My new Garmin FF is clicking!

[catmania]

Re: My new Garmin FF is clicking!

Ok here goes,<br />I left my eagle on for about 2 days sitting there in my boat on the trailer pinging pavement. I finally found out about it because after the second day it became audible, just like you describe, a toothpick table tap. I shut it off, then the next time out my depthsounder didnt work. I figured that I had ruined the transducer running it out of the water. Two boating trips later I was getting ready to insatll a new transducer when I notice that the old one is working again and I can no longer here the tapping either. So if you can hear it tap I would suggest that it is damaged and that it might not be working as well as a non tapping one. Its a stretch but there might be a correlation.

 

[waterinthefuel]

Re: My new Garmin FF is clicking!

Well it seems to be working perfectly. I can't imagine it not working right. I've heard so many say they can hear theirs clicking, I don't think I need to worry. It just gets aggravating. Well, at least it's an audible reminder that your depthfinder is on. Can't forget it on that way! LOL

 

[FLATHEAD]

Re: My new Garmin FF is clicking!

Both eagles I have owned I could hear click. Both have worked very well without a problem. First time I heard it I just about went nuts trying to figure out what it was. I thought it was some sort of arc off a bad battery conection. I think I may have posted about it here, cant remember. It does not do this all the time.<br /><br />I have learned to ignore it. My FF works just fine clicking and all.

 

[Boatist]

Re: My new Garmin FF is clicking!

I can here both of my 192 Khz transducer if I am in shallow water like backed in to a beach. One is a 20 degree and the other is 8 degree. Both work perfect. been useing the 20 degree since 1981 and the 8 degree since about 1992.

 

[waterinthefuel]

Re: My new Garmin FF is clicking!

That makes sense. Most of my fishing is done in less than 20 feet of water, and some of it over an old highway (which is very hard and sends back an incredibly strong signal). <br /><br />One of the frequencies I don't hear it click on. I'll probably use the 50khz most of the time since knowing a fish is somewhere in a 20 foot circle behind my boat is useless. I think that's the one I don't hear anyway. I might be wrong. Who knows! LOL

 

[Troy_from _Oz]

Re: My new Garmin FF is clicking!

Im just going to take a wild guess here, but im wondering if the clicking that some people are experiencing (and some people are not) has to do with a harmonic effect between the sounder and the boat. Again, this is just a (huge) bit of speculation, but typically surfaces can be excited by a certain frequency and as such will resonate. Lets just say for arguments sake that the transducer is being used in shallow water at 200 khz, and the returned ping hits the hull of the boat (or the marlin boad, engine pod, ES mounting bracket???) and this excites this surface at some other frequency that is within the audible spectrum (presumably a harmonic of this 200khz)- this might explain why some people are hearing their echo sounder and others arent.<br /><br />Im not really up to speed with harmonics - and cant really remember whether the harmonics would be frequuency coupling at a higher or lower frequency, but there is a noise and vibration engineer that sits a couple of offices down from me that I'll ask when he gets in this morning. Alternatively there are some sonar people in the other end of my building i'll ask too.<br /><br />WIF - can you tilt your transducer on your mounting bracket at all? If you can, you could test my theory by tilting your transducer so that it fires away from the stern of your boat (is not firing vertically down). by doing this, the returns might not excite whatever surface it is the sound is bouncing off - you may not get any depth readings while testing this, but it might determine if my theory is total bull#$%@ or not.

 

[kalan2000]

Re: My new Garmin FF is clicking!

What does Garmin say about this FF clicking? I'm sure thisis not the first they've heard of it.

 

[waterinthefuel]

Re: My new Garmin FF is clicking!

Troy, had I seen your post before I left I would have done it. However, the transducer got kicked up one notch, I didn't know it, and it still clicked. It wasn't pointing way out though, which is what I would have done to test your theory.

 

[Boatist]

Re: My new Garmin FF is clicking!

I have no idea why it clicks but I can here mine when standing at the rear of the boat in shallow water. <br /><br />However I thinking it is kind of like a wind chime and watermellon. If you thump a wind chime you will get a nice ring, if you thump a watermellon you will get a low thump sound. Both were with the same pulse but respond quite different.<br /><br />Your transducer does the same thing and what ever the pulse hit will echo the sound back but also resonate at it own frequency and this frequency can certinly ber in a range that we can hear.<br /><br />Also when the pulse goes out there will be a equal and opposite reaction. So as the transducer put out it pulse there will be some vibration from the transducer it self. Anything loose in the mount, the kick up hinge or the transducer it self could be a sound we can here. As you get units with more power I think the sound level will also go up.

 

[Troy_from _Oz]

Re: My new Garmin FF is clicking!

WIF - i spoke with the noise and vibration engineer here and agrees that it sounds like something is being 'excited' when the sounder emits a pulse. he also suggested the same thing that Boatist just mentioned about it coming from something vibrating (or similar) from the mount etc. I guess if you were to try and point your transducer quite a bit off vertical (to account for the beam spread of the transducer), then this might determine if its reflected energy (off the bottom) or direct energy through something like your mount bracket. This may not fix the problem but might narrow it down to were it might be coming from. It may just be that the combination of your boat characteristics and the mount position of the transducer cause this to happen - in which case there may be little you can do. (i guess thats not the outcome you would want though)<br /><br />Cheers - T

 

[waterinthefuel]

Re: My new Garmin FF is clicking!

Well, it seems to work flawlessly. I've owned H'birds and thought it was normal to lose the bottom once every few minutes or so. Since I got the 240 it has never lost the bottom, except when the transducer got knocked up unknown to me. As soon as I clicked it back into operating position she was working beautifully again.

 

[JimB6898]

Re: My new Garmin FF is clicking!

Waterinthefuel-<br />I have just purchased a new 19' boat and have been shopping for FF. So many choices and opinions. Saw the 240 at Boatersworld today and on sale. Looks good in the showroom. It's either that one or a Lowrance X88df. <br />How do you like it? I will be fishing mostly in lakes, rivers and the delta here in the SF bay area.<br /><br />Jim

 

[waterinthefuel]

Re: My new Garmin FF is clicking!

Hey Jim. Personally, I am very pleased with it. It's got quite a few features and solid reliability and customer support, should you need it. I've never had it lose to bottom except when the transducer got kicked up. <br /><br />I can't speak for the Lowrance, only can say that it was one of my considerations. I got the Garmin really based on its looks and past reliability. Now the Lowrance is good also. Again, I can't give you an honest comparison because I only own one.<br /><br />If you get a Garmin, you will be pleased with it. Just take your time installing it. A well installed unit will not only look nice, but be eye candy as well. I speak from experience on this one! <br /><br />Also, if you are near the transducer you will hear a very soft clicking noise. Your ears (no personal attacks meant here) may be too old to hear it. I wish mine were. Even if you can hear it, it's too soft to bother you. <br /><br />If you get one let me know!

 

[JimB6898]

Re: My new Garmin FF is clicking!

Well, I did it. The boat dealer where I got my boat gave me a good deal and a strong product recommendation so I purchased a Garmin 188 Sounder. The screen is big enought that I don't need my glasses and they mounted it on a swing base as I don't have much dash room. Looking forward to learning how to use it. Will pick up the data card tomorrow that has all the maps for northern California.<br /><br />Jim

 

[waterinthefuel]

Re: My new Garmin FF is clicking!

Awesome man!! I hope you enjoy it!