albernifisher
Well-Known Member
So I need to buy a new transducer for my hds10 and want to know if the 1k transducers are worth the extra $600,who has them on their boats? do they make much difference?
transducer question...
- Thread starter albernifisher
- Start date
Charlie415
Crew Member
Had the same questions when I upgraded mine. Ended up getting the B60 600w Airmar. Will track bottom at 21K up to 1000ft. Not sure how much better the 1000w would be.
If you want to see individual fish then more power is better. Especially if you are running a wider beam angle where your power dissipates easier. It would be a waste if the sounder is only rated at 350W and you throw a 1kw on it. My Furuno sounder is rated for up to 1kw. All sounders and transducers show the bottom.
easydoesit
Well-Known Member
Interesting post. I also had similar concerns and decided to investigate to see how I could get better performance than my existing Lowrance HST DF SBL transducer (dual frequency 50/200) with another TDX. Main considerations were angle of coverage, available frequency and power (to a lesser extent).
Angle of coverage or cone angle was important to me as I wanted to be able to see my cannonballs and maybe some day see a fish behind my gear
! Ideally a 100 foot diameter cone at 100 feet depth. Manufacturers do measure and report cone angle differently. Airmar is more conservative than some others.
In order to resolve or "see" fish just off the bottom in shallower water, a relatively higher frequency TDX with a narrow cone is called for IMHO, along with a true zoom display function.
Manufacturers of dual frequency transducers for sport fishing (Lowrance Airmar) supply a wide angle cone for the lower frequency and a narrower cone for the higher frequencies. Airman manufactures transducers for the big names in fish finders. I found frequencies of 50,83 and 200 kHz in sport fishing TDX.
Broadband sonar processing produces effective results at lower power levels. Good thread on this on The Hull Truth web site.
Bottom line, I went with an Airmar P66 transducer, 50/200 kHz, 45/11 degree cone angle, 600 watts power. Processing and display is done with a Lowrance HDS8 GenII. Have used it twice, performance is remarkable, big improvement over previous transducer imho. Investment was minimal $130 from Airmar plus freight. Able to see cannonballs, good resolution on bait schools etc.
Hope this is useful to you.
Angle of coverage or cone angle was important to me as I wanted to be able to see my cannonballs and maybe some day see a fish behind my gear
! Ideally a 100 foot diameter cone at 100 feet depth. Manufacturers do measure and report cone angle differently. Airmar is more conservative than some others.In order to resolve or "see" fish just off the bottom in shallower water, a relatively higher frequency TDX with a narrow cone is called for IMHO, along with a true zoom display function.
Manufacturers of dual frequency transducers for sport fishing (Lowrance Airmar) supply a wide angle cone for the lower frequency and a narrower cone for the higher frequencies. Airman manufactures transducers for the big names in fish finders. I found frequencies of 50,83 and 200 kHz in sport fishing TDX.
Broadband sonar processing produces effective results at lower power levels. Good thread on this on The Hull Truth web site.
Bottom line, I went with an Airmar P66 transducer, 50/200 kHz, 45/11 degree cone angle, 600 watts power. Processing and display is done with a Lowrance HDS8 GenII. Have used it twice, performance is remarkable, big improvement over previous transducer imho. Investment was minimal $130 from Airmar plus freight. Able to see cannonballs, good resolution on bait schools etc.
Hope this is useful to you.
Best investment I feel is a good transducer. Went from stock to thru hull B60 and a big improvement. Then installed the TM270w and again a big improvement.
The stock transducers do the job and that's it. Kinda like having a nice stereo and connecting tin cans for speakers. Want to see what your FF can really do and see install a good transducer.
/fishon
The stock transducers do the job and that's it. Kinda like having a nice stereo and connecting tin cans for speakers. Want to see what your FF can really do and see install a good transducer.
/fishon
albernifisher
Well-Known Member
So after doing a bunch of reserch I've decided to go with the lowrance p79 in hull transducer,600 watts and only $149 at harbour chandler.Going to be a noticable difference from the stock 250 watt units that come with them I think
Make sure they are rated at the true watts of power. If they are good high power transducers the puck will be inside a metal jacket.(like bronze) I wouldn't buy a so called good high power transducer if it was made of plastic. If it was true high power the plastic would blow apart from the pucks pulses.
kanuckle head
Well-Known Member
I have a uninstalled Aimar M260 1Kw unit, hope all the research in this purchase will pay off
One deciding factor is install location hope I have a bubble free spot on my Bayliner hull............
Kh
One deciding factor is install location hope I have a bubble free spot on my Bayliner hull............
Kh
albernifisher
Well-Known Member
quick update, I've installed the p79 transducer and have been out twice with it.WOW what a huge upgrade from the stock one.Running at 40 mph and it hasn't lost bottom yet even at 1000 feet deep and shows incredible detail
Sharphooks
Well-Known Member
I have a uninstalled Aimar M260 1Kw unit, hope all the research in this purchase will pay off
One deciding factor is install location hope I have a bubble free spot on my Bayliner hull............
Kh
hey KH---you know about the bag of water trick, right? You can put that transducer in a bag of water and move it around in test patters to compare the screen shots in different positions on the floor of your boat before committing to the 3M 5200
Take lots of care in the prep work once you find the sweet spot ---make sure the bottom of the wet box has a nice tight seal to the fiberglass.
Here's a pic of my M260 install:
I just put an SS264W in my port sponson (directly under my downrigger)
It'll be interesting to compare screen shots between and in-hull like the M260 and a thru-hull like the SS264W
Sharphooks
Well-Known Member
The actual transducer face is compensated beneath the plate---
Airmar makes a zero degree, a 12 degree, and a 20 degree. We figured the Arima bottom near the port sponson had an approx. 8 degree slope so we installed the 12 degree compensated transducer.
Another thing to consider---the boats always rocking so you can only fine-tune so much. And I figured the wide-beam (that's the "W" in the model SS264W) would allow for slop
I was more worried about sticking a 50 kHz in the hole instead of the 200 kHz I'd originally planned (SS264W's come in pairs but I didn't want to drill two holes in my boat or drop that kind of $$ for a pair). And at the time of my install Airmar had a recall on their 200's so that helped push me into a 50 kHz transducer.
We'll see how it performs. I'll have that transducer wet in the next two weeks. I'll post screen shots if anyone's interested
Airmar makes a zero degree, a 12 degree, and a 20 degree. We figured the Arima bottom near the port sponson had an approx. 8 degree slope so we installed the 12 degree compensated transducer.
Another thing to consider---the boats always rocking so you can only fine-tune so much. And I figured the wide-beam (that's the "W" in the model SS264W) would allow for slop
I was more worried about sticking a 50 kHz in the hole instead of the 200 kHz I'd originally planned (SS264W's come in pairs but I didn't want to drill two holes in my boat or drop that kind of $$ for a pair). And at the time of my install Airmar had a recall on their 200's so that helped push me into a 50 kHz transducer.
We'll see how it performs. I'll have that transducer wet in the next two weeks. I'll post screen shots if anyone's interested
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M
madhooshah
Guest
Great ! Will help in many ways.
Rayvon
Well-Known Member
My last boat I had an HDS10 and upgraded to the P66 600w mounted outside the transom with good results.My new boat will get an inside hull transducer(no holes)as it doesn't have any thru-hulls of any kind right now and I like it that way,no worries when left in water.The new HDS units will handle the 1KW transducers no problem but it does add a fair amount of $ to the overall price.
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