New Dragonfly 4pro - No depth reading at more than 10mph

[Dave527]

Hello, this may have been covered somewhere, but I just installed a new Dragonfly 4 pro. 17 foot Nitro bass boat. I really think I put the transducer in the right spot. Clockwise rotating prop. I put the transducer starboard central. I don't have that many places to put it. Need some thoughts and suggestions here. Can't have it not register depth while moving fast. Any help would be appreciated. Is there a way to post a picture of the boat to help with this ? Thanks.

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Welcome to the Rayamrine Forum Dave,

The reported is resulting from an aerated flow of water across the face of the transducer. Please click here to view a FAQ addressing this subject. The "New Attachment" feature followed by the Add Attachment feature included within the New Thread or New Reply web pages of this forum may be used to attach photos and other supporting documentation to a thread or post.

[jplowing]

I have a drag 5, and it looses bottom at any speed over 15. Also if i drift into shallow water the thing gets stuck reading 2.2 feet and nothing but junk on the screen even after moving into deeper water. I then i found out at 35 feet deep the depth readout in the upper left corner never reads over 26 feet, even though the screen bottom is at 35 with the curser depth. There is no distance log so you never will no how many miles you put on your boat.

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Welcome to the Raymarine Forum jplowing,

The problem reported whereby bottom is being lost above 15 MPH is quite likely resulting from aeration of the transducer. Low power / high sensitivity transducers such as the Dragonfly transducers require a non-aerated flow of water across the face of the transducer. The photo below shows a hull being subjected to such aeration:



As indicated here, dropping the trailing end of the transducer a notch or two will generally address such problems should the transducer be properly installed. Further improvements to bottom tracking and addressing the other depth related issues which you have reported were included within the Dragonfly v12.08/v12.09 software update. It is accordingly recommended that the software within your Dragonfly display be updated accordingly should you not already have done so.

Should the bottom tracking problems persist after addressing the items suggested above, then it would be recommended that you respond accordingly and attach some photos clearly showing the following:
1) from the rear ... entire transom of the hull
2) from the rear ... the side of the hull where the transducer has been installed
3) from the rear directly behind and slightly below the transducer ... the transducer's position relative to the bottom of the hull and showing the bottom of the hull forward of the transducer
4) from the starboard side of the transom at the same height as the transducer ... viewing toward the transducer