Speed & Temp Probes

[perchjerker]

Dang it the sickness is back.

After years of walleye fishing I bought a cabin in Manton and started salmon fishing again after about 10 years off.

I got a few last weekend after going out for the first time since buying the cabin.

Now I find myself wanting this and that.

I am looking at Speed and Temp probes and like what I see in the Depth Raider. The Fish Hawk is nice too but kind of expensive for me. The Moor Sub Troll looks ok too but seems like old technology, but if it is better, then I need to know.

Is the Depth Raider a good unit? I did see a few posts on it and guys seemed to like it

Is that still the case? Get out the debit card? I found it at Franks and Marine General for $399 but it would cost me less at Marine General; cheaper shipping and no sales tax.

thanks

[buster107]

I have a fishhawk now. I used to have a moor sub troller and ran that four about four years. It worked great. The only bad side was a lot of blow back on the subtroller.

[killerbe20]

Depth raider has worked flawlessly for me for five years now. Never any issues at all. I recently switched to the new non coated cable. Never had issues with the coated cable just to try out. The only advantage I see in the new is not having to worry if a fish gets onto your cable or you wrap two riggers together.

[Line Dancin]

I have a sub troll and love it. what sold me on the subtroll was the unit head is damped so you dont get the constant bouncing of speed from going up and down waves and such. making it harder to adjust your speed. i wish it looked more high tech like the depth raider but it works great. Check out http://outdoorsmenproshop.com/ they will ship and their customer service is great. I am in walking distance to the store.

[SeaCatMich]

Had a FishHawk 840 for a lot of years but it started acting flakey and I had heard lots of good feedback on the Depth Raider the first year it was out, so I changed to it. Worked very well but I didn't like the coated cable and because of the cable and antenna, it could not be moved to another downrigger. When the X4 came out and got rave reviews, I got it two years ago. Only problem with the X4 was when a probe went bad but Trevor at FH shipped out a new one the day I called him (and then I shipped the bad one back) -- in the middle of July . Haw worked very well with no other issues -- have run it down to 230' in late July and no problems with speed or temp readings.

Personally I prefer the FishHawk and to me, is worth the extra cost. I would not be without a down speed/temp unit.

FishHawk advantages:

1) No coated cable -- had to repair the DR cable quite a few times where the coating came off. Would probably have bought the new Torpedo Diver cable had I kept the DR -- but then the total cost is a lot closer to the X4

2) Can move between riggers by moving the probe.

3) Battery life is outstanding -- 4 AA per season

4) Surface temp/speed and surface temp/speed on the same display is nice to be able to see the difference

5) Very good customer service

6) No spring antenna (but does need transducer)

7) No "special" termination necessary to maintain electrical connection to probe since no coated cable so any type of release can be used

8. Less blowback

Depth Raider advantages:

1) Can run more than one per boat

2) Lower cost

3) Very good customer service

4) No transducer (but does need spring antenna)

5) Can have multiple displays by splitting the antenna cable

6) One 9v battery per season

7) Lower replacement probe cost

[Paulywood]

Also I see the new FishHawk coming out in the spring will have probe depth like the old Cannon units did.

[perchjerker]

thanks guys very interesting thoughts.

I think the Depth Raider is the unit for me.

I only run 2 riggers, and I was not planning on switching it to the other rigger.

I am not real crazy about the coated cable idea, but sounds like its not much of a problem.

Josh- Were did you get the new non coated cable? I did not know that was available, I do not see it on the Kell Labs site. Just curious.

I cant really justify the extra money for the Fish Hawk. I dont really want to spend more on something that I have to, it frees up money for other stuff I dont need but have to have

[Line Dancin]

torpedo divers makes it. https://www.torpedodivers.com/scart/product_details.asp?ItemNum=P0010

I havent tried it as they were having some issues with the internal copper wire breaking. I know they were going through a redesign mid summer but havnt heard any feedback on the new wire.

[killerbe20]

I got my cable directly from Depth Raider but I believe it is actually made by Torpedo. It regular seven strand stainless downrigger cable but has a single piece of copper wire running inside of the stainless. The initial connection is a bit more tricky than with coated cable. I have not noticed any difference in performance but have wrapped two downriggers together and came out unscathed!

[perchjerker]

thanks for the info on the cable.

I decided to look more into the Sub Troll just so I dont overlook something. There are some things that I do like about it. I do like the analog display, it seems like it would be more durable than the digital display.

Does it use the standard downrigger cable or a coated one? The website isnt real clear on this.

Does the Depth Raider digital readout float around like a gps speed readout?

I thought I read somewhere that it did not.

[killerbe20]

The subtroll does use a coated cable. It is very similar to a depth raider but with a different display and probe.

The depth raider speed is very consistent. It is designed to maintain an accurate speed reading dispite waves, wind etc. they use a very precise and dependable algorithm to come up with the speed that is shown in the display. Even when changing speeds, there is a slight delay in change on the display until the unit is certain of a new speed.

[medic]

Brian,

The Depth Raider has worked flawlessly for me for the past 7 seasons. I cannot honestly say one bad word about it. I did break my cable losing my probe and a 13 lb Ridgeback Rattler this season and for a while considered switching to the FishHawk X4, but I just cannot justify it. The Raider has been that good to me. I will be switching to Torpedo's non coated cable and upgraded antenna. I have personally seen this combo produce consistent readings over 300 ft down and it sold me..

Just my honest opinion

[EdB]

Had a Depth Raider for 6 years, no issues, I love it.

[perchjerker]

Looks like the jury is in!

Depth Raider it is!!!

[HONDAM]

Fish Hawk is coming out with a new system in the spring, so wait till then and pick up someones used X4 at a good price. Because ive used the depth raider and it was a really good unit that works great but HATED the coated cable and extra wires on the downriggers.

[Line Dancin]

Ya know i hear that a lot that people hate the coated cable. I have had my subtroll for about five seasons now. I have only had to trim back a few inches from my terminator once a season as i use cable tensoin springs and it will wear the coating at the one end. other than that i hav not had any other issuse. It is a five minut fix when it does happn and if i didnt have the springs i would eliminate that issue. Which is what i am going to do this spring.

[killerbe20]

I see all the time on forums about how bad the coated cable is. I have never had an issue with it. Even when i just switched to the non-coated signal cable, I found my coated cable to be frayed beyond belief! never noticed a difference in my signal quality. I am not saying the X4 is not a great unit, I am absolutely sure it is. I just think the whole coated cable argument is blown out of proportion....from my personal experience.

[Richard]

Yes, the Sub Troll needs a coated cable.

No, the Depth Raider readings do not bounce around quickly.

Richard

[perchjerker]

well, I stumbled across an 840 for $200.

Its in real good shape. I figured since they have the upgrades available it would be ok.

Other then it going through batteries and watching for water intrusion, is it a solid unit?

From the searching I did I did not find out a whole lot, but what I did it seems to be a good unit.

[SeaCatMich]

I had one for 8 years and it worked very well. When its head unit got damaged in moving, I changed to the Depth Raider because of the great reviews it was getting. The DR worked very well too but I went back to the FishHawk when the X4 came out -- mainly because I didn't like the coated cable. As you mention, you can always buy the X4 probe and have the performance and battery life of the new unit, minus the new style display. With a probe upgrade, you would have less in the used 840 + probe than a new X4 but about the same as a new Depth Raider.

Really depends on your preference of coated cable (DR) vs transducer (FH) and the initial buy in cost.

[perchjerker]

thanks Ryan thats good to know.

I just brought it home. I was a little concerned that the display would be hard to read for my old eyes, but its ok. I did not realize that it had a backlight.

I hooked the transducer up and at least the speed wheel and temp sensor are working.

I put a battery in the probe and the red light is flashing, so I am hoping this means its ok.

According to the directions I downloaded, they state that you may or may not be able to hear the probe clicking, I cant, but my ears are almost as bad as my eyesight.

[SeaCatMich]

The FH probe has a gravity switch in it. If you turn it upside down the probe will turn off. Plan on about 1 9V battery for every weekend or two depending on how much it is in the water. One of the nice features of the X4 is that it does not turn on until it is submerged in the water.

You can usually test the probe by putting it about 1" below the transducer.

[Rascal Trophy Fishing]

I like your take Ryan, I trust and love my new 1 year old X4, add that to the other option that you attach to the core/copper, it's a big improvement all the way. Worth the money I think, as I had the old 840 over 20 years, so needed to update, and no antenna or cable problems ever. Sometimes you can call and buy a unit factory direct too, they discount better than the stores for me.

[perchjerker]

thanks.

I did download the manual for it which is very derailed and helpful.

I cannot get it to read by holding the probe close to the t/d but I am not going to worry about it.

I will get it hooked up to the boat and hopefully try it this weekend.

I take it I should get the breakaway cable for the dowrigger weight? Or is there another setup you guys use?

thanks

[perchjerker]

update-

I tried putting it in a bucket of water and it works.

So that is a good sign!!!