| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
NoBoatBob
Junior Member
USA
76 Posts |
 Posted - 05/08/2012 : 5:47:43 PM
|
After seeing a Garmin 5210 on a friend's boat I decided to part with $3200 to have my old Lowrance replaced. Not that the Lowrance had not been adequate but the sonar part was less than desirable with its attendant noise but it usually would indicate the depth 98% of the time. After having the Garmin installed my wife and I took it out to the marsh to try it out. Was I surprised when every time I turned the key on the Garmin reinitialized for 45 seconds. Shallow water? Forget it. It not only didn't work in shallow water but also in 10ft and not running very fast(30 mph or less) it would just sit there and blink. I called Garmin and after a 30 minute wait got to talk to a customer service female who was totally unsympathetic. No more Garmins for me.
|
|
|
JOHN C
Advanced Member
USA
2665 Posts |
Posted - 05/09/2012 : 12:05:58 AM
|
BOB...was that installed in your 256 Avenger??? John Castelluccio, Jr.
OLDER SUV and house, STILL HAVE new boat-'06 Avenger, Semi-retired-'08, soon to get "new-wife" BUT MAY CHANGE MY MIND and THEN 'MIGHT NOT BE' in debt for the rest of my life! Now & 4-ever!!! Been a memeber on R&R since 09-21-1999 |
 |
|
|
Capt Rory Rorison
Advanced Member
USA
2066 Posts |
|
|
JOHN C
Advanced Member
USA
2665 Posts |
Posted - 05/09/2012 : 12:43:20 PM
|
I second Capt. Rory on that statement...Lowrance' bigger issue is that their support/tech staff sucks! John Castelluccio, Jr.
OLDER SUV and house, STILL HAVE new boat-'06 Avenger, Semi-retired-'08, soon to get "new-wife" BUT MAY CHANGE MY MIND and THEN 'MIGHT NOT BE' in debt for the rest of my life! Now & 4-ever!!! Been a memeber on R&R since 09-21-1999 |
Edited by - JOHN C on 05/09/2012 12:44:27 PM |
|
|
|
NoBoatBob
Junior Member
USA
76 Posts |
Posted - 05/09/2012 : 5:37:52 PM
|
JOHN: Yes, it is on my Avenger. I had a Lowrance(can't remember the model but it was an advanced one for the time with a hard disk and 8" screen) that was put on in Jan 06. Never a minute's problem from the time it was installed until it was pulled out. So I never had reason to deal with Lowrance customer service. It performed adequately and it would occasionally lose the depth in very shallow water. However the screen was not very good in bright sunlight and was so small that I would have to put my glasses on to read the various parameters such as time, temp and bearing. The Garmin is easier to see because it is larger and is more daylight friendly. However it cannot be programmed to put all its parameters that are available on one screen which I feel is a step backward. Temperature did not come with it. Temp is available as an option for more money. You would think that for $600+ extra for a depth capability Temp would be standard.
RORY: The transducer is located exactly in the same location as the Lowrance transducer was--just in front of the step on the hull. The Lowrance transducer was one of those little things that you usually associate with hanging off the transom about 2in in diameter. The Garmin was supposed to be latest thing that is for some reason oil-filled. Don't know why that is and will probably never know since I am getting too damned old to learn. One good thing--although it is costing me more money--is I am having a dedicated battery installed to try to correct the problem. I have always been a little anxious about the starting battery running everything else also but I didn't worry about it all that much since I have three trolling motor batteries for backup. The starting battery was put in the same time as the Lowrance--over 6 years ago. If isolating this thing doesn't work I don't know what my next step is. Open to any suggestions.
|
|
|
|
ed mcintyre
Administrator
USA
6850 Posts |
Posted - 05/09/2012 : 5:45:25 PM
|
Sounds like your unit is wired through the ignition, mine is wired direct to the starting battery. did you have your depth/fish finder calibrated?? Barrett Jones taught me that all units no matter what brand had to be calibrated. also do you have a dual Frequency transducer??? most of the new stuff has them, for us country boys and that includes You, John C and I all we need is the 200 mhz transducer, this is the shallow water transducer. The 50mhz transducer is for deep water. on some of the units you actually pick the mhz that you need, I messed up one time on a Contender that I was running and switched to the low frequency 50 mhz and had a fit trying to figure out what was wrong.
when i die bury me deep, put a bucket of bait at my feet, put a rod and reel in my hand and i will fish my way to the promised land !!!! remember we did not inherit these resources from our parents, we are merely borrowing them from our children |
|
|
|
NoBoatBob
Junior Member
USA
76 Posts |
Posted - 05/10/2012 : 8:33:18 PM
|
ED: You touched on a couple of issues here that I have thought about. I'm sure that it is connected to a bus bar that runs directly to the battery. I didn't actually put a meter on it to make 100% sure but I'm pretty confident that is the case. However on page 11 of the installation instructions it says "Connect to the ignition switch for the boat if possible". Also the word calibration is not found in either of the manuals. What is it that you can calibrate? I'm sure that you meant 200kHz for the frequency rather than mHz. It would have been a big mistake to have installed a 50kHz or a dual-frequency transducer because I am never going to be in water over 100ft if even that. I really start to get nervous if I am in water that I can't walk in. Hopefully installing a dedicated isolated battery will solve the problems. If not it comes out of my boat and my opinion of Garmin will not change. I didn't know John C. was a country boy.
|
|
|
|
ed mcintyre
Administrator
USA
6850 Posts |
Posted - 05/10/2012 : 10:10:13 PM
|
khz not mhz. my 545s has a dual frequency transducer because it has the 3 diminsional thingy, and I run an 1860 Alumacraft tunnel. I was hoping that Barret would hop in here, he is the guru on these things and he could tell you about the calibration. and heck yea John C. is a country boy, he grew up down in da Parish!! St. Bernard, you don't get much more country than that!!
I have been busy today trying to figure out why my live well pump was not working. finally found the problem. I hope that I have time to check on the Calibration thing tomorrow for you.
when i die bury me deep, put a bucket of bait at my feet, put a rod and reel in my hand and i will fish my way to the promised land !!!! remember we did not inherit these resources from our parents, we are merely borrowing them from our children |
|
|
|
swamppro
Advanced Member
USA
940 Posts |
Posted - 05/12/2012 : 08:35:33 AM
|
Sounds like you do not have a good seal between the transducer and the inside of the hull. If it is seeing any air between the transducer and the water you will get the blinking. Also, in many boats in the bilge there is pieces of wood glassed in for the bilge pump to be screwed down on. Make sure its not on top of that. It has to be just fiberglass.
As for the battery you are getting the infamous starting drain. This can damage your unit. The power is probably run to the same power point where ignition is being pulled. I have always liked installing a dedicated buss bar for the electronics only straight from the starting battery. A dedicated house battery is even better.
|
|
|
|
BayouTiger
Advanced Member
USA
1152 Posts |
Posted - 05/12/2012 : 2:33:28 PM
|
| I too have never had the slightest issue with my Lowrance 525. |
|
|
|
kevin2467
Junior Member
USA
112 Posts |
Posted - 06/08/2012 : 10:45:23 AM
|
| I have the 5208 for about three years and never had and issue. Depth finder works great until I'm in less than 2' of water. Also every -/+ 6 mo garmine comes out with updates. Make sure you update your equipment. |
|
|
|
NoBoatBob
Junior Member
USA
76 Posts |
Posted - 06/09/2012 : 09:42:56 AM
|
UPDATE: Took the boat back and had another battery with isolation switch installed along with another transducer. That cured the reinitializing problem but not the depth finder problem. Cost me another $1000; so now I have over $4k in this thing and it still doesn't work. I called Garmin again(same deal! wait 30 minutes to talk to someone). I was told by this Einstein that Garmin depth finders do not work over 30mph. However he did not cite any references to validate his assertion nor have I been able to come up with a verification myself.
I did notice that the new transducer was mounted directly against the step and just offset from the keel. I e-mailed Garmin and asked whether there could be propagation problem with the transducer mounted directly against the step. The response was that maybe I should try a thru-hull transducer--which I am not going to do. The next thing that I am going to try is to cut a hole in the deck in the rear rod storage compartment. I can install a deck plate there and it will give direct access to the hull so there should be no installer excuses. I admit that it is tight where it is installed now but they said they could do it. We'll see.
Kevin--Since this unit is less than 2 months old I would hope it is current in its updates. The mapping part of the GPS is not current for the Morgan Harbor/Christmas Camp Lake area.
|
|
|
|
swamppro
Advanced Member
USA
940 Posts |
Posted - 06/11/2012 : 08:19:33 AM
|
Where ar eyou located? Could you send me a picture of the transducer installed?
|
|
|
|
NoBoatBob
Junior Member
USA
76 Posts |
Posted - 06/17/2012 : 12:13:44 PM
|
Barrett: I sent you an e-mail via RnR a couple of days ago. I have a picture that I was going to send you but don't know how through RnR. I think from the picture that I know the problem. The mounting ears on the transducer seem to be on top of bilge pump hose which would preclude having a good fit to the hull. I have cut a 6" hole in the rod locker and the only thing you can see is the hull. I am going to try to get the installer to try again but this time I want to watch and make sure it's done my way with putting plumber's putty down and making sure there are no bubbles in the epoxy--unless someone knows a better way. I am in Picayune.
|
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
large
Anybody have a Garmin 4210 besides me?
