Fish Hawk transducer location

[Diversion]

What would be the best location for the transducer when my 50/200 airmar is on the starboard side and my kicker is on the port side? I tried searching as I would think this has already been discussed, however I can't seem to find anything. I think the fish hawk would be too close to the airmar if I put both on the starboard side. Wondering if the kicker will mess with it if I install the fish hawk on the same side.

 

Sent from my LM-G710VM using Lake Ontario United mobile app

 

 

[FishingFool34]

My old boat I had the fish hawk transducer mounted on the opposite side of my sonar transducer which was the kicker side and had no issues. On my current boat I mounted it right next to my sonar transducer (83/200) on the non-kicker side and have no issues with that either. 

[Diversion]

Ended up mounting the transducer on the port side opposite of my fishfinder so I don't end up with issues.

The probe came with a removable clear rubber bumper, does everyone remove that when fishing??


Sent from my LM-G710VM using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[nhjim]

rubber bumper stays on to protect the prongs that stick out the front. remove at end of day otherwise water held inside will keep probe on and flatten your battery's.

[Knot on Call]

I run my Fish Hawk on same side as kicker and also had no problems. I leave the rubber bumper on all the time. If I remember correctly I think the instructions tell you to run with it on.

[wrinklestar]

11 hours ago, nhjim said:

rubber bumper stays on to protect the prongs that stick out the front. remove at end of day otherwise water held inside will keep probe on and flatten your battery's.

exactly

[Diversion]

Bumper will stay on while fishing then, thanks!

Sent from my LM-G710VM using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[Diversion]

So my X4D quit working after 4 uses, I still get surface readings but the down speed, temp and depth stopped working. After trouble shooting and calling customer service, they had me send in my probe & display, they said they are both fine. So now to trouble shoot the boat side of things.

 

I have my FH transducer mounted on the port side same side as my kicker. Furuno trans is mounted on starboard side. This setup worked just fine for 4 trips then quit working on the 5th trip after an hour. I haven't changed anything with how the boat is rigged. Is it possible that I'm getting interference from something I'm not mentioning that would cause the probe signals to get lost?

 

Looking for suggestions on what to look at next. First thing I'm going to try is to troll with the main only, leave kicker & control king turned off, see if that's suddenly my issue. 

[Sk8man]

The issue you may run into is when your depth finder is using the 50 khz because the Fishhawk is running at 70 khz and that could be regardless of transducer placement. When the frequency is too close together you can get interference or scrambled readings. Switch to 200 khz and the problem should go away.

Edited July 29, 2021 by Sk8man

[Diversion]

Switching off the 50 khz was the first thing I tried, that had no effect unfortunately. Customer service said it was highly unlikely that the FH transducer went bad. So that leaves me with something in the wiring went bad or my kicker setup now is messing it up.  

[Sk8man]

Has the transducer angle  on the transom changed since installed (e.g. perhaps becomes  loose when underway and is pointing outward to some degree)?

[Frogger]

Take head unit and probe to a friends boat that has a working unit. See if it works. That will tell you if it’s the transducer or not. Or if it’s the unit etc.


Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

[Ric66]

I started having trouble with my fishhawk with the transducer mounted on the same side as my kicker. Don't know why it started acting up because had been fine for the past 3 years. I switched the FH transducer to the other side of transom with my fishfinder transducer and now no problems. I can even use the 83 hz setting with no problems.

[Diversion]

The angle of the FH transducer has not changed, so no simple fix there. When I get my probe and display back the first thing I'm going to try is to leave the kicker off, see if that is the source of this new issue and go from there. Next step will be finding someone who has a FH probe I can swap with to troubleshoot. Thanks for all the suggestions so far guys! Appreciate it.

[Sk8man]

Good ;luck with it. Hopefully just turbulence from kicker or something and moving could help it. Frustrating stuff for sure.

[kessleda]

When I first installed my fish hawk several years ago I had issues with the head unit not displaying. It was electrical interference from my outboard and had to change my spark plugs to a resister plug if I remember correctly.


Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

[Diversion]

So I received my probe & display that both tested as good, i put the display back in the boat and put the probe in a bucket of water under the trans in the driveway, still no readings from the probe. I have temp at the surface and speed if I turn the paddle wheel on the trans.

If i put the probe right under the display with a finger over both probes, still nothing. I'm thinking the trans went bad somehow.


Sent from my LM-G710VM using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[guffins fisherman]

I bought a used X4D on here and have had the exact same problems with it. I finally took the display off and quit thinking about it until I can pull the boat in the fall and get the transducer checked out somehow. Too busy running trips right now.

Good luck. Hope you find the problem. I am following along.

Matt

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[Sk8man]

Sure sounds like the transducer went.  Happens with the fishfinder ones to sometimes too. I've had that happen in the past and it can drive you nuts until you narrow it down I'm sure you have already thought about it but taking out the connection from the display and replugging making sure it is firmly in there should be done too as those connectors sometime feel like they are in but aren't fully. I think I'd be trying it out at a launch ramp with the trolling motor on and then off to check too.

Edited August 2, 2021 by Sk8man

[Gill-T]

If you are running off the kicker, could your voltage drop too low?  Try running with your main. 

[Diversion]

Still waiting on follow up from Fish Hawk on why the unit won't display any probe readings when it is the only thing turned on in my boat. They tested the probe & display, said those are ok. All electronics are off in the boat besides the FH, boat sitting on trailer in my driveway, hold probe in a bucket of water right under the transducer, no probe readings. Hoping to get a response from FH before I give up and just buy a new transducer. Pretty frustrating when I spent $900 on a brand new system last Aug and it only worked four times before quitting. 

[guffins fisherman]

I did the switcheroo last night with my head unit and probe. Family member has the same unit as mine(X4D). At first, the probe would not work correctly with his 'ducer and head unit. We thought the probe was bad, so we pulled it out of the water and took the batteries out of it and let it sit while we put down his probe and tried my head unit to test it. It worked, but the numbers were way off, so we did a factory default reset on the head unit. All was good after that, so we assumed the head unit was good. We decided to try my probe again with my head unit. IT WORKED! We all were totally blown away. My probe, his 'ducer and my head unit worked. We put his head unit back on just to test my probe to make sure it wasn't a fluke. That combo worked too. So, at this point I am looking hard at the 'ducer. Today, I am going to try and adjust the angle of my 'ducer back to parallel with the water surface. I tipped it up thinking the blowback was making the transmission spotty. FH told me the element in the 'ducer is built with 10 degrees into it to allow for blowback and to mount it flat. Why the probe would not work correctly(numbers were way off and some missing) at first is totally confusing, but we had it working after I pulled all the batteries and let it set for a while. IDK.

Not sure if any of this helps you(OP), but we are looking at the same problem it seems.

Matt

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[Gregger300]

Not to get too far off topic but I've been thinking of getting a Fish Hawk for next season but after seeing posts like this and talking with other fishermen who have trouble with their units I am not sure its worth the money. I understand that they have excellent customer service but when I buy a product I just want it to do what its supposed to without all the headaches. Are there any other good options on the market or is Fish Hawk pretty much as good as it gets?

[guffins fisherman]

They make different models that vary the complexity. I know a lot of people that live and die by these things on the water, and have zero issues with them. Whether they are justifying the expense, or truly catch more fish is not my call.  I want to be on the cutting edge, and want the FH to work and will keep trudging ahead to get it working. 

[Zinger11]

All transducers working in harmony

Sent from my SM-G970U using Lake Ontario United mobile app