[TG] [TG11] Multiple issues with new instrument package

[Waltdrechsler]

I have a new package of (2) i50 displays for depth and speed and i60 for wind. This all ties into an ES98 MFD through Seatalkng network. Here are my current issues
1) I have no speed through water thus no log or difference between apparent and true wind

2) Depth reading resets often. Shallow readings even when in deep water

3) ES98 slows after about two hours and then reboots.

I'm wondering if I need to add an Itc5 converter to the mix?

Thanks in advance,

Walt Drechsler

[Tom - Raymarine - Moderator]

Hello Walt,

Sorry to hear that. Some questions for you:

• Where should the speed signal be coming from, do you have a speed transducer directly connected to the i50 Speed display? If this a new transducer or an existing one? Is speed data showing as zeroes (a valid value) or dashes (no data available)? If dashes, do you have a multimeter on the boat that you could use to measure the resistance between the brown & white wires on the speed transducer cable, when disconnected from the instrument? The Speed instruments use the resistance of this pair, the water-temperature thermistor, to detect the presence of the speed transducer. It should be somewhere between 8k and 13k Ohms, depending on temperature.
• Is there a consistent group of similar shallow readings the depth display shows (e.g. a cluster around 1.5m)? Shallow readings like this are usually down to the instrument getting an echo from the outer fringe of its beam off the keel (particularly with bulbed keels); if this echo is momentarily stronger than the bottom echo, e.g. in deeper water, then this can be treated as the real bottom. The system always prefers the shallowest strong return for obvious reasons.
• The most common cause of Lighthouse 2 displays to slow down over time is the Navionics Sonar Logging feature, which is enabled by default. This doesn't always cause problems of course, but has been seen to cause this sort of behaviour sometimes. Try turning this off in Home > Chart > Menu > Presentation > Depths & Contours > Sonar Logging.
  

I don't see any benefit to adding an ITC5 to your system at this stage.

Regards,
Tom

[Waltdrechsler]

We have a speed transducer connected directly to the i50. It is a new unit that came with the sailing package. Not sure if I am reading zeros or dashes but I believe they are zeros. I will check this. If dashes I will run the multimeter test. If they are zeros, what is my next step?
The depth gauge seems to work at lower speeds but it seems to lock often on the "last" It does not always want to reset even with a breaker reset.
We have a fin keel that does have a bit of a flare at the bottom. How do I get around this?
ES98 - I will reset the sonar and give that a shot.

[Tom - Raymarine - Moderator]

If your speed reading is always zero, the next step would be to measure signal voltage between green and bare on the speed transducer cable, at the rear of the display and with everything connected and powered and with someone slowly turning the paddlewheel by hand (blanking plug inserted into the through-hull fitting.) You should see 2 pulses per rotation of the paddlewheel, where the voltage toggles between 0V and between 5 and 8V. If you saw a static voltage, this would mean no speed signal from the transducer.

If there's a valid echo at shallow depth, the display will keep picking this up after the breaker is reset. It's not likely to be a product fault, it's likely to be a real signal on the cable, what we need to find out is where that's coming from. Noise (200kHz acoustic or electrical) or an echo from the keel are the common causes. If a keel echo is the cause, the only solution is to move the transducer further away, I'm sorry to say. How close is the transducer mounted to the keel?

Regards,
Tom