Axiom/RV-100 installation

[JPA]

I have installed my new Axiom 9 RV and RV-100. I have recently received the Y-cable to connect my existing B-60 transducer. I have a few questions before finalizing the installation.

Due to transom design and the placement of strakes, trim tabs and the existing B-60 transducer, my placement options are limited and high speed performance is doubtful. Although I do not expect that the RV-100 will provide much usable data at planning speeds, I would like to get it as good as possible.

The RV-100 is currently positioned about 18” starboard of the boat’s center line, 2” starboard of a forward strake and 2.25” port of a trim tab. Vertically, the transducer is positioned so that the ridge at the midpoint on the port side is about ¼” lower than the bottom of the hull and the transducer is tilted so that it is approximately parallel to the bottom of the hull. I have attached 3 images showing the current placement of the transducer. In one of the images, green tape is placed to show the approximate positions of the B-60 (closer to center) and the forward strake (closer to the RV-100).

In initial testing, I had good High Chirp, Downvision, Sidevision and Realvision performance at displacement speeds but no usable data at planning speeds Much to my surprise, my outdrive did not seem to interfere with Sidevision or Realvision performance. With the B-60 connected to my old DS500x, I saw some interference in High Chirp but the plot was readable.
I don’t want to drill a lot of new holes unless there is a good chance of improving performance but I am open to relocating the RV-100 and the nearby speed sensor if there is a reasonable chance of improved performance.

Q 1: Can you recommend any position changes that might have a reasonable chance of improving RV-100 performance at higher speeds?

I am primarily a coastal striped bass fisherman but I occasionally venture offshore in search of bottom fish, sharks or school tuna, I have little experience with Chirp but it seems clear that I will need to keep the B-60 to maintain consistent bottom tracking at higher speeds. I had not realized that the the Axiom/Y-cable set up eliminates High Chirp, so for the time being, my DS500x remains installed and the Y-cable, B-60 connector and RV-100 connector remain above deck. I would like to clean this up a bit but overall performance is more important so I have a couple of questions that may help me decide how to proceed.

Q2: Is the Axiom RV significantly better at processing and displaying 50/200MHz data than the DS500x?

Q3: Would High Chirp significantly outperform 50/200MHz at lower speeds.

Q4. It’s not in my budget anytime soon but if I were to connect the B-60 to a properly networked second Axiom RV or DV MFD, would I be able to view both 50/200MHz and High Chirp?

Finally, in reviewing similar posts by other forum members, I find that I am not able to view their attached diagrams and images. Also, assuming that I attached them correctly, I am not able to view my images when I preview my post.

Q 5. Is there a setting that would allow me to view attachments?

Thanks and sorry for the long winded post.

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Welcome to the Raymarine Forum JPA,

Initial comment: the photos which you have referred to have not been attached to this thread. Please try again and ensure that the photos have been re-sized to not exceed 500MB.

Q1: Can you recommend any position changes that might have a reasonable chance of improving RV-100 performance at higher speeds?

I am primarily a coastal striped bass fisherman but I occasionally venture offshore in search of bottom fish, sharks or school tuna, I have little experience with Chirp but it seems clear that I will need to keep the B-60 to maintain consistent bottom tracking at higher speeds. I had not realized that the the Axiom/Y-cable set up eliminates High Chirp, so for the time being, my DS500x remains installed and the Y-cable, B-60 connector and RV-100 connector remain above deck. I would like to clean this up a bit but overall performance is more important so I have a couple of questions that may help me decide how to proceed.

A1. Please see my initial comment regarding photos. That said, the RV-100 is designed to support operation at speeds that are typically fished. While some may find that the transducer is able to hold bottom at low planing speeds, results will vary. For this reason, Raymarine offers a Y-Cable which may be used to permit the Axiom MFD to simultaneously be interfaced to both the RV-100 and to your B60.
If supplied with the product ID printed on your transducer's tag, then it will be possible to specify which Y-Cable to order. With hull such as yours, the Axiom MFD would be configured to display 50kHz or 200kHz fishfinder channel when operating at speeds that would not be supported by the RV-100.

Q2: Is the Axiom RV significantly better at processing and displaying 50/200MHz data than the DS500x?

A2: Improvements have indeed been made to the 50kHz/200kHz fishfinder processing since the introduction of the DS500X. That said, they are subtle. If seeking to eliminate a display, then it would be recommended that the aforementioned Y-Cable be obtained to permit the Axiom MFD to additionally be interfaced to the B60.

Q3: Would High Chirp significantly outperform 50/200MHz at lower speeds.

A3: Yes. High CHIRP excels in identifying organics which are suspended within the water column.

Q4. It’s not in my budget anytime soon but if I were to connect the B-60 to a properly networked second Axiom RV or DV MFD, would I be able to view both 50/200MHz and High Chirp?

A4. Should the aforementioned Y-Cable be installed, then HIGH CHIRP would not be available to the system. However, should a second Axiom RV MFD or DV MFD or CP370 be interfaced to the B60 and to the currently installed Axiom RV MFD, then you would have access to 50kHz/200kHz as well as to High CHIRP.

Q5. Is there a setting that would allow me to view attachments?

A5. See my initial comments regarding your attachments.

[JPA]

Thanks for the response and sorry that I failed to post the images correctly.

I knew when I decided to try the RV-100 that my mounting options would be limited. I am satisfied with the data that it is providing at the speeds that it was designed for so I have locked it down for now.

Yesterday I got on the water with both my B-60 and RV-100 connected via a Y-Cable for the first time. It was also my first extended day on the water since installing the Axiom/RV-100. Since much of my trip was spent at planing speeds I mostly stuck with 200 MHz but at slower speeds I used each of the RV-100 channels with good results.

Unfortunately, after about 4 hours I got a warning stating that no transducer was connected and that the unit should be restarted after connecting a transducer. This had happened a few times when the B-60 was connected to my DS500x so I assumed that the problem was probably related to that transducer but when I switched to Downvision, I had similar problems. The error occurred at approximately 10 minute intervals for a couple of hours. Each time, the problem was temporarily corrected by power cycling the MFD.

I'm not sure if its relevant but all of the errors occurred at slower speeds. On the 20 mile run home I did not receive an error but another occurred at the dock as I prepared to shut down.

The Axiom 9 RV is running Software Version: v3.0.66.

Can you offer any suggestions for trouble shooting and correction of the problem?

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

JPA,

The problem of the system reporting that no transducer was detected may indeed be associated with a failing B60 transducer, particularly as this problem had been previously observed when the same transducer had been interfaced to the DS500X. This problem may also be resulting from insufficient power, particularly as the problem manifested itself at slow speed (low engine RPMs - low alternator output) and while at the dock. It is recommended that power be ruled out by
1) connecting the vessel to shore power and permit the batteries to obtain a fully charged state
2) after completing step 1) and while still connected to shore power, operate the system for an extended period of time

Should the failure not occur when tested in the manner specified above, then it would appear that the system's batteries need to be serviced and/or additional battery storage needs to be added. Should the failure occur when tested in the manner specified above, then it would be recommended that the MFD be tested with another compatible 50kHz/200kHz transducer which will simply be suspended over the side of the hull. Should the problem not occur with the test transducer, then the currently installed B60 should be replaced. However, should the problem persist with the test transducer, then it would be recommended that the MFD be sent to Raymarine’s Product Repair Center to be bench checked / serviced.

[JPA]

Thank you for the good advice. Next time out I will connect the B-60 to the DS500x and see what happens. I will also load test my accessory battery. Unfortunately, I am a trailer boater and not very close to the water so I will need to streamline my troubleshooting so here are a couple of follow up questions.

Q 1. If the problem is within the B-60 and if I am viewing data from the RV-100 but numerical depth from the B-60, would a B-60 error cause the error message to show on an RV-100 data screen?

Q 2. For several years the DS500x was stored below deck and the above deck cable connectors were not protected with dielectric grease. When I had the problem with the DS500x, I suspected that the issue was related to pin corrosion problems at the transducer or Power/Nema 0183 connector. If the B-60 connector pins are a bit corroded, would that be likely to cause the problem that I am seeing with the Axiom?

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

JPA,

Q 1. If the problem is within the B-60 and if I am viewing data from the RV-100 but numerical depth from the B-60, would a B-60 error cause the error message to show on an RV-100 data screen?
A 1. It is indeed possible that the message may be reported within any of the displayed Fishfinder panes.

Q 2. For several years the DS500x was stored below deck and the above deck cable connectors were not protected with dielectric grease. When I had the problem with the DS500x, I suspected that the issue was related to pin corrosion problems at the transducer or Power/Nema 0183 connector. If the B-60 connector pins are a bit corroded, would that be likely to cause the problem that I am seeing with the Axiom?
A 2. It is possible that this may be a cause for the reported problem. However, as the problem manifested itself only after an extended period of use, I believe that it is more likely resulting from insufficient power or another issue with the transducer.

[JPA]

Thanks again for your previous help with my transducer problem. Unfortunately I have had some mechanical problems and have not been able to continue troubleshooting. My engine will be coming out for repair. There won't be an easier time to access the existing B60 transducer so I would like to replace it while the engine is out. The boat is at the mechanics and I don't have easy access to check the tag on the transducer cable. Can you confirm that the E66087 is the 20 deg. B60 that would be compatible with my DS500x and with my Axiom 9 RV via the appropriate Y-Cable.

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

JPA,

Q. Can you confirm that the E66087 is the 20 deg. B60 that would be compatible with my DS500x and with my Axiom 9 RV via the appropriate Y-Cable.

A. The E66087 is the 20 deg. B60 is indeed compatible with both the DS500X and with and Axiom 9 RV via the appropriate Y-Cable. It has recently been identified that there was a feature within the initial Axiom MFD software releases that made selecting 600W 50kHz/200kHz transducers difficult when using one of the Axiom splitter cables. To work around this problem, it was necessary to select any one of the channels that are made available upon power-up (RV, DV or SV), you then go into the settings menu and under the transducer tab you are then afforded the opportunity to select the 600W 50kHz/200kHz transducer's model from the “unknown transducer” section of the transducer tab.

This feature was expected to be corrected in the LightHouse v3.1.96 software update for the Axiom MFDs. Accordingly, it is recommended that the 600W 50kHz/200kHz transducer feature be tested again after updating the Axiom MFD's software. This should be done before replacing the currently installed transducer. It it not necessary for the vessel to be in the water to perform basic testing to ensure that the transducer is recognized by the system.