Replacement transducer for echosounder.

[VicS]

If you had to replace the trasnducer for a Seafarer 5 echosounder See here on a tight budget what would it be with ( a Nasa one at £26 a possibility ??) BTW 150kHz

How on earth do you reckon this one has been fitted ?

Do you reckon there would be any chance of cutting the stem back and mending the broken cable?

( not mine !!)

 

[electrosys]

Do you reckon there would be any chance of cutting the stem back and mending the broken cable?

Yes - if you're careful. I've got one in pretty-much the same condition, the co-ax has almost parted at the top of the stem. Fortunately there was just enough 'inner' showing that I could tack on a test lead and test the transducer in a 2m drain-pipe.
I plan on cutting about 2" off the stem, and making the best splice I can, then seal the splice with some adhesive-lined shrinkwrap.

But I'm not in a rush to do this, as I've got about half-a-dozen spares (for some strange reason I seem to be collecting these ...) - but I certainly ain't gonna chuck it away just because of the duff lead.

The other possibility would be to cut back, and solder the lead to some kind of socket: either a TV co-ax job, or BNC. Then Araldite the socket to the stem. Be ok inside a cabin, but not so clever in an open boat.

 

[VicS]

Yes - if you're careful. I've got one in pretty-much the same condition, the co-ax has almost parted at the top of the stem. Fortunately there was just enough 'inner' showing that I could tack on a test lead and test the transducer in a 2m drain-pipe.
I plan on cutting about 2" off the stem, and making the best splice I can, then seal the splice with some adhesive-lined shrinkwrap.

But I'm not in a rush to do this, as I've got about half-a-dozen spares (for some strange reason I seem to be collecting these ...) - but I certainly ain't gonna chuck it away just because of the duff lead.

The other possibility would be to cut back, and solder the lead to some kind of socket: either a TV co-ax job, or BNC. Then Araldite the socket to the stem. Be ok inside a cabin, but not so clever in an open boat.

Thanks for the reply. Cutting the stem and fitting a coax plug seems like a good idea.

A new transducer in a more protected location is the real solution I feel.
Hence the question about suitable transducers. .... anyone ?

 

[Seajet]

There was a place which sold replacement Seafarer transducers, but sorry I can't remember their name and it was years ago; I thought most simple sounder transducers are interchangeable ?

I repaired a few cuts in transducer cables for self & chums with co-ax connectors, I found T.V. repair shops ( a dying breed sadly, get there quick ! ) a good source, just make sure you get the right dia' one, I think there are 2 sizes.

 

[William_H]

Transducers

yes I did a swap for a friend who had an old Seafarer and fitted a NASA depth finder. I just plugged in the old Seafarer transducer and the NASA went well. So yes very similar. olewill

 

[rogerthebodger]

Vic do you know if an old Seafarer 600 could also use the NASA transducer and do you know where I might get a manual for the 600 ?

 

[VicS]

Vic do you know if an old Seafarer 600 could also use the NASA transducer and do you know where I might get a manual for the 600 ?

Hi Roger, The manual for the Seafarer 700 is on the same site as the manual for the Seafarer 5. It uses the same 150khz transducer so I'd guess the 600 will as well.

 

[VicS]

There was a place which sold replacement Seafarer transducers, but sorry I can't remember their name and it was years ago; I thought most simple sounder transducers are interchangeable ?

I repaired a few cuts in transducer cables for self & chums with co-ax connectors, I found T.V. repair shops ( a dying breed sadly, get there quick ! ) a good source, just make sure you get the right dia' one, I think there are 2 sizes.

On reflection the positioning of this one is so bad that it'll be difficult to fit a coax connector to it and its always going to be liable to damage. Its worth a try as a temporary measure, but the long term fix I am sure is an internally mounted one in one of the positions recommended for the boat, which as you will probably have deduced is a Sea Wych

 

[rob2]

I have also plugged a NASA into an old Seafarer transducer (150 kHz). Similar circumstances as the transducer was glassed into the forefoot. You can use a Nasa in a tube or if the boat is out of the water it would be a good excuse to clean the area up so as to glass in a new one!

Rob.

 

[rogerthebodger]

Hi Roger, The manual for the Seafarer 700 is on the same site as the manual for the Seafarer 5. It uses the same 150khz transducer so I'd guess the 600 will as well.

Thanks Vic

 

[sailorman]

If you had to replace the trasnducer for a Seafarer 5 echosounder See here on a tight budget what would it be with ( a Nasa one at £26 a possibility ??) BTW 150kHz

How on earth do you reckon this one has been fitted ?

Do you reckon there would be any chance of cutting the stem back and mending the broken cable?

( not mine !!)

i still have 2 redundant depth transducers in my hull if you want one

 

[electrosys]

Thanks for the reply. Cutting the stem and fitting a coax plug seems like a good idea.

A new transducer in a more protected location is the real solution I feel.
Hence the question about suitable transducers. .... anyone ?

I love these forums (fora ?) - Vic, you've given me an idea ...

I've often thought that the classic Seafarer-style transducer isn't the best thought-out design in the world: the transducer is frequently bonded to the bottom of the hull, often inside a locker or somewhere where 'something' (misc junk, a size 12 foot even) can be imposed upon the cable, thus causing it to fail at the stem top. It's a very common fault, so there has to be a trend here.
Seeing as I'm going to be cutting down a transducer stem anyway - why not really cut it back, and solder-on and Araldite a socket in place at right angles.
That way the transducer and cable would have a much reduced profile and hopefully less chance of accidental damage.
Obviously that configuration wouldn't suit all installations (like an oil-pot), but it might be one which could just come in handy ... one day.

Right - now where's that Patent Application form ...

 

[electrosys]

Ok - a bit of progress: eventually found half-an-hour to play with this repair from my 'round-tuit' box.

As you will see from the photos, there's something like five and a half inches of thread to play with. So I cut back about an inch and a half using an angle-grinder with a 1mm disk (and a touch like a midwife), and much to my surprise there's an aluminium tube inside the plastic thread. Dunno if they're all like this. Then there's an O-ring and a plastic sleeve. The co-ax cable doesn't appear to have been bonded to the plastic sleeve, so exactly what the O-ring is supposed to do is a mystery to me - unless it was originally a tight fit around the co-ax (which it isn't now).

Having seen what's inside, I reckon the simplest repair would be to cut the plastic back a further inch, then leave one inch of ally tube proud - that would give me an inch and a half for a good splice repair, then use some adhesive-lined heat-shrink tubing over the coax splice AND the one inch of ally tube - that'll keep any water out.

 

[Burnham Bob]

if its any help, the NASA guy at the boatshow told me the NASA unit will work with the Seafarer transducer so vice versa seems likely