[CA] Airmar Smart Sensor w/ Axiom 9

[CaptDaveHowe]

Hello Chuck,
As noted before, my transducer cable consisting of 4 leads is terminated to a terminal board. What I have found by following the leads is two leads (black and red) are connected to the SeaTalk/Alarm Out cable of the E80. The other two leads (white and blue) are connected to the NMEA 0183 cable of the E80. There is power (12 V) registering from the black and red leads and the E80 must be on for the depth finder to operate. The leads from the GPS sensor are also connected to the black and red leads of the SeaTalk/Alarm Out cable.

I connected the white and blue leads from the same terminal as the NMEA 0183 and also added the the bare screen wire from the transducer cable to the iTC-5 converter. The status LED’s on the iTC-5 are solid for the network and the depth only section. I am now reading depth on the P70RS controller, as well as on the Axiom 9 MFD. However, the readings fluctuate (scrolling) from 15 to 50 feet, in 5 feet of water. There is no DSM in the mix, the transducer cable directly connected to the terminal.

As this set-up is unlike any that I have read in any manuals, I am sort of at a lose. Any idea what would cause the mis-readings? Do I need to add a DSM300? Do I need to switch transducers? Any assistance is appreciated!

Thanks, David