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I just bought a used Paker with a Furuno FCV600L sounder. I played around with it this weekend but still have a lot of learning to do. My question is this - will the unit display a depth while under cruising speeds or just a depth range? If just a depth range, how accurate is that range at cruising speed? One other question - is the 200 kHz setting the better of the two settings (50 or 200)for inshore/shallow depth readings? Thom, I believe I've seen that this is the unit that you have, any suggestions?
Oh, let's see. First off congratuations on the new, to you, boat. Great isn't it? It having a 600L on it tells you something about the prior owner. Congratulations again.
OK, what frequency to use. As a general rule stick with the 200 kHz for depths up to somewhere around 250 feet, give or take. I'll probably continue to work at depths to around 400 feet or so on the 200 kHz setting, but in the deeper water you definitly want to switch it over to 50 kHz. For whatever its worth you will loose a good bit of detail once you flip it over to 50 and something you might want to do to see just what it is you gain and loose is to go out into some moderatly deep water, say around 150 feet or so, and flip it back and forth between the two settings. You'll see a distinct difference.
You know, when Furuno was making the old LS6000 it came in two versions, the 200 kHz and the 50 kHz versions. Depending on which display unit you bought you got one or the other but it was not a dual frequency unit. I'll just bet you that Furuno sold 20 of the 200 kHz units for every 50 that went out the door, hell, I'll make that 50:1 if you like. There is a good reason for it. Consider 200 kHz to be your default and switch to 50 when you have to for depth penetration.
You asked if the machine would show you actual depth or the depth range when running, and to tell the truth I'm not real sure I understand what you meant by that. If by range you meant that you could expect the actual depth to be somewhere within the range shown on the side of the screen then the answer is no, don't trust that to mean anything. What you can trust is the number depicting the depth that you'll see on the bottom left of the screen. Sometimes you will loose the number but still be able to see the outline of the bottom on the screen itself. This only happens when you are in very deep water, generally more than 1,000 feet. So, in a sense, that is my answer; if you can't see a number don't much trust anything else you see. If you can see the profile of the bottom clearly and for whatever reason you have lost contact with the bottom momentarly, well, that might be OK, but if all you have is a blank screen and it happens to be on some range scale or another (and that will hop around as the machine searches for bottom if you are in the Automatic mode) don't trust that range scale to tell you anything.
Also, keep this in mind, failure to be able to read bottom when running is almost always the fault of transducer placement, and more particularly of transducer alignment. Sometimes just the smallest of adjustment in the alighment of the transducer can make a night and day difference in the performance of the unit. If the transducer is properaly placed and aligned you should be able to read bottom at any speed the boat will go.
Here, I can't help this, just think of the fellows you see on so many of the bass boat internet sites that will tell you of how their Lowrance marks fish at 70 mph .... that takes very good transducer alignment, even if it is held inside the hull with bubble gum, right next to the 8th trolling motor battery [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif[/img]
"I command thee, O fish of the ocean, rise to my bait"
If I understand your response, you're saying that if I'm not showing a depth in the bottom left hand corner, then it is probably a problem with the placement/alignment of the transducer? To give you an example to help clarify my original post, if I'm in water between 10-50' (i.e. I know this to be fact from experience) and I'm traveling at 25 mph and my depth finder isn't giving me a depth reading for very long periods of time (i.e. several minutes), then you are telling me that it is probably a transducer issue (i.e. alignment and placement)? If the answer is yes, it makes sense. I noticed that the transducer had been moved once before I bought the boat. It was only an inch or two to the right of the original position but it had been moved non-the-less. How do I realign/place the transducer in the correct place? I'm now thinking this may also help my speedodometer. It seemed to act up as well. Thanks again for your help.
By the way, a book like the one you mentioned in a post sounds like it would be perfect for someone like myself. I could really use a electronics book for dummies.
Your understanding is correct. Here is what I think should always be the first step in getting an errent transducer to act right. Get someone to drive the boat and get it up to speed. You go hang your head over the back of the boat, don't fall out, and look at the transducer. Is it throwing up a rooster tail? Is is setting right in the middle of a bubble stream? Is it in the water at all? Can you tell if its face is pointing directly down, or maybe a little bit forward of straight down? Those are the thing you need to know.
When you get out there to start adjusting it what you want to end up with is a transducer face that is in clear water. you also want it to be level in a Port to Starboard (Left to right) orientation. You want it pointing just a bit forward of straight down, which is sometimes described as having its heel a little lower than its nose (something between about 1/8" to 1/4" lower in the back than in the front) and you absolutly have to have it deep enough that the entire face (very bottom of it) is in the water when running. For whatever its worth if you have a single engine on the boat the thing should be mounted on the starboard side a reasonable distance away from the engine (half way between the engine and the side of the boat usually works pretty well).
Thom
"I command thee, O fish of the ocean, rise to my bait"
Thom, I tried attaching a picture of the transom that shows how and where the transducer is mounted. It appears from the picture that the transducer is only 12-16" from the engine (or the deepest part of the transom) and it also appears to be mounted at a 60 degree angle (pointing starboard). Would you guess this would be the problem. If you have an email address, I can forward you the pics.
Mounted at a 60-degree angle to starboard? Furuno will tell you that they need to be within 10-degrees of straight down. I'm amazed that you could get it to work at all if tis tilted that much.
THOM, WHEN YOU SAY THE TRANSDUCER SHOULD BE MOUNTED ON THE STARBOARD SIDE OF THE BOAT, I AM ASSUMING THAT IS BECAUSE OF PROP ROTATION. WOULD STARBOARD SIDE MOUNTING ALSO BE NECESSARY ON A BOAT WITH AN ARMSTRONG BRACKET MOUNTED OUTBOARD?
THE REASON I ASK IS OF COURSE BECAUSE MY DEALER MOUNTED MINE ON THE PORT SIDE AND IT USUALLY GETS A GOOD READING. HOWEVER, WHEN I AM IN SHALLOW WATER (LESS THAN TEN FEET AND) I WILL LOSE THE NUMERICAL DEPTH READING QUITE OFTEN. I WAS HOPING TO BE ABLE TO ADJUST THIS PROBLEM OUT ON THE SAME SIDE. I HATE HOLES IN THE TRANSOM AND DON'T WANT ANYMORE IF I CAN HELP IT! THANKS.
JE, I'm having that same exact issue. I have an Armstrong bracket and do not get very good readings in shallow water or when I'm at speed. My transducer is mounted on the starboard side though. However, I definitely think my issues are related to the angle the transducer is mounted.
Mark up one more selling point for brackets. The Starboard side mounting is because of the downward stroke of the prop, just like Furuno says to do it in their installation manual. I wouldn't pretend to understand the harmonics in water, but I know that there are scads of guys in Japan who have made a life's-work out of understanding it - and I trust them and every single one of their ancestors to have got it right. Also, I figure that one you stick a bracket on there and have moved that prop three feet out from the transom that it ceases to really matter much which side the transducer is on.
Thom
"I command thee, O fish of the ocean, rise to my bait"
Furuno FCV600L - depth readings at speed? 
