Recently got our first boat (2275GCW with 115 Yamaha). Love everything about the boat. The only problem is that the depth finder stops working at about 10 mph. I called Garmin and they gave me a few things to try; most importantly to set the "gain" on manual and try adjusting it up or down. Haven't had a lot of luck there. They also said that pontoon boats are problematic because there are limited places to put the transducer. When I called the marina where I purchased the boat, they said the same things. Just wondering if anybody has solved this issue? Not sure if a more expensive model would be the answer?
Garmin Echo 100 Problem at Higher speeds
- Thread starter Four R's
- Start date
Check where your transducer is mounted on the back of your pontoon. They have a adjustment to move them up and down to get it closer or farther from the water line. Simply loosen the two screws and adjust as needed. Mine gave me the same problem and I moved it down just a bit and it solved my problem. You might have to try several times to get it just right. I believe, but can't remember, there is a diagram in the Garmin manual to get you started. It sounds to me like it might be to high and losing contact with the water as you speed up.
Good luck
Good luck
SEMPERFI8387
Moderator
It's probably more to due with the transducer than the unit. Try to drop the transducer down more, and make sure it's level at speed. The tunes displace the water at the rear and the transducer must be "underwater" to work. Common issue, irritating, but common.
Mine does it, not all the time, but it does it. I'm going to try to drop mine some more also.
Mine does it, not all the time, but it does it. I'm going to try to drop mine some more also.
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kaydano
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We hit a fish once, and the impact tilted the transducer back and up, and it exhibited the same symptoms as yours until I looked at it. Like Semper said, make sure it's level.
Did it always do this? Or did it work for a while, then started acting up? If it did it from the start, and looks level with the pontoon, try moving it down like the guys above mentioned.
Did it always do this? Or did it work for a while, then started acting up? If it did it from the start, and looks level with the pontoon, try moving it down like the guys above mentioned.
Bamaman
Well-Known Member
I was out in my boat a few minutes ago, and my Garmin 100 quit working. I assume it's because I was cruising fast enough for the transducer to get out of the water completely.
When slowing down and getting the toons deeper in the water, the depth gauge started to work.
I accept that as "how it is."
When slowing down and getting the toons deeper in the water, the depth gauge started to work.
I accept that as "how it is."
BulldogsCadillac
Just some guy
had the same issue with my first boat, it had the 100, so I bought a new boat. I figured if THAT didn't work, what ELSE isn't going to work! And I got the 431 on the new one. Obviously I'm kidding, but I believe the 100 is under powered so the 'beam' doesn't have the speed to hit the bottom and come back up while at speed, but I didn't try adjusting it. It was like that from the day we picked it up.
PDX Hosedragger
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SEMPERFI8387
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He saw it on the fishfinder ......... and it was real close !!!! 
TomS
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I always thought it was the fish who was supposed to do the "hitting"Soooooo, how do you know that you hit a fish?
kaydano
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We went through a large school of shad, and they were jumping like a pan of popcorn without the lid behind the boat. When we got back to the marina and pulled the boat out, one was wedged in the livewell bracket and the transducer was pushed back.
kaydano
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In a 50 foot deep lake (so 100 feet for the ping to go down and back up), if your boat is traveling 50 MPH, you will only move 1.5 feet before the "ping" returns to the transducer. I don't think that distance puts the transducer out of range for hearing it's own echo. My guess is its more likely to be dirty water (air in the water) confusing/diffusing the ping.
BulldogsCadillac
Just some guy
Yeah?, well maybe MY ping is fatter than YOUR ping and doesn't move so fast. Not to mention, how do you calculate the speed of ping?
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SEMPERFI8387
Moderator
Do a ping teast on your computer ............it can test how long it takes your ping to go around the world ...
I know, it's a different ping, but it's still cool my ping goes around the world in a second or so.......
My boat is always in the water so I might have to give that a try from my kyack. Are they wing nuts or will I have to use tools? This will probably end with me in the water. thanks.
Thanks. Will give that a try. Very frustrating!
SEMPERFI8387
Moderator
Just don't tighten it up too much ... you want it to give, not break if it hits something !!!
kaydano
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Speed of sound in water is 5000 ft/sec. I had to look that up. But then just assume some easy numbers to make the rest of the math simpler, such as 50 feet deep (100 feet down and back up), 50 mph, etc and do the rest of the math. By the way, the speed of sound is 4.3 times faster in water than air. Yep, faster in water. In steel, its 15x faster than air. No idea how that's useful, but I found it interesting. Plus it's way off topic, and I felt obligated to throw something else in here.
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More good advice to the guy who over tightens everything!