Depth Gauge Questions

Still getting used to the '01 SN I bought over winter. I have a depth gage that is labeled "Hummingbird" brand. It has a "set" button and "up" and "down" arrows.

I can't, for the life of me, figure out how this thing works.

1. First of all it is miscalibrated. It shows 20 feet when I know I am in 7 feet of water.
2. I tried to use the "set" function to calibrate it in a known depth, but all I did was change what level the "alarm" sounds for shallow water.

Now, I can't get the thing to stop beeping.

Anyone familiar with these? Is there a manual for this gauge. The SN manual is silent on this device.

Thanks!

I installed one of those in place of my worthless clock.
Here is a link to the manual:

Hummingbird hdr600

Mine is actually an hdr610, but they look about the same.

You will need
Adobe Acrobat Reader to read since it is a .pdf

Thanks Randy. That's what I love about this board. Lot's of knowledge.

That sounds good for the shallow alarm. What about the misreading of the depth?    

Randy says to adjust the "keel offset" but according to the manual it seems like it is designed to compensate for the disparity between where the unit is mounted and where the waterline is.

What is your "keel offset" set at?

Mreading is just exaggerated. If I am in 4 feet of water it reads 7 or 8. If I am in 10 feet it reads 15 or 17. I believe it is "sensing the bottom" clearly, but seems miscalibrated.

I don't know if the miscalibration is "linear" i.e. it always read 5 feet deeper at any given depth.

Perhaps the "keel offset" function will work. You can click the link to the manual above which tells what the function does.

The "keel offset" is to compensate for where the puck is mounted in the hull and the waterline. I have mine set at 0 sine I am most interested in how far the bottom of the lake is to the bottom of my boat.

Like k.o. says, the wash or turbulence under the boat is usually what causes misreadings while underway. I took my boat out after installing the depth finder and before setting the puck in the epoxy. I used a zip bag partially filled with water and set the puck on top of it to get an idea of where to mount the puck. I did some testing of the reading while under way and tried to find the best spot for it.

while I can usually get a pretty good idea of how deep the water is while underway, It still tends to bounce all over the place when your hauling butt.

Unfortunately this is a common problem with hummingbirds, esp. the lower end models. You may try a different style transducer if available and that will help most of the time. I had a lot of issues with the last one we bought, wich was not an entry level, and it always gives trouble at speed. I bought an Eagle that was in the same price range, actually cheaper and have had a lot less issues and false readings from it. I have the Eagle on my Ski-Tigue because I like to know what's below me and how far it is, before I strap the wakeboard or slalom on.