Bass Boat Forums

Electronics Forums => General Electronics Q&A => Topic started by: Curt on January 02, 2020, 08:05:30 PM

Title: Transducer Protector
Post by: Curt on January 02, 2020, 08:05:30 PM
I was wondering if anyone has used or is familiar with any of these products.

https://www.transducershieldandsaver.com/product-category/shields/

My new transducer is going to be in need of protecting, especially since I fish a lot of rocky water. The last thing I want to do is destroy it on a rock.

I currently have this transducer protector, which is no longer being made.

https://www.tackletest.com/innovative-angler-transducer-protector-review/

I believe that the new transducer is too big to allow me to use my old protector, so I have to explore my options for protecting it.

Anyone have any feedback on this topic for me?
Title: Re: Transducer Protector
Post by: Jig Man on January 02, 2020, 09:07:49 PM
I have had 2 of Transducer Shield and Saver products.  Scap custom made one for me.  I think that they are quality units.

If I ever run another external ducer on the tmotor I will be the owner of a third one.
Title: Re: Transducer Protector
Post by: JackJ on January 03, 2020, 09:27:25 AM
Transducer Shield and Saver is what I have on both of mine.  I highly recommend it.
Title: Re: Transducer Protector
Post by: Curt on January 03, 2020, 10:45:12 AM
Transducer Shield and Saver is what I have on both of mine.  I highly recommend it.

@JackJ Are you running Humminbirds?
Title: Re: Transducer Protector
Post by: JackJ on January 03, 2020, 12:17:39 PM
No I have lowrance.
Title: Re: Transducer Protector
Post by: Curt on January 03, 2020, 12:31:03 PM
No I have lowrance.

OK. I think the Lowrance transducers are smaller than the HB transducers. Do you have a pic of your trolling motor transducer with the guard installed?
Title: Re: Transducer Protector
Post by: Curt on January 07, 2020, 10:28:55 AM
I contacted the people at Transducer Shield and Saver to see if they make a protector for mine.

It turns out that they do, but I about fell out of my chair when I saw the price.  (fp)

https://www.transducershieldandsaver.com/product/tm-h7-1-fits-humminbird-solix-mega-g2n-ditransducer-xm-14-hw-mdi-t-or-helix-mega-g3n-di-transducer-xm-9-hw-mdi-t/

$179. Really??  (nope)
Title: Re: Transducer Protector
Post by: JackJ on January 07, 2020, 10:46:22 AM
Yep, but how much does a new transducer cost?

That is similar to the one I have on my transducer on my jackplate for the side imaging unit.    The one I have on my trolling motor looks a bit different though (it's just down imaging).
Title: Re: Transducer Protector
Post by: Curt on January 07, 2020, 10:51:31 AM
Quote
Yep, but how much does a new transducer cost?

Trust me, @JackJ I have thought of that too. A new transducer costs $250. I just hate when things like this are priced ridiculously. I feel like they jack the prices up on some of these items because they know they are the only option on the market.

And, once people start paying that kind of price, it will never go down.

Title: Re: Transducer Protector
Post by: Nightmare on January 07, 2020, 11:17:56 PM
I just hate when things like this are priced ridiculously. I feel like they jack the prices up on some of these items because they know they are the only option on the market.

Yeah, it does seem a tad high doesn't it? One the flip side of the coin, there IS more to it than just haphazardly bending some tin and drilling a few holes. In order for it to be an exceptional product, a lot of engineering goes into design for it to hold up to abuse as expected by customers and properly function in the long haul. If it doesn't meet expectations, it won't hold favor with customers and those same customers will be THE worst advertising to be had.

If someone else can build a comparable product for less (and stay in business), the market will dictate the level of success for each product and correspondingly establish what pricing that market will bear.

As per previous discussion, some folks are capable of various levels of creating their own solutions to a given need. Some of those solutions are really no more that blatant patent infringement (purely copying a commercial product) while others actually come up a unique ideas.  Other folks aren't blessed with the technical skills to create their own solutions and are the front-line consumers of commercially produced accessories that allow them to do what they want to accomplish.

Disclaimer: Yep - it's a little pricey, I agree. But I also bought the unit that I needed (from this same outfit) to cut to the chase to mount up a 2D TM puck and LSS1 structure scan for my HDS, on my tm. On the flip side, I designed and built my own adjustable mount to attach my LSS2 ss  to my jackplate. If I averaged the first's purchase price with the cost of materials on the second, it made it reasonable (to my tight-azz mind).  ;)

Now - you want to get me riled, start talking about justifying the price of a $400 baitcasting reel over a $50-60 reel. Never going to convince me. I won't argue that you're not entitled to spend that much money....but don't argue with me when I think you fell and hit yer head!  (shrug) (giggle)
Title: Re: Transducer Protector
Post by: JackJ on January 08, 2020, 09:32:34 AM
I hear you on the reels.  $175 has been the most I ever paid, and I do have to admit the reel is the sweetest one I own and I use most of the time though.

If you guys don't know these channels on Youtube check them out.  I really have learned quite a lot and one of them does a lot of testing on lower dollar reels, breaks them apart, etc, so you can see whats inside before you buy.

Three of my favorite channels...

THE REEL TEST   https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQVfJOltVM2iJxV8dMcMpRA (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQVfJOltVM2iJxV8dMcMpRA) 
TACKLE ADVISORS   https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrm08dXl_mMtfxHPj-llsWA (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrm08dXl_mMtfxHPj-llsWA)
DEBOS FISHING  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBi7ydkeR0F7qPDt78Zj9AQ (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBi7ydkeR0F7qPDt78Zj9AQ)
Title: Re: Transducer Protector
Post by: Curt on January 08, 2020, 09:53:10 AM
@Nightmare Points all well taken. The transducer protector in question definitely has some engineering involved. In the end, I will probably buy it simply for the sake of letting it do what it is designed to do; protect my $250 transducer  :nod:

@JackJ Thanks for the links. I am right there with both of you. I don't like spending more than $60-$70 for a reel most of the time. I will step outside of that once in a great while, but not often at all. And, for the most part, the reels in the $60 price range work very well and last a reasonably long time for the money.
Title: Re: Transducer Protector
Post by: Jig Man on January 08, 2020, 08:57:18 PM
I am a corporal in the Shimano Possee myself.
Title: Re: Transducer Protector
Post by: Curt on January 09, 2020, 10:41:29 AM
I am a corporal in the Shimano Possee myself.

I used to be too. All I owned for years were Shimano reels, including the $180 Curado 200E7. I had 6 of those reels. But I sold them all off a few years back and bought a bunch of Abu reels.

Now I have a mixture of Abu and KastKing. I also have one Piscifun reel thrown into the mix that I'm not too crazy about. It's on OK reel, but nothing special.

The Abu and KastKing reels are very good for the money, though!
Title: Re: Transducer Protector
Post by: Jig Man on January 09, 2020, 02:37:21 PM
I have a couple of dozen Shimanos.  I have 5 of the 200 E7s some XG 70s 1  Chronarch and some G5s along with a bunch of spinning reels.
Title: Re: Transducer Protector
Post by: Curt on January 09, 2020, 03:08:08 PM
I loved the 200 E7 overall. But they all had one nagging problem that I got so sick of that I sold them all.
Title: Re: Transducer Protector
Post by: Jig Man on January 09, 2020, 05:52:35 PM
Wow what problem?  They are my go to reels for power fishing.
Title: Re: Transducer Protector
Post by: Curt on January 10, 2020, 10:06:43 AM
Wow what problem?  They are my go to reels for power fishing.

@Jig Man Every time it would rain more than just a light rain or a quick shower, this is how they would behave. I spent way too much time picking out backlashes or swappping out reels because of this. I got so tired of it, I got rid of them.

(https://bassfishingphotos.com/images/2020/01/10/Curado-Backlash.md.jpg)

The funny part is that they behaved perfectly otherwise. But not when it rained  (nope)
Title: Re: Transducer Protector
Post by: JackJ on January 10, 2020, 05:24:34 PM
I am a Daiwa guy now and nearly all my new reels are Daiwa, but my green Curado D's are still going strong and I never have a problem with them.  They do have upgraded bearings though.
I would say I have 40% Daiwa, 30% Lews, 30% Shimano, and I have one Piscifun that I let people use when they need to borrow a rod.
The one Abu Revo STX I had I sold it within a month.  Just didn't like it.

We have gotten off topic, but I like talking reels. (yes)
Title: Re: Transducer Protector
Post by: Jig Man on January 11, 2020, 10:55:56 AM
Yep I wouldn’t put up with that either.
Title: Re: Transducer Protector
Post by: Curt on February 06, 2020, 05:04:00 PM
Well, I discovered some good info today!

I was about to order the transducer protector for my new Helix transducer, but decided to make a quick phone call to the company first, to make sure I was ordering the right product.

As it turned out, the product they had initially pointed me to was the wrong one! So they showed me the right one, which is actually a newly developed product. And thankful this new one was under $100! So that one phone call saved me headaches and money, all in one  :nod:

So, I have ordered my new transducer protector and it should be here by the weekend  :thumbup:

I will post pics when it arrives.
Title: Re: Transducer Protector
Post by: bullet20dc on February 07, 2020, 05:33:50 PM
i have this one you can have if you havent bought one yet
held on with 4 inch spiral clamps I think I had it on my 80 lb minn kota back when i didnt have the internal one on the ultrex
Title: Re: Transducer Protector
Post by: Curt on February 09, 2020, 01:44:38 PM
i have this one you can have if you havent bought one yet
held on with 4 inch spiral clamps I think I had it on my 80 lb minn kota back when i didnt have the internal one on the ultrex

@bullet20dc Thanks for the offer. I appreciate it. I actually pulled the trigger and bought one that's made specifically for my transducer. I bought it from this company: https://www.transducershieldandsaver.com/

They seem like a great company with excellent customer service, based on the phone call I made to them and their interaction with me.

This is the specific unit I bought: https://www.transducershieldandsaver.com/product/tm-xtm-75-150-t-to-fit-humminbird-xtm-9-hw-mdi-75-t-or-xtm-9-hw-msi-150-t-transducer/

I will be doing the install sometime in the next week or so and getting lots of pics of the process.

I'm also working on my own idea for protecting the transducer cable where it comes up the side of the motor, between the transducer and the bottom of the shaft.

My current transducer cable had nicks in the outer sheathing that I believe may have led to it behaving erratically in light of the fact that those nicks cut through the inner sheathing enough for me to be able to see some silver in there.

Here's a pic of a nicked cable that's not mine. This nick doesn't show any metal inside, but it's pretty close. If you can't see the nick very well, just click the image to be able to view the full-sized pic where it will be more visible.

(https://bassfishingphotos.com/images/2020/02/09/Nicked-Transducer-Cable.md.jpg) (https://bassfishingphotos.com/image/stJY)

Anyway, I'm working on some ideas to come up with a way to prevent that from happening to me again, since I fish in lakes with a lot of rocks. All it takes is one good brush against the side of a boulder to nick that out sheathing and destroy the cable, while the transducer sits protected below.

More to come...
Title: Re: Transducer Protector
Post by: Curt on February 10, 2020, 10:48:47 AM
i have this one you can have if you havent bought one yet
held on with 4 inch spiral clamps I think I had it on my 80 lb minn kota back when i didnt have the internal one on the ultrex

@bullet20dc Thank you for the offer on the transducer protector. I don't think I will need it at this time, though. I may change my mind and will let you know if I do  :nod:
SimplePortal 2.3.6 © 2008-2014, SimplePortal