[dkinder605]

I posted this same post on one of the bassmasters boards an di figured a would try here too i can use any input i can get.

I am a do it yourself kind of guy...i have a 2000 Sprint fiberglass bass boat with an in-dash depth finder that doesn't work anymore...I bought the boat used and since manufacture Sprint has gone out of business...I can not find a quality unit that fits the hole and the same model is no longer on the market. I'm stuck and dint know what to do without sending my boat out to a specialty shop and spend all types of Money...Any ideas would be appreciated...I thought the idea of any indash equipment is a bad idea for this reason exactly...just makes me mad that i cant find anything to replace it with.

 

[oldschool]

In dash instruments like speedometer, tachometer, fuel, engine water pressure, engine hours, trim gage, amp meter, etc are good. Sonar/GPS units are better mounted so they can be removed easily for trailering, storage and maintenance. The heat under a cover and road vibration is the main cause of failure of sonar units. I would suggest you think of something else to cover the hole, like black Plexiglas with gageslike live well water temperature gage or something else you may need.
Buying a good sonar/GPS is one of the most important tools a bass fisherman needs and should be controlled by the dash hole size.
Tom

 

[Ouachita]

A solution I've helped work out when a hole in the dash is too big to fill with a replacement sonar is to sometimes make it a bigger hole for a new sonar head as well as some gauges on one or both sides set in their own panel designed to refill the old or enlarged hole. It usually doesn't cost much to get a filler panel made matching the boat's original dash color/pattern. Most any professional fiberglass worker can do it. If you give them plenty of time to do it they might crank one out for under $50. You can scribe holes for him to cut out, or supply the head unit and extra gauges to custom fit them for a little more money. Then the panel, filled with new toys, is installed in the dash. That can be a tough job, done standing on your head. What gauges? One or a few you don't have already, a multiple battery charge gauge, a real clock, maybe some extra ALT switches, maybe an extra 12 volt socket for a cell phone, whatever. Most of that stuff is fairly cheap.

Jim

 

[imonembad]

I left mine intact, but that kinda thing doesn't bother me. I mounted my sonor where I could adjust it to see when I'm up front.

 

[Texas Bass Pro]

This may sound stupid and might be the dumbest thing you ever heard but is there a way you can reset the depth finder? The reason I ask is because a lady said her T.V. was no longer working because water got into it. We tried it out for several days with no luck. Then I remembered that it probably needed to be reset and low and behold thats what it was. Now I got a new T.V.

I know a T.V. is alot different than a depth finder but maybe it has the same concept. Just a thought.

 

[oldschool]

To the best of my knowledge the "reset buttom" for marine electronics is the 3 amp in line fuse. Lowrance will up date your sonar units by shipping the unit to them and I have been doing this for over 30 years. Contact Lowrance and ask for Darrell Rollins. 918/437.6881
Tom

 

[oldschool]

Added thought; I use RAM adjustable mounts and add a rubber bumper under the sonar unit to protect boat if the mount loosens in rough water. The RAM mounts allow you to position the sonar unit where you need it, away from trolling motor cables and to one side of the consul so you don't look over it to see where you are going.
Tom

 

[Ouachita]

I just noticed this discussion. :sad2: You can do a factory reset from the menu under System Setup. It won't erase your custom data. That puts the settings back to the way it began. I use that occasdionally when I've tinkered a lot with settings and just want to start over, like when going to a muddy lake after fishing a clear lake.

There's also a "cold boot" and a "hard boot" for when the unit quits working properly, like freezing up. Those erase custom data like waypoints.

Jim