sonar transducer upgrade

[MaluLani3]

Hi Guys,

I'm planning to replace an Airmar B258 with the B265LH model (or B265LM haven't decided that yet). It looks like I need to enlarge the thru hole in the hull by 3mm (from 30 to 33mm). Has anyone tried this yet? Any gotchas I should know about? My transducer is located in the forward part of the engine compartment on the centerline and I have the stern drive setup.

Thanks,
Terry

[DOGHOUSE26]

Couldn't find either the B265LH or LM on the Airmar Website Are you sure of those numbers. What Sonar are you running?

[MaluLani3]

Just google Airmar B265LH

I've got the Simrad NSS9 evo2. Currently, I've got an Airmar B258 with a Furuno 10 pin cable. I spliced in the Navico 7 pin blue pigtail and the sounder works but not the temp sensor.

[MaluLani3]

I did a lot of research on sonar transducer combos and it looks like the Simrad NSS evo2 is working very well with the Airmar B175HW. It's a 150-250 kHz chirp transducer with a 25 degree beam width and the screenshots I've seen on thehulltruth.com are incredible.. The B175 is a thruhull model that requires a 4" hole cut in the hull which I'm not willing to do. However, the B285HW has the same internal elements as the B175HW and has the same form factor as my existing B258. I don't need to cut any more hull, just remove current transducer and install new one with sealant. I won't use the high speed fairing but I don't think I need it as I can track bottom at cruise with current setup. Starting install this weekend.