Lowrance Elite 3 transducer

Hey folks,
I'm having all kinds of problems with my new Elite 3 and getting it to work on my Scupper Pro.  My main problem was mounting the skimmer transducer.  I ended up mounting it to a length of hose, kinda like one of the guys on here showed in a video, and slipping it up through a scupper hole.  The problem now is that it's reading about twice the actual depth I'm in.  Probably a foolish question, but does the transducer have to be at a specific angle to read correctly?

The other problem, and certainly a mistake on my part, is that I'm trying to power it with 8 AA batteries.  I figured 8 x 1.5 volts = 12 volts, but it's actually only putting out about 9 volts, which promptly drops down to about nothing.  Then I tried rechargeable AA's.  Oddly, 8 of those, at 1.2 volts each, reads 11 volts, then drops to around 10.5. 

I'm coming to the sinking realization that I bought the wrong unit and wrong transducer for my kayak...

Ron.

The face of the transducer must be parallel with the bottom of the ocean/lake/surface (or close to parallel).  That is issue #1 & is discussed in the instructions.  That transducer has been used for several years on kayaks so it is PROVEN to work.

You need a real, 12v battery.  Get a basic 7-9aH battery & charger.  Will cost about $20 for the battery & $40 or less for a charger.  Last you a long time this way!

Ah good, thanks for the help.  Oh, and I just went home and looked through the installation instructions and the manual.  There was nothing showing how the transducer needed to be oriented.  In fact, I got online and looked at more detailed instructions and it mentioned tilting it one way or the other to get better reception, so I thought maybe it's orientation to the bottom wasn't critical, but clearly it is. 

As to a battery, I have a motorcycle and an ATV, but neither of those batteries are sealed.  Wouldn't want one in my kayak.  I assume there's some kind of sealed unit that would work better? 

Thanks again!

Ron.

I bought a sealed garage door opener backup battery at Home Depot for around $20 or so.  Computer UPS backup units have good, sealed 12v batteries in them.

Well I did some quick research.  Looks like a suitable battery can be found in a variety of places.  As little as $17 and free shipping from Amazon.  A simple charger is another $10 although I have a few of those already. 
As to a box, some folks don't even use one, but when I'm diving from my yak, pulling fins and guns in and out, I get some saltwater in the yak.  Probably want a box. 
Man, I can't figure out how the guys in my dive club use 8 AA's to run their finders all day and mine won't work.  I spent a fair bit rigging up a Pelican box, battery holder, etc.
I believe a lot of them are using higher end Lowrance units, as they talk about having the GPS feature.  Maybe that's the difference?  I dunno.
Ron.

I got one of these these 12v batteries, and i just put it in a dry bag, fold it down a few times with with the wire also rolled in. the bag comes with a strap so i would strap it around the scuppers in the hull to keep it from moving. I have an elite 3x, and here is how i mounted my transducer.

It reads pretty good, only thing with thru hull setup is that it doesn't read water temperature, but that's not important for the kind of fishing i do.

I like the dry bag idea, and I'd like to mount my transducer in the same manner, but if I hard mount the transducer, it's gonna cause me a couple problems.  First, in my single hatch Scupper Pro, it'll make it pretty much impossible to put my spearguns and long blade fins in the hatch.  Second, I'll have to leave all that wiring in the boat all the time.  When my boat's on top of my car or truck and there's anything inside it, you can see the outline of the contents when the light is right.  Some of the places I've stayed overnight, some dirt bag would eventually get in there and rip it out, thinking it's something good.  (Well actually a transducer and wiring is good...)
I'm probably gonna steal your dry bag idea though!
Ron.

840 has the right idea for a "water bath" mounting method.  Don't forget to add the water to the foam mounting "cup".  The AA battery method CAN work but for all intensive purposes, just isn't practical.  The 7+ amp hour batteries will get you a few years of use, possibly longer depending on the quality of the charger.  If you are looking for weight savings & compactness, there are some GREAT very tiny batteries out there that will get you a days worth of use before needing to be recharged but plan on $100+ for the battery & a reasonable amount for the charger ... think high-end RC car type stuff.

If your seeing voltage dropping on you 8XAA Alkaline setup, sounds like there is a bad one in the mix, or just cheap batteries.  Voltage does not = capacity, so with 8 x 1.5 you should have 12v, and it should power you FF just fine but not for as long as a larger battery.  AAA, AA, C, D are all 1.5v, just different capacity's. Rechargeable's however are 1.2v, and you would need 10 of them to get 12v.  But truth be told, it's way easier to work with a SLA battery than rechargeable's, many of us have gone both routes.  I keep a 10XAA battery holder as a backup to when my SLA is out of juice.  But try not to run down your SLA batteries, as they should only be discharged down to 50% if you want them to last a long time.

Voltage drop also occurs due to resistance in electrical line; longer power leads, smaller diameter power leads, increased number of connectors in-line, etc.   all contributors to voltage loss (increased resistance).

I like to keep my 12v SLA battery inside a tupperware box---been using this same type of box for 6 different fishfinder setups without issues. Walmart or Target has em. They cost $4. Just drill a hole and smash a rubber grommet in the hole then slide the power cord through and attach the battery terminals .




I'd suggest going with the water-bath method inside the hull. Just use duct seal to begin with because you can easily remove/reposition it. And I kinda doubt someone would try to steal it because the duct seal would have a small footprint & less visibility than a foam block etc. It really shouldn't affect your ability to store fins & gear inside the hull...I mean, look at all the other divers who do the exact same thing. Just make sure to keep the wires out of the way by zip-tying them to a scupper post or something.

As far as the other guys using AA batteries, they may have black & white fishfinders which probably draw less power than a color Elite 3 unit.   
I'm not sure what's up with the depth readings. But maybe the transducer is slipping out of place and angled back or to the side, instead of straight down?

My guess is the depth has to do with transducer angle.  Secondly MIGHT be related to selection of the correct frequency for the water depth BUT that generally does not have to do with false depth readings as much as ability to reach the target depth (ie selecting a freq. that cannot reach the depth you need it to reach which results in a "flashing depth number" indicating loss of bottom reading/tracking).

Here to help if I can!

why are we puting sealed batteries in a waterproof box?
honest question.  what are the advantages.
if my hull fills with water i got bigger issues then any possible eletrical problems.

Mostly to help in preventing corrosion from water splashing or coming in contact with the terminals/connectors.

Mostly to prevent corrosion. But also in case I place a metal object (like game clip) inside my hull...I'd hate to have it touch both terminals and melt my yak!! Because I've seen it happen while driving to the beach...left a gameclip on top of the battery and the clip melted part of the PFD that it was touching....