Antifouling on Transducer?

Dougal

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Anyone ever had the depth transducer fail when covered with antifouling. Had someone else do the bottom last year, and now my Autohelm Tridata is reading zero and flashing. Seems too coincidentalk to be a failure. Could go over the side to check but could do without it;)
 
Anyone ever had the depth transducer fail when covered with antifouling. Had someone else do the bottom last year, and now my Autohelm Tridata is reading zero and flashing. Seems too coincidentalk to be a failure. Could go over the side to check but could do without it;)

Mine is coated with antifoul and works fine. You could cover it with 1/2" of GRP and it'd still work (as in a in hull fitting).
 
Anyone ever had the depth transducer fail when covered with antifouling. Had someone else do the bottom last year, and now my Autohelm Tridata is reading zero and flashing. Seems too coincidentalk to be a failure. Could go over the side to check but could do without it;)

I always hesitate to say "definitely not", but I think I can say it with confidence in this case. Not only I anti-foul traduces regularly (most manufacturers actually recommend it), but I know these things can happily work trough a thick hull as well.
 
Some manufacturers advise against painting the transducer with solvent based antifouling, recommending a water based AF, but i doubt if one application would harm them.

You will have to consult the instruction manual for the instrument in question.

I would check the cable and the connections.
 
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You should antifoul with a water-based antifoul, you can buy small pots for the purpose. A transducer is more likely to fail if it is fouled rather than painted. I suspect it is a coincidence, check the cable for damage and connections for corrosion.
 
A layer of antifoul is certainly a smaller problem on a transducer than 2 layers of barnacle... I paint mine.
 
No contamination on transducer. Here's what's happening now: When powered on, correct depth shows briefly. Then, after a few seconds, the depth reading starts flashing, (a little but not the same as calibration mode). Once flashing, it then stops updating, displaying the same constant reading. Does this sound like a buggered unit?
 
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