Turn Off Sonar ??

[Unk]

I have installed a Lowrance Hook Reveal on the bow . My question is does anyone put their bow units in " sonar off " mode when you pull up the trolling motor to run to a different spot ? I watched an online video which suggested that running the sonar while the transducer was in the air would mess with the algorithms ( ?? ) used by the unit .  I searched the archives here an could not find an answer . Thanks .

[A-Jay]

I run H-Birds and I always go to stand-by mode with the bow unit when I pull the TM.

Just seems senseless to run it dry.

A-Jay

[Bird]

First time I've actually heard this asked. Lol

My off and on is instantaneous on my Garmin and always turn it off when trolling motor is suspended.

 

 

[MN Fisher]

If my transducer is out of the water - the unit is off...always.

[Jig Man]

I ran Lows for years and now have Birds.  I never have done anything except stow the trolling motor and go to another spot unless I am making a run back to the truck then I shut both bow units down.

[Unk]

Many thanks to everyone for the advice. Back in the day , I didn't even have a bow mount unit . Always something to learn . 

[gim]

Depends on how long I intend to keep it out of the water. If it’s just a few minutes, I’ll just leave it on. When I drop the bow mount down into the water, it starts reading sonar again.

 

If I’m going on a longer run when I’m on a bigger lake, I shut off the unit.

 

I use Lowrance electronics.

[Deleted account]

It's a sonar, it is sending a sound pulse, if it doesn't hear anything back it will just think the water is too deep, no way to "mess up the algorithm", now if you run your fish tank heater out of the water and then dunk it in, that's a problem...  

[Unk]

1 hour ago, Deleted account said:

now if you run your fish tank heater out of the water and then dunk it in, that's a problem...  

Now that is what I need ! Water temps have been on the low side and this sounds like just what the Dr. ordered

[NoShoes]

Never. It’s on from the time I hop in the boat until I get off. 

[slonezp]

no

[WRB]

Hi You can feel the transducer pulse against your hand. The older TD’s could be damaged running out of water for long periods, todays are different. 

I always had a switch to automatically turn off the bow unit when the TM was stowed on deployed. So yes the bow TD was off out of the water so I wouldn’t forget to turn it off.

Tom

[jbsoonerfan]

Nope

[Skunkmaster-k]

Yes. When I remember to. 

[Unk]

59 minutes ago, Skunkmaster-k said:

Yes. When I remember to. 

Sad to say I can relate to this too well  

[J Francho]

I don't turn them off. 

[TnRiver46]

I just have one at the console, I turn it off right before I turn the key off and start fishing 

[J._Bricker]

I’ll put both bow and console units in standby (sleep) mode when not using ‘em. There’s nothing quite like the fun and excitement that takes place after running your graphs all day with the livewell pumps on high due to a livewell full of fish because you didn’t leave that bank cause it kept reloading and weigh-in is in 20 minutes and you hit the start button and…..nothing 

[Way2slow]

Lets see, I turn off alarms, fish ID, auto zoom and a whole bunch of other stuff, but not the power.  The power gets turned off when I turn the main power switch on the console off, and have forgotten to do that on a few occasions 

[Deleted account]

On 3/3/2022 at 2:04 PM, J._Bricker said:

I’ll put both bow and console units in standby (sleep) mode when not using ‘em. There’s nothing quite like the fun and excitement that takes place after running your graphs all day with the livewell pumps on high due to a livewell full of fish because you didn’t leave that bank cause it kept reloading and weigh-in is in 20 minutes and you hit the start button and…..nothing 

Like they say at Little Creek, "Two is one, one is none" When there is money on the line, every detail counts.

[J._Bricker]

3 hours ago, Deleted account said:

Like they say at Little Creek, "Two is one, one is none" When there is money on the line, every detail counts.

True dat @Deleted account!  And yes, as soon as I could I installed a Perko switch and upgraded to an AGM battery on the big motor/electronics side of things. At the time my solution was to pull one of the trolling motor batteries and hook it up to the starting battery cables to fire up the big motor.

I believe my new boat is a little better equipped ?. It’s always better to learn from one’s mistakes then to repeat them
 

 

[Bankc]

It's smart to.  They can overheat if not in water.  Though, that's mostly just an issue for high powered saltwater transducers.  I think most sonar units for bass fishing should be fine.  But I try to remember to turn mine off, just to be safe.

[Tennessee Boy]

From Garmin 

 

It is not recommended to run a FishFinder and transducer on a boat that is not in the water as you will not get any readings from the transducer.

 

A normal 500w or less transducer should not have any issues when running out of the water. A higher powered transducer, 1kw or larger, may have the potential of having issues as they normally use water to help cool them down when operating for long periods of time. Without the water, the transducer could burn out and have issues if left running for an extended period of time out of the water.