Nasa target depth sounder OUT message. What does it mean and how to fix?

[Gitane]

My Nasa target depth sounder has been working flawlessly for many years. This morning it shows an OUT message. The display otherwise works in that the various set up options can be set, but when I set the unit to measure depth, I get this OUT message. No mention of this message in the manual.

What does it mean and how can I fix it?

Gitane

 

[Buck Turgidson]

http://bills-log.blogspot.ch/2010/04/nasa-target-2-depth-sounder.html

This guy had the same problem.

 

[dylanwinter]

mine says out when there is no water under the boat

however, it also says that when there is no oil in the sounder tube....

so is there any liquid in the tube

D

 

[OGITD]

Mine 'throws-a-wobbler' occasionally whilst trying to display a reading through a passing tree, dolphin, shark, whale, bubbles or submarine!?

 

[Gitane]

mine says out when there is no water under the boat

however, it also says that when there is no oil in the sounder tube....

so is there any liquid in the tube

D

I have a through hull sensor, would this have oil in it? If so, how do I top it up?

Gitane

 

[dylanwinter]

I have a through hull sensor, would this have oil in it? If so, how do I top it up?

Gitane

the sensor is in a tube epoxied to the hull

usually with a screw top with a hole in it for the wire

uncrew it, pull out the sounder element and see if there is enough oil in there to cover the sensor

mine is full of two stroke oil - although water works too

D

 

[Gitane]

the sensor is in a tube epoxied to the hull

usually with a screw top with a hole in it for the wire

uncrew it, pull out the sounder element and see if there is enough oil in there to cover the sensor

mine is full of two stroke oil - although water works too

D

My sensor seems to encased in some kind of wooden plug about 3 inches in diameter. It does have a nut on top with a wire through it. I'll try to loosen the nut tomorrow to see if this has any affect.

Gitane

 

[phanakapan]

Ours was working flawlessly until recently- why was it suddenly saying 'out' after tens of thousands of miles excellent service?

Had a look at the through hull- realised that in a fit of tidying up when chipping/de-rusting/painting the bilges we had simply cut off the wire to the sensor, thinking it was the wire to and old 'whirligig' unit we no longer used. Just cut it completely off! Nearly flush to the hull! Duh!

However, we cut away some black plastic and managed to solder some new wire on to the stumps of the old, and made a new housing out of plastic tube and epoxy.

Point is, check the wire connection as well as everything else...

 

[OGITD]

I have a through hull sensor

Both Dylan & myself don't! ..... the only thing I have which is 'through-hull' is my paddle-wheel / log.

Ours sits in an 'oil-bath' contained within a tube which is epoxied to the inside of the Hull ..... one of these:

http://www.nasamarine.com/proddetail.php?prod=05_150Khz_Depth

http://www.nasamarine.com/proddetail.php?prod=07_transducer_mounting_kit

 

[Gitane]

Thanks for all the replies.

It sounds that either the transducer or cable is broken. I'll try replacing both to see if this sorts out the problem.

Gitane

 

[PhillM]

Mine says out when the plug vibrates loose in the socket - at the back of the display.

 

[NormanS]

The term "Through Hull" when applied to transducers, is quite confusing. Does it mean that the transducer is installed through the hull, as in my previous boat? Or does it mean that the transducer is fixed inside the hull, and the sound signal passes through the hull, as in my present boat?

 

[graham]

Nasa Target transducers are usually either bonded directly to the inside of the hull or a plastic tube is bonded inside the hull ,filled with oil and the transducer is immersed in the oil.

Either way there must not be any air between the hull and the face of the transducer.

It sounds as if the OPs has been bonded to the hull ,possibly the bond of glue between transducer and inside of hull has broken causing it to read "out".

 

[Burnham Bob]

my NASA unit was loose (you could lift it in and out of the bilges) but encased in a wooden plug and simply rested in the bilges. i think it needed a little water in the bilge to work properly - could yours be the same? I think the bilge water did the same job as the oil bath!

 

[Gitane]

The problem just got 'interesting'.

I got hold of a new sounder unit today, only to find when I got to the boat that the old one was working! Rocked the boat about a bit and it continued to work. It got a bit more erratic with the outboard on, sometimes showing OUT sometimes showing random numbers but mostly working. Took the boat for the spin around the marina and it continued to work well with some erratic moments.

As I now have a spare unit on board, I'll continue with the old unit and see if it returns to normal or gives up the ghost all together.

If the old unit continues to work, look out for a new unit for sale on eBay!

Gitane

 

[causeway]

The 'OUT' message will also appear when there is over 100m of water (depending on setup) FWIW.

Doubt this is your problem but may help someone googling the same thing.

 

[ghostlymoron]

FWIW if yours is in an oil filled tube, any kind of mineral oil can be used. Extra Virgin or mazola.

 

[macd]

An 'OUT' message is to be expected if the signal has taken an excessively long time to return from the sea-bed. Four years would probably qualify

 

[Will-1952]

I have a NASA Clipper depth unit on my Westerly Centaur and recently it started showing wildly erratic figures while motoring (as well as the word ‘Out’). I then noticed that when at anchor with the engine off, it read normally. I checked the manual and it said that electrical interference from the engine can cause this and I realised that the fault started from when I had a new Beta 20 engine installed. This replaced the old Volvo MD2B and when I spoke to NASA (who are always extremely helpful) the technician said I would need to fit a suppressor to stop the interference. I’m in the process of finding a suppressor. Hope this helps.

 

[Minerva]

I’d imagine the OP worked something out in the intervening decade between posting this thread and your response.