Humminbird Wide 128

Mylo53

Cadet
Joined
Feb 10, 2011
Messages
17
I have the above fish finder on my bass boat. I am not sure it is working properly anymore. Lately I have been fishing a rather deep stretch of river (20'-30'), Susquehanna River in south central PA. I've been still fishing, trolling, drifting. I hardly see any fish on the finder. I have the fish alarm on, fish sizes selected to all, sensitivity to neutral. It seems even after covering a rather large area of river that I hardly see any fish. Once in awhile I'll see one or two at varying depths but never more than one at a time. I am sure the area I am fishing in is loaded with all types of fish, bass, stripers, shad, channel cats, flatheads, muskies, walleyes, etc.

Is there a time when the finders lose thier effectiveness and need recalibrated? I normally fish alone so I don't have the luxury of fishing with another boat nor do I care to ask other random fishermen what they are seeing. My unit is 12 years old and I normally use it in shallow river conditions (3-5") where it is practically useless for fishfinding. I just use it for depth, etc. All other functions seem to be working normally. Do I need a new unit or do I need to change rivers?

Thank you.
 

jigngrub

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Mar 19, 2011
Messages
8,155
Re: Humminbird Wide 128

Are you catching any fish where the unit doesn't show any?

Check the bottom of your transducer for crud and make sure it is set at the correct angle/alignment with the bottom of the boat.
 

Mylo53

Cadet
Joined
Feb 10, 2011
Messages
17
Re: Humminbird Wide 128

I'll clean it tonight. I am going out tomorrow so I'll let you know if it makes a difference. By the way, I'm not catching any fish, anywhere. LOL


Are you catching any fish where the unit doesn't show any?

Check the bottom of your transducer for crud and make sure it is set at the correct angle/alignment with the bottom of the boat.
 

ngimpel

Cadet
Joined
Jun 20, 2011
Messages
18
Re: Humminbird Wide 128

I have had the Wied 128 since about 1995. It stopped working on Tuesday. I have 12 volts to the quick connect, unit has seen its day. I called Humminbird and they told me they do not repair them because it was too old. I took it apart and it smelled burnt. My question is what do I buy next. Humminbird is sending me a catalogue. Any suggeastion to what brand to purchase?
 

jigngrub

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Joined
Mar 19, 2011
Messages
8,155
Re: Humminbird Wide 128

I'll clean it tonight. I am going out tomorrow so I'll let you know if it makes a difference. By the way, I'm not catching any fish, anywhere. LOL

If you get the same readings after cleaning I'd say that your fish have moved and your sonar is working correctly. Those fish can be little snot noses sometimes, they'll run off and hide and it'll take forever to find them again!;)

I have had the Wied 128 since about 1995. It stopped working on Tuesday. I have 12 volts to the quick connect, unit has seen its day. I called Humminbird and they told me they do not repair them because it was too old. I took it apart and it smelled burnt. My question is what do I buy next. Humminbird is sending me a catalogue. Any suggeastion to what brand to purchase?

I'd say you got your money's worth out of that unit.

I'm a loyal HB customer and always have gotten very good service from their products.

The newer HB's are even better than the older ones.
 

Mylo53

Cadet
Joined
Feb 10, 2011
Messages
17
Re: Humminbird Wide 128

Can't make it out today to test it. Will have to wait thill Hurricane Irene passes and river returns to normal depths. My unit was purchased in jan. 1999. I haven't had any issues with it other than I want to find out if it is working properly. I assume there aren't any real tests to accomplish this. I'll keep you informed.
 

John_S

Rear Admiral
Joined
Jun 21, 2004
Messages
4,269
Re: Humminbird Wide 128

I can't remember if that unit is 200kHz or 455kHz. If the latter, it is a very narrow beam. Great for getting a detailed slice of bottom structure, but you basicly have to be right over top of the fish.

Even at 200kHz, the cone is not that wide at 20'. With the irregular bottom of the Susky, fish can be sitting on or near the bottom and that unit wil probably not pick them up. Not many suspended fish is the susky, at least not upstream in the NY sections.

Put the sensitivity on max, and back off just enough so you can tell where bottom is. Also, I think here is limited diagnostics on that unit, but might want to see if that indicates something.
 
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