Depth Sounder

[mdgann]

My old DS10 Standard Horizon depth gauge has gone on the blink. I am usually pretty handy at resurrecting these old instruments, but this one has me stymied. I sail in a shallow lake and it is critical that I know whats under me, so this is no luxury item.
When I first turn it on it shows 00 like it is going to work, and then it goes to -- 2 dashes. Adjusting the sensitivity does not make a difference. I don't know how to tell if it is the transducer or the gauge. Will any 200 hrz transducer work or will I have to find one that matches the old one? This instrument was sold in 1989 so not much chance that Standard Horizon has any support for this thing. If I do find a transducer, can I test it out of the water in a barrel or something? Anybody with any experience in this area would really be a big help.
If I actually had a sailing budget I would just buy a new one, so none of you smart alecs make that suggestion, OK. Thanks for any help. M.Gann

 

[Loren Beach]

I put S.H. instruments into our last boat. Same basic units (DS and KM) that they still sell.
The company has a lifetime fixed repair cost warranty on their stuff. Check your paperwork for the original receipt date.
When the unit shows the two dashed lines, it cannot get a strong enough return signal to display a number. I always liked this feature -- at least I knew that when it gave me a number, the number was "real"......
You may have a break in the DS transducer cable or the 'ducer itself may have gone bad. I have no idea how long a life these DS 'ducers should have -- I always figured it was measured in decades, since they have no moving parts.

Check with S.H. for trouble shooting tips, or replacement parts. If the instrument PC Board has gone south, you might find it cheaper to buy a new one, and the current model might well use the same transducer...

Here is a URL for their instruments:
http://www.standardhorizon.com/indexVS.cfm?cmd=DisplayProducts&DivisionID=3&ProdCatID=86

FWIW, I remember field-testing my first S.H. DS by plugging in the transducer cable and dangling the transducer in the water beside the boat. We checked the depth with a line and a tape measure just to see how close it was!


Then I glued the transducer inside the hull and it worked fine for a decade until I sold the boat.

Best,
Loren in PDX

 

[Geoff Johnson]

I think any 200 mhz transducer will work (after all they all seem to be made by Airmar). I've replaced the transducer on my Datamarine a couple of times. Originally, it came with a 205 mhz transducer, but I was told by DMI Marine that a 200 mhz would work just fine. Nowadays I think they all come in 200 mhz or 50 mhz models, the latter being used for fishfinders since they produce a wider beam.

When my transducer went, it would start to show erratic readings. To test the replacement, I took it to a dock with a small battery. A barrell would work as well as long as it is deeper than the minimum depth reading of the depthsounder. Finally, if you don't know if it's the transducer or the head, see if you can take the head to someone's boat and attach to his transducer.