How I Replaced Yamaha's AIRMAR Transducer for half the cost (WITH PICTURES)

[InmyElement]

Thanks @cyclops !
Worked great..followed all your steps and parts..First day in the water...Great to have a working depth finder!

 

[Brian McIver]

Great idea about working it loose from the inside. Will give that a shot tomorrow. Thanks!

BTW, while trying to figure this out, I came across another interesting thread about applying sealant to the tray cover when replacing it. Did you do that?

Thank you again very much for the fast replies and ideas.

I did exactly that. However I used clear silicone and when I went to do this mod, the cover was essentially glued on to the fiberglass. What a pain in the arse to get off! I used a super thin bead of caulk putting it back together in case I need to open it up again.

 

[Brian McIver]

I’m not so sure about the tilt angle of the transducer as well. When I removed the factory transducer the “arrow” that was suppose to pointed toward the keel was actually pointed towards the bow.

I’m curious about this too. The Yamaha Airmar arrow that said “Keel” was pointing forward. I installed he new transducer per the Airmar instructions and pointed the “keel arrow” towards the centerline of the boat. It makes sense this is correct, and it wouldn’t surprise me that the yokels at the assembly plant just slapped it in there. I haven’t dropped it in the water yet but how did everyone orient theirs? Results?

 

[Brian McIver]

Just wanted everyone to know that my boat is back in the water and have confirmed the transducer works properly. I did not replace the existing thru-hull fitting as it was just fine. Be sure to follow the transducer install instructions from AIRMAR.

Arrow pointing towards the centerline not the bow like the original?

 

[Inthrustwetrust]

I’m curious about this too. The Yamaha Airmar arrow that said “Keel” was pointing forward. I installed he new transducer per the Airmar instructions and pointed the “keel arrow” towards the centerline of the boat. It makes sense this is correct, and it wouldn’t surprise me that the yokels at the assembly plant just slapped it in there. I haven’t dropped it in the water yet but how did everyone orient theirs? Results?

I followed the airmar instructions, works like a charm.

 

[jpdaley1026]

The speed wheel has to be in line with the boat, going forward. towards the bow. if you point the arrow on the transducer towards the centerline. the paddle wheel wont be in line to get a reading.

 

[Inthrustwetrust]

The speed wheel has to be in line with the boat, going forward. towards the bow. if you point the arrow on the transducer towards the centerline. the paddle wheel wont be in line to get a reading.

No speed wheel on the newer boats, getting speed from the GPS, transducer is just depth/water temp, arrow problem is just for accurate depth readings as the bottom of the transducer is mounted at an angle through the bottom of the hull. Personally, I could live without it, but if it fails the connext throws a very loud/obnoxious alarm, that will continue to go off every 5 minutes even when silenced.

 

[jpdaley1026]

Thats nice, I still have the older version, and I know too well about the alarm. drove me nuts

 

[Sccala]

I emailed Airmar, and at 1st they said because I had a Jet boat that nothing I bought as a standard transducer ( even the the OEM one) will work because its proprietary to Yamaha (we know thats not the case). I then asked them " in general" can the DST-810 work in place of the DT-800. He said it fits the same housing but because its 0 deg, you will get inaccurate readings. He wrote back ,"The DST810 has a 45degree fan beam so it can account for up to 22-degrees, but it won’t work for your wakeboard boat", but I'm not sure if he's referring back to the proprietary part.
I am going to take the boat out as soon as I can ( before my 30 day return) and just see what I get, curious what it will read , but looks like I may have to order a diff one. At least the jumper is already done, and will be plug and play at that point, and I still have the one on order from dealer( not that that means anything).
It was worth a shot. Hope I didnt waste anyone's time. Just looking for an alternative.

So, what’s the final verdict on this? Did you do all that work for nothing? Where do you currently stand with your transducer/depth finder? When I first found this thread I was pumped that there was a way around having to wait for an infinite amount of time for an OEM transducer. But after reading everything, I’m a little bit confused as to whether or not your aftermarket solution works or not. Thanks,

Steve

 

[jpdaley1026]

So, what’s the final verdict on this? Did you do all that work for nothing? Where do you currently stand with your transducer/depth finder? When I first found this thread I was pumped that there was a way around having to wait for an infinite amount of time for an OEM transducer. But after reading everything, I’m a little bit confused as to whether or not your aftermarket solution works or not. Thanks,

So I did install the DST-810 and I did not return it, last date to return was 6/7. My ducer that i'm waiting on from dealer keeps getting pushed back, I called yesterday, and he said new date was 10/23? He was going to call Yamaha and see whats up. cant be right. The speed and temp work fine, and the depth after several tests is very close. Close enough in shallow water that I feel comfortable with it. I was out the other day, and alarm went off @ 2.8ft, and water was a little over 2 ft deep ( wasn't intentionally trying to get that shallow). Of course, the deeper you go, the more it will be off, but that becomes a non issue for me, if it reads 10 ft, and is actually 11 or 12, i dont care.
I didnt want to return it because I didnt know when the OEM one would actually become available. Most websites say 6/10-6/20 or later, and I didnt want to go another whole season without something. Some even show a 5-8 week backorder. Garmins website shows 5-8 weeks.
This does have an app to use with bluetooth . I have not tried that yet. you can set some offsets.
I am not going say that you should go out and get it, but for me, Its working, and I'm willing to take my chances. NIce not having the alarm go off every few minutes anymore. I am generally pretty careful where I go. If the alarm goes off ( I have set @ 4ft) I generally slow down or stop and take a reading to chk accuracy.
Hope that helps. Wiring is same as the start of this Thread.

 

[Sccala]

So I did install the DST-810 and I did not return it, last date to return was 6/7. My ducer that i'm waiting on from dealer keeps getting pushed back, I called yesterday, and he said new date was 10/23? He was going to call Yamaha and see whats up. cant be right. The speed and temp work fine, and the depth after several tests is very close. Close enough in shallow water that I feel comfortable with it. I was out the other day, and alarm went off @ 2.8ft, and water was a little over 2 ft deep ( wasn't intentionally trying to get that shallow). Of course, the deeper you go, the more it will be off, but that becomes a non issue for me, if it reads 10 ft, and is actually 11 or 12, i dont care.
I didnt want to return it because I didnt know when the OEM one would actually become available. Most websites say 6/10-6/20 or later, and I didnt want to go another whole season without something. Some even show a 5-8 week backorder. Garmins website shows 5-8 weeks.
This does have an app to use with bluetooth . I have not tried that yet. you can set some offsets.
I am not going say that you should go out and get it, but for me, Its working, and I'm willing to take my chances. NIce not having the alarm go off every few minutes anymore. I am generally pretty careful where I go. If the alarm goes off ( I have set @ 4ft) I generally slow down or stop and take a reading to chk accuracy.
Hope that helps. Wiring is same as the start of this Thread.

Ok. Thanks. So, a couple things to say in reply….
I also have been waiting on a OEM transducer for a long time. I originally placed a order in November and every three weeks I get a new ETA that is pushed back a couple more weeks each time. I don’t see an end to this, that’s why I’m looking for something aftermarket. I think You made the right decision as well.

So, i’m guessing that the DST-810 does not wire directly to the Yamaha gauges on the dash… And if that’s true, then how do you see the water depth? What display does it come with? From looking at it on their website and on YouTube, it looks like the only way to view depth, speed and temperature is by looking at the app that you connect to. But, you said that you haven’t used the app yet… So how are you viewing depth? ….Or, Is my assumption wrong? Is it actually possible to wire this directly to the Yamaha OEM dash gauges?

 

[jpdaley1026]

Ok. Thanks. So, a couple things to say in reply….
I also have been waiting on a OEM transducer for a long time. I originally placed a order in November and every three weeks I get a new ETA that is pushed back a couple more weeks each time. I don’t see an end to this, that’s why I’m looking for something aftermarket. I think You made the right decision as well.

So, i’m guessing that the DST-810 does not wire directly to the Yamaha gauges on the dash… And if that’s true, then how do you see the water depth? What display does it come with? From looking at it on their website and on YouTube, it looks like the only way to view depth, speed and temperature is by looking at the app that you connect to. But, you said that you haven’t used the app yet… So how are you viewing depth? ….Or, Is my assumption wrong? Is it actually possible to wire this directly to the Yamaha OEM dash gauges?

Yea, so it looks like all the websites that have the OEM ducer are pushing out the backorders to August ( at least). Even my dealer says the one I have on order, may be next year. crazy.
So if you currently have the model gar 010-11105-00 shown in the beginning of this thread from Cyclops, then the mod is the same. The DST-810 is the same, just doesnt have 20 deg tilt. I have the touchscreen, so the depth shows up on that. The app just allows you to customize settings. Still havent tried that yet, only been out 2x this yr.

 

[Brian McIver]

Yea, so it looks like all the websites that have the OEM ducer are pushing out the backorders to August ( at least). Even my dealer says the one I have on order, may be next year. crazy.
So if you currently have the model gar 010-11105-00 shown in the beginning of this thread from Cyclops, then the mod is the same. The DST-810 is the same, just doesnt have 20 deg tilt. I have the touchscreen, so the depth shows up on that. The app just allows you to customize settings. Still havent tried that yet, only been out 2x this yr.

I finally got the boat in the water and it works. At first I saw the same flashing 0.0 I had last year, then it snapped in line and started reporting correctly. Maybe there’s a pairing cycle it goes through? Who knows. Also on my 2017 Limited S the transducer is just starboard of the centerline, so as per the Airmar instructions I pointed the keel arrow on the unit to the Left, toward the centerline of the boat. It was a 20 degree tilt mode as well. Thanks again for the write up Cyclops, beers on me at the sandbar!

 

[Sccala]

Yea, so it looks like all the websites that have the OEM ducer are pushing out the backorders to August ( at least). Even my dealer says the one I have on order, may be next year. crazy.
So if you currently have the model gar 010-11105-00 shown in the beginning of this thread from Cyclops, then the mod is the same. The DST-810 is the same, just doesnt have 20 deg tilt. I have the touchscreen, so the depth shows up on that. The app just allows you to customize settings. Still havent tried that yet, only been out 2x this yr.

Oh. I see. You have touch screen. I don’t, as my boat is a 2011. I wonder if it would still work. Might have to call garmin to find out

 

[shankska]

Anyone know where these may be in stock to order? My transducer crapped the bed this weekend and really want a working one.

also - mine is a 18 limited s e series. Everyone have a huge icebox above the transducer? How do you move that out of the way? I removed it but would not fit through the hole to get it out of the way. Or are you just replacing this by reaching around the icebox?

 

[Brian McIver]

Anyone know where these may be in stock to order? My transducer crapped the bed this weekend and really want a working one.

also - mine is a 18 limited s e series. Everyone have a huge icebox above the transducer? How do you move that out of the way? I removed it but would not fit through the hole to get it out of the way. Or are you just replacing this by reaching around the icebox?

I’m not sure if the part number is the same on yours, but I just googled the Airmar part number that was printed on the top and there’s were several places that offered it. Here’s my part number. Also I just reached around the water box to get to it. I’m sure removing it is easier, I just didn’t.

 

[Sccala]

I’m not sure if the part number is the same on yours, but I just googled the Airmar part number that was printed on the top and there’s were several places that offered it. Here’s my part number. Also I just reached around the water box to get to it. I’m sure removing it is easier, I just didn’t.

Thanks for these pictures. I’m assuming these are from two different boats? One has a digital touchscreen console and the other has old-school gauges. My model and year is 2011 242 Limited. I don’t have the fancy modern digital touch screen dash console. I was wondering if wiring this the same way that the OEM is wired will show depth on my gauge, or if I will have to use the app that this depth finder connects to. Any thoughts?

 

[shankska]

I’m not sure if the part number is the same on yours, but I just googled the Airmar part number that was printed on the top and there’s were several places that offered it. Here’s my part number. Also I just reached around the water box to get to it. I’m sure removing it is easier, I just didn’t.

its the same part for mine as well. Not having any luck finding this in stock. It’s back ordered everywhere. Crazy if Hodges had 20 in stock a month ago but out now.
If anyone knows where to get this Garmin airmar version let me know. Want the alarm to stop and what my depth back

 

[Neutron]

Looks like its gonna be a while on getting one from Hodges, just looked on their site,, look at that in stock date... my lord. Lmfao

 

[shankska]

Looks like its gonna be a while on getting one from Hodges, just looked on their site,, look at that in stock date... my lord. Lmfao
View attachment 181094

hahah right. I’m not sure what to do. I checked man websites and not many really show the stock status like Hodges. Called and online chat all day out of stock and back ordered. Some are guessing in 4 weeks but we all know that’s probably not right.

if anyone knows where to get one ordered today please let me know