bobfuller

Hi

I want to fit a transom monted depth transducer on to my Seadoo Jetski that will talk to my Garmin GPSMap 76.

Can anyone suggest what ones I should look at, it needs to output in NMEA sentence mode.

Thanks

Bob Fuller

Mumblerone

Welcome aboard! http://www.garmin.com/graphics/gpsmap76BIG.jpg you have a GPS unit, not a depth sounder. Great unit, I have the 76S. Your idea will not work without a different unit with a sounder.

bobfuller

Hi Mumblerone!

Thanks for the quick reply. The manual states that the unit will display depth readings if it is connected to an NMEA input, presumably from an echo sounder.

The Seadoo has a special holder for the Garmin 76 and I researched that it could take depth input, my question is which transom mounted unit will give me NMEA output and is best suited to high speed work.

Hope this help clarify my question, sorry for the confusion.

Regards

Bob Fuller

rogerstg

There are no transom mounted depth finders, just transducers that talk to depthfinders. The depthfinder, in turn can provide NMEA data to other electronics.

bobfuller

Hi

Thanks for the input, it is my understanding that there are some 'smart' transducers that will convert their output to NMEA sentences in particular the P66 from Airmar.

Is this the only one or are there other alternatives?

Regards

Bob Fuller

rogerstg

My P66 isn't that smart, it needs to be connected to my 320C.
Can you give us a link to what you're writing about?

Thom

Yeah, Airmar makes a smart sensor that looks just like a transducer but outputs NMEA data. You can go to the Airmar site and look up the part number for it but I wouldn't bother, just call them up and tell them what you're looking for. Call Gem Electronics at(843) 394-3565, they should be able to fix you right up. Gem is the retail sales outlet for Airmar (who will not sell directly to you) and they have a very knowledgable sales staff. Oh, and you better have the heavy duty plastic ready, cause this one is going to sting you.

Thom

Mumblerone

bobfuller...your absolutely right on. It's in the Reference section, Pg 56 in my Owner's Manual for the 76S. Didn't kow that, thanks.

E Fitzgerald

Airmar P66 SMART(tm) Transducer - 235kHz and 7 degree beam.
Input Voltage 11.5 to 28VDC (for full power but will operate with voltage as low as 6VDC)
30mA max current draw. Updates 1 per second - NMEA0183 Output.
Maximum detection range is 100m - minimum range is about a meter or a little less (environment dependent.)
When mounted correctly this transducer holds bottom lock at up to 44 knots. E Fitz.

Think Tweiss

Fascinating..... This product is made by a UK company named Active Research Limited and the information can be found at http://www.actisense.com/DownloadFil...sue%201.10.pdf

If I read this right, the unit is based on Airmar's 235khz P66 which has a Q of 15. Many of us have a problem that the dual frequency airmars have a relatively high Q (25-30) and have a problem reading in shallow water (less than 5'). A transducer with a Q of 15 should be able to read shallow water.

Currently Airmar is building two low Q versions of the p79 for special testing to see if they will solve our shallow water reading problems. One dual frequency with lower Q and one single frequency with extremely low Q. Hopefully those will allow readings below 5'. This is an alternative, because since it runs at 235khz, it will not interfere with "standard" 50/200 transducers. It would allow me to use my P79 with my fishfinder and use the "smart" p66 by displaying depth on my Chartplotter. I would then have two depthfinders with no additional instruments on my panel.

I'm going to see how much it costs to buy one of these babys.....and give it a test.

Think Tweiss

P66 SMART is $235 from GEM.

E Fitzgerald

The Airmar P66 235kHz SMART(tm) transducer has a nice auto-gain control reduces the transmit power in shallow water. The result is that it can reliably read down to about 2 feet (ideally). The unit actually takes three measurements and then transmits the "best" one (based on previous depth measurments) once per second. E Fitz.