Fish Finder Problem

[Luder]

I recently picked up a new Stealth-12 which had all the electrical wiring for the Cuda 168 and bait well done for me. Everything seems to be wired for one battery, which I didn't expect to be a problem until I got out with it for the first time.

I have a 12v 7amp battery powering a Cuda 250 with the Cuda 168 wiring/transducer ( was told that the wiring for both Cuda models are identical so it shouldn't matter ) and the Stealth-12's bait well pump which I believe is a Tsunami 500.

Here are the problems I encountered on my trip out:

-Vertical lines and dots on the ff when scrolling. I'm pretty sure this is interference/noise caused by the wiring of the live bait pump. Does this mean I just have to wire the bait pump separately to another battery?

-I have no problems getting good depth readings up until I reach about the 200ft mark, then my depth reading just starts flashing until it reaches a readable depth. Is this normal for a Cuda 250 with the transducer gooped inside the hull? I thought the max depth for the Cuda 250 is 600ft.

-Last problem is that my ff goes haywire once I get near any other kayaker with their ff on. If I get within 15ft of another active ff, my depth reading will start flashing, vertical lines will appear and nothing will work properly. This is my first ff so I have no idea if this is normal occurrence.

Also, one other question for people with the Stealth models. Do you guys have timer switches for your bait well or do you just leave it on your entire outing? I left it on the entire outing and found out that it drains a battery fairly quickly.

I appreciate any advice given.

[Fiskadoro]

Originally Posted by Luder

I have a 12v 7amp battery powering a Cuda 250 with the Cuda 168 wiring/transducer ( was told that the wiring for both Cuda models are identical so it shouldn't matter ) and the Stealth-12's bait well pump which I believe is a Tsunami 500.

That setup is not going to give you enough power to run both for any length of time.

The pump alone pulls something like 2.5 amps. Your seven amp hour battery can only run the pump for maybe three hours. My suggestion is you buy a 6volt 10amp hour 10ah battery and run the pump with that at half the RPM. That will run your tank all day, and you can then use the 7ah 12v battery to run your finder.

Originally Posted by Luder

-Vertical lines and dots on the ff when scrolling. I'm pretty sure this is interference/noise caused by the wiring of the live bait pump. Does this mean I just have to wire the bait pump separately to another battery?

Could be.... could be not.

Just switch the pump to a 6volt and the problem should go away if it is indeed a problem. If not you could have other problems. Want to check it? Disconnect the pump and turn on the finder, if you have no lines, you have found your problem. You don't have to be in the water to try this just turn on the finder for a minute or two with the pump disconnected and you will have your answer.

Originally Posted by Luder

-I have no problems getting good depth readings up until I reach about the 200ft mark, then my depth reading just starts flashing until it reaches a readable depth. Is this normal for a Cuda 250 with the transducer gooped inside the hull? I thought the max depth for the Cuda 250 is 600ft.

If mounted externally as it's designed to be used you might get to 600ft but what you're getting is normal for an in the hull goop installation.

Actually your doing better then most. Sounders work by emitting and receiving returning sound waves. It sends out a tone and then charts a picture, a model of what is there by interpreting and echo it receives back from the bottom kelp fish etc...

Beaming sound through the hull will work to an extent but it muffles the sound both as it goes out and as it returns so you get less information on your screen, and can't read as deep. Sounds like your getting about about third of normal as a return, 200 vrs 600 that sounds pretty average for a goop install as it's about the same I got before I went to an external transducer mount.

Originally Posted by Luder

-Last problem is that my ff goes haywire once I get near any other kayaker with their ff on. If I get within 15ft of another active ff, my depth reading will start flashing, vertical lines will appear and nothing will work properly.

Once again... Depth finders work by sending sound out and listening to an echo return. Two or more finders at the same location send competing sounds which degrades the echo response. It's like waves on the water. One swell pattern is predictable, two or more and the sea get's confused, and harder to predict.

It's like listening to more then one radio station at a time through the same receiver. Or more then one person talking at the same time through one microphone. Everything get's garbled.

What your seeing is perfectly normal. Turn off your finder when you get close to another if you want the other guy to be able to read his finder or get him to turn off his so you can read yours.

Originally Posted by Luder

Also, one other question for people with the Stealth models. Do you guys have timer switches for your bait well or do you just leave it on your entire outing? I left it on the entire outing and found out that it drains a battery fairly quickly..

Timers eat power to and they burn out in a season or two. Like I said go to a separate 6 volt battery and you will no longer have to worry about it. It's the standard procedure almost everyone I know does it that way.


Hope that helps...Good luck.

Jim

[Luder]

Thanks a lot for the reply. That actually covers everything that I was concerned about.

[Fiskadoro]

Originally Posted by Luder

Thanks a lot for the reply. That actually covers everything that I was concerned about.

Cool... glad I was able to help.

Jim

[Sloberdog]

ff Funny - My Cuda 250 started acting up recently. The first time was at lake Miramar when I could not get a depth reading past 40 feet, I blamed it on freshwater. Then it go worse, while fishing the south bay I would frequently loose bottom at 10-15 feet and would get some weird (no read) vertical lines. There were no others by me, so I know it was not interference. I tried all the troubleshooting recommendations, none fixed it. I have my transducer gooped in and it does not move and all the wiring is fine.

I sent the unit for warranty repair and it has bee there for past 4 weeks. I finally confirmed that it has been fixed and is being returned to me. It should arrive sometime before this Wednesday. I hope it's fixed. I have not fished since I sent it out, will need to test it on those LJ, YT + WSB.