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+--- Thread: Engine / electronics / lighting noise affecting product performance? (/showthread.php?tid=3441)
Engine / electronics / lighting noise affecting product performance? - Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator - 06-28-17 01:30 PM
Engine / electronics / lighting noise affecting product performance?
Electrical interference may also manifest itself in noisy fishinder plots, sonar bottom loss, audible interference in radio reception, loss of AIS reception from other vessels, GPS signal loss / degradation, etc.. Such noise may also cause random uninitiated commands and/or no/intermittent responses to touchscreen and/or Power Swipe touches. High power LED lighting and CCFL lighting have been recognized by the marine industry to cause such interference with RF receivers (ex. VHF radios, AIS receivers, marine entertainment systems, GPS receivers, etc.). Should the problem manifest itself while the vessel is not being propelled by power or sail, then it would be recommended that all electronics except for the fishfinding electronics, electrical circuits, generators, inverters, and engines be switched OFF. Should the problem persist, then it would be recommended that the fishfinding product be sent to Raymarine’s Product Repair Center to be bench checked / serviced. However, should the problem abate when operating under this quiet ship mode of operation, then it would appear the performances issues are indeed being caused by electrical interference. Electrical interference from engine systems is easily tested by bringing the boat up to the speed that the bottom contact begins to be lost or noise within the plots is observed, and then noting the engine(s) RPMs. The boat would then be stopped, the engine(s) shifted into neutral, and the engine(s) RPMs then increased to the previously noted RPMs. Should the fishfinder maintain bottom contact and no noise be observed within the fishfinder plot, then the fishfinder performance issue would be deemed to not be caused by electrical noise from the engine(s).
The most common cause of such interference is bundling of the transducer cable with engine cables, power cables, and the cables from other electrical devices. In the case of noise within the power distribution system, a power conditioner (ex. MasterVolt Magic, etc.) may be used to provide clean power to electronics.
RAYFAQ#