I officially hate working on wiring

[abbyfireguy]

Almost have the new HDS5 and Airmar P66 installed. I forgot how much I hated squeezing under my dash and working with a hundred wires in a tight place.. I did have everything zap strapped and in good order fortunately.
But, this is work for someone 5foot2 and 150 pounds, neither of which I have been since grade 4!!! LOL
Hopefully this has been worth it in the end with a better and more reliable sounder and a useable chart screen that actually is readable without a microscope..

 

[Gypseas]

Yes but when you do it yourself you know its done right!
cheers

 

[Sharphooks]

And when you do it yourself you'll know the layout and how to troubleshoot if something goes wrong. My approach: every time I put a new piece of electronics in the boat I mark the wires. I take 1" square pieces of white plastic (I cut up the tops of yogurt containers), drill a small hole in the plastic square, then zip-tie it to the wire with info written with a water-proof sharpie as to what piece of marine electronics that wire is powering, and whether it's "+" or "-"

You'll be glad you did all that when you're out on the water and something pukes on you that you just HAVE to have fixed (and this will eventually happen, guaranteed...)

 

[abbyfireguy]

Got it all working last night. Everything appears to work as it should from initial testing. Have to plunk it in the water in a few days to check and tune the P66 transducer. The charts are amazing.. This unit came with Nautic Insight charts of which I had no clue . They appear as good as the Navionics Gold charts comparing with my neighbors HDS 7 unit with Navionics Gold. I scanned out offshore WCVI and all around.
I guess I will go with it the way it sits and forgo spending more money on a Navionics chip.
I am way over budget as it is!!
Even got the DSC hooked up and working first time! Amazing for an electrical dummy like me. Took twice as long as most guys just double checking everything as I went.