the transducer in the appropriate slots inside the box and voila, you have depth reading... however, after ordering, I decided to call Gemeco who apparently are the successor to Airmar? The guy there told me that my DX-110 Datamarine transducer is an Airmar product and it is a 100 Watt 'instrument only' transducer, meaning, that my 741XS puts out 600 Watts and will fry that transducer so it must be replaced.
I will say the Garmin people I talked to today were native English speakers, they were extremely helpful and they didn't rush me off the phone. They scored twice in my book... they both recommended a 'thru hull' transducer, i.e. one that shoots thru the fiberglass hull to get signal, thus negating the need for holes in our boats below the water line. I am all for that, however, I know how well built and heavy these boats are. The recommendation for this type of transducer is 5/8" or less hull thickness.
Has anyone used this type of transducer? If so, does it provide reliable date? Where did you mount it if it works? I am ready to get this show on the road and have it all work and get rid of the Mickey Mouse stuff I now have... but want to avoid a haul out!
Thanks and please advise,
John Harrison, a.k.a. "Schlepper"
S/Y Tranquility
383 hull # 037