How Long Does You Transducer Last?

Seafever

Seafever

Well-Known Member
I run Lowrance X4-Pro........I'm on my third one in in 3 seasons. Seems I get about one spring/summer out of them and then they die. I think it's the transducers. They seem pretty flimsy to start with, although rated for up to 70mph. Guy at HC told me if you drop them once on the floor they are probably toast because the little diode inside the transducer bulb is very fragile.....so I was extra careful on last installation and since then it has not been dropped or banged ever. Last Tuesday i was out ..and....sure enough I started getting bogus wonky readings or no readings at all. A new transducer cost just about as much as the whole unit so I buy a new unit each time in case it isn't the transducer. I've experimeneted with transducer height at the back of the boat and I thought I had it dialed in for height. This time around I may opt for a more powerful unit (grayscale)......but will that mean I'm any farther ahead in terms of how long the transducer lasts? My brother in law has a real nice expensive fishfinder........but he left the transducer on the boat over the winter in Ontario and the freezing weather put a nice big crack in it. 169 bucks later, he's good to go...... How long do yours last?.......and do you do anything special to avoid damage?
 
I have never had one fail. I have broken them off though and after glueing and tapeing they still worked. I have only ever had to buy 2 cause they were so damaged beyond repair one was my fault and another was the service shop.
 
Here's a pic of the way I rigged my transducer. It's adjustable up and down. I don't think it's too close to the leg but I only have so much room to play with. I didn't and will not drill holes in the boat for this. I think it's sitting right height. But there could be turbulence from structural chines on bottom of boat. 001.jpg That thing behind the transducer is the bunk on th trailer. I don't know if they ever made this type of mount unit commercially......I'd probably buy one......but this home-made rig is all I've ever used and it works......
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I think they have some sort of crystal or ceramic inside, over time they develop little cracks and become less efficient. bigger crystals can handle more cracks.
it’s called Piezoelectricity
 
Could the transducer be hitting the ramp during launch ?
looks like it may be mounted on the low side ?
I have mine running parallel to the bottom of the boat not below.
 
Mine (lowrance) is starting to go-Talked to HC they say it's pretty common after the 10 years I've had mine on. Very slow to lock on if it does at all-real pain!!
 
I only need about 6-8 inches of water to launch my boat. I launch it on the beach all the time. If I know it's going to hit I flip it up and hang off the back to put it back down once in the water. When retrieving in shallow water it flips up on it own. The trick is to have it loose enough to move on it own but tight enough to old in place when running. If something hits it when running it pops up which only happens a couple times a year. Mine runs parallel with the bottom of the boat.
 
R.S. Craven.....during launch it is clamped up high so it doesn't scrape bottom....then I lower it when I get to site. So it's not in the water when I'm moving high speed either. I will take your advice and move it up higher so it's parallel when in the water.......
 
Do you have it on very often when the boat is out of the water, on the trailer?

I went through a transducer on my Lowrance after about a year...Lowrance sent me a new one, and when I asked what may have caused it, they asked if I turned it on when the boat was on the trailer. I told them that I did this all the time, going through the electronic charts, picking new halibut spots to try. They said that because it is shooting through air and not through water, it is bad for the transducer.

Now, whenever I turn it on out of the water, I turn the sonar off. I have had this transducer for probably six years now.

FishWish
 
Lank.....good call...think I will get one of those...... Fishwish:- yes I'm guilty of turning it on when not in the water.......I check it now and then to see if it's working properly......sometimes I'll set it in "simulator" mode to see if it's up to spec.........but it's shooting through air before I do that......hmmm I didn't know that wrecked 'em......thanks....
 
fishwish said:
Do you have it on very often when the boat is out of the water, on the trailer?

I went through a transducer on my Lowrance after about a year...Lowrance sent me a new one, and when I asked what may have caused it, they asked if I turned it on when the boat was on the trailer. I told them that I did this all the time, going through the electronic charts, picking new halibut spots to try. They said that because it is shooting through air and not through water, it is bad for the transducer.

Now, whenever I turn it on out of the water, I turn the sonar off. I have had this transducer for probably six years now.

FishWish
Click to expand...
That's very interesting,fishwish. I have turned on my unit out of water quite a few times in the 3 or 4 years I've owned
it,and have recently been having trouble with my readings when running out.It's an Eagle brand,which I beleive
Lowrance also makes.In the future,I will stop doing this.
 
From Airmar, who make transducers for most if not all units.

"Customer (xxxxxxxxxx) - 11/13/2007 12:50 PM
I have a B260 transducer and would like to know if it is safe to turn on my Simrad CX44e while the boat is out of the water? In the water I can hear the normal clicking while using the (chartplotter only) so I know the transducer is active. Should I remove the transducer cable with the power off so it does not damage the transducer if I want to use the chartplotter while out of the water? ....Thanks XXXX


Response (Paul) - 11/13/2007 03:37 PM
Dear xxxxx,

Thank you for contacting AIRMAR Technology Corporation. The transducer should not be harmed if it runs out of water for short periods of time. I would not recommend leaving the transducer running for more than a couple hours. Of course, if you want to play on the safe side just unplug the transducer from the electronics."

Appears it takes a few hours to do damage.
 
Secretpursuit said:
From Airmar, who make transducers for most if not all units.

"Customer (xxxxxxxxxx) - 11/13/2007 12:50 PM
I have a B260 transducer and would like to know if it is safe to turn on my Simrad CX44e while the boat is out of the water? In the water I can hear the normal clicking while using the (chartplotter only) so I know the transducer is active. Should I remove the transducer cable with the power off so it does not damage the transducer if I want to use the chartplotter while out of the water? ....Thanks XXXX


Response (Paul) - 11/13/2007 03:37 PM
Dear xxxxx,

Thank you for contacting AIRMAR Technology Corporation. The transducer should not be harmed if it runs out of water for short periods of time. I would not recommend leaving the transducer running for more than a couple hours. Of course, if you want to play on the safe side just unplug the transducer from the electronics."

Appears it takes a few hours to do damage.
Click to expand...


Thats what I thought. I have driven home with mine on more then one time. I don't realize it till I hear the ticking sound. Cool thing is that it reads the distance to the ground well on the trailer. And that's with a Lowrance unit.
 
hhhmm ticking sound,, do hali like it or hate it?

maybe some do and some don't?

seriously tho LOL, i turn mine off.
 
Just a little helpful info-my Lowrance as mentioned earlier was giving lots of trouble-took the boat out today-no readings(set at 50 HZ) changed the reading to 200hz and immediate lock-on-further I have never run in 200hz because I understood it would interfear with my rear deck sounder-not so-they both performed well. I'm not sure what happened but I surmise that on some transducers there must be 2 crystals-a 50 and a 200HZ and if one has quit on you maybe the other is still good. I'm no expert on this and I just pass this along to give it a try. Buys me a year to save up for another plotter/sounder.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

L
Transducer on a Lifetimer
Replies
9
Views
1K
Laxputs
L
Sharphooks
NORTH COAST 2024–PART IV—-THE FISH
Replies
4
Views
2K
GoneCoastal
G
Lewy
Transducer/sounder advice
Replies
13
Views
2K
Lewy
Lewy
Hot-Streak
Made a long handle gaff - you can too!
Replies
8
Views
2K
adbk
adbk
pescador
How long does it take for growth to build up on an unpainted hull?
Replies
22
Views
2K
BC Coast Pilot
BC Coast Pilot
Back
Top