2 sounders, 1 transducer?

[sly_karma]

I have HDS 7 at the helm but when fishing I usually sit on the transom and it can be hard to see the depth with these old eyes. A small, inexpensive sonar-only unit mounted closer could be a good solution. If I bought another Lowrance unit, is there a way to distribute the signal from the same transducer to both sonar displays? Seems a shame to have to drill and seal another hole in the transom.

 

[mhbradley]

I was wondering the same thing...

Does the NMEA2000 on Lowrance HDI and HDS units allow 2 units to function on a single transducer, or would a person still need a second transducer?

Cheers

 

[seadna]

I have HDS 7 at the helm but when fishing I usually sit on the transom and it can be hard to see the depth with these old eyes. A small, inexpensive sonar-only unit mounted closer could be a good solution. If I bought another Lowrance unit, is there a way to distribute the signal from the same transducer to both sonar displays? Seems a shame to have to drill and seal another hole in the transom.

If you buy another Lowrance unit you can hook them both to ethernet and then share the signal between the two. You'd need to buy the ethernet hub and some cables to do that.

 

[Lipripper]

A small, inexpensive sonar-only unit mounted closer could be a good solution.

Yes. If it runs a different transducer don't run them at the same time

If I bought another Lowrance unit, is there a way to distribute the signal from the same transducer to both sonar displays? Seems a shame to have to drill and seal another hole in the transom.

Yes....

 

[JAC]

Yep buy the Ethernet cable and your done really easy i had this on my last boat worked well. You can have 2 transducer also you just need to run them on different frequency so they don't interfer!

 

[sly_karma]

Can anyone point me to the right parts needed for this? Searching 'ethernet' on the Lowrance website doesn't give any result.

 

[JAC]

Harbour chandler stocks them. I bought mine online from anchorexpress.com

 

[TenMile]

Can anyone point me to the right parts needed for this? Searching 'ethernet' on the Lowrance website doesn't give any result.

2 choices.

Keep your transducer connected the way it is today and purchase a second Lowrance unit -- has to be of the networkable variety (HDS fits this and there might be others).

The Lowrance "Ethernet" hub is called an LSS-1 or LSS-2 (newer). The LSS units are a standard 4 port Ethernet hub with proprietary Lowrance connectors in a waterproof environment. These units sell for a couple hundred bucks plus the cost of cables. The LSS unit also ships with the StructureScan as part of that package.

Alternatively you can DIY a network switch to connect 2 Lowrance units pretty cheap.
- Purchase 1 Lowrance Ethernet cable and cut it in half (keep both ends).
- Purchase 1 length of CAT5e Ethernet cable (long enough to network your two units) and cut in half
- splice each half Lowrance to the CAT5 cables following this guide (https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/DrDepth/conversations/topics/1532)
- Get yourself an inexpensive Ethernet hub -- preference for one that is powered via 12Vdc (inexpensive example) -- connect that to a 12Vdc regulated power supply (e.g. like a 12v car charger)

Just put hub/regulator into a waterproof enclosure and your two units are networked and can share Sonar info.

 

[JAC]

All I did was get the enet cable and hook it up to the another gps and have the transducer hooked up to one unit.

 

[Sculpin]

Call Mike at the HC. He is one of the most knowledgeable hands on people with Lowrance products. He will walk you through it on the phone and will have all the parts in stock. Their shipping is cheap as well.

I have one transducer and 3 display's on my boat and I can see fish on all the display's. Be warned that once you start networking it becomes addictive lol!.

 

[JAC]

Call Mike at the HC. He is one of the most knowledgeable hands on people with Lowrance products. He will walk you through it on the phone and will have all the parts in stock. Their shipping is cheap as well.

I have one transducer and 3 display's on my boat and I can see fish on all the display's. Be warned that once you start networking it becomes addictive lol!.

Listen to sculpin, boat electronics addiction is a rare and hard to Cure issue that can bankrupt you or worse!!

 

[sly_karma]

Thanks for the info everyone.